Hm. I do see your point. I'll also add while we're on the matter that compared to some recent trials, the new one felt easier as well. A bit boring even. The biggest issue there is that it seems Surecast doesn't work against all knockbacks lmao. But that's not really a problem.

As for the dungeons, I think this boils down again to the lack of proper midcore content alongside the gear power creep. Mist Dragon was, by far, one of the less forgiving boss fights we've had in a good while, at least in dungeons. You had to be aware of the entire arena to avoid the fog plumes on the floor, especially when there were two of them. You hit something you shouldn't have? Your party now has to break you out of the ice. And here, have a dps check on top of it all. (and it's still mostly faceroll these days)
But ultimately I look at what I described and while I don't personally think it's that bad, it is a step up from regular dungeons - which are the most softcore content you can find in the game, especially story ones. If anything, I should hope that the next time they add a "Hard Mode" dungeon it's actually hard instead of letting us explore a different or worse - recolored part of a dungeon we've already been to. Those tend to be optional dungeons as well, so the devs can afford to be a bit harder with it. I mean, the filthiest casual should still be allowed to play this game, and we're talking about a story dungeon. Anything that isn't part of the MSQ though? Yeah they need to step up their game.