For me in 11 gear swaping was a strugle because i had a very laggy pc, so fancy new pc for this game and gear/job swapping is still very slow because your macro only equips one item at a time (i'm sure this could be fixed with a little code'ng).
The reason gear switching worked in 11 is because the additional stats that came from equiping a specific staff for a specific spell meant something, they had a impact on the fight. Drk staff & sleep had a much greater chance of sleeping a mob and your party living than Light staff & sleep.
The reson it would make no difference in 14 at the momment is because stats dont have such an impact on the outcome of a spell. Also it is currently not possible to equip all elemental spell ( unless you wish to forgo other useful spells) due to the point/action bar restriction so you are able to limit one set of gear for your specialisation.
When we finaly have acess to all our spells will it not be beneficial to draw additional stats from our gear to enhance the spell we are casting at that time?