Overall, I like 2.1. Not everything is perfect but there is enough there to keep me wanting to play.
CT is great. I actually have something to do when I log on even if it's just glorified philosophy tome grinding. What is different than, say, WP grinding is that people actually talk in CT. Yes, sometimes people are just rude, but most of the time it's people working together to achieve something. This is what this MMO needed. It reminds me so much of Throne of Thunder.
I was not a big fan of the lockout on loot in CT but after spending some time with it, I think it's fair. I know that I can run CT all week and aim for one piece of gear that I'm almost guaranteed opposed to something like coil where I have no idea what I will get and have to spend mythology carefully as a result. Since I haven't seen a pair of pants in about 3+ months of coil, I ran CT this week specifically aiming for the pants to fill in till they either drop from coil or I buy the mythology ones.
I was able to pick up healing gear for my SCH too. And, with the ample amount of philosophy I gain, I made several pieces of gear for SCH at dirt cheap costs.
Housing prices were disappointing, yes. If I were on a legacy server, I'd go crazy. I'm glad they made it so that the prices will reduce down to what the highest priced non-legacy servers are, though. However, my FC is coming together to try to buy a medium house. It's a very nice thing to have to work towards. It isn't related to my gear at all: it's something for all of us. I love all the housing areas and can't wait till people start moving in to the plots. I love talking to other FCs that I speak with frequently about where they plan to move. I found out that one of the FCs I like a lot is going to be our next door neighbors!
I dislike PVP quite a bit. This comes from someone who enjoyed ballista
so much and PVP'd in WoW almost exclusively. Perhaps it's due to the class I main or perhaps due to the gearing issue...but it just isn't fun. I hate the fact that I am interrupted by something like a pet when I go to cast. I HATE the fact that people can run circles around me where I can't get casts off, forcing swiftcast or use of specific camera settings.
The new HM dungeons are wonderful. I love the music in Haukke Manor so much. I like how it is incorporated into the battle music, too. Pharos Sirius was a very fun challenge but the music died 2 minutes in which was really displeasing.
On that note, duty roulette freaking rocks and the commendation system has made parties more talkative. Some may say it has changed attitudes but I still say there are plenty of people who will always remain jerks, regardless:
http://i.imgur.com/vuBO32K.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/NvsIQid.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/yXYTe5l.jpg
The extreme primals are super fun as is Ultima. I like these challenging aspects but I am sad to see posts on the official forums (aka: crazy town) about how Titan is not fun or how Ultima touched them in an inappropriate area with his defractive laser. It's like people don't understand what the word
extreme entails. I've successfully PUGed Ultima and Garuda. I suspect people will be able to do Titan through DF or PF very soon. Ifrit is a joke in comparison to Titan.
The story added was OK. I am not a big fan of the story thus far and feel like it was rushed...but the battle they added (King Moggle Mog) is very fun! I do like the cliffhanger they end on.
Treasure hunting seems OK as well. I have no DoL job at 50 so I cannot mine 4 maps but have gone on a few treasure hunts with friends.
I have mixed feelings about nerfs to FATEs. I'm finding it very difficult to level WHM now. Almost all FATE zones I try to go to are dead leaving me to level through duty roulette or dungeons. I don't find dungeons give enough exp to warrant the time, however, especially when I'm stuck in Copperbell for the 7th time. However, I like the fact that they've made leveling slower. I felt like I could get a class to 50 every week and that is pretty much what I was doing. Now, the pace is set slower and people will have more to do. Nerfing FATEs into obsoletion, though, was just plain stupid.
And yes: I find the sort feature to be one of the more awesome things added in this patch.