I just don't get it.

[Skivvy]

I have played other MMOs. This is the best one. I've played WoW, Aion, Tera, Blade & Soul, Elder Scrolls Online, City of Heroes, Guild Wars 1, Guild Wars 2, Lord of the Rings: Online, and probably more I've forgotten about.

Opinions are a funny thing. I honestly wouldn't recommend XIV to people as I find the game quite shallow. And since you hate dem silly buzzwords, let me explain why I think the game is shallow.

At times this game feels like a gigantic lobby. They have this nice world out there that is hardly touched because most of the game content is instanced. Want a raid? Go queue up and get popped into your instance. Dungeons? Same. MSQ fights? Same. Trials? You see where this is going?

Then there is the issue that each patch brings more of the same. Dungeons, raids and trials all follow the same pattern, and there is far too much scripting.

Gear is predictable as well. We get new styles every ~6 months or so, all from a new fancy tome which acts the exact same as the previous version. Full gearsets have to be replaced constantly, and with caps in place, forget trying to play and gear up more then 2-3 jobs unless you absolutely love that gear treadmill. This game is horribly linear.


Edit:
Some things I've loved from other games:

XI:
-the merit system. Already at max level? Lets start putting some points into various skills and traits to boost your character
-all the various forms of end-game came with their own distinct flavour and style
-open world NMs. Hunts are XIV's version of this, but like most things, the implementation is rather iffy
-Everything is done on your own server - greater sense of community which adds A LOT to MMOs. I get why DF exists in XIV, but they really need to bring in cross-server chat, or a guesting feature. At this point, most DF runs feel like you're playing with NPCs.

AA:
-Massive open world filled with monsters that provide an actual threat to you.
-Extensive farming/husbandry system in place that ANYONE can do. Not just those fortunate enough to own a house.
-Job customization. They have an obscene amount of possible jobs depending on what classes you pick. And from there you and pick various skills that you like

GW2:
-Another large world without many invisible walls
-Jumping puzzles!
-Your level scales based on the zone you are in so you can always help out friends no matter your level
-Cross-server chat / guest options
-Buy/sell orders
-Frequent open-world events going on in all zones that provide actual rewards outside of just XP

There are definitely more items, but I'm at work and cant keep pissing away the time on this post

Each game has its pros and cons. Even XIV has some things that they've done well. But with that said, I would say XIV is not the game for me due to the shallowness. Sure, I've wasted plenty of time here, but at this point I log in more out of habit. Like many others, I am just keeping the game around until something else comes along, or more likely in my case, until my sub runs out.