Open World Content and Horizontal Progression

[Gilthas]

The way to add more open content is using systems like the one used for Treasure Hunting or Leves, aka, using an item to pop mobs or have them pop during a quest. Having roaming NMs that you have to camp and compete for claim is a crap mechanic that should never rear it's ugly head ever again.

For horizontal progression they actually have a good system in place for it in the form of materia, they just need to greatly expand the system by letting all gear be melded and converted and by adding new types of materia with special effects that enhance job traits or abilities.

A lot of people are throwing around the word horizontal progression without realizing what it actually means and how little benefit you actually get from it.

This is certainly true. I remember the horizontal progression we had in FFXI, that is constantly lauded here by some, it consisted of minimal stat upgrades that never really gave you different builds, just more gear swap macros.