Why the heavy focus on instance only?

[indira]

Thanalan is an instance.

no its not, instance allows only you/ your party inside with without anyone else to come inside.

Quote Originally Posted by Jynx View Post
If I want to do a instance I require a group of people, I can't just go and explore fohttp://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=443854r the hell of it. I can't prod the enemies on my own to learn more about them, I can't enjoy the sights just for fun. It forces me to group, I'm not short on friends but I do like to take things at my own pace and go where I please.

Invisible walls telling me "You can't enter without 4 people dood" make me angry, for a instanced fight? Sure why not that's fine with me but to get into the area at all? Slap some time limits on that and it makes the game very restricted. At least in XI your "mainly instanced" is so wrong.

Things like Campaign were extremly friendly for people who just wanted something to do, my friends not around and I want to get a few merits? Campaign, FoV, a whole damn world with monsters I can find to solo, dungeons to explore.

XIV is lacking a real overworld even now most of the areas are neglected because all of the content is pinpoint focused in the world with a massive map with no meaning to it other than being large. I could hardly walk 5 minutes in XI without finding something to do with a quest, a NM (Even if it had nothing worth looting), people playing, sights to see, items to gather, maps to get, craig crystal to collect, camps to document, dungeons to explore.

While XI did have a large ammount of instanced content they only did this after they had a very well fleshed out world to stage the instances in.

Almost all the instanced content required you to travel in the current world, XIV you hardly have to step foot outside of town or past the nearest aetherite camp to do something. I remember my excursions to Ulegrand range ENM being a brutal trip with amazing rewards.

I remember my trip to the Darkhold, Totorak, Ifirit, and any strongholds as being a merry jog from the nearest aetherite camp...and hell even if I walked it is hardly a dangerous or spectacular journey.

Attowah Chasm...them damn Antlions and poison bushes, what I'm trying to say is while there was alot of instanced content it was fleshed inside of the open world where as XIV seems to avoid the world at all times possible. Sure XI had teleports and such but even then they themselves usually entailed some sort of price incured in the open world content.

this is a mmo ADVENTURE. reason people still PAY for FFXI & Everquest 1. newer instance mmo's failed and went Free to play.

[Jynx]

no its not, instance allows only you/ your party inside with without anyone else to come inside.

Technically it's not incorrect, but the methodology behind it's stupid. They aren't proving anything for/against the type of instances we are talking about.