As some people pointed, this seems to be a game for people who like
grinding for the grind itself, like a therapy, repetitive (thus relaxing
instead of intense) gameplay.
Very true. I’m a GM/RL in WoW and for me, ToS is a relaxing experience in its simplicity. It’s all about theorycrafting and playing it out. No recruitment or big groups to manage, no strategies to prepare and lead, no different roles to criticize and logs to scrutinize. It’s just play with a smallish group and grind. That, to me, is refreshing.
I have been present in the majority of past AAA MMO launches. I’m an MMO enthusiast and have been part of it since early MUDS predating MMOs (Kesmai/Drakkar). If I’m interested in something I try it. If I’m interested enough, I stick around. If not, I move on. In this case, I would advise you to move on. I think you’ve laid out the game’s faults pretty clearly and I don’t think there will be any thing drastic in the near future to shift your view. It’s a niche game and pretty polarizing in that regard, but the game knows that and I don’t see any indication of diverging from their core design. Niche as it is, it has its audience, after all.
