As one of the players who finds the game quite difficult naturally, I'm happy there's gonna be a few options available to soften up things. I'm a fan of challenge, but I don't like being stuck on a single battle for what can be days at a time. Sure, after the first run you can predict things, but even still it's not easy. I'm in it for the story, the fights should reflect that. The story's NOT a grindfest, and this'll help make it easier to experience said story without wasting time training.
I'm REALLY looking forward to 19. So much stuff, it's gonna revamp everything.