Combat system is beyond saving.

[Jojoya]

Half of the playerbase hasn’t even experienced the actual final fantasy XIV combat system that had things like:

• Aggro management
• Cleric stance and Multiple tank stances (3.x WAR was the best job in the history of this game)
• TP (sprint not draining it was a good change)
• Dungeon packs actually being a threat
• Multiple viable builds for all jobs
• Power level being driven by skill rather than solely depending on your gear ilvl

The list goes on.

What makes things fun and interesting to some players is not fun and interesting to others. You might try to isolate these types of changes to just FFXIV but if you look at other MMORPGs, they've usually also made the same changes over time. It's because the majority of players just did not overall enjoy them.

Parts of your list I enjoyed, though I understand why others don't. A couple of your points I did not enjoy at all (Cleric stance sucked) or just generally disagree with (power is still ultimately driven by skill and not just ilvl).

You claim the things that have changed in this game has killed other franchises. Name them. Explain why this game hasn't been killed already.

I can tell you why it hasn't. It's because ultimately those things aren't important to the majority of players. The smaller percentage of players that want those things isn't large enough for any game to keep them in the long run.

How long are you going to keep hanging around telling yourself that the next expansion is going to make things better in your eyes when expansion after expansion it hasn't happened?
The past isn't coming back. Not enough players want it. Either learn to enjoy the game for what it is in the now, or continue to be disappointed because you're not getting what you want.

No one is gaslighting you. You need to understand that what you feel isn't representative of what everyone who has ever played the game feels.