FFXIV needs to stop accommodating Solo Players

[Merrigan]

I don't see how crafters and gatherers could be pushed into multiplayer.

Ooooh there are so many possibilities for that! Unfortunately, it'll never happen because the MMORPG community (as a whole, not just FF) has changed too much for us to go back. Too much focus on optimisation, high achievements, the end-game, and everything else that makes the modern MMORPG.

Star Wars Galaxies (Legends) offers a fine example of multiplayer in the crafting field. The secret is to limit the number of selling npcs and allow players to set up their own shops. From there, crafting and resource gathering become extremely rich aspects of the game, on which the whole community depends: without them, there would be no low-level equipment, no resources to build your own craft, no supplies for your house, etc. etc.

The introduction of NPC sellers is what completely destroyed the economic side of MMORPGs, which was one of the most pronounced multiplayer aspects at the very beginning of the genre.