I think I figured out why Alexander was so poorly received.

[Nalien]

It's mechanically less interesting than Coil? Absolutely. Just compare Faust with ADS... Both are effectively DPS checks, but ADS used to involve teamwork in a Silence rotation for High Voltage. Not the biggest thing in the world, but that just further adds to how pathetic Faust is... I really cannot believe they opened with Faust, possibly the worst first impression of a raid possible...

I'd also say the story is significantly weaker... Just another "Stop teh Primal!" plot, the Illuminati aren't particularly compelling (I think they should probably have been Hildibrand-level comic relief more than anything...) and I don't really care about any of the characters, since they just show up for the first time in the quest... Actually I was almost worried about Brayflox, but that point when no where... The whole plot just comes out of the blue at the end of the main scenario... Compare that to Coil... That plot was there from the very start of the game (before that even, "What happened to Bahamut?" was a question being asked right after 1.0s servers closed down...), as were the characters, granted Alisae wasn't great, but her relationship with Louisoix was presented in the main scenario and is far more compelling that... Whatever Mide is up to? Perhaps if Mide had been introduced earlier, or all that stuff I can't even be asked to remember because it was just words in a short quest to string the raid together, was introduced during 3.0, rather than during 3.05, the plot would at least be more compelling...

Also Twisters, need more Twisters, and "F*ck You" Dreadknights. For a raid sold as "You're fighting inside Alexander!", the environments are particularly dull, too... T5 we were fighting on Bahamuts hand for crying out loud... We're inside Alexander (giggity) now, and it's just... Boring... Musics great though, much better than Coil, save a few turns I shouldn't have to specify.