Quote Originally Posted by Shurrikhan View Post
But, what was actually lost, unless one considers any additional time taken in traversing the terrain as an absolute downside?

Even at the worst count, HW+ zones have (at least) as many features per zone as do ARR zones. They just also happen to have more space between them, which can come with advantages is building an aesthetic and making the zone seem more realistic.
Detail in zones, be that environment clutter, points of interest or landmarks.

I guess you could also say the newer zones lost "immersion", as limited as it already is in XIV, because after ARR you rarely ever find random NPCs going about their day or even buildings that you can enter anymore.