I have zero interest in alts really other than potential mules. It was something I loved about FFXI. I played one character and almost everyone I knew played one character. That's who they were. That's where their reputation stuck.

It was especially frustrating playing WoW after that and a good number of people in a guild would have several characters they'd switch around on constantly. There was a lack of permanence in that. I also got frustrated when I got bored with my class due to the ever shifting balance of power in that game... I just rolled an alt, had to pick a different name, and it just didn't feel like me at all.

The one thing that is uniquely FF in the MMO space is the ability to level every job on one character. And all of those jobs help support you and make your single character more powerful and more versatile. And that one character represents you as a player. If you decide to ruin your reputation by being an asshat you can't just jump on an alt, or start a new character that you level to max in a week.

If anything, that last part is my biggest concern in FFXIV. FFXI was way too grueling and required unhealthy dedication to actually play successfully. But it also had the benefit that if you invested so much into a character, you protected their reputation. If you're a jerk, word got out. There were plenty of people who were basically blacklisted by the high end community on my server for being known thieves, jerks, or non-team players. You could just start over and hit 75 a week later.

That kept personalities in check. People couldn't just run around being assholes or they'd face the consequences. This made people act nicer in general. In a game like WoW there was no accountability and it didn't weigh on you. You won't be blacklisted by rare high level crafters or other communities that would help you with stuff that required a community effort. You just start another toon, level up, be an ass again, and nobody really cares because you're one in a sea of jackholes.

I'm glad FFXIV will be more accessible, but I hope the investment of several jobs on a single class helps temper the community into one like FFXI where your reputation counts a lot.