Instances have been around for a long time now. Hardly anything recent. Though they weren't quite as prevalent outside of "raids" or "end game" content as they are in XIV though. The majority of this game's content is instanced. Personally I'm a little tired of instanced content, at least when it's all able to be done relatively quickly.

People wanted Open World content, a reason to roam around the world maps and now we have that. I generally have a pretty fun time doing Hunts and the rewards are pretty nice.

My Smn was i99 at the start of 2.3, is currently i107, but will probably hit i109 before the weekly reset. I only wish the Soldiery cap was doubled or lifted so I could gear up my other jobs without having to wait so long. Would make this gear last longer on my secondary jobs before they go and add even higher ilvl gear in 3-4 months. By that time I might have another job at i100+, but it's doubtful I can do anything more than that with only being able to get 450 Soldiery tomes a week. :/