I have to agree with those that are saying the grind is part of the fun. I felt the same about FFXI when i was playing meeting people discovering new abilities in a party setting and learning how to work them was a huge part of the fun on top of that you got to meet new people make friends and actually experience and explore the world when you had to move to a new spot to exp off of. people say COP killed the grinding experience but even post Aht Urgan the games grind was fun. what really killed the game and how you can truely say that you know exp pts actually teach people how to raid and work in a group setting is simply Abyssea.

Abyssea destoryed the skill level of the games players. anyone could get a job up to level cap and didnt matter what gear was used, what abilities were used. everyone got a free ticket to level cap with any job they wanted, hell half the people would claim they were going on a job that was well geared and then swap out and leach exp from everyone else. the game also got easy mode with the anima and the uber powerful everything. honestly IMO thats what really ruined FFXI.

FFXIV to survive will need to be able to build a community of players that actually know eachother. that actually need to quest with eachother and level up together. they shouldnt make it so that you cant do other things. sometimes everyone will just want to log on and not have to deal with people. but the majority of the game should be done with other people. and the game should have time sinks built in so gear doesnt drop instantly and everyone gets geared up within a few months or levels from one to 50 within a few months. my highest class maybe pretty low at this point but I can already see if I was super hardcore about playing the game logging in every night and playing for 4-5 hrs where I could have all my DoW/DoM capped in a matter of a few months.

I am sure that SE will strike a good balance and I hope that they will lean towards what seems to be the larger group on the forums people that dont want instant gratification and super casual games. the people that want to be able to do the content and have a reason to play the game for years to come.