When this game first came out I knew it would eventually improve, while it is far from as bad as it was at launch it isn't quite at the point of being good enough to be competitive.

When the new director took over and changes were finally being made I started having fun and enjoying the game.... until some of the more recent changes.

I'll most likely be flamed by some people... mainly the fanboys. However I am going to state my opinion here. I am a fan of SE, not a fanboy. A fan can call out on bad ideas while still liking the companies products.

Before people use the "quit" card remember this: Square Enix is a COMPANY and their ultimate goal is to make money, and I think if they keep going down this path 2.0 will not be the saving period SE as well as some fans of their games(such as myself) think it will be and will eventually lead to the games death.

Anyways, here is a few issues I am seeing.

Combat
The changes being made have a good concept behind them, but a terrible execution.

The combo system is nothing new to some MMOs and has the ability to be very fun, however it can be done without directional requirements, that is a useless addition, also the reason most MMOs don't use resources like TP is because they know building it is a boring headache and there are far superior systems out there.

This was as far as I can see it, an attempt to make "solo skillchains" without actually calling them such.

The thing that make skillchains fun to do is that they usually involved other players taking action with them so you had a common goal to reach with that for the skillchains and magic bursts for much higher damage. This combo system just lacks that.

The only person that should be in front of the mob is the tank, and if ever released, jobs like thief since that just makes sense to be behind the enemy. Anyone else should only have to move to avoid deadly attacks.

The most successful MMOs in the world follow this formula and it works far more then what SE is doing.

The other issue with the combat system is, if you're not in a raid and just soloing for whatever reason, its far too slow. Hit hit hit hit WS, combo WS, maybe a third combo WS, repeat. The combat system before kept you busy in combat by hitting more keys not just sitting there all the time.

Job System/Balance:

This has always been SE's weak point from the start. Mainly because of their very incorrect notion of "Well if they play this job and like it but its too weak they'll be forced to level this job because its useful"

I'm sorry but in FFXI as well as FFXIV, I am NOT going to level another job because the devs at SE aren't willing to actually balance them... (PLD/WAR issues anyone?)

Tanks for example... should gain a baseline enmity+ generation that way they can keep hate easier. They should also ALWAYS take less damage per hit then everyone else(providing the tank isn't completely ourgeared) or raise the amount of attacks they can avoid taking direct damage from, otherwise whats the point of them even being called a tank? Without those they are basically just a weak Damage dealer with a shield and some mild tanking abilities.

On the job system concept, I think its terrible and could have been designed so much better when it comes to advanced jobs. The advanced jobs being related to base jobs as far as unlocking go: fine that was decent in Final Fantasy Tactics however having those classes directly linked is a mistake.

Also a side note: Classes made to deal damage should NEVER be able to tank at all. That throws the balance you go on about go out the window.

Content

There is a major issue with content how its being designed: and I'll start with AF. How AF was obtained was a lot better in FFXI then here. Putting some AF pieces in raids is just a flat out terrible idea. I'd rather fight over coffer keys/chests again.

Another thing is how raids are designed and how they are run, but this is not completely SE's fault.

I for one am a casual gamer, and the way most people that play these games, design events is that "show up to more events get gear priority" I can understand its fair, however its very discouraging to casual players to even bother doing those events. If that is all your game has, good luck getting more subscribers, they'll more then likely leave before they get into it or not join at all.

If SE wants to attract the casual players they need to make content they can just get up and go do, easier then raids but gear would not be as good as those dropped in raids. Something for us to do with only 3-4 people. SE needs content for low member parties to do.

I am the kind of person that only likes running raids with a few friends in it so replying to a random shout isn't going to cut it, Since my friends are also casual gamers they aren't always all on at the same time. So this is one case that the way FFXIV is designed hurts the casual player (which again is the major money maker out of all MMO profits)

This sort of thing will be a HUGE issue if PvP is launched as well, because that won't even be touched by anyone except by those with the best gear out there, so that too will be useless unless you copy what WoW already did.(which has been seeming to be the pattern as I see more and more patch info) Which is release gear available for some sort of PvP points to help them be able to fight against others on a competitive basis. (Job balance is also a MAJOR issue in pvp)

A large amount of the MMO population is related to PvP content and that is far to large a margin to ignore however unless you make it easier to obtain gear to make people able to compete against the heavy raiders it'll never work.

Final suggestion on content... You need FAR more content then just instances and raids to keep people interested. HNMs like in FFXI, Triggered NMs to fight for synth materials/gear, PvP content and items, Smaller dungeons for small groups to go through so they can feel like they are making progress if they are unable to raid. All of these are major things, you started down that road but you began to make more and more mistakes and went away from it a little bit.

Conclusion

I do still like FFXIV, I don't have as much time on it as I'd like but I still hope it can improve and become more successful then ever, however unless SE makes some dramatic changes to a lot of mistakes they have made in the past(such as actually balancing jobs) and make the combat system a bit more fun it may not be as successful as it could be.

The game as a lot of potential now they just need to turn down a better path, job balance, content, combat system.. Remember just because some of us like these models doesn't mean it'll be liked by everyone... and remember SE is a company and their prime goal is to make a profit, which means making a large population happy. SE MMO's haven't seen the huge number subscriber base of other games, if they want to they will have to broaden things far more then they have.