Quote Originally Posted by Ath192 View Post
where quests don't have braindead markers telling you where to go
We've had a few quests like that. There's a reason MMORPGs don't usually do them anymore. They create tedium and make it annoying and the response is usually not positive.
where dungeons are nothing like the stale formula we have
They could be more varied and different for sure. But currently they are just a tool through which to tell the story and have some casual multiplayer fights.
where underwater isn't just a pretty landscape and combat/breathing mechanics are tried out.
I'm fine with a mechanic like that so I think it's just an example of SE handholding players.
Where exploration and open world events are tried through the entire introduced zones instead of designated exploration instances like Eureka and Bozja.
The benefit of instances is it can combine players from multiple worlds, making them more populated. It also allows them to set a hard limit on the exact number of players participating so that you don't get a situation like with hunts where they are disappearing and lagging and melting or reaching the mechanic cap due to 400-600 people being there.

I don't know why they don't focus on the open world in this game, but they just don't much and these are the best reasons I can think of for why.
Where some side quests are just damn hard
I would like the solo duties to have hard modes instead of just Easy, Very Easy, Extremely Easy. Not sure how else you'd want them to be hard. Like RNG grinds? Finding clues (which we have a few quests of)? Following someone (we have some of these type of quests since EW).
Where some open world dungeons are introduced, and the mobs are just lethal
Like Eureka and Bozja? (and if you don't find them lethal, they used to be when current at least). We are getting another this expansion. They said Deep Dungeons will work a little differently this time as well and be some form of open battle content, but it was vague, and we know the mobs in there can be deadly.
This game needs to work on producing:
1. Shock
2. Awe and wonder
3. Curiosity
4. A feeling of freedom
I don't actually disagree, because many other (especially older) games have done this better. I could see from the very beginning (in ARR) that the developers' mindset was no freedom (strict invisible walls and instancing) and loading screens between zones with the most curious thing being Odin. As the game progressed, it was clear there would be increasingly less curiosity (things put into instances and increasingly telegraphed) and that awe, wonder and shock was not going to be big like in other games due to its consistency, with the most awe coming purely from the story and the trailers they managed to produce showing off their work.

This is why Pagos and Anemos were my favorite Eureka zones (hot take, at least in Stormblood). The terrain was all over the place with lots of up and down areas to explore and things to find. Tough enemies, and dragons to navigate (or die trying). This created awe and wonder, for me personally, and it wasn't long before everyone came to these very forums and demanded it become the flat square zone that is Hydatos and Bozja with no significant power disparity.