When people say you won't be taken because you are not the optimal spec is completely wrong. I have played numerous games where they have 3 tress sometimes I pick the worse one but that didn't stop me from doing content. SWTOR right now marauder/sentinel isn't doing so well as a dps and classed as the lowest currently because you can't do hybrid anymore I still picked it and I get all the content done in the game. ESO I was spec badly but I still got content done pretty easily. If you are not raiding why would it matter what spec you are? Also if you get kicked based on what spec you are in this game then you just need to look at the community and it just shows how bad it is. In SWTOR I enter a dungeon via group finder I don't get kicked for being a marauder we just go on continuing the dungeon. As OP said if you are not raiding it won't matter, when you DF it wont matter you will just continue the dungeon.

So many classes play the same in this game DRG is almost like MNK with Greased Lightning, MCH is just BRD Gauss Barrel/Wander's Minuet, Tanks are the same but 2 of them do bit more dps than the other, healers are all the same. The only job in this game which I will say is different is NIN. Honestly if they won't make trees at least make more interesting traits because the current ones are just lackluster and most are just copy and pasted over onto other classes. It's a cheap way of doing balancing because they just make everyone the same and too be honest its boring. This is the only big game to my knowledge which has no customization which sucks in my opinion. When i see people relate it to people not being taken its always FFXI any other game I have rarely seen this happen except in raid environment.