I am new to FFXIV, and I have to say that I love the New Player Experience so far. To me, all content feels "relevant" right now. I started experiencing the content I paid for on day one, so I don't know why your friend's experience is any different. Are you sure that your friend is actually frustrated, or are you projecting your own frustrations onto him? Relax and let him enjoy the game. He'll get to your level someday. The reason I am playing this game now is because WoW wholeheartedly embraced what you're proposing and rendered their entire game irrelevant with the exception of the latest content drop. That does not make for a compelling gameplay experience. I like working my character up gradually and building a lasting legacy. I don't want FFXIV to go the way of WoW where every piece of gear and crafting material feels like a disposable piece of garbage that will be chucked into the scrap bin sometime in the next three months. For me, this entire game feels relevant right now. I hope they keep it that way.