Has anybody actually made friends through FFXIV?

[Lilseph]

I have. I know you ask about XIV, but my biggest success was back during the Ragnarok Online era. I've made plenty of friends that ended up in an IRL friendship (and relationship at some point). Some of them I see them from time to time, but they live in different states at the moment. In XIV I've made a lot of friends, but only few of them were long lasting. They also have their lives and barely play anymore but we usually chat through SMS or other means, so it kinda extended to outside the game. I've been invited to visit them in the States whenever I travel to their country.

[duvvvv]

I have. I know you ask about XIV, but my biggest success was back during the Ragnarok Online era. I've made plenty of friends that ended up in an IRL friendship (and relationship at some point)...

similar experience here, though through RO, my friendship with a handful of people (who were also org-mates in school) became stronger. met them in 2003 when I joined the org, still friends with them today, sometimes I get to play online with them too. around 2010 I joined a guild in RO where I took guild vs guild very seriously, like I set my schedule around the war of emperium. some of our members were good enough to compete internationally, but due to p2w shenanigans our server's economy crashed and I quit to play LotRO with the same school friends. still, I consider some of my guildmates friends, from time to time our guild master would invite us to play a new MMO, but they're not in my inner circle as my school friends.
here in FFXIV, I'd like to think everyone in our FC are my friends but that would be too presumptuous xD I haven't met any of them in person because they're on the other side of the world, but for nearly 4 years I've been in constant communication with some of them through social media, discord, and of course the game itself. I love these people, just for the time alone that I've spent with them, no matter how silly has been meaningful, and I pretty much stick around in Eorzea for the FC.