To be honest and in my opinon

patch 1.18 provides good update in the game.

for me the game is more responsive in term of technical issues and such.
i love idea about enmity and how a "smart" party play is needed in a party

in terms of solo play.
i as a former hardcore player in MMORPG but now a forced casual player (due to work and such..)
i can say that solo play has been better. but not still not good enough or what as i have it in my mind, we can say that SE have been trying to balance a mix of solo and party play on both sides. but i think SE you can do better than this.

in terms of mp cost. its a bit surprising as CON/THM are my only class for now. but i think i or we mages can adapt to it.
i haven't tried party play yet and haven't explored most of the changes. but i think its fair to say that SE is making things work around here or doing something about it. But still SE needs to try harder. As time is running out on FFXIV,

To everyone who complains, well i guess we cant please everyone. we are all entitled to our own different opinions.

in my opinion,
The game still free up to this point. i might as well wait and see what can it offer and if its still worth paying when that day comes.