I think for a player in my position, coming back after a year off, with no community of friends playing this MMO, that FFXIV asks an awful lot of new players and gives very little in return.
That is true. The changes, which are all very fundamental in nature, will take longer to apply than a year (which comes down to around 8 months right now with the team restructuring and restart of development taking its toll. And an earthquake).

Still, I can't say it's any tougher than it was before. Only because gear actually matters now, which was a needed change no matter how you look at it. The game being forgiving because you could play through it in a bikini just isn't an acceptable trade-off.