I don't understand how ARR players think 1.0 was like XI. To me that sounds like a terrible insult to XI.

To me the OP ha good points though.
Nobody complained about the NMs in 1.0 or about super dangerous mobs making some areas very hard to reach. Those were good things and the fact that they were in a bad game doesn't make THOSE features bad.

There were also tons if great music. Nail of the heavens, field leve track, on windy meadows the list goes on.
ARR has a terrible battle track and the game makes you listen to it in every single zone.