Is the compass important

In a historical sense, the compass is extremely important. It allowed reasonably safe long-distance sea exploration and trade.

In a modern western-world sense, the compass is rapidly becoming obsolete for the great majority of its applications. There are many niche applications where the compass is still a requirement for navigation (dense forests and underground, where GPS won't work, for example).

The majority of the world does not have the practical access to GPS that the most affluent nations take for granted. The compass remains essential throughout the developing world.

So, yes, the compass is important.