Sorry I am going to break your rules of the post because it will be a lot more simplistic and will explain everything in seconds. If Everquest and WoW had a baby that would be the perfect MMO for me. Even though FFXI was one of my favorite MMOs I never found it as interesting overall as either of the two mentioned, XI was about the grind and the time sink for me.
Actually for the poster before me FF12 would have been a better MMO set in that world if you ask me over FF14. Also I would love to see .hack actually be an MMO instead of a single player game based on an MMO experience.