I get your point on lack of chocobos which makes getting to some fates a bit challenging. But I still think the alternative would be worst. Sitting in a zone with very few fates popping with some of them being boss mob fates that you have no hope soloing. It's a bit depressing staring at an event you can't do a thing with because you can't solo and no one else is there.

Maybe I'm on a less populated server. But I haven't found the numbers in each zone that overwhelming. Yes there are a lot of high levels farming atmas but the atma farm spreads them out across the entire map. So I just don't see this idea that there is a focal point that causes all the 50s to en mass on one fate and demolish it. When I was atma farming the zones felt more alive then they have in the past. But it still isn't the "hordes" we had at launch.

I think the atma move was smart it did exactly what they wanted it to do. Fates are active again and that in the end benefits low level players more than it hurts.