It seems like they're trying to take the good things about XI and streamline a few of the more aggravating parts and pull in some influence from the better parts of other games.
Like an actual videogame sequel.

I appreciate that they where trying to make something completely original, but what's the point of just throwing away the things people appreciated about the original? Take those ideas and expand on them while introducing new concepts and features.

Take the Banjo Kazooie series for example. The first sequel was so great because they took the best parts of the original and built on them while introducing new gameplay mechanics and environments. Nuts and Bolts was rejected by fans of the series because it threw away most of what made the series enjoyable in the first place.

Now this is more of a spiritual successor than a sequel, but even then the concept of expanding gameplay still applies, especially in a series with set elements such as Final Fantasy.