Quote Originally Posted by Valence View Post
Adding to it:

Yoshida himself said dungeon formula wasn't going to change because it made it possible to churn more of them for minimal cost (even though they dramatically reduced the amount of dungeons to start with).
I also do recall them saying they were perfectly happy with their current battle system model and weren't ready to move to something else for now. I think this statement was made during Endwalker, but I don't remember when.

This is why I think they're targeting another audience (of which they may be part of) than what their older teams used to design for before Stormblood. They've never been interested with the RPG side of the MMO, only the guitar hero gameplay. It's easy to do, it's formulaic, and so far it works because it finds its audience, in spite of older players.
It's frustrating how many interviews from 2021 to 2024 amount to "We're gonna rest on our laurels, now pay up".