like a lot of MMOs, it has a way of sucking you in unless you make sure you commit only an hour or two a day to it (if not less). The cool thing in my opinion coming from someone who has played WoW and GW2 and dabbled in mythic raiding as well as "hardcore" raiding with GW2 is that FFXIV has the best PvM content out of any MMORPG. The sub price shows in the amount of PvE content both end-game and as you level up from level 16 onwards. The free unlimited time trial gives you access to the first two expansions and level 50 for free with very few game-breaking restrictions, so it's a great way to get your foot in the door.
PvP is NOT a focus in this game though, although I play a lot of it. It's clearly PvM focused and has an amazing story like most Final Fantasy games do. As it is with almost any game, however, it's fun to play with friends but EQUALLY as fun to play solo through the content. Also, unlike WoW or GW2, the "fun" PvE content doesn't come ONLY from the end-game. Once you unlock your first dungeons at level 16 (takes like 10 minutes), it's fun right from the beginning content wise.
WG is a free company (basically FFXIV's version of a clan) on the world Exodus, on the Primal Data center (basically data centers are servers and Primal is one of the North American ones).