Hasn't YoshiP made it clear that he wants this game to be friendly to casual players? He at least does not want to encourage an environment of hostility and raiding elitism for people who spend 10 hours a day in game. Personally I think the raiding being easier than other games is a big proof of this(and that, due to them being Japanese devs, their focus is on how Japanese people play games, and Japanese people have a lot less time on average than westerners do).

Considering I haven't read any articles about players dying while playing the game for 48 hours straight like I have for WOW and such... I think he has succeeded. Games should be fun and relaxing, not encourage entrapment and addiction.