OK I think some of you have some weird nostalgia going.
I mean when you look back at it, things like trains in Crawler's Nest and 40 people dead at the entrance was funny, but what wasn't funny was it happening every hour, and then you go back to pulling 1 single crawler at a time* for 4 hours in a row to exp their way to the next couple of levels. Oh yeah, don't forget about having to rest in between every 5th chain because MP didn't regen.
*Assuming another party wasn't stealing your exp mobs and you would fight over who owned what exp ground.
They fixed trains, and bsts lost a very good tool, but it allowed us to faster create a zoo by despawning mobs and checking their levels. All and all the despawning trained out of their habitat mobs was a good thing. They should have kept that for ffxiv to make getting around the mobs less trivial and make you fear aggroing them a bit more. Makes you think about where you are walking if you have to lose aggro by walking through water or some ffxiv new trick.
Oh yeah, and then someone above mentioned they feel FFXIV is about waiting around in a hub. I dunno about you, but half my time in game was spent in Jeuno with LFP up. Often having to try and make my own parties. Oh yeah, and if you were an undesired class? Good luck.
EDIT - What you are experiencing with FFXIV is a cap on things to do because it's new and comparing to a 8-year old game (or however old when you quit)
I have capped little and have a lot I could work for in FFXIV but the stuff in the game just isn't motivating me to shoot for it (the gear stats, you need this to be useful at all. DPS check, healing check, very binary upgrades). I do remember the on location LFP well, I just think the DF is souless, you party with people you will never meet again if you don't continue spamming the same DF with them.
When PVP came out I lived in it for a day and a half. Then the DF for it slowed down a lot. All I wanted to do was the PVP, it allows me to do other stuff so I just browsed gaf in between, then the waiting got even worse and I just stopped. I met cool people in it but alas we were all from different servers. The best place to meet regulars in FFXIV is Fates when you're keeping up pace with them. It's almost like seeing them in your party in dunes, then getting in a party with them in Qufim, and they invite you in a CN party because they are comfortable partying with your (insert job). That seem like something that will only work on the endgame shouts in FFXIV where you show up day after day shouting or sending tells to the shouter.
I read and saw stuff about the new party finder hidden away in the menu. Sounds like this may change things for the better. Also I wish people matched in DF but aren't yet a full party should be able to chat to one another.
(BRD) "Hey don't give up we'll find this whm. Hold on." -
(DRG) "oh cool I was just thinking about just searching DF for my level 30 whm instead since I need stoneskin anyway. I've been putting it off too long."
I hated LFP in FFXI but the party experience was worth it always. It's one of the best parts of that game for me. Experiencing different classes and leveling them up. It's what I did most in FFXIV but like book spam and more so abyssea, Fates don't allow me to get the full enjoyment out of leveling classes. Using it, learning it with the party in important roles. Doing dungeons seem to be the way to do that but the soulless DF don't make the waiting worth it, especially since it's over quick and I go back to searching. I don't know how much exp is earned in a normal DF dungeon run now, but I got a good chunk on my DF Roulette though I'm thinking it's not standard to get 100k as a reward for doing DF.
I'm far from giving up on FFXIV, I know it has the potential to be awesome. It had to start over and it has to catch up. It's going to happen for sure.
Oh, and if you think the elitism in FFXIV is bad, in FFXI it was off the charts (and I was one of them). I would look down on most jobs like DRG (before buff), PUP, etc, and players who hadn't geared right. I was a total asshole for doing it. I regret it now but it was the common practice in FFXI. No concept of teaching new players.
I remember literally kicking people out of party after examining them. And this asshole behaviour I had was all over the place.
Actually, I remember purposefully logging in at JP times so I could party with people who knew how to skill chain and magic burst, and were geared right.
EDIT - So every asshole I get in FFXIV I think is deserved and karma getting me back
I never liked or participated in the elitism stuff, I was a thief after all. I'd probably be the most mellow person in a group especially since I stopped caring about shooting for gear gear gear acquisitions. I never joined a serious business no talking in say, no social shell type linkshell have this shell equipted 24/7 type shell (I did events in my social often). The one I was in was fun and social. We did random things, we rented pvp rooms (jeuno) after long events to unwind.
The DF serious business is people don't unwind and chill out, like FFXI parties, often. You just see them for 5 minutes - 1 hour or something and after that they are happy it's over especially if it took 1 hour to finish or give up on something (That stupid whm didn't know how to stop casting and move out of aoe. #)@#%&!!). The game feels a bit empty when you play with people that are a bit too serious.
I think I just got one rude person in FFXIV (first ifrit fight, started attacking the spike when it fell, and the other dd didn't follow so I thought I was supposed to ignore it and dd ifrit. Wipe!). He was obviously in a rush or something.
