Variance in player skill is hurting FFXIV's itemization design.

[Ibi]

Some people do actually. I did. But not because I enjoyed the physical content like Diadem. I enjoyed getting the gear and how quickly I was able to progress simply by sacrificing and hour or two at a time to gear up. It wasn't the content that was fun. It was the thrill of the rewards that made it fun.

I can see how that could change your perspective.

I was already in mostly i210 gear when Diadem hit. Our FC did a Diadem night for the first three weeks it was out, and I think in those three sessions I got a total of two offspec upgrades, so the reward factor was rather absent for me.

Regardless, you said yourself that it's not the content that you enjoyed, it was the rewards. Those could just as easily have been added to a system that was intrinsically interesting, rather than where they were the only motivation.