Quote Originally Posted by NoctisUmbra View Post
Do your leves every reset at your leisure and find groups to party grind with for further sp when waiting for next reset.

The 8 hours was for a single grind from 46-49. Extreme amount of time for a very large gain in sp.

Nobody is pigeon-holed. It's called options.

You sound like you have something against solo-friendly content. In that case, given how SE has made it clear time and time again that this game will cater to casuals as well as hardcore players and will be solo-friendly, you may not enjoy your stay in this game.
They said the game will cater to a number of playstyles, and that grouping would be rewarded.

The Future of Ranking Up

Ever since I posted on the forums, we’ve been receiving feedback from players worrying about whether or not we’re going to be nerfing the ranking up process. The simple and emphatic answer to this, just as I posted in the forums, is no.

FFXIV is an MMORPG. But before the MMO-ness, it’s an RPG at its core. So it goes without saying that it should be fun to see your character develop and grow. There should be clear-cut goals, and a sense of accomplishment when you achieve them. No need for worries on that front!

I don’t want there to be a huge loss of skill points imposed for dying, or for players to have to grind 5–6 hours a day for 8 months to get to the high ranks. I do think ranking up should take longer in MMOs than in non-MMOs, but I plan to make the process both possible and enjoyable for players willing to invest the time, even if they’re solo, and even by doing quests and guildleves.
Public Areas and Party Play

We’re hurrying to bring in adjustments to enemy distribution, respawn timers, linked-enemy bonuses, and party bonuses to make skill point awards in public areas even tastier when playing in a party. Regarding linking, the current specs for fixed “enemy groups” will see large-scale changes towards a system more capable of addressing the combat potential of parties.

In attempting to cover the expansiveness of some zones, the current distribution of enemies left some wide gaps between them. This is another area high on our list of priorities that will see heavy adjustments.

Putting together a party isn’t all ponies and rainbows—there’s the time and effort spent getting the setup right and traveling to a camp, the risks involved when battling strong enemies, and so on. It’s an investment on the part of players, and we’re going to make sure skill point awards reflect that.
That's what I'm referring to. Grouping should not be an option only there for hardcores who want to continue to level after they have exhausted all their guildleves, and sidequests. It should be beneficial from the onset. I'm not against solo rewards, I just want there to be actual rewards for grouping too.