There are a lot of aspects I like from FFXIV. I like the very dynamic fights, the environements, the story, etc. I even like dungeons and the Duty Roulette. A dungeon from time to time where you meet new people and get some for of progression quickly without too much hassle.

The only thing I really hate is the vertical progression and I think this is what makes me think FFXI was all gold and pink to my eyes. (While I could list hundreds of pages of flaws...) The diversity of endgame events and equipments gave us a lot to look forward to.

Now, FFXIV is in its very beginning, so I wont compare the two nor judge of the content we have right now. Maybe when we'll have much more content, horizontal progression could be done, but like many of you, it feels like this game will take the vertical progression approach forever. And I don't think I could handle it forever either.