Please do not make group quest open world areas.

[MilesSaintboroguh]

I believe the reason people are reacting negatively towards potentially dangerous mobs in the open world isn't due to "fear", but rather annoyance; simply traveling from A to B could potentially take longer if they're forced to fight every step of the way, especially if they're already at level 60 and have no reason to be fighting mobs nor having anything to gain from them. People counter with "omg you actually have to socialize now!?", but no one is saying they don't want to socialize purely to avoid it. I am betting people don't want to be constantly bothering their friends to play bodyguard just to go from one town to another if their quest is for solo stuff.

[Gyson]

I believe the reason people are reacting negatively towards potentially dangerous mobs in the open world isn't due to "fear", but rather annoyance; simply traveling from A to B could potentially take longer if they're forced to fight every step of the way, especially if they're already at level 60 and have no reason to be fighting mobs nor having anything to gain from them. People counter with "omg you actually have to socialize now!?", but no one is saying they don't want to socialize purely to avoid it.

Heh, well I'll say it. As MMOs have grown more popular I find I'm less and less excited about the prospect of socializing even more with the types of people playing them. In my opinion, the quality of players in MMOs has gone downhill since becoming filled with people who weren't interested in these types of games 10-15 years ago. However, as you said, even in this case it's still about wanting to avoid additional "annoyances". Rare gems aside, I get my fill through the Duty Finder without needing to work more of it into my open-world gameplay.

[Zfz]

I consider this trend a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is exactly because of the lack of the need for open world interaction, that people are starting to treat others like NPCs---because they don't matter the very least bit.

Dungeon etiquette existed in the days when no automatic matching existed. Take away the need to interact socially and social interaction disappeared. Electricity takes the path of the least resistance. People also do. Same with open world content. The whole reason jerks exist is because you, me, and every other player mean absolutely nothing to them. Similarly, the whole reason open world "content" are looked down as meaningless time-filler, is because there isn't content in the open world. Take away the content and travel becomes chore.

People who complain about dangerous open world content often cite the reason that they don't have the time to spend half an hour fighting their way across a zone. That is because they got used to the idea that fighting your way across a zone isn't content. Within that group of people, there's further a group that wants some reward for absolutely every second they spend in the game.

MMORPGs used to be a journey where the journey is all that mattered. The loot were just icing on the cake. Now the loot is everything, and the journey is called "a meaningless waste of time".

True, just having difficult mobs without the accompanying content depth in the open world is bad. But it's a step in the right direction. One day we may see a return of MMO players to the genre who appreciate the journey and game companies will start fleshing out the open world again. When that happens, jerks will become the dying breed and open world content becomes enjoyable. When that happens.

[Ryel]

I believe the reason people are reacting negatively towards potentially dangerous mobs in the open world isn't due to "fear", but rather annoyance; simply traveling from A to B could potentially take longer if they're forced to fight every step of the way, especially if they're already at level 60 and have no reason to be fighting mobs nor having anything to gain from them. People counter with "omg you actually have to socialize now!?", but no one is saying they don't want to socialize purely to avoid it. I am betting people don't want to be constantly bothering their friends to play bodyguard just to go from one town to another if their quest is for solo stuff.

These people are likely the same ones that will simply hop on their flying mounts once they have the ability to, kill their 2-3 mobs or w/e and simply fly off to the next quest marker, In terms of annoyance its pretty negligible in the long run.

And before someone mentions the complaints about mount heavy:

The key difference here lies in content difficulty. It's far more annoying to be slowed down by something that takes all of 3 seconds to hop off of my mount and kill, versus the excitement and enjoyment of debating the safest route towards my destination or in the alternative making a go of it with a few friends as we storm the gates of a beastman stronghold. An open world with teeth actually runs the risk of being.. dare i say it? Interesting

[Raist]

I believe the reason people are reacting negatively towards potentially dangerous mobs in the open world isn't due to "fear", but rather annoyance; simply traveling from A to B could potentially take longer if they're forced to fight every step of the way, especially if they're already at level 60 and have no reason to be fighting mobs nor having anything to gain from them. People counter with "omg you actually have to socialize now!?", but no one is saying they don't want to socialize purely to avoid it. I am betting people don't want to be constantly bothering their friends to play bodyguard just to go from one town to another if their quest is for solo stuff.

Don't know if it will be an option... but if you will be able to take a choco taxi, your problem is basically solved after your first trip to an area with a choco wrangler (no aggro on choco porter), or other similar means of transportation. Once you unlock the more direct or otherwise aggro-free mode(s) of transport, real world aggro becomes considerably less of a problem then it will be the first time you make the run. Think of it like your first FFXI run to the Altepa crystal, or Jueno for that matter. Note that people were making those runs on grossly under-leveled jobs...sometimes just for the sh!ts & giggles, other times as a competition. Just pointing this out as it demonstrates that open world aggro never really was that great a problem in XI, and this doesn't sound like it will be anything near what we had there.

As for the bits about socialization, depth, etc.---this game simply is lacking elements that seemed to foster a certain type of connection amongst the players, and also between the players and the game. The kinds of changes they are talking about with HW's open world sounds like a step back in the direction of what helped make those kinds of connections with the players--which is largely why I myself am looking forward to it...guessing perhaps that goes for some of the others welcoming the change as well.

Here are a few videos for your enjoyment that may express the sentiments far better than anything we may type in here:

A Little FFXI Story - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARghlVjBab0

FFXI a Little Story - (series of videos--at Sasaya's channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/sasayaneko)

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUroyx1ezuc
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KjSj0TCzCc
Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxvHZOhWNaE
Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arODrDNcmbQ