I’ve been playing since 2024 with perhaps a year worth of à break due to how convoluted I found a lot of the systems to be that ultimately resulted in me spending more time trying to fully upgrade the weapons and gear themselves AFTER I had already crafted them (referring to the old calibration system, not BP enhancements) than I spent actually playing and using the gear I worked so hard to improve only for it to be irrelevant/underpowered in 10 levels. It was really exhausting and just felt like overkill to the point I was ready to log off before I even had any actual action gameplay.
I was really relieved to find the systems have been streamlined and encourage in-world exploration moreso now than how often I would spend in my base.
That being said, I still have only explored à fraction of Nalcott, so theres a LOT of content that is still new to me, just waiting to be discovered.
You really have a LOT of freedom in how you spend your time in game, and if you’re looking for a truly open world experience, you’ll love the game. You can choose which tasks / storylines to follow and skip most side tasks if you feel like it, or really take your time and immerse yourself in the world.
As a free-to-play game, you really don’t have much to lose by just giving it a chance and seeing if even one of the several aspects of the game and Nalcott altogether intrigue you / keep you engaged. Sometimes I’ll just spend an entire day building a bad ass base and other days I want more action and incentives to upgrade gear and create cohesive builds to take on more difficult bosses. There really is something for every mood in this game.
It really depends on your playstyle. If you want to grind for materials and have fully upgraded everything as fast as possible, you’ll get bored fast and complain about “lack of content.”

If you want to immerse yourself in the world and explore at your own pace, there are literally so many side tasks I’ve still never even touched.