How raids have hurt this game.

[Evtrai]

That doesn't make it okay.

Back on topic, the raids are awesome, but the OP's points are pretty right on. I'll let the long time FFXI players in on a little secret too: grind parties are not a viable alternative for modern MMO players to actual content. And yes, the game does need those "casual" types (don't get me started on that term) to succeed, because that's where the market is. I'll say it again, if you want to do FFXI grind all day, play FFXI, it's still around.

By modern MMO's we are speaking of WoW clones right?