Just about everything you're saying is an instance of the developers being out of touch with the playerbase was at some point requested by some segment of the playerbase—that's why the dummy DPS tests, Gold Saucer, Lords of Verminion, Exploratory Missions and so on were all added. Players asked for them. The wants of the playerbase are actually pretty varied, as the game covers a lot of demographics and playstyles.

What normally happens is that Group of Players A requests a certain type of content or tool for the game, and the developers respond by developing content to address that request. Group of Players B then comes around and complains that the developers aren't listening to the players at all because they did that instead of some other thing they want, completely forgetting that the developers can't really listen to all players at once because the player base is not a uniform mass that has the same simple desires.

No piece of content is going to appease the wants of 100% of the playerbase. Most content probably only hits some fraction of it. Be careful not to confuse your desires or the desires of those who agree with you with the desires of the entire playerbase.