Playing an expansion as current content has been a lacklustre MMO experience

[Tehmon]

MMORPG is a dying genre way past its prime, it has lost much of its cultural significance and new generations of gamers don't care for the genre as much because of it's lack of visibility and cultural impact in the entertainment they consume and are used to consuming. New MMORPGs are more prone to flopping than not. The fact that XIV got any boost in it's popularity is a once in a lifetime thing, and much of it's acclaim and appeal comes from how different it is as an MMO experience to old MMORPG players, and how approachable it is to completely new players, where the story is put front and center, something any gamer, old or new, can enjoy and experience.

I think there are certainly lots of things that can be done better, but it seems like many things that are being criticized in this thread are also things that are part of XIV's appeal to new players, which creates a dilemma by itself. Can this game survive on old (jaded) MMO addicts alone? Where is the point where you are actively starting to hurt the chances of new players coming in? What is the tipping point for old players?