First of all. Did you guys all miss the information they released regarding Odin? Sounds like he's going to be some huge HNM running around that can be freely killed by anyone.

I'm ok with there being a few open world things but what is more fun about sitting in an camp out in the open trying to kill a HNM then doing it in an instance? I'm just curious. The fact that someone can come along and try to steal it from you? All the drama that occurred around HNM camps in FFXI was fun? I understand that it's nice to be able to go out and do things with all your friends. There will be opportunities for that if Odin is any indication.

Unfortunately for all the die hard old school FFXI fans that is not where MMOs are moving. The majority of the PAYING playerbase in these games are casual players who do not have the time to spend camping around the clock to enjoy their end game activities. Imagine if there were a large population of people playing this game now. Usually I'm able to grab a group and just do whatever in the strongholds but, if there were tons of people playing we'd be fighting over everything. I'm sorry but I don't find that enjoyable and I don't really know many people who do to be honest. Why does open world give you a greater sense of exploration and adventure then an instanced zone would? After you've been through the strongholds and figured out what to do is it any different then going into an instanced zone the third or 4th time?