Quote Originally Posted by Kallera View Post
Um, no. I had the exact opposite experience. And I was in Phoenix server playing as red mage and thief as my main jobs. The best possible gear was very much a status symbol, people put them in their lfg comments as advertising for both parties and linkshell invites.

And as far as kissing the ls leaders ass for content... there was a lot more chance for groups to form in xiv than xi. If you didn't get in the rush of pt lines finishing quests after an ffxi update, you were left with sitting for hours waiting for a pick up group, or hours more for that one whm that needs it. Dont get me started on the endgame community, which advocated 3rd party programs, and became 2am shouting matches with ls leaders thinking they were drill sergeants.
I was on Phoenix, but I don't remember it always being this drastic.