The integrity of the player base has fallen drastically.

[Pixi]

On point A: I was booted from a Garuda party because I didn't have atleast 3 melds on my gear. If thats what is expected, and where this game is headed, I will be going elsewhere. I like a challenge, I don't like being kicked from a party before even leaving ulduh because I wasn't wearing triple+ meld. They said the game was balanced to non-melded equipment. So essentially by that group requiring this they wanted things easier not harder.

Much like class stacking, this sort of thing is typical of a PUG in just about any game. If you want a group that isn't going to be super picky about your gear, you will probably either want to run with friends/lsmates or make your own group.