Something needs to be done about the empty open world

[Jeeqbit]

I enjoy FFXIV dungeons/raids but it is one of if not the most instanced MMO I've ever played. The zones are beautiful but the content inside it is pretty meh, and there's almost zero interaction with the zones per se besides MSQ. The only thing that make me interact with the zones is gathering and maybe doing maps (which are also another instance) and that's it.

After that it's either follow a hunt train or queue-spam at Limsa/FC point. Even Bozja which could be amazing Open World content they turned into a big instance. The fates don't really affect the zone nor gives a sense of immersion (like meta events from GW2 or night mobs in BDO).

You mentioned hunts and maps. These were added to the game for the specific purpose of giving the game open world content. You can also go there to spawn S ranks a lot if you want.

Blue mage, the class that could've benefited from Open World gets all their relevant skills from... instances.

That isn't true. You can get almost all of them from the open world because a lot of hunt and fate bosses also perform the skills found in dungeons.

Open World cannot even be used for leveling most of the time, since it's far from being a good, viable option.

This also is not true. Daily hunt bills and beast tribe quests are great experience, but there is a limit to how many you can do.