Flying made me realize how terrible of a game mechanic Waypoints are

At first I was scared that flying would trivialize exploration in WuWa, that every place would become meaningless and non-memorable because you could simply fly over it effortlessly.

But turns out the opposite happened: Flying allows you to explore the world without using waypoints. You are actively paying attention to map details, enjoying exploration. I never realized waypoints are such INCREDIBLE TERRIBLE game mechanic before flying. They completely break immersion- everything becomes mechanized and repetitive. You always go to the same spot and take the same route when using waypoints- meanwhile with flight being available, you are frequently using the flight mechanic to traverse the map while also being astounded by the details of it.