"A lot of people don’t like playing FFXI because it’s a completely boring grind-fest. Just reading this sites beginners guide to Vanadiel alone reminds me how much of an arduous bore that game was and how difficult it was just to get started. I don’t know if it’s changed, but when I joined, you couldn’t pick your own server and you couldn’t make more than one character without paying extra. The story was downright juvenile and I one had to grind up twenty levels and go digging around just to find quests that didn’t even give exp! I hardly call those odd reasons for quitting."

From your WoW logo I tend to believe that you are one of the people who joined the MMO bandwagon with the ultimate in Casual MMORPG experiences. WoW changed the mechanics of how MMO's were designed. Back in the day when EQ, UltimaOnline and FFXI were the mainstays, things were more difficult. They were purposely designed as huge timesinks of games.

I came from those days into WoW where I now make my home. However, as WoW drags on with trying to add "new things" to do, the less things there are actually to do in the game. The PvP in WoW was an afterthought and has actually turned the game on its end and forced the developers to design everything based on PvP damage instead of PvE. What was wrong with the old "glass cannon" vs "hardened warrior" mentality? Its gone because all classes need to be able to be countered and survivability is more important than fun in PvE.

In the end, recently I have been wanting to go back to FFXI purely for that "grind" and the "juvenile" storylines that you so hugely dislike. The story in FFXI actually keeps you interested. The grind is actually an entertaining way to spend an evening. It is true that most quests are completely worthless xpwise, but they are actually interesting unlike the "go kill 10 boars" and "go fetch me 15 rocks" quests of other MMOs. What you disdain so much is actually why the game still has 500k subscribers. Yes, the game has not matured much past its heyday with its 2nd expansion, but its a constant and its fun. Not to mention the single best aspect of the game ... The fact that things are actually dangerous. Things can kill you whereever you go. Its not the "safe" world of other MMOs where everything is soloable or duoable. The "real" monsters are the ones that require a full party to even be close to survival.