I am still very early in the game (Chapter 3), but starting to get bored with the side quests as I've knocked out 10ー15 already and I think pretty much ALL of them have been nothing but fetch quests- get me some ore (yo Dino, do you mind not sitting so damn far from the road), get me some car wax, fetch me some frogs, get me some ingredients, etc.

So, is this the extent of side quests? Or will there be any variety or anything memorable soon (no spoilers please- just mean in terms of mechanics)? I tend to focus on side quests in RPGs to level up, but I'm really hoping for some variety!

Also, I understand there is an extensive end game after the story- are all side quests still available in the open world too after the story conclusion?

Most of the sidequests are combat focused, but some of them get their own dungeons and areas later on that introduce some different gimmicks that helps keep the combat fresh. There are also some sidquests that involve the different minigames in the game and a handfull that do fun weird stuff.

The way the endgame is contextualized in the story I am pretty sure every sidequest is available after you finish the game.