The several hrs wait seems like a hassle, do I have to click sync?
Exodus receive address appears without having to click sync and wait needlessly around for several hrs. Can I start receiving xmr with this or do I need to sync and wait around hrs? I am confused is it mandatory to click sync or should I ignore it?
All wallets have to be synced with the blockchain in some way. Full node wallets download and verify the entire blockchain history, so it takes some time when it's done for the first time, and requires more storage space on your machine.
Why is exodus offering me a receiving address to receive monero if I haven't done the full sync to its blockchain yet? Are you sure I can't avoid downloading the whole blockchain. There's multiple coins, are all their individual blockchains going to downloaded if I click sync?