Thing is, it's not really how XI worked. Other MMOs yes and there are a great deal of FFXI players in XIV. They are catering 95% of the game to the casual and giving the hardcore really little.

I realize that casual players pay subs, but so do hardcore. Would they really lose that many people by keeping content the way it is? How many subs are they going to lose because people want a challenge and can't find it in XIV?

Part of the charm, and frustration, of XI was it's difficulty level. Did they eventually nerf things, sure, towards the end, but not from the outset. Most players coming from XI to XIV are looking for a similar experience.

If the content being changed was exceptionally hard given the rewards I would understand. For this reason I am not upset with the changes to Pharos. The rewards currently =/= the difficulty. But is there really a need to put echo in extremes, hard modes, Coil? Is AK really THAT much of a problem that they have to nerf every boss?