how did we at a place where diablo4 is more of an mmo that FF14?

[R041]

I think I'll give it a shot then, is it like XIV where you have to go through each expansion or do you start at Dragonflight as a new player?

Nope! They made it so each expansion is a self-contained story and leveling experience, so it doesn't end up doing what XIV and old WoW did.
You can even start a new character and level that in old expansions synced.

You basically go through the 1-15(?) quick newbie island for about an hour. Then blast over to Dragonflight.

One of the major differences that catches people off-guard is you can do dungeons as soon as your level permits it. You don't need to do the story. But yeah you might not know wtf is going on in them until you do. Though can avoid them.

You can also level and gear JUST by PvP if you want.