Just wanted to ask though, this is going back to my response to Leon.
I hear you guys mention other MMOs and then the conversation does seem to die off rather quickly.
From what I hear with friends and forums, the average lifespan of a MMO seems on par with regular games but just allow people to play with other people.
My comment with FFXIV basically is my opinion from seeing how long the average player (new players or today players) lasts playing FF XI and WoW, as well as other MMOs.
Deep down, I so want a game to deliver that first FFXI experience but after this Beta and having to start over in phase 4 is kind-of turning me away from this game.
EDIT: After I submitted this post, I saw a few people commenting but left this post in anyway.
For me what makes a MMO is the people not just the game it self... I would never have played FFXI for as long as I did with out the group of people I met and played with, it was the same deal with 1.0 in XIV. I gave it another go after the job system was introduced and while the changes to the game at that point made it undeniably enjoyable it was the awesome group of people I met that kept me wanting to play. It's a package deal really, I've played other MMOs that were fun as well but I never managed to meet anyone so my interest just trailed off after hitting the level cap.
On the gameplay side as you get higher levels and the class comes into it's own they all handle quite differently from one another. The early levels definitely suffer from the same issue as every other MMO I've played of being repetitive and somewhat boring.