Lock out is to heavy handed

[Teryaani]

That's because there is a rather toxic community in XIV that ALWAYS asks to see players punished. Just because a bunch of people like to see other players suffer doesn't mean it's the correct solution. It's actually rather disappointing that so many would rather punish one another than work together for a fair and intelligent solution.

This isn't about toxicity of the community or punishing others. This is about encouraging a particular type of behavior within the player base. I do like how when someone disagrees with you, they are somehow punitive or vengeful. Nice touch by the way. For someone who is concerned with a toxic community, your behavior isn't improving it.

The design team has two fundamental choices. They can offer a carrot, which they do in some situations (tomestone bonus for new players), or they can use a stick (30 minute lockout for abandoning a duty in progress). For situations like this, a mild, and it is mild, stick makes sense. Offering a reward/carrot for successfully queueing for an instance would be absurd. The whole point of queueing for the instance is to join, complete, and get the rewards within it. That's why they went with a stick.