you ain't even playing the same game (endgame) as everyone else LOL
Not trying to bash you, you're new and you're having fun. But, people are being characterized as "Demanding and impatient with SE" when in reality, many of these issues are chronic.
Viera, for example, were made playable in Shadowbringers, almost 6 years ago. When they were released, they were unable to wear hats. Or glasses. Despite SE knowing this was an issue with players, and despite players continually being frustrated and annoyed and requesting this be fixed on the forums and elsewhere... SE continues to release headgear that Viera - and Hrothgar, by the way - cannot wear.
For six years.
Some of it coming with expensive cash shop purchases that Viera and Hrothgar are somewhat being shafted on, since they can't even use the full purchase. This is especially galling when a modder can datamine out the gear, and mod it to be usable with Viera/Hroth, sometimes before it's even officially released. The only way any significant amount of headgear was made wearable by buns and tigers was that some of the devs took it upon themselves to work on making it usable for Viera/Hroths without Yoshida's authorization or permission, most likely after hours or in their own free time, which is an absolutely pathetic situation.
It's been a known and ongoing issue for 6 years now, people have given them enough time and patience over this issue. I know you're trying to be optimistic, but, on certain issues, you don't know what you're talking about.
Again, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, I really am. However, that doesn't mean there aren't massive, ongoing problems that are being ignored by the dev team.
To the OP:
It seems more like two companies going down similar, but separate, paths, neither a competition nor a There Can Be Only One moment.
WOW have to suffer to get good and microsoft loves to close studio. So blizzard have step it up for theyre sake. Good for them.
Somehow the biggest white knights of this game are people who haven't even finished the MSQ.
There was another guy a while back who not only did not finish the MSQ but argued that there was content because they were doing the MSQ 4 times on different alts (and did not finish any of them). Like be for real rn LMAO
yeah this is my big thing with xiv is that it just has not innovated at all. back when i started playing in earnest in 2018 the appeal to me was that it was better than bfa and the developers didn't have this mentality of being hostile towards players in how they designed things (forced grinds, excessive timegating, character specific progression vs player progression) and now that those issues have been worked on and improved, xiv is still kind of the same. the biggest changes to endgame progression i've seen is that they added chest coffers to the 3rd floor fight and reduced the price of buying stuff with pages. criterion/savage dungeons were an interesting experiment but they forgot to put anything in them to motivate players into doing them until the last one.
WoW is definitely not an example of how long it takes to "course correct ". They have shown that they can be just as out of touch and stubborn on changing things for the players benefit.
Housing is just one positive thing it's done out of the many other things it does that still turn people from playing or even returning. (Lore butchering and character assassination of long time favourites)
If people don't start asking for innovation in FFXIV now, then you can't really expect much more than the status quo.
People have every right to compare 2 of the biggest MMORPGs on the market competing for a ever shrinking user base, those still willing to pay a sub for a single game.
FFXIV should start taking things that WoW has done well and try and make it work. I would love "Job set bonuses" to gear that uniquely alter or change how jobs play for example. Saying "IT CANT/SHOULDN'T BE DONE!" is how you get the same standard of content while your competitors take your stuff and make it better.