He has been complaining about the state of this game since Abyssea (that I know of) yet he continues to play. I'm not here to defend the game but maybe he should try playing something else if hes not having fun. SE has put XI on the back-burner for a while now, and care more about XIV so you won't be seeing them put in more than the bare minimum for the game. Hopefully they have something big planned for that 20th anniversary because its needed. I also see tons of 6+ box characters running everywhere, and only mercs in shouts. Sad, but SE allow it to become that.
I play for fun though, and still enjoy myself when I do play.