Stopping in to say that those that say the lore is "bad" are those that are just waiting for the story to be told to them. This is a game that doesn't feed you the story through the main scenario. If anything, the main scenario is really just a welcome back to the game and some plot to get you going. The real lore, the real meat, is in exploration and the patches/expansions to come. The Lore team does an absolutely fantastic job making everything detailed and intricate. Read some quest dialogue or, Twelve forbid, your Journal for some insight into the game's excitement. Go beyond that and just watch NPCs.

I will level with you. I became emotionally attached to Lillisette and (especially) Aphmau, and I have yet to share that level of connection with a character in FFXIV. BUT! That does *not* mean the story is not well told or not told in a way that is meant to fully immerse the players.

TL;DR: Go play the game. Scratch that. Go live in Eorzea for a little while. Stop spamming dungeons, stop teleporting everywhere, stop everything and look around you. Good place to start? The U tribe is a fantastic glimpse into Seeker of the Sun culture and their relations with the other races of Eorzea and the Amalj'aa.