You keep throwing around the word "instant gratification".

I don't think it means what you think it means.

I played on average 3-5 hours a day, for about a week to cap 1 class to 50 primarily using FATEs.

Took about the same (a bit more, since I wasn't focused on super fast rushing) to do the same using the storyline quest.

How is any of this "instant"?

If it had taken 2 weeks, would I have taken more time to, I don't know, admire the world? Or something? I certainly wouldn't have bought anyone's gear, that argument does not hold as you get TONS of gear from questing in your first job, and if you kept the gear from that leveling a similar job, or did sidequests for your secondary job, you'd have gear regardless.

And that is not including the green/pink gear from dungeons that most people have horded.

This will not affect the "sub 50" economy in any meaningful fashion.

Can we at least agree that this is all "grind"? Past the interesting storyline, past the job quests, this is about pure numbers, simple as that.

And regardless of what it is, people will gravitate towards the most efficient experience. It is grind, grind, grind all the way down.

If you nerf fates, people will just do massive dungeon queues, or massive chain farming, or what have you. And then people will cry for that nerf.

And people will still be doing the same, mindless whatever, because guess what, some people DO want to get to 50 quickly, to play with their friends, test out an alt, what have you.

And making them take longer doesn't really solve any problems or really do anything.

I'm not sure what your goal here is.