the subjective and server population questions fall outside of the purview of my knowledge. I solve practical problems!


3. I remember in beta that your characters gear needed some repairs but the npc's only repaired it to like 50%. Is this still the case? or do they repair to 100%? Or you had to repair them yourself which took a bit of time for me to get the items.

the amount of repair from a npc was raise to 80% i think (its been a while since i had to use a npc). The durability lost from use has been significantly lowered if you are not using the gear while under is "Optimal" rank. they have also added a rather handy icon displaying that you are seeking a repair in your bazaar. its not that much of an issue these days.

4. I am assuming the surplus system is still around. So to make your character a lot better, you would still have to lvl a subjob like in FFXI? (I am thinking of making a tank Gladiator, what would be the best subjob?)

Yes surplus is still around. How ever they seem to have removed the final stage where you do not gain any sp. The entire system it self is being phased out as well.

5. Any other means of travel other than the anima stuff? Airships, chocobos?

no. How ever things have been changed a bit to ease the use of anima. anima regens slighly faster then it use to. porting to citys had there cost cut in half. your also able to "favorite" three camps so you can teleport to them for a reduced cost as well

6. Is crafting better now? In beta it felt like crafting was a bit of a minigame within FFXIV, due to the i think 3-4 options you had to choose from. The process to make 1 item took forever.

While the ui slowness has been removed and they have added multiple ways speed up the imput of materials and make local leves less frustrating, and a lot of the under the hood mechanics of crafting have been altered or improved since testing started. the actual act of crafting its self has remained unchanged, it was always a minigame.

7. What's the best/populated starter city? In beta i didn't really like Limsa Lominsa.

By most accounts no mater what server your on Uldah is the city with the most hustle and bustle. Theres a saying in my shell. If you cant find it in uldah, you ain't finding it.

and before you ask. Stability issues aside the market wards have come a long way. the market wide search function has made finding what ever your after a snap and you can see exactly how much things are being sold for so do not fear getting ripped off.