So back when there was no penalty, does that mean there was not a problem at all, and that people only had a problem with the developers? That's a very weak arguement if so. I aknowledge that both ways have their issues, and likewise - I want to see both parties taken care of in their own way.

Giving people the ability to leave after investing a certain amount of time in combat to me is far more reasonable than the current system. Where before you had veteran players taking advantage of newer players by leaving the moment the duty started, you now have the veteran players being taken advantage of by being held hostage by weaker players.

Neither way is good. And that point, it's pick your own poison.

But if they made it so you could freely withdraw after having put in time, I'd see no problem with it. It would allow people to freely leave if they've invested the effort to clear, and it would still prevent those who easily leave. When you're invested in something, the time goes by a -lot- faster.