How am I meant to level with a friend now?

[Dubont]

yeah, because the devs decided to make the game more fun when they saw people leaving the game in droves.

By "fun" you mean "easy" with the release of Abyssea...and that was still...what..8 years after the game's release? Your point is invalid. Also, at least acknowledge my rebuttal to your statement about FFXIV being a longer grind than the GOOD FFXI..