I don't understand why people, including you, keep consistently thinking that "solo" equates to "I only ever want to play alone and never group with with other people, forever" and that it's one and the same as playing single player, off line games.

The largest slice of the MMO customer pie is people who don't like having to rely on other people, but will occasionally group up with the LS/guild/friends. They like persistent worlds, they like being able to compare themselves to others, and they enjoy the social aspect of the game when it's not forced on them.

I hope for the sake of the game that they do not return to the early FFXI model of zero solo options. Something like that is going to ensure that it never recovers.