(I'm not reviewing every expac separately fuck that, this review is for the overall package)
Quite possibly my favourite story in any game ever made, be warned that it takes a looooong time to get to that point though. Especially the first expansion being the massive slog that it is. Kind of falls flat as an MMO in my opinion though since there's nothing really worth working towards unless you're a hardcore raider (And even then all you really get is stat increases), but definitely consider if you want a massive world and a massive storyline to get invested in, although keep in mind that story isn't very consistent in quality since it swaps around writers multiple times. Also has some fantastic boss fights and a soundtrack that is like if Toby Fox had a AAA budget.

I'm rating Final Fantasy XIV as a whole, and not just A Realm Reborn, which I'll do soon.

This game is quite THE ADVENTURE, its probably the best current MMO, it has an absolutely amazing and unforgettable story and sountrack and the people you'll meet along the way will change you forever.

One of the best Final Fantasy games ever.

I can not continue a game like this with the promise that it gets really good later. I am current on One Piece, but can't get through A Realm Reborn. All the game has been is walking across the world to talk to a person, so that I can go all the way back to talk to another person. The story hasn't hooked me, the gameplay is monotonous, and it feels like a chore just to get to the part where I can start having fun.

This is my third time trying to get into the game, and I really want to for my friends who've spent so much time engrossed in it. I'm very interested in the social aspects, I like some of the locations I've seen, and I greatly appreciate the generous free trial. Maybe in the fourth try it'll click, but I've given this game way more leeway than basically any other.

Reviewing each extension separately so this is only a criticism of the content up to the end of A Realm Reborn:

Not gonna lie, I understand why I picked up and dropped this game on 4 separate occasion since 2014: the content of ARR, be it the story, dungeon or side content, is actually horrendous. I'm only sticking with it and powering through it because I know it gets better later on and will be worth my time.

My biggest criticism is that I don't really understand how this rework of 1.0 saved the game and made it popular. I didn't play 1.0 myself back then but the more I learn about it, the more I realize it was a far better game than ARR ever could be. I want FINAL FANTASY god damnit, not "WoW-lite for people that prefers cute aesthetics".

Hopefully I'm done with the worst parts and it will only get better from here on out. I've grown attached to my WoL so I can't stop now.

I've given it enough of a go. 50+ hours of walking between boring quest after boring quest. I try to pay attention to the story but drab writing makes it so easy to tune out.
Supposedly the community is great? But most people I saw were just idling in the hub, not a single person chatting. No real reason, at this level, to actually play with others - dungeons drop you in with 3 others, but once that's done you part ways.
Tab target combat was serviceable but has no weight. Which is pretty standard for such a system but still I'm not a fan. No sense of build freedom, pick a class and that's it. Equipment is all slight number increments of meaningless stats.
Idk, I might be playing it wrong. But after 50 hours I seriously found nothing of value :(

PLEASE HELP ADVICE NEEDED
This is genuinely so ridiculous to me. I have always loved the concept of an MMO. I have tried so many hoping to get into it. I grind a couple tens of hours and then stop. I thought this would be it dude. I put 140 hours just trying to beat A Realm Reborn. I tried on a first character and got near the end of the story. Stopped because shit just got so boring and grindy. Started again this year with hype for focusing on the story and taking my time. I finally got the first credits roll. After hours of majority side quests that are just fetch quests. I cannot stand how much filler there is. Its worse than a freaking shonen anime except you cant just put it on in the background. The amount of a time waster this is is insane to me. I was hoping to plow through the story to get to heavansward onward which ive heard is awesome. BUT I STILL HAVE 30% more quests to go after rolling the freaking credits!!! PLEASE TELL ME ITS WORTH IT. SOMEONE TELL ME IF THE STORY IS GONNA GET GOOD ENOUGH TO THE POINT WHERE I SHOULD KEEP PLAYING IT. I THOUGHT THE STORY SO FAR WAS FINE AND SOMETIMES FUN BUT THAT SHIT WAS SO MID OVERALL!!! PLEASEEEE HELP ME!
I loved the character customization and the dungeons are fun and im so hyped to do reaper and dark knight but thats not for another hundred hours +. Should I stop while I can?

my favourite mmorpg that's currently available to play, despite the insane amount of flaws it comes from being an mmorpg, i think that if you find an mmorpg befitting to you, it is a game that will stick to your heart forever, and to me, it is this one. it is by no means perfect, it has an awful social system for example, but the writing even if it can feel off at times, the soundtrack, and overall just the experience is something that no mmorpgs at the moment have particularly given to me by that amount. an amazing MMORPG, even if it isn't flawless.

Realm Reborn's main story quest really felt like a Trails Of story where 80% of the game is fluff and pretty tedious but the ending sinks its hooks in you and you have no choice but to continue on with the expansions to see where it goes.

I don't know if I'd recommend XIV but I'm definitely hooked. Its one of those "it gets good after 100 hours" kind of experiences. In the long run I have a feeling I'll be going "I should have played a bunch of other games in that time instead of spending all this time playing this" but we'll see.