Didn't get to play FFXIV 1.0 but I do have a question, did it(or 2.0/ARR) feel like a world? That's so stupid sounding I know, let me explain.
FF XI REALLY felt like it was an actual world. Like, the only other games I totally felt that way about was probably WoW/EQ/UO/EVE. The other MMOs while being good in certain areas, etc, never quite felt like they were a real place. That's something I -really- miss about MMOs, they focus so hard on the whole theme park experience(raids, battlegrounds, etc) that none recently have felt like an actual world you can escape to.
edit: EQ2 felt that way a bit too, the towns were huge and the areas in general were empty/huge so it felt more real(to be fair, I hadn't played it in a LONG time).