Yes, the open world was incredible and it brought me back to the sense of adventure I felt in TW1, but on a much grander scale.
Idk I just don't see what you do with the main story. I totally get why you don't like Eredin, but I don't think a ton of exposition was needed there. The build-ups to the fights with Imlerith and Eredin satiated me in a minimalistic way that was a refreshing change of pace for a game mostly built around maximalism. It helped that they were pretty intimidating, especially Imlerith. Even if you didn't like that particular aspect, there were a ton of great moments in the main story. If anything you should be disappointed by the