2. Gradual reduction of use.

Old players can't make new icons, and have a larger list of known abilities to pull from using the /micon command, new players don't know the list is now so limited now.

The effect is, "Static Icons" are now removed, (why?) and it was done to minimize the effect on existing players and new players don't know they've lost anything.

All this reads that this was planned this way. now... Why do this after expanding the list of static icons in a previous patch and the gear icon for macros....??? You'd have to ask S.E. This had no negative impact on users, systems, servers, or memory. It doesn't reduce any memory issues because the icons are still there and still work, and it only increases the likely hood that someone creates a hack to put icons back by creating a 3rd party app that now modifies the local macro game storage to label the icons again with static icons.