FFXIV needs a reason to use classes outside of roulette.. ie better open world

[Raskbuck]

I've played GW2 a while ago and don't see how it's really that different from FATEs. I think FFXIV does an okay job at open world. I'm grinding FATEs right now to finish the SharedFATEs and I see people doing that with me. When I'm out gathering I see people also gathering alongside me. And of course there are hunts, which I assume people are doing since I see the messages about the ranked monsters.

I think they've got the right mix right now. Open World content is fun, but it's always kind of superficial. You see other people but the ways you interact with them isn't as deep as in an instance dungeon, trial or raid.

I think the appeal of GW2 is the whole collect-a-thon aspect, more than the "FATEs" themselves. In that game, the UI conveys clearly all the small tasks that have to be done before completing a map, and it extends beyond just doing mindless events. It also helps that the game rewards you for exploration, finding chests and jumping puzzles if you check every corner of the world.

FFXIV, on the other hand, has more obscure side activities that are not displayed very clearly in the game. Just to name an example, all the vistas in the game are obfuscated with small hints, and the average player will likely just find the answer from a third party. It makes the whole process more cumbersome, as opposed to just showing you where the vistas are on the map.

Ultimately, I think my biggest gripe with XIV's open world content is how laughably easy it is. There's no danger or challenges to overcome, and there's no incentive to grind or get better gear; unless you are min-maxing hunts for some bizarre reason (and even then, they mostly boil down to a mindless zerg).