My problem with FF 14

[Valence]

Consistency (such as same markers, etc) makes it smooth for new players to get through the MSQ. After the MSQ, many of them will break until the next patch or expansion and SE knows that. Obviously, it's always going to be a minority that want to play the game hardcore / do raids and social content and stuff like that.

The reason for 2 packs of trash always is because there used to be more, but it was deeply unsettling for everyone and still is in some ARR dungeons. You can literally pull like 10? 20? packs in Amdapor Keep! They die really fast now, but they can still potentially wipe everyone if all 4 people are not good players and well-geared and that was much worse in the past before battle system changes.

As a tank there is an anxiety of how many to pull and a pressure to pull them all because most parties want that. Yet doing so carries a huge risk. So SE started enforcing a wall every 2-3 packs and it's been smooth ever since. This makes it better for the whole party and reduces anxiety, but as a cost, it's less exciting.
It has a lot of benefits, including for chain productivity. The consistency of 3 bosses mixed with 2 sets of 2 packs of trash before them makes it consistent and smooth and easy for them to plan ahead. It makes it consistent for players, who know what to expect and know how long a dungeon will take. It reduces anxiety of "how much should I pull" that ARR dungeons still create.

Aren't we moving the goalposts here? I never said anything about opening wall to walls or even less to make dungeons more hardcore. The point was that it's an unchanging formula and that I don't see anything hinting at that it helps player retention. If anything once players aren't new anymore, some will fall into the lot that's happy about it because it's predictable fast food duties with no player interaction, and the rest will become bored very quickly.

There is many ways to change the formula and introduce new and interesting things without making the game hardcore. CLL had prisoners spread randomly across rooms. 8 man raids used to have some trash, gate bosses or more environment to go through than just an arena with a boss. We used to have actually different endgame dungeons (a lot with frankly mediocre experimental mechanics don't get me wrong), and yet it was 3 of them per major patch in ARR vs the 1 every major patch today.

Creativity has gone quite bankrupt for the sake of predictability and I quote "reducing player stress". Everything since ShB has been about reducing player stress.