Offering free playtime also doesn't really fix anything, it leaves the company out of pocket for however long they give, plus if the issues are still on going (whether it's DDOS or something else) then players are still going to be in the same situation during their free time.

Maybe we'll get a day or two maybe we won't, but the only way you can really take action against it is to just cancel your subscription. Sure for some players who have an active FFXIV life it can feel like a sacrifice, but a company losing subs quickly will more likely take drastic action. After all anyone can come on the forums and make claims or demands for special treatment, but they rarely ever get answered by SE.