New to the game and just some observations

[Casti_EL]

Welcome to Eorzea!

Yeah, all games have their Pros and Cons. I tend to prefer FFXIV over WoW, Swtor, and ESO, some may disagree and each to their own - it's not everyone's cup of tea. That said, my 2 cents on your gripes:

1. You do get more abilities from 50-90 (some of which are just incredible to behold) though a lot of skills were removed and condensed in previous expansions - some like it for ease of play (and want it condensing further), others preferred having more - it's a no-win situation for the devs, but they do try to balance it a bit. That said, FF doesn't really use skill-trees like other MMO's so your chosen playstyle really comes down to the class you play and the abilities it provides. It's more rigid than other games, but you can play any class on your character and switch freely between them which other games don't allow.
2. I can kind of see where the devs went originally with this - it is an MMO and the idea was to promote the multi-player side with required instances. That said, they already have Trusts (NPC's that can replace playable characters in dungeons) from 70 onwards, which are been implemented for the base game and earlier expansions over the next few patches to make it more single player-friendly.
3. I've only levelled culinarian so far so couldn't really comment, saying that, I'm told Culinarian is the easiest craft to level so that may be why?
4. You can backup your settings to the cloud from the character select screen but doesn't allow applying it to alt characters. That said, I believe there is a way to do it for PC players by copying/pasting folders in the game directory.

There's a lot to discover in the game, I kind of envy you experiencing it all for the first time and I wish you well.

[Carin-Eri]

Welcome!

I'm new to the game too (started proper in December). I'll admit that I have, and do, struggle with some elements of the gameplay myself. I don't really have much talent for gaming and my reaction times and hand-eye coordination are, shall we say, lacking which causes me problems sometimes.

However, I will say that despite these (personal) challenges, the story FFXIV is telling has kept me hooked. It has been an emotional rollercoaster that I didn't expect, but keeps me coming back for more.

And agreed - the community have been incredible too. From the forum, where have received plenty of advice, encouragement and support via a thread I started when I've hit obstacles/brick walls, to those players in-game who, unlike some MMOs, are really supportive, tolerant and patient toward new players.

I'd encourage you to stay the course - there is more to like than there is to dislike, and not sure where you are in the game's story - but it only (in my opinion) gets better!