FF14 is not made for hardcore players.

[Shin96]

There may be a place or room for every player, but all those places and rooms won't occur in a single game. No game can be that all-encompassing.

Like it or not, MMOs are a casual playground. The development and operating costs are too high not to do so. Same for games made by any for-profit company. They're going to focus on casual players because that's where profits are found.

What the "best of the best" should be looking for are the passion projects created by small indie developers. Because the goal isn't profit, those developers can focus on creating very challenging content.

I think the developers have done a good job to encompass both player mindsets. I haven't felt underwhelmed whatsoever, Delubrum Reginae was a breath of fresh air.

That's debattable. FFXIV offers Savage content. Clearly the developers enjoy creating more complex content.

Except small indie developers don't create games on the same level as SE. I've played a few, most of them aren't anywhere on the same level of quality.