Those were so weird! My provider didn't warn me at all. I'm glad it's been tolerable for you, though.

It definitely is more challenging. I feel that once you get to PoF it's fairly consistent in difficulty, bit that could also be my familiarity with game systems, too

The living world seasons 3-5 (AKA Icebrood) have some very
story-critical info. Honestly they have some of the most hype story arcs. I felt like it finally *clicked* when I went to Path of Fire and started getting mounts

Yay! I'm glad it's gotten better. I had a similar hurdle to you when I was getting started

It DOES unfortunately have a bit of the same issues as FF14 ARR. it's ok to feel a bit meh or not enjoy it. My enjoyment grew after I hit lvl 80 content and the dlc. but I can see having a rough patch getting started. Let me know if you need help^^

The story kept me going for a while, but the battle system got to be dull when enemies got so many attacks in a row. It felt like playing Civ V and waiting minutes for my turn sometimes.

Tis a very good game. Very similar thoughts about most of your takes. I'll admit that it's fantastic for a first try, but I'd like them to address how tedious the fights felt after a time. Autobattle? Shortened counter sequences between levels? Idunno.

Plus it's very replay friendly. Assuming you get access back to your account, any character you start has the same "mastery" points unlocked. So if you unlock mounts, any new baby character can use them too (for example)

Oooooh! Oooh! Guild Wars 2. It's been the best MMO for me. It's got old school RuneScape vibes where grinding is at your own pace. I'm loving the story so far. Plus, kitty.

Very excellent choices! We got some overlaps