Well they weren't so much a problem, as endgame wise, it was very hard to achieve and SE nor I would think it's any problem for a small population to get "demi god" status, much like relic weapons.

It's only after the years dragged on and on, did it become a problem. One thing that was problematic with FF11, is 75 gone on too long.

It was balance, but at same time unbalancing, because people couldn't let go of established path to glories. If they had raise to 99 a good 2yrs earlier, we wouldn't have this discussion, because everything will get naturally "superseded" and balanced out like other MMOs.