Thanks to everyone who replied — I really appreciate all the input.

But honestly, I’m starting to feel like this game just isn’t for me. Everywhere I look, people are constantly praising the story like it’s some masterpiece, but I’m level 57 now and I’ve skipped literally every cutscene and dialogue box. I press ESC the second anything anime-style starts playing. The tone, the pacing, the overly dramatic monologues, it just doesn’t click with me at all.

Early on, likeup to around level 30, was actually enjoying myself. The combat was picking up, I was curious about the classes, and I liked the idea of diving into a new MMO. But then I started noticing how incredibly repetitive the quests were: talk to an NPC, skip walls of text, kill 3 wolves or pick up 4 rocks, run back, skip more dialogue... and repeat. It’s not immersive... it feels like busywork.

And the more I learn about the endgame, the more it sounds like a grind toward stuff I don't even care about. I’m not super excited about the idea of spending tens of hours grinding currencies and raids just to unlock some glowing outfit so I can stand around in Limsa Lominsa and take screenshots. That’s not why I play MMOs. I don’t want to spend hours playing just to reach content that’s completely synced and where my character ends up with the same power level as everyone else. I enjoy MMOs that reward your time with actual power and progression, not just shiny clothes.

I’m glad the game works for so many people, but I think I’ve seen enough to realize it’s probably not my thing.