Yea, this game is gonna fail, at least in the sense that it will not 'break through' to a larger audience, but be stuck with the former EQ/P99 crowd. Nothing the devs can do either, aside from making an entirely new, modern game that alienates the poopsocks and brings in the normies. My +1 is a friend from childhood, don't see or talk to him much these days, but I knew he was super-interested in the game and gave it to him. He is a heavily sedated schizophrenic with highly debilitating pseudo-autism (they aren't sure if it is or isn't, because he has all the downsides with no savant upside), and in general is just a completely hopeless human being. Thanks to him, I can recognize his behavior from other players that may not be as obvious otherwise, and it's baffling how common it is.
Most of these folks don't have the cognitive ability to make to 60 quickly, if ever, but don't worry, as you grow out of their sphere, along with the 'core' player semi-normies, you get to interact with the no-life manchildren poopsocks. I hate these people even more, folks who have completely replaced any IRL accomplishment with a digital progression. It's not a game to them, it's real life, and their brain calibrates the consequences and rewards as such. Every game will have em, but these are a certain type of losers, they are older and more pathetic than your typical no-lifer. They are stuck in the early 2000s, constantly waxing on their glory days of EQ. In other games these folks might still have hope, perhaps they are a college student smart enough to dial-in Bs and Cs with absolutely minimal effort while gaming 80+ hours a week and still get a job and have a life after college. These are the ones who didn't, and now they are 40+ years old doing the same thing they were 20+ years ago. It's bad enough having to interact with them in any capacity, but now I have to HEAR their grating voices on discord? I don't understand it, perhaps you can't help looking like a nerd, but I would do anything to reform my voice if I were some of these folks. My only solace is that I can't smell them, but that's about it.
No normal human being is going to enjoy interreacting with these people, and I'm about done even trying to do so. Game itself is just alright with potential to be really good, though not great, but these folks will alienate any sane human being from getting into the game regardless.