If a player is lvl 16 and can't make it to lvl 80 by the end of the year...that's a bit strange anyway.
Its not like it takes a long time to level up to 80. When the world bosses were out before, I know people were getting a lot of experience by being around the boss kill. Is that a bit issue, considering most veteran players have extra offline levels just sitting in the 'bank'?
If a player wants the cloak, they have to be playing for a full year. I don't know offhand if it means that FTP can go and get the cloak quest or not (didn't read all the posts in here if that was already covered), but if you are going to play for a full year to get this cloak, that's a good thing for the game.