Even ff14 reworked the leveling. It was atrociously bad. Companies are learning people don't want to level through 10+ years are old content so they can play the game.
Imagine if wow never changed leveling, ever.
"Hey man do you want to play wow/ff14 with me?"
"Sure!"
"Buuuuuut..... first you need to play 20+ days /played to play with me... enjoy!"
Its the sole reason why i can't get the 4 others i do m+ with to play ff14 during content droughts in wow. Its incredibly boring for a mediocre story. Much better left in single player games or new mmos that don't have 10+ years of history.