I was disappointed Ishgard became a republic. I suppose there wasn't any other way to go about it though since the collapse of the church and they didn't have a monarchy.

As for the New World, it might have some possibilities if they did a Wild West theme, perhaps with steampunk. Machinist being the obvious choice for featured class. I know the woke crowd is already up in arms about any depiction of colonialism, but I don't see why it has to mirror American history which, IMO, is not particularly interesting. They already sort of did a Central Americas theme with the Ronkan Empire and, frankly, as a WoW refugee I'm tired of that aesthetic since it is prominent among the troll races. I'd rather they do something completely new. It's a fantasy video game, the options are limitless, content doesn't have to be based on real world history (and I'd prefer it not).

My main concern with Meracydia is it being HW 2.0 except with dragons vs. Allagan descendants. I loved HW, but am not all that interested in a similar story with a different skin.