Seems like there's plenty of exclusive content like savages/ultimates, things that take long grinds in places like Eureka/HoH, and even pvp mounts.

But there's also plenty of non exclusive content- having a balance is a good thing. Feeling like you can get nothing if you don't go hardcore might work for WoW and some older MMOs where chest thumping is the purpose of the game- but just look at how angry people are on the WoW forums all the time, and it's almost always about how long it takes to do things and how much time you have to sink into it, and how unrewarding all but the pinnacle of the game is.

imo, what would be better for FFXIV than more exclusive items- let's say in pvp- would be more care given to pvp modes, maybe something to teach players about pvp, more content, etc... You can try to bribe people into doing pvp with rewards, and to a degree that works (I imagine people did it more for the GARO rewards for example), but they won't stay unless they have fun doing it. On the other hand- what would adding say, another mount to top players do? Nothing really- that's not going to encourage the average player to do it because it's unobtainable.

And when players don't do the content, why make it? And that's how you end up with abandoned segments of a game.