Wow, I would never expect someone would literally have the same issue with the game direction as I do. Thought I'm the loner here.

But to add my take alittle bit, linearity and homogenization are the bane and a disease to any RPG.
FF12 and 13 are the biggest clearest example of that.

FF12, with no job distinction among characters whatsoever, the game becomes ridiculously bland. No thinking required, reward for being strategic is non-existent. This has to be fixed by Zodiac Edition.

FF13 is where the linearity for casual friendly taken to an extreme. You can basically just spam the same ability over and over and walk....straight to clear the game. lol
It was the worst FF series no argument among FF fan community. All RPG dies because of it. FF14 won't be any different.

So I hope they stop with the homogenization and simplification. It's pretty clear as a bard main.
And I hope, these ideas of homogenization and linear no longer take root. Especially if it's coming from WoW players that flocks to this game recently, should reject this suggestion of homogenization, simplification, and linearity entirely and immediately.