I've just finished the second dungeon and first trial; if you reply, I ask you to kindly avoid posting spoilers after that point.

Positives:

I like most of the story. Specifically the parts about finding out what the Forum is doing and providing aid to Garleans. Alphinaud and Alisaie's family drama is also interesting, and I hope they can reach an agreement with their father.

The new quest mechanics for following an NPC or having an NPC follow you are pretty cool, even if their use is somewhat inconsistent at times.

The winter coat looks nice. Give my thanks to Tataru.

Soundtrack is good, in particular the dungeon boss music isn't as jarring as in Shadowbringers.

Negatives:

The Ascians and their primals are getting old. Really old. Primal is summoned. Warrior of Light defeats it. A stronger primal is summoned. Warrior of Light defeats it too. Rinse and repeat. The escalation of power has reached ludicrous levels, to the point that the feeling of the bosses getting stronger and more threatening is no longer there.

Fandaniel and Zenos are really uninteresting as villains. Driven by primal hedonistic desire as they are, there's no negotiating with them, no chance of reconciliation. It's kind of infuriating really. I want to destroy them and get them out of my face, but the plot won't let me. When it eventually does, it won't feel like a triumphant victory, but more like relief for finishing an arduous chore.

Dungeon design is stale. Two sets of 2-3 trash packs followed by a boss, repeat three times. The end. I'm so done with this.

Healers continue to be broken. I've been a healer main for a long time, but I think this expansion will see me putting them aside and playing dps. Queue times will be longer but so be it, I want to do something else than spam one skill 90% of the time.