FFXI was my first MMORPG. It was very different from any other First person or third person game I had played. I figured, "Oh...I guess this is how online games are..."
Wrong! IMO, EQ2 feels like local game that people are used to playing, like quake or unreal or any of those crappy games. The interface is nice and intuitive.
I felt FFXI had too many restrictions. Can't jump off a bridge into the water!! I *really* hate invisible walls that prevent me from exploring areas in the game! EQ2 has some around mountains, but the FFXI invisible clipping walls were very annoying to me.
Anyhow, long story short, I prefer EQ2, though I think the FFXI community is very cool and would have loved to gotten involved if I could have put up with the game and the music, hehe.
penny for my thoughts? I'll give you 2 cents worth ;)