grievances & improvements.

There were some things initially which were offputting about the game as well as some things I really enjoyed. Most of these have probably been "touched on" by various gaming sites, but I figured I would throw down my "two cents" for what it's worth (probably two cents...) from a casual player's perspective.

Grievances:  

1. No auto target. The unfortunate battle system has caused me many a guildleve death.
2. No auction house. I know, I know, this has been done to death. I don’t Mind the market wards per se, in fact, I think they could be quite advantageous, but there needs to be a search system. It took me a good hour to just find a body armor piece, and I was in the correct ward.
3. Anti social. Perhaps it has to do with the poor chat interface, but no one talks! My server (Figaro) is so quiet, yet there are tons of people with linkshells, but no one is shouting for members. How does one join these niche shells? I felt very alone for a while (I met some people on forums and now have 2 fairly active linkshells).
4. Maps. I had to think about adding this one, because by now I have become quite used to it. But, before you spend time looking things up and figuring it out, the maps are extremely convoluted. I think I have them down now though, so although they are initially confusing, stick it out!
5. Lag. It takes me a REALLY long time to open the menu and switch gear, ls, craft, etc. Apparently this is something SE is working on.

Improvements:

1. Class system. Omg it’s so much more fun! You can switch jobs by simply changing what’s equipped in your “main hand” slot, rather than running to a mog house, speaking to your moogle, changing class, running back, perhaps still having time to do what you wanted to do in the first place.
2. Crafing. I despised crafting in FFXI, I attempted to level alchemist and fishing but they were both expensive and/or boring. Crafting in FFXIV is far more dynamic and I like the mini-games. Plus I can switch back and forth between my craft classes easily. So far Culinarian is my favorite.
3. Guildleves. Here’s where the advantages for casual players come in. Guildleves are essentially mini-quests geared toward your job type which reward you with gil, exp and sometimes items. They reset every 36 hours so you can repeat some of the ones you’ve already done for more gil / exp. This prevents more “hardcore” players from repeating quests ad nauseum (and totally pwning your rank) while you are working or going to school.