You keep talking a lot about skill. If you can do well with fewer abilities, surely that's a stronger indication of your so-called 'skill' than someone who does well with every ability in the game?

You claim it's a punishment for wanting to help people? No no no. It's an encouragement to help people. By forcing only one way to play, and providing alternative incentives, it means you're more likely to help out a player who actually NEEDS that help, not just your friends. If things went the way you want, the low level roulette's would dry up and force new players to team up for everything. It would be catastrophic.

Yes, I realize the current incentives probably need a review; that's a topic for another post. However, the fact remains that no one would ever want to lose their skills given a choice, and it would ultimately drive away new players who are forced to team up with instant-kill squads just to progress through the most basic of dungeons. It's no fun to be a spectator in a video game, I can assure you of that.