I don't think there's anything wrong with SE borrowing from "traditional" Final Fantasy games. But I don't think it's lack of traditionalism is why the game is failing.

I don't think anyone except maybe Abrieal would argue that FFXIV was released too early and in an unfinished state. [It's a joke dude, don't flip out if/when you decide to take a break from playing house (Read: domestic disturbance) with Rolf and read this.]

But in my opinion, a main flaw in their design was their approach of originality. Originality is a fantastic thing and I applaud developers who aren't too afraid to explore new ideas. The problem is, SE seemed to think that originality for originality's sake was enough. Just because something is original doesn't make it a good idea. Are market wards with a half-assed search function (only recently added mind you) better than a fully functional AH? I certainly don't think so. There are plenty of examples of SE attempting to utilize original ideas in the game that just haven't panned out.

Borrowing ideas from successful MMOs doesn't necessarily mean you have to sacrifice originality. (God I'm using that word a lot!) Having a fully functional AH takes nothing away from FFXIV. Especially if used in tandem with the market wards. Having a clean neat PC UI that follows MMO traditional standards, there's nothing wrong with that. Again, I don't think most would argue that the UI is pretty fail. I actually play with my 360 controller for windows and the UI still seems clunky to me. I've mastered switching between the 3 rows of abilities I can equip but it's a pain in the ass. I only 'like' (Read: Tolerate) it because I've managed to memorize how many button presses it takes to get to any given ability on any given row. And I'll never try to use the mouse and keyboard with this interface. I've got enough to stress me out already.

I guess my point is, one of SE's major flaws in my opinion is that they're too afraid to borrow commonly accepted and mind you, successful concepts from other successful MMOs. I don't want a WoW carbon copy by any means and I'm all for FFXIV retaining it's own original ideas.

One prime example I can think of is from a previous thread I was viewing. Discussing the idea of adding tech trees that would allow us to transform our current classes (think of them as base classes) into advanced jobs. And with the basic idea of a tech tree people talked about sphere grids, materia and license boards in place of traditional tech trees. Don't fool yourself, all those forms of progression are nothing but unique takes on traditional ideas. That's what I think SE needs to focus on.

My point being, there's no harm in borrowing from traditional ideas as long as it's not a copy/paste situation. I would love to see the return of Paladins and Dark Knights, White and black mages, Dragoons and all the classic Final Fantasy classes. Does this mean they have to be exact copies of FFXI? Absolutely not. I loved Vana'diel and I loved the jobs I played in that world but Eorzea is not Vana'diel, nor is it Ivalice, Spira or Gaia. I'd love to see a new take on these traditional classes and an evolution of sorts.

So as long as it's done with care to the series and with care within the world they've created, I'm all for it.