I can see why people love this MMO, and I tried really hard to be into it but it seems like it's just not for me... This MMO, just like many others has a membership that you have to pay monthly. HOWEVER, there is a free trial that can literally last forever and you can go up to level 60 (which is very good imo) and while there are some restrictions, I think the developpers were very generous with this trial.
There are a LOT of players, (which I suppose is normal since this is one of the most played MMO worldwide ^^'). Well, mostly in the big in-game cities, I remember not meeting a lot of players while adventuring and doing quests. Not sure what they're all doing out there inside all these walls but whatever, that's none of my business.
The graphics are phenomenal, I also like the monsters/creatures designs, I kinda felt like I was playing monster hunter at some point (which is a compliment).
So why didn't I like it? Well in the free trial it can be complicated to communicate to other players, you can't send messages nor send party requests and you also can't befriend people... In an MMO, communication and connection to others are pretty important, which is why it can be frustrating to play.
A lot of players seems to enjoy the lore and the storytelling of FFXIV (which is great btw!) But I personally never felt any kind of enjoyment from the plot or the story... Probabblyyyy because I never played a final fantasy game before and I don't understand what's going on most of the time lol.
Also I'm not sure how true this is, so take it with a pinch of salt, but I've seen some people talk about this MMO like it's One Piece; "Oh it gets better 100 hours in!", this is just my personal opinion but I don't want to
start having fun
after 100 hours...
Rating: Free trial is 6/10 IMO, if I knew more people playing this game and played as a group it would probably be 7.5/10. Might try it again someday...