I don't think every content has to be catered to everyone and that includes things like "exploratory content". It's probably better to make content be both optional and as good as it can be for the people that do like it so people who don't like it can just ignore it and the ones that do can have a really good time.

I remember when people swore up and down that the only reason they hated F.A.T.E.s was that they were too easy and if they made F.A.T.E.s harder they would absolutely do them. So they increased the HP values and damage and just like that F.A.T.E. grinding and by extension the overworld died. SE has been trying to recapture that feeling of shared world/experience since then with various iterations and each time compromising the content in order to try to appeal to everyone. I really feel like the right play might just be to not bother. If you don't like this type of content then just don't do it. ezpz