I made typo as I was rushing to start a dungeon. I'll fix it later.

As for your other points:
1. Apparently it wasn't meant to be skill based. Which - for ME and ME ONLY - really just invalidated it completely. Especially after I had to get good enough skills to beat HM Primals and grind up tomes from all kinds of different content to get Thavnairian Mists to make my Zenith weapon before. Sure, I'm only speaking for myself, but I'm certain there are plenty of others out there who felt/did the same. Oh well, I'll see what Second Coil has to offer once I get there.
2. So, a journey that takes time, not exactly effort, no skill - not that it was intended to - in order to get a purely random, low probability reward? Which only serves as a gateway to another grind? You're not selling me on this, honestly. Might be fine for some, and I'm not exactly an impatient person, but I can find plenty of other ways to occupy my time.
3. If that's what people want, well, I'm happy to see them deliver. Curiosity might bring me to try that battle, but that, much like FATES, Atma, and some other content that was there from day 1 won't really pull my interest. Mind you, I'm just one person saying this. . . On a larger scale, that won't really mean much. But if my opinion were the majority opinion of most players, would you agree that it'd be of concern for SE?

Lastly, I've played RPGs with worse grinds. Some I stuck with. Others I didn't. Gamers are a fickle lot; I know that all too well. I wouldn't doubt that any of us are lacking for other games to play and enjoy. That's not a "I'm quitting this game" threat; hell, it's not a threat at all. Just a reminder that I'm well aware of what control I have here. I don't have control over the Atma grind, no. But I DO have control over whether I support it, either by accomplishing it, or by even playing FFXIV. I like this game, but I dislike the Atma/Animus system. For that reason, I'm disinterested in the Novus system. <---- Feedback.

But there's plenty else to enjoy, so I'll do just that.