Took a break from the forums for the most part of 2 months, to play and enjoy the game and also new job...Not surprised to see the same half dozen or so folks complaining about the same things, but I find myself agreeing with Stormpeaks in this thread, to my surprise.

Am I the only one who remembers the early days of MMO's when players were thrilled to find a game that wasn't just about DPS and spreadsheets, but actually had social elements? Star Wars Galaxies comes to mind. For all the problems that game had, and there were many...The living, breathing world that each server had was so nice. It was like living a "second life" in Star Wars. There were cantinas with musicians and dancers that buffed, crafters of every kind, hell even politician was a job/class you could level...and player housing? Nahh, we had player created towns, built by, maintained, and named by players (shoutout to Som Crim on Dantooine)

Many people could (and famously did) play the entirety of the game as a crafter, entertainer, politician etc. and never touching combat. And it was wonderful. Im THANKFUL that FFXIV has such venues and stuff to do other than just engage in combat.

I still love the story, the music, the worlds, etc. Those things make FFXIV the perfect blend of sandbox and theme park elements. Spoon fed story driven content on rails, and virtually unlimited player created content too.

And ALL of it is optional if you dont want to participate in any of it you dont have to.