I appreciate your post GG, but I don't think the playerbase is as smart as you make it out to be.

For one, while many of the suggestions we make have merit, at no time does the playerbase acknowledge that the primary purpose of the devs is to keep us playing the game for as little resource investment as possible. SE is a company. They are there to make money. As such, suggesting changes that produce shortcuts in time to obtain a reward will never fly with them.

As a mature player, I'd rather see the devs admit this outright. "We are not changing so and so because it would allow the playerbase to advance quicker than we can make new content". A succinct honest answer. Or "our gaming psychologists say that players are more inclined to repeat activities if we design rewards this way". This is what the game design is all about.

But there is clearly a fine line between feeding the addict and frustrating the addict to the point he chooses a different addiction. SE has been wandering that fine line for a while now with Voidwatch. Judging by the ongoing activity in that system, I don't think they've gone too far yet. Certainly compared to WoE, VWNM has been a success. Compared to Abyssea though its not nearly as fun or worthwhile.

Bottom line: Devs care about the bottom line, players do not. Design will always look at enticing ongoing subscribers to stay ongoing subscribers at the lowest possible expense. Players will always want an ongoing variety of new options as they get bored of material, but that is a more costly way to feed the addiction than just designing rare drops from difficult challenges that people have to constantly repeat to get their reward.