Who else is going to check this out? If there are enough of us we should try to gather/congeal on one particular server. I'm looking for a casual experience, I'll help get a guild presence going, but I have no desire to run it all, raid, etc.
I ordered the Collectors Edition so I'll be starting early, Sept 22nd. instead of Sept. 30th for the regular version. I'll post my info and observations as I play it, for those that are interested.
I have high hopes for FFXIV, but who doesn't when a new MMO comes out . I really loved Final Fantasy XI for a while. The world/lore were really cool, they had more world "events" than WoW, beyond just the now-typical seasonal "flavor" events. The crafting/gathering felt about right (WoW crafting has always felt too easy to me, almost trivial). The group dynamic was much better too, you could setup chain attacks with multiple group members for bonus damage, healing, etc. I even liked the macro system better. And you only had to have one character (yay, job system!)
The thing that did it in for me was the super grindy-nature of it. You had to level in groups, and there were leveling sweet-spots where everyone went so you were competing against people for pulls all the time... After a year I was only at lvl 45 (I think the max was 55 or 60 when i quit).
If they can fix that, make it more accessible (i.e. you can play for short sessions, even solo, and get something done) I'll be all over that!
So for those looking for something different, sound off!
-Z