so why the devs never use 90% of the content for end game?

[Misplaced_Marbles]

They would do well to look at how the likes of WoW, ESO and Lost Ark make use of their open worlds. Encouraging players to explore and uncover hidden secrets isn't a bad thing and helps make FFXIV's zones have more relevance beyond occasional MSQ quests and gathering nodes.

Then again, it's hard to uncover secrets when they don't exist. All areas I've find in open world that didn't have a quest or FATE in them were empty. There is no discovery unless there's something telling you to go and do a thing, and then it's just crossing that thing off a list.

There aren't even any secret FATEs anywhere, since they all just randomly appear on the map.