Starting FFXIV today! (hopefully)Follow

Hello everyone! Today if all goes as planned and UPS can deliver something on time, I will be online by tonight. I'm trying to see if anyone could try and help me out on the basics and to get familiar with everything. Looking to find some good friends to play with. Sidenote- The first updates before starting the game, I've heard they are awful and take SEVERAL, several hours. Some people took a full day or more? Any idea on what I can expect with this? Is tonight a realistic expectation?