If my Free Company is any indication, the majority of new players quit before finishing ARR. Generally the first thing that comes up once the hi and welcomes are done, is the sheer number of quests to reach HW. Some stick it out, most don't. I love the story and dislike skip potions. I have no idea why anyone would want to play if they didn't enjoy a story driven MMO. But saying that, SE really do need to make big cuts to all the fetch quests and do that as a priority.

So I'm sorry, OP, veterans aren't more important than new players, we all pay (more or less) the same sub and the game needs a constant influx of new folks to stay vibrant and relevant