It wasn't abyssea it was the level cap rasie, stuff that was current at level 75 will get way easier at 99. It happens in every mmo that gets a level cap raise. I thought Abyssea is the best thing to happen to FFXI it gave you a ton of new gear to get and a lot of stuff to work for. Finally I could get gear that was an actual upgrade and not a side grade. You could do it at our own pace and it didn't take a ton of people to do. Was doing tons of abyssea even today finish off some af3 sets, still pretty fun to do even now.
That's my guess. Templer, there was very few magic sword user jobs in FF history but this one seems to fit.
