WOL fawning has literally existed from the start of the game.

You literally cannot start the game without people preening over how awesome and wholesome and sweet and caring and powerful you are. You can't refuse to save Gridania's Guardian Tree, or not to help the Sultansworn, or not save a town from the Sahagin. You can't choose NOT to become the "personal envoy" of your chosen city-state or NOT to save that one random woman in Ul'dah from a racist merchant and his thugs.

It's basically been this way from the beginning. The only difference is that we're no longer saving individual factions and getting praised for it, but entire nations, worlds and universes.