Does instant transportation effect game immersion?

[AmyRae]

FFXI had instant travel done right. FFXIV has instant travel done lazy, and as such it makes FFXIV's world seem -dead-

It's funny you should say that. FFXI had more instant travel than FFXIV did. FFXIV only has the Anima system, that's it. FFXI has--well let me list it for you:

- Home points (Warp spell, death, certain items)
- Teleport crystals (rings and spells)
- Escape spell (get out of any dungeon)
- Outpost warp
- Windurst warp tarus
- Whitegate warps (to and from Jeuno and starter towns)
- Staging point warps
- Item-based teleports: Tavnazia ring, Olduum ring, Duchy ring, Maat's cap, Trick Staff II, Warp Cudgels, etc.
- Campaign Arbiters (travel anywhere in WotG areas)
- Abyssea maw warp (travel from Jeuno and starter towns to any Abyssea maw)
- Verdical Conflux warps (travel between different parts of an Abyssea zone)

Hell, instant travel in WotG alone is less restrictive than in FFXIV since you can quickly earn more currency with which to teleport if you ran out. You should be complaining that FFXIV is too restrictive if you want to compare it to FFXI!

But the ironic part is, the slow-moving transportation in FFXI is almost always empty and unused. Has been for years. There are so many other (and better) options out there. That should be your first clue that not even hardcore FFXI players are interested in that concept anymore. It doesn't make the game. It breaks it.