FFXIV lacks the substance and depth for PvP to get by on it's own so they invented a useless grind for gear progression to try to keep people playing it's PvP via carrot and stick. Some people are going to resist any change as they already put in time to get their flashy gear, before it gave them an big advantage in Wolves Den and since a lot more people are playing Frontlines for fun and fairness the unique look is pretty much all they have left. As I recall the reason for the PvE styled gear was an attempt to entice PvE players to play more PvP.

Your best bet is to come up with a solution that has that in mind but would change it to better PvP as a whole. I can't see SE doing major revamps, generally when we get a new system like hunts or synthesis we are pretty much stuck with it.