Like many of you, I was a long time FFXI player, and felt that my time in that game was truly magical. When I felt it was time for me to move on from FFXI to see what other types of games had to offer, my search ended in continual disappointment. I moved on to WoW for awhile, then played LotR, Rift, Guild Wars II and a host of other MMO's not worth naming. Each game just seemed to be missing that allure that drew me in hook, line,and sinker to FFXI.
I know it's early, and I may only be a budding level 9 Arcanist, but this game is incredible. The detail in world of Eorzea is simply stunning. It's a pleasure to move about from place to place and just survey the landscape. The control and movements have the type of ease and fluidity one comes to expect from a AAA game. The cut-scenes, story line quests, and general structure of progression in the game have all been planned and executed extremely well. For the first time in a long time, I don't feel like rushing through content just to level up. I find myself so immersed in the world of Eorzea, that I simply have forgotten about the typical MMO rat race, which is akin to how I felt when I first joined FFXI and was unaware that such a rat race existed.
For me the ultimate difference between FFXIV and the host of other MMO's that failed to secure my allegiance is quite simple, Eorzea is a place I want to be. An environment that I continue to think about each time I log out.
It's incredibly early to truly judge, so I am going to stop here. All I can say is that it's been an incredibly long time since I felt that a video game environment was alive. Eorzea has captured me. I hope you all are having a positive experience with the game as well.