Quote Originally Posted by Kes13a View Post
I can only guess that you are well versed with something like WoW where crafting is indeed a useless profession. they made sure, at the request of hardcore people like yourself, that crafting be made that way because it gave, in your words "casual players" too much say over the elite players who focus only on end game raiding etc. which turned into the current system of crafting in WoW being the most useless thing anyone can ever do.
They've made professions very relevant again, though not to the extremes of FF14. And, unlike in here, it's not all held back until the raid's release, so people actually get to sort their gear in peace before the raid comes out. Significantly better system than having you replace your entire gearset minutes before entering the raid.

Quote Originally Posted by Kes13a View Post
fortunately, or, unfortunately in your view, that is not the case here. your example is nonsensical. do the football players not need uniforms? shoes?.. a ball? those dont just grow on trees you know, it will obviously surprise you to know that they are actually crafted items, made by people who likely dont play football. huh... go figure.
The uniforms are the pre-raid grind. The ball (and field) are the raid, provided by the developer. Crafted items, especially added on release, are the steroids, which are forbidden in traditional sports, yet encouraged in FF14.

Quote Originally Posted by Kes13a View Post
as for day of the tiers release... well, thats on you if you need things that fast now isnt it? no one is forcing you to be impatient....
The "race for world first" is as much in the developer's interest as it is in the player's. Viewers means exposure, which is basically free marketing. People talk about it, people have something to enjoy outside of playing the game, and it puts some extra interest in the raiding scene as a whole. It makes you feel like the game is more alive, gives players something to strive toward. Just like is the case in any other sport. Making it harder than it needs to be is, thus, shooting themselves in the foot.