I more-or-less got FFXIV for the holidays this year (strictly speaking, what I got was a machine that can actually run FFXIV and got the game cheap from Humble Bundle, but whatever) so I've been going through it seeing how it compares to what I'm used to and now I'm babbling about it in a journal because I'm strange like that (also, with no organization of my thoughts whatsoever and plenty of unwarranted nitpick).

I reached level 50 (the highest I can go since the Humble Bundle didn't include the expansion) in two jobs AND completed the pre-Heavensward storyline in about a month (so about as long as it would take to finish a single-player FF game), as opposed to the literal years it took me to reach the same point in XI (granted I spent said XI time as a teenager with limited time to spend on games), rendering what was intended to be a throwaway character I'd created on Excalibur not-so-throwaway (I'd intended to simply do some fights and get some levels to test the waters but it turns out XI-style level grinding is a good way to get nowhere fast). STILL wishing XI would do the whole all-quests-give-EXP thing so that was actually fairly refreshing.

The Duty Finder ( http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Duty_Finder ) is a godsend and I would probably have killed for something like it in XI, at least back in the day. Never would have had to spend those hours in Bastok shouting for help with that damn dragon fight, at least (then again, if XI subscribed to the same design philosophy as XIV the dragon fight would probably have been solo-able from the very start instead of years later when the removed the level cap on the fight), not to mention stuff like Dynamis or skirmishes or Escha. Hell, I've done several dungeons without having to speak a word to any of the people I've worked with (thank goodness).
I wish things didn't get so chaotic once you get enough party members, though. Like, both times I've done something with 8 party members instead of 4 I had no idea what the hell was going on most of the time.

Speaking of things I wish were in XI: a few years back, Square polled XI users (in a poll I can't seem to find) and the top result was more options for character appearance. Square, being Square, never bothered with this in XI. This, of course, made it so I was very happy when I could make the most effeminate pretty boy of a Tarut- LALAFELL I could muster. Better yet is the ability to dye armor pieces different colors, meaning there's no more stuff like the Scorpion Harness matching absolutely none of the other armor pieces one typically combines it with or the Justaucorps +1 being hideously tacky in general. It blows you can't use them with everything but it's still a godsend when you're used to every robe in the world being the same boring brown color.
That said, one thing XI got right over XIV in this is that the /lockstyle command is so much easier to deal with than glamour prisms. I mean, I just want the stats of that jester's hat without having to actually have the ugly thing on my head, was it really necessary to postpone that till I was level 50 AND make me get the exact prism that matches the piece I want it to look like? I know this is petty of me but it just struck me as needlessly complicated for what it was.
('Course, that wouldn't annoy me as much if only XIV's BLM gear weren't so dog ugly. I mean, look at these dapper little numbers from XI:
http://ffxiclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:BLMAF.png
http://ffxiclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:BLMRelic.png
http://ffxiclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:GoetiaAttire-Full.PNG
And compare to their XIV equivalents:
http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Wizard%27s_Set
http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Sorcerer%27s_Set
They look a bunch of stitched-together trash bags. Also, you get both sets at around the same time but I fail to see why you'd ever use the wizard's set over the sorcerer's one. Weird.)

I like how much item crafting is compared to XI (in that I can actually stand to actually bother with it without completely losing my patience after a few minutes). Synthesis and getting high-quality items being based on actual player input as opposed to XI's shoving materials into a crafting menu and hoping for the best kind makes me wonder just what they were even thinking with FFXI's synth system in the first place (which I guess is true about quite a few old games but whatevs).

Something that really weirds me out about Eorzea/Hydaelyn is that there's a LOT of stuff that looks and behaves like stuff in Vana'diel... and that it's pretty much entirely random whether or not it has the same name. I mean, I still keep thinking of my Lalafell character as a Tarutaru and keep mistaking "Roegadyn" for "Raogrimm" (the latter being a major FFXI character). Meanwhile, goblins look exactly like XI goblins and the Qiqirn and Mamool Ja both look the same and have the same name as their XI counterparts despite not being in the Aht Urghan setting that made them interesting. (I mean, what's the point of the Mamool Ja without an Al Zahbi to lay siege to? Come on.) (Also, Ishgard is totally just a shitter San d'Oria.)
The cameos from other FFs are even weirder, IMO. There's a place that gets destroyed that's named after Doma from FFVI. Is it really necessary that they have the same name? I mean, they both exist solely to get fucked over by their respective games' evil empires, but that being a reason to have the same name sounds more like an inside joke than anything else (bearing in mind that the place's destruction is a serious and important plot point). I know it's petty but it still bothers me. (On the other hand, being able to ride around in my very own Magitek Armor is pretty much the best.)

I guess the best way to put it is this: Eorzea feels like a giant playground while Vana'diel feels like a second home. Not that that's a bad thing, it's just I was pretty much right on the money when I figured I wouldn't quite reach the same emotional attachment to Eorzea I did with Vana'diel.
I think the reason for this is the immense influence from WoW, specifically in the way quests are laid out. Since your main method of leveling your character is through quests, the things are everywhere, and you're encouraged to just rush through any of them that aren't in the main scenario (plus a few that are) or the job/class storylines, meaning you only really have the opportunity to get attached to so many characters and places. For example: the FFXI character that people most remember is Professor Shantotto of Windurst. Thing is, Shantotto, at least at first, wasn't really relevant to any major storyline; all she did was give you a series of mini-quests to get a(n admittedly fairly important) Black Mage spell.
On top of that, since the main storyline isn't tied to your home nation except for a few early throwaway quests you don't really get a chance to get emotionally invested in it; like, I'm technically affiliated with Ul'dah, I don't really give much of a crap about it; by contrast in XI I grew a genuine fondness for Windurst and Bastok over the course of their respective storylines (San d'Oria was just too boring). Considering my national affiliation in both games was just for the sake of convenience at first, the contrast is kind of jarring.

(Also, I was able to finish that FFXI crossover quest before the window for it closed and it turned out it was mostly just fanservice of the hey-I-remember-that variety.)

Aaaand that's enough words that nobody else cares about. Looking forward to seeing whether or not the develop an obsession with "alternate universe where the world is doomed" as a plot point in this game too.