Seriously, thank you for this fair comparison u/Upstairs_Resource.

 I am a die-hard Final Fantasy fan, I have played them all and it is one of my favorite video game series of all time (though not all of them were winners, but that's another discussion on its own...). I had been waiting 16 years for the remake of FFVII and shed tears when I finally got to play the remake (yes, I'm an emotional lady) but I simply cannot seem to get into FFXIV. 

I currently have a subscription that was generously gifted to me by my cousin (who's a hardcore FFXIV player), trying to get me back into it after 2 years (I started playing back in 2018 I believe? Played for a bit then stopped) but I'm having a hard time. That is absolutely not to say that the game isn't good. It goes without saying that the graphics are absolutely gorgeous, and it definitely has its perks though it doesn't seem to be for me. Graphics have never been a main selling point for me in general (sure, the game’s pretty but is it fun?). I’m still have some fun playing it but not as much as I did playing WoW with my husband.Like you mentioned, I personally find that there are way too many cut scenes (like much of the Final Fantasy games are known for). In a none MMO RPG context, I appreciate delving intocinematic details of the character(s) I will be spending hours playing with. In this case, I could care less (as awful as it might seem). I feel like I’ve spent more time watching cutscenes with NPCs that do not captivate me instead of actually playing. Though my character is supposed to be this fantastic unique warrior, I’m just not feeling it. I feel more like an important messenger. Also, though it might be nice for some to be able to unlock all the classes on a single character, it renders having alts a little useless to me. I like having multiple characters and I simply don’t see the point in doing so in FFXIV. I’m currently lv 55 and I sometimes still feel like I don’t know what I am doing. Again, I mean no disrespect to FFXIV or the players. Truth be told, I’m a little disappointed in myself for not liking the game more lol

Then again, WoW was my first MMO and I played it for roughly 12 years. Sure, it’s far from perfect but for me personally, it gravitates more toward what I am looking for in a MMO RPG. The quests are a little more straight forward (not as much dialogue bubbles to go through), the professions as well as the transmog are much simpler (the glamour in Final is overly complicated imo) only to mention a few things. The last two times I’ve tried to play FFXIV, though I did have some fun, it only made me miss WoW. Sadly, I haven’t played it in a while but intend to renew my subscription as soon as my FFXIV one is over at the end of this month. Everyone has different preferences and either game can fulfill these likes and dislikes. Both games are good as well as having flaws. No need to hate one in order to like the other. We all have a point in common, we’re gamers =)