FFXIV missed the mark by a long shot, but after its rough start, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
FFXIV is not the game for you if you are looking for:
1.) Dungeons
2.) End game content
3.) A gimme gimme epic loot & economy
4.) tutorials
5.) North American dominated social system
FFXIV IS the game you want if you're up for:
1.) A wide open character skill tree
2.) A great return on investment time-wise for all types of players
3.) A crafting system just as diverse/deep as the combat system is
4.) A mature & multi-cultural social network
5.) A revamping/updating of the same races & musical themes from FFXI
My favorite game is World of Warcraft. For me, it was never better than it was back during the Burning Crusade. WoTLK was great too, but something was lost in the transfer as Arena changes began to have a massive impact on the PvE portion of the game.
FFXIVs biggest problems for me aren't with crafting, exp/sp gains, or a floundering economy. My issues are with it's lack of alternatives for leveling. FFXI was shallow in this area as well, but at least the Rank missions offered an alternative means for clout & bragging rights outside the AH. But I digress, as I believe WoW, FFXI, and FFXIV are all really fun mmorpg experiences. I'm not a fanboy, but Blizzard certainly got it right as far as finding the medium between all types of player interests is concerned..
Currently, FFXIV offers players the opportunity to be involved with a pretty neat character skill tree that's completely open ended. Because mobs aren't as sophisticated as they were in XI, having a Gladiator that can use Cure I isn't necessary made for the shallow end of the pool, but that's just a basic version of what I'm getting at. While the traditional tanking classes might each only have one or two forms of self preservation, leveling enough other jobs will afford you the ability to add everything the game has to offer. XIV took the subjob concept from XI and blew it wide open, and that's a good thing.
Other good things are the speedy teleports that all classes have. White Mages won't be making money off of you all any longer. If you can run your toon there, you can teleport there for the most part. Hopefully, the other areas will have transports assisting us before too long.
There's more, certainly, but for me.. I need to log about 50 more hours before I can comment with any authority. Generally.. the players online right now are pretty helpful, and if they're not, just look me up on Lindblum. I'm always happy to get folks started off on the right foot and in the proper direction.
This game was a 4.0, now it's approaching 7. If the current production team continues their trend of proper fixes in appropriate time frames, FFXIV is headed to an 8 or 9 by Summer Break
Atari Ono
Lindblum