Critical issues that need to be addressed

[IzanamiNoMikotoo]

Yes, yes, "another one for the collection." I just want to give my two cents. Or two million. This will be long.

I haven't dropped a sub in 7 years. I've done nearly all content: fishing, blue mage, ultimates, you name it. I've seen almost everything the dev team has made.

Disclaimer: I'm neither doomposting nor white knighting. “Game bad, no excuse” and “Game perfect, you just hate” are both dumb.

Disclaimer 2: FFXIV was my first MMO, but I've also tried WoW and other games, so I'll draw comparisons where it makes sense.

Here we go:

• Level Sync System
  At level 100, most content removes half our skills. I avoid roulettes because I don't want to play a watered-down version of my job. WoW's timewalking lets you use your full kit while scaling damage appropriately. FFXIV needs a similar system to make old content more enjoyable.
  
  
• Regional Cross-Datacenter Partyfinder
  I'm on Light (EU). Since cross-DC travel, Light dominates PF while Chaos is nearly dead. Chaos players suffer. no retainers, no FC buffs. Other MMOs let you group across the whole region or even cross-region. FFXIV should too.
  
  
• Gearing System
  Gearing is dull and restrictive. We need ways to gear multiple jobs on one character efficiently. More sources, upgrade paths, and variety are essential. Right now, it feels boring and like a waste of time.
  
  
• Glamour System
  Make it a collection system. Every MMO has this. Pick up an item, it's unlocked. No glamour plate limits. Adventurer plates should also just reflect your current gear instead of being tied to plates.
  
  
• Replayability, Rewards, Motivation
  This is one of the game's biggest problems. Why repeat content for materia or a mount? Once done, content is dead for most players. In WoW, nearly all content gives upgrade items. Some get buffed weekly with extra rewards, including recipes and mats worth selling. In FFXIV, dungeons, criterion, and side content feel pointless after the first clear. Just any type of horizontal progression would do a lot already, but in reality a lot more than that is needed.
  
  
• Housing System
  Compared to WoW's new housing: guilds get instanced zones, every player gets their own home, and a thousand items are available from the start. In FFXIV, we draw lots for limited houses and risk losing them if unsubbed. It's outdated.

And that's it. I boiled all of these down a lot here to stay inside the 3000 character limit and there is a lot more to them and way more exist. I created a Pastebin if you want more context on any of my points. Read that before you comment on one of them. I will probably not reply since this was more of a dump by me.
https://pastebin.com/1QUgSDwV

Also, no I do not just want wow in ffxiv. Wow has loads of issues. But what it has done is come back from the exodus. It now actually has well designed and engaging systems that just work. Embrace Competition!