I love FFXI as much as any of you do, but the reality is: the game as we used to know it is long gone. Regular EXP parties to get a few levels have all but disappeared. People now only do Abyssea EXP and gain tremendous levels at a time with little to no real work. Shouting for groups for missions and quests have basically vanished as most things can now be low-manned.
The level cap has been raised and current gear which used to be "the best" is now scoffed at. Gear which used to cost millions is reduced to a few K. People do not do Salvage like they used to because of the uncertainty of what will come at Lv.99 (or potentially higher). SE said there will be trials (of the Magians) to upgrade current gear (Assuming Salvage/HNM/Sky/Sea) but nothing further than that has happened. Why waste time getting gear that will be outdated with new gear that takes little to no effort to obtain?
Basically the only thing SE has made clear to everyone thus far is that from now on XI has the easy mode switch turned on. I can only imagine this is to retain what little of the casual players are left.
Without any mention of an upcoming expansion pack, I fear the only thing we have left will be more reskinned zones in $10 addons. This leads everyone to be stronger and faster against aging mobs that drop outdated gear. What fun is that? Again... the problem arises.