Why do people want to play a game that is completely instanced? Games like WoW, where even leveling is done in instances, just makes it so people don't experience the actual in-game world. What is the point for designers to make a beautiful environment when everything worth doing is in instance that people repeat 20 times to get a level?

FFXI was nice because the level grind took place in the actual world where you weren't forced to do the same level 20 dungeon until you were high enough to the level 25 dungeon. When you were leveling it didn't always have to be in the same place and having knowledge of the zone could be a huge benefit because you knew of camps that were out of the way of competition most of the time.

I guess one of my main points is that competition breeds creativity and true knowledge. Being isolated from the majority of the world at every turn makes people soft and unable to adapt themselves to a situation when things don't go as planned. I always saw leveling in FFXI as something that truly readied you for end-game, not because you learned how to cast your spells in a certain order or what WS's made Light skillchains but because you learned how to interact with others around you.