His preference for new world says everything really, I played new world.

It has the basic bones of an mmo but it is lacking in so many categories

-Game has quite literally no real story and that is a huge issue.
-Game has no auto group system so the vast majority of players didnt bother with the leveling dungeons, just reached max level and left.
-Combat is incredibly basic and boring since you only have 3-6 skills to use at a time, effects arent great either.
-Incredibly grindy crafting and gearing which I wouldnt consider an issue for an mmorpg but due to the lack of interesting content you just farm mobs/materials/trains and that's it.

Hardcore who love forced socialization and forced grouping might love new world exactly because of that, but the fact remains that the vast majority of players left because the game wasnt accessible like FF14 is where you can just que for casual content and enjoy.