All I'm hearing is that people want more free and easy stuff. Don't listen to them SE. No Free Stuff. Challenges are good (and I know SE agrees with that philosophy). It was enough that the friggin starter gear that people are able to get within 2-3 days of release puts existing armor nearly out of business. Don't lower the requirements to get it too, unless you intend to make all the old gear obsolete and add a slough of uber gear in the next update.

Also though, Camate you mentioned in your post that you are closely monitoring how people are actually playing. I understand forums, but could you expand on that other part? Are there invisible GM's watching our reives? Or undercover players alongside us? Or do you just have a viewer program that gives you a window into whatever you want? I'm sure many people are curious, spill those beans!

Now I've put you in a dilemma of whether or not to "like" my post huh. Fellow forum goers probably like the second paragraph but maybe not the first!