But what about other new players who haven't received help from their FC like I have? Would they really sit it out and hope they can reach Heavensward to play with their friends?

On that note, I've still yet to reach lv50 so haven't really made any progress exploring the new expansion. While my friends are already lv55 and exploring I'm still playing with random players I find on Duty Finder, something I was hoping to get away from when I've quit WoW and the atrocious LFR gatherings.