I am super excited at the concept of harder mobs, at least in the way they were framed in the live letter. Will they be a hassle to deal with and cause some frustration? Absolutely. Does this mean they're going to require a party to take down a couple of water sprites? lol, no. The way I see it is that your first time stepping into an Ishgard zone is that you'll be absolutely dwarfed by the environment, given their size compared to 2.x zones. You'll be tiny and feel vulnerable, and will die if you don't pick your fights carefully.

But the rewards for exploring will be even greater. Can you imagine how you'll feel when you completely map out a zone on foot, get your bearings and take to the skies as your reward? Unlike 2.x, you'll feel like you've actually MASTERED an overworld zone, and that exact moment is what I'm anticipating more than most other things in the expansion.