That's their decision. if they aren't playing they are likely rusty.
what 'problems' are they referring to?
right now the real big problems with the game are
1) UI (2.0 will fix)
2) lack of content (getting better, 2.0 will add more content. including PvP and new story)
3) latency (engine is getting an overhaul to help reduce load on servers)
so i really don't know what they are viewing as the problem. because it sounds to me like they are fine with the real problems to the game right now. so...good bye? see you again?
data or it didn't happen. those stats don't seem right. i didn't see anymore people shouting in Ul'dah than i normally do. i didn't see anymore people running around than i normally do. i think it's more like 10% only return for a week. 30% full time casual. 50% semi-hardcore. 10% hardcore.
I really believe most of the community is semi-hardcore.
That being said i don't think the fight is imbalanced. if anything there is unrealistic expectations by certain players who mainly play certain other games that i won't mention. there is a drastic jump in difficulty for story fights begining at the magitek vanguard fight. but even this fight is pretty easy and can be duo-ed by skilled 50s. I myself trio-ed it with my 50 mnk and a 44BLM and a 44 CNJ.
Rather than blame SE for the difficulty i think you and your friends should look at yourselves and decide what you want. some have decided the game isn't for them. so move on. live and let live.
From what i can tell the fight is balanced for a group of 45+
Compared to In For Garuda Wakening which is balanced for a group of 40s this fight probably seems pretty daunting.
I agree with most of the people in the thread who are saying 'if they easy mode it, they aren't going to suddenly love the game' they are going to get bored again and just leave. if it's too easy there is nothing to work toward so you have no reason to try to get better and keep playing. if you won't want to work hard at the game, then well it's just not for you.
if you want to play causally you need to expect to miss out on a lot of content. casuals aren't the ones who continuously pay sub fees. it's the hardcore and semi-hardcores, because they will be the ones playing 4 or 5 years from now.