Is anyone surprised at this point?

[Shin96]

To be blunt, yes. At least to a certain degree. While I appreciate you prefer this iteration, fans of the original design have been effectively screwed too. Priority should always be on those who already like the job, not chasing new fans which is something SE has been increasingly guilty of doing. For comparison sake, look no further than Bard. There are people who prefer it's more Ranger focus this expansion. Hell, some want it to lose songs entirely. Should that demographic be appeased when the far louder voice are Bards from Stormblood who found their preferred job identity destroyed?

Ideally, it should be both. They need to engage newer players with accessability without disrespecting players loyal to the original concept of the jobs. What they've been doing however is the exact opposite and while I like to be optimistic, the recent developements have shown that it seems their priority is placed far higher towards expanding the playerbase at the expense of people that enjoy their jobs and have them ruined. These simplifications and destruction of identity will most likely continue. Now I personally wish for nothing more than for DRK to return to its HW iteration but the majority wins the vote and if this means displeasing us, they will accept that loss because ultimately, growth they do find more important. Judging by how this situation is evolving of course.