Linear, linear, linear

[Catwho]

Fine Wax used to be quite valuable and a reason to farm Haukke Manor. Not sure it is any more.

FFX16 has some fairly open areas once you get deeper in the game. I am about 7-8 hours in and just hit [REDACTED] which feels about as open as the XIV overworld areas. There are side quests, and lots of obvious items and slightly more hidden chests scattered around the towns and landscapes to explore. Sure, if you mainline MSQ you can just keep going in a straight line forever, but where's the fun in that? So I've been poking around, taking wrong turns, trying to see if I can go up ladders or fall off cliffs into rivers.

[TheDecay]

which feels about as open as the XIV overworld areas

Are you sure that's a good thing? FF14 is an MMO. A single player game's open world elements should be far more organic and open than that of an MMO, which has constraints due to technology and the need for multiplayer.

[Catwho]

Are you sure that's a good thing? FF14 is an MMO. A single player game's open world elements should be far more organic and open than that of an MMO, which has constraints due to technology and the need for multiplayer.

Open worlds are only fun if there's a sandbox element to them, and XVI does not have that. The reason TotK has been a blast has been because the open world does have those necessary tools for just derping around. They made a deliberately conscious decision with XVI to not have that, in favor of Serious Narrative.