I've been on these forums a while now, and I have consistently seen players asking for more immersion, more open world content, and a more dangerous world, many of them are ex-FFXI/EQ players.
Lets face it we're two different generations, we appreciate different things but generalizing here you have the old generation, and the current generation of players who like the theme park MMO concept.
So why haven't they given the two camps separate servers by now? RP/Hardcore Servers maybe? Keep the instanced content the same, no need to worry about balancing for two groups of players. FFXIV should have enough players now that some players leaving won't be a huge impact.
Also please don't say, "just go play FFXI, it's still running". Hey FFXIV has a lot going for it, frontline, trials and content is coming out at an acceptable pace, there's just some of us who would enjoy the game more if it didn't break immersion so much
Chief complaints I hear and maybe change we could try:
1. The world feels too small -> Only hub teleports then, cost should be incentive enough to not break the bank, but still make you try to plan your quests accordingly to minimize gil wastage. Maybe casters can unlock the smaller aetherytes?
2. Duty finder totally breaks immersion -> You can only queue for DF instances on your continent, it would be great because it will distribute players more evenly around the world, but face it, DF is here to stay - maybe reward traveling to an instance, let them decide - make the open world mobs on the way decent exp and hard enough to be a risk. Maybe we'll find nice players step up and keep these paths clear and earn exp in the open world.
3. Dying isn't serious enough / lack of caring -> Higher durability damage/cost (no exp loss, that'll never happen especially with difficulty of trials/coil), weakness lasts longer and isn't removed if you respawn, but raise weakness lasts a shorter time, encourage fighting till the bitter end. Raising will be preferable over > oh lets just reset and teleport back here. Raising lowers durability damage - it was always nice to get a friendly raise from a passing WHM! Now people are so apathetic.
4. The world gives no sense of adventure -> Make common mobs harder? Remind you of FFXI yet? If travel is harder we'd probably see a general shift from already tedious leves to HUNTs/FATEs/common mob camping, I find initating and teleporting and collecting rewards tedious already, should be a minimal impact here regardless. Also there is safety in numbers, higher death penalty means it may be better to level in groups, especially if common mobs are harder. Balancing this there should be more exp per mob, since they'd take longer to kill and keeping risk vs reward about the same.
It'd be the same game, but on RP servers it may be harder/take longer to accomplish things, but at least it'd feel like an accomplishment, for many of the things in FFXIV, I can't say the same.
It'd enforce a more serious atmosphere towards dangerous trials/coils and increase the sense of accomplishment there too, knowing you need to risk a certain amount of gil to beat it. Heck even hunts may be better off, knowing death is a bit more serious, but thanks for listening and failing at the same time to our requests for more open world content SQEnix.
Anyways if all these change make you cringe, what's it to you? Worst case we try it, don't like it and come back, SQEnix makes a bunch of money off server transfers, gil sinks and all (maybe waive that?).
And I don't really mind the way FFXIV is now, sure I'd move to a server like I mentioned in an instant for these changes, but I don't hate FFXIV as much as some people seem to, maybe they'll go there and realize how much of a convenience theme-park MMOs offer and come back with a new perspective, yay less bickering on the forums.