Why is FFXIV so unpopular?

[Seif]

The way I see it, FFXIV is the first and only MMO I've played and the reason for me why this is the worst game of the Final Fantasy series despite it's verbatim technological advantage is a shift from offline self-paced play to gameplay that introduces elitism and self-pace is non-existent, you either try and get a party together or you can't actually progress in the game, of which there seems to be MANY scenarios that can't be won because no party is available for it.

The social aspect of the game needs to have better infrastructure IMO.

I agree to a point. It's fun to party when it's not a hassle but it sort of is in XIV.

Also the current solo quests don't have any effort put into the story presentation so playing the game solo is currently a pretty bland experience.

One thing I hope they improve is the story and story driven questlines.