MMOs are about finding your own thing to be as a part of the world provided to you. Sure, if you wanna be "that one guy who has slightly shinier armor than most" it's gonna be about grind.

...That being said, at the moment FFXIV ARR doesn't do all that good of a job at providing options once you're there. Leveling up is just a brief distraction per se if you're going to have large amount of time to play each week. Gear tier progression isn't something everyone is instantly attracted to.