Something needs to be done about the empty open world

[Melorie]

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).

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

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

It's a shame imo, since FFXIV does provide quality assets/lore and could in turn make amazing open world with it, but I search for good open world in other games nowadays and stay in FFXIV for catching up with the story/raids and that's it. It is what it is, I don't really see them changing that.