I'm not sure I can do this again.

[Kyuuen]

First let me preface that I love both games and actively play both pending the patch. However, you're not being very fair:

Same.. kind of. I've grown kind of neutral towards WoW, but it's still that one addiction I can't kick.

Except they added zone scaling this expac, and they've just recently (in a patch mind you) expanded that to the entire world, one that is fairly large. Not to mention prior to this, they've previously shaken up leveling design with heirlooms etc.

The formula wasn't really changed here though, the feel of it most definitely has been improved no argument, but I wouldn't necessarily say the formula has changed. It's still the MMO standard tried and true receive quest, fulfill quest, turn in quest, receive rewards.

You're marginalizing the depth and success to the Mythic+ system here. It's the gold standard for dungeon design frankly. FF14 desperately needs SOMETHING to compete with it, as dungeon content in FF14 is beyond stagnant.

I'll give you that one. It's largely a feature I don't use due to having to use Party Finder instead of LFD. I simply don't like putting up with peoples ridiculous requirements such as needing certain addons or unreasonable ilvl expectations. So I avoided this system as a whole.

Very true currently, but you're also not taking into consideration how much it has evolved/changed over the years. Flex is an absolute godsend for the casual community.
To say that the formula hasn't changed when it's gone from massive sizes with little to no mechanics, to actual mechanics with multiple difficulties and then the ability to flex so no one is left out?

I dunno, I'll give you the flex raid part, but at the same time it feels like they don't try to break the mold enough. Sure there's a few fights throughout WoW that you can claim to have done this such as Malygos, healing the green drake in ICC, Arthas kill mechanic which has been used twice now considering Argus, Flame Leviathan, etc. Perhaps it's more of a time thing in looking back at all the raids and what's been done. But personally WoW's raids have felt kind of stale to me as of late. XIV's dev team seems to strike a balance in trying something new here and there to break up the monotony of mechanics such as Cruise Chasers timed event and Byakko's falling mechanic.

I'm not as well versed in PVP so my insight here is considerably less so. I don't care for PVP in either of these games (BNS was king for that IMO). They added templates and completely separated pve from pvp. That's a pretty big change. The brawls and stuff are pretty minor though IMO.

Them having given us separate tree's I can't give you though. That's something people have been clamoring for since WotLK, and should have been done sooner simply for balancing reasons. I remember there being specs purely for PvE, specs for PvP, specs that were crap in both, and specs that were amazing in both, simply due to balancing reasons. Now there's a certain balance within reason.

[KaldeaSahaline]

The formula wasn't really changed here though, the feel of it most definitely has been improved no argument, but I wouldn't necessarily say the formula has changed. It's still the MMO standard tried and true receive quest, fulfill quest, turn in quest, receive rewards.

I mean WoW already let you level strictly via dungeons (granted the new scaling tech gutted dungeon xp, so that option is not very good now). It let you level exclusively through PVP if you wanted. You could in theory grind mobs all day long. You've had options for a long time. You didn't HAVE to quest.

More importantly though, do you have any insight/ideas into how the leveling formula could be shaken up/improved? I'd be more interested in hearing about that than discussing the semantics as to what does/doesn't qualify as a formula change.

I'll give you that one. It's largely a feature I don't use due to having to use Party Finder instead of LFD. I simply don't like putting up with peoples ridiculous requirements such as needing certain addons or unreasonable ilvl expectations. So I avoided this system as a whole.

You're looking at it the wrong way. If I am ilvl 970 and doing a +15, I'm going to set it to people around my ilvl. I'm not going to set it to 910 even though they could easily clear the +15. There's no reason too when I have a staggering list of 960+ candidates trying to get in my party.

What addons are you referencing for M+? I've never seen or heard of anyone requiring specific addons and I acquired KSM long before NH dropped.

Take your own Keystone (you can get one from a regular DF'able Mythic dungeon) and make your own party and get other like geared/minded players and have a blast. See how high you can take the key.

Mythic + has hands down supplied me with some of the most rewarding experiences in my MMO career (10+ years, even as a top 20 US raider for a portion of it). You're doing yourself a disservice by not experiencing it. I'm alliance on NA Stormrage if you wanted to group up.

I dunno, I'll give you the flex raid part, but at the same time it feels like they don't try to break the mold enough. Sure there's a few fights throughout WoW that you can claim to have done this such as Malygos, healing the green drake in ICC, Arthas kill mechanic which has been used twice now considering Argus, Flame Leviathan, etc. Perhaps it's more of a time thing in looking back at all the raids and what's been done. But personally WoW's raids have felt kind of stale to me as of late. XIV's dev team seems to strike a balance in trying something new here and there to break up the monotony of mechanics such as Cruise Chasers timed event and Byakko's falling mechanic.

It depends on what we consider breaking the mold. By your examples, it appears that unconventional mechanics are what dictate your consideration. That's fair. Gimmicky encounters can be cool, but if they're overused they lose a lot of what makes them fun.

That said, I agree that WoW encounters have been a bit stale lately. In ABN, I really wasn't impressed with any of the bosses until Coven, and it ended with Coven. I took a break through ToS, and only came in like twice to full clear it with old guild for fun so I don't want to comment on it as I didn't progress it. NH had a few good fights. Elisande, Spellblade, and Botanist get credit for being fun fights. ToV Odyn & Helya were both good fights (I HATED Helya, but that's because I had shit mobility). EN sucked. I actually liked Nythendra the best out of all of them haha. The mind control + rot stacks was a really neat mechanic interaction.

[Shurrikhan]

It depends on what we consider breaking the mold. By your examples, it appears that unconventional mechanics are what dictate your consideration. That's fair. Gimmicky encounters can be cool, but if they're overused they lose a lot of what makes them fun.

And heck, "gimmicks-based" has often enough been an insult in itself, in using the term "gimmick" as a negatively-seen form of a mechanic, such as one which disallows manipulation, control, or mastery, or has negative synergy or cohesion with the surrounding fight. Though new mechanics are generally what can make a fight outstanding in its day, there a many, many ways mechanics can go wrong (or turn into "gimmicks" as per the derogatory term).

More importantly though, do you have any insight/ideas into how the leveling formula could be shaken up/improved? I'd be more interested in hearing about that than discussing the semantics as to what does/doesn't qualify as a formula change.

This is what I'd love to hear more from the community about in general. At what point in abstraction is something new actually "new". I set pretty high standards, myself, but I've never been able to hear more than vague implications or counterexamples from most XIV players, and it therefore becomes hard for me to really broach any ideas of my own.