I would say a sense of community/rivalry is what could draw people to the game. The fact that every nation is sorta in a friendly competition with each other, but ultimately are working together for the same cause which is of course saving the world. It's not like other mmo's where pvp draws a pretty solid line between factions, your free to party with anyone you want. That was the main thing that drew me to ffxi over other mmo's

I hope to see more instances or partying and grouping in the future to promote this aspect.