I really miss the challenge in XIV. Everything is too easy. Some fights only require me to cast two spells and I'm done fighting. That's laughably bad. Though, I must say, I really like the middle ground XIV is starting to create here. I don't have time to grind for hours on end, nor do I consider it fun.

XI:
Also, I remember my first trip to Jeuno (XI's Ishgard, probably). I was like level 20 BLM, sneaking my way through Jugner Forest, always knowing, that a single aggro would kill me in an instant. I only heard of this place from fellow adventurers and stumbled through the area for like 30 minutes (back then I thought everything would aggro me, so I ran away even from funguars constantly lol). In the end it was SO rewarding to finally reach there. Even "just walking" was fun that way. Behind many corners there was something to see.

A few hours later (after the jaw-dropping by watching these giant bridges Jeuno was built upon) I finally got my chocobo license, which too, felt like a real accomplishment.
I was so poor I didn't even have enough Gil to buy enough Gysahl Greens from the AH lol.

After that I would sit at Port Jeuno, watching airships fly by, daydreaming about my own airship pass (which involved a series of long missions I couldn't do on my own by that time, tied into the main story arc). And when the Duke of Jeuno finally handed me my pass, I really felt honored.

XIV:
I logged in and within a few hours I had reached all city states with no effort (aside from one deadly ant attack). I could have even ported there by asking other people. Where is the adventure in that? And the zones feel sooo empty in comparison. I'm already at the point where I don't want to explore anymore. It's always the same. How sad for an adventure game is that?

Though, I'm happy that I don't need an alliance for many quests anymore.