Why should I play FFXIV?

[Yummie]

I've started playing Tera, because FFXIV will be going down soon, so I figured I should pick up something to play, sadly after Tera's combat gets dull, you'll really notice its awful story line and the lack of anything to really do, but it really makes me appreciate ffxiv's storyline....

[Deli]

Listen how much instruments inside ff14's music, any song. My Favorite Grid music has 5+ 'types'. (hmmmm got to go listen it again!) Play it in nice home theater system. It's really nice... lots songs are really nice...

That's one of the reasons I play ff14. SE care every single detail.
not just how to put fancy items in item shops and earn your money...

[Ricky]

if you're like me you're expecting an FF11-like experience and holding out hope

[Zezlar]

Real question is: why not? What are those other MMOs offering you that you haven't done before?

[Alhanelem]

I completely agree with the sentiment that nobody can decide what a person likes except for oneself.

[DubstepNinja]

Listen how much instruments inside ff14's music, any song. My Favorite Grid music has 5+ 'types'. (hmmmm got to go listen it again!) Play it in nice home theater system. It's really nice... lots songs are really nice...

That's one of the reasons I play ff14. SE care every single detail.
not just how to put fancy items in item shops and earn your money...

Actually yes the music in this game is just amazing, if you enjoy music then you will love this game.

[Trotsky]

I know FFXIV has been going through a lot of changes since it's original launch, and since then a lot of other MMOs have emerged onto the market. My question is simple. Why should I play FFXIV as opposed to GW2, WoW, TSW, TERA, SWTOR, any other MMO really?

You shouldn't. Please don't play FFXIV. I beg of you, don't you. The game is doing just fine without people like you around.

[Mamba]

You shouldn't. Please don't play FFXIV. I beg of you, don't you. The game is doing just fine without people like you around.

/sigh
I'd rather take the OP over people like you tbh...

Anyways, regarding the original question.

I think this could be a good talking point because when ARR comes out SE will try to attract as much new people as possible.
And I think the aim is to not only attract people new to FFXIV but also to the whole Final Fantasy genre.

I have played a few few MMORPGs and I have to say I am a bit bias because I grew up playing FF games...

But I think things that tip the scale to FFXIV for me is the variety of quick things that you can do. You don't need to sit 24 hours on the game to get something done, there is always something going on. I am sure in ARR this will be even more.
There are some minor things still which annoy me and for a new player the exping experience at the moment is a bit dull (but this will change with the quest exping in ARR ... which leaves me wondering though how will it be if you level multiple jobs... will you repeat same quests over and over?)
FFXIV is also a lot prettier than most of the games, the characters have a certain debth to them (especially to people who love the FF saga).
The community is lovely - at least on my server (minus some exceptations which can be found on all servers). Very new player friendly and welcoming.

I am not sure how SE will advertise the game to new people, but I really hope they succeed. The game is really worth a try, I certainly have finally fell in love with it. I hated it at start, then kinda found it boring and the last few months it's been a blast.

[Andrien]

@OP If you ask me I think you should jump in a river.

if you're starting now you might as well wait until ARR

[Noobenigma]

You shouldn't. Please don't play FFXIV. I beg of you, don't you. The game is doing just fine without people like you around.

woah, harsh Trotsky X/ I was just looking to see what it was that people see in this game to see if I could figure out what it's main draw is or what it's trying to deliver (experience wise) that can only be experienced by playing this mmo. (I'm not trying to be antagonistic in any way shape or form (hopefully I'm not coming off as such)) I just remember when FFXIV came out, I was pretty excited about it because well... first off it looked really really good. (I never really dug mmo art styles that attempted to portray dark serious/semi-serious epic adventures with a cartoony artstyle (eg. WoW)) and, based off it's pedigree, was bound to have interesting and engaging stories. Secondly I loved the idea of being able to play how you want, whenever you want with out having to make separate characters etc. Being able to switch jobs on the fly is cool beans. Finally I liked the fact that it would also be playable on the PS3 (the specs for running FFXIV at launch were at lot more limiting then most other MMOs at the time. (also I like using controllers over mouse+keyboard. Just a personal comfort thing)) Also putting it on a console would allow for other people who either don't usually play on PC (due to preference or specs) and hopefully help to create a larger, stronger, varying community. But then it launched and was a big mess.

Fast forward to now and things are definitely better, but in that time having seen other MMOs attempt to make good on claims that make for unique and compelling experiences. It's kind of hard to look at FFXIV and compare other MMO's marquess with FFXIV's. For instance, TERA's banner is basically, "ACTION. WE GOT IT!" while SWTOR is probably "Hey.. Like Star Wars and being able to have varyingly crafted stories based of player made choices? How about if we throw in some Voice Acting as a bonus? Did I mention lightsabers?" I think TSW was pretty cool with trying to mess with the MMO scene by having it take place in a modern setting with parts being based of various real world folklores/mythos/legends while also trying to focus on a really story driven experience with all that cut scene+voice acting+world lore enrichining goodness. (I don't know if the "sometimes we'll ask players to do some minor real world research to help them out with puzzles and junk that would (if done correctly) help to create a more enriching/engaging experience" thing ever happened. But I thought it was a cool idea). With all these different MMOs proclaiming these creative things, it's hard to compare it to the vibe/announcements I'm currently getting from FFXIV (which is "Play this game because it's not broken anymore.") Just because a game runs doesn't mean that it's a good game nor do I think people should be complacent enough to accept something like this. (Especially coming from a company with previous MMO/gamming experience and decent financial backing) I started playing FFXIV after a lot of things were cleaned up and a lot of people who had been playing said it was a much better game then at launch. But I still found it (starting out) to be really confusing, unintuitive, and kind of clumsy. I mean, I dig the fact that it doesn't really hold your hand, but I think I should be able to easily know where I am in terms of the world (If I need to travel from my location to somewhere that isn't on the map I'm currently located in and I switch to a larger map that shows that location. I don't know where I am on the larger map, reference wise, so how do I know which direction to head off in without flipping back and forth 10 times till my mental map is formed?) It also took me a while to figure out how to finally get my hands on the starter equipment for different jobs. (It took me about a couple months until I figured out how to get my hands on a blacksmithing tool. (I wanted to start blacksmithing a lot sooner because of all the crafting jobs, it just resonates with me haha) I was kind of going mad a bit trying to figure out if there were certain conditions that I had to meet in order to get the blacksmith vendor dude at Limsa Lominsa to go, "Hey here's a hammer! You can do stuff now!" or at least be able to buy the starter on from him. (How was I supposed to know that I'm to get one from one of the two NPCs that are at the door front who seem to be talking and having no real designation as to their position within the armory/smithing guild location place as opposed to any of the other NPCs that look like they're actually working on armory/smithing?)

Any ways. What I'm trying to get at is, FFXIV is gonna be a lot more refined/better/fun(?) in ARR. But from what I can gather, thus far, from all the release info is that it's pretty much just gonna be the current version of FFXIV, save streamlined and with some different animations. Now I know Yohisda and his team have been working over time just making an mmo from scratch pretty much. So I'm not expecting MIND ALTERING/REALITY QUESTIONING experiences. If anything, I expect them to kind of start putting it's unique takes on things in later updates after the ARR team finish up 2.0 (and take maybe a little breather (I would hate to see their deadline calendars X/)) I just, want to want to be excited about FFXIV is all and it's just been kind of hard when all the updates have been, "We've fixed this." or "This is gonna work." rather than "Now you can do [COOL THING]! or [UNIQUE IDEA] will be implemented in 2.0!" I would prefer innovation as opposed to a modern MMO rubrick check list.

(Sorry for the long rant/post XS)

BONUS: Things I do like I about FFXIV!
1. Job Switching (I can be anything I put my mind to! :b)
2. It still looks pretty!
3. FF refeferences/monsters/story. Though, as far as story goes, it feels more DIY/make your own, which I kind of dig. which leads us nicely into...
4. It's more sand boxy instead of theme parky! So I dig that crafting and junk actually MEAN something (also helps with creating a more cohesive and invested community/economy)
5. Controllers are welcomed here! (It's hard to find controller tolerant MMO's now a days. My hands/play experience thanks you)
6. Music. I mean.. just listen to it... right?
7. Last but not least, The community seems (generally) cool/nice/helpful. As far as my in game experiences go, All positives, no negs (that's a great track record, haha)