Change is and always will be something that causes people to leave. I am reminded of my Grandparents church growing up...every decade or two it would split and a new church would spin off and grow on its own... what was the cause of those splits? Change. New younger more energetic preachers would come in and draw in a younger crowed... This would create friction between old and new understandings and teachings...until one group or the other would move on together.
When I found this game...it was the perfect balance between role play and mechanics for me. It was exactly what I was looking for. It still maintains that balance but has become much much more complicated as we all work to see it improved.
Yet throughout all the improvements we have seen, each one brings a bit more change and a bit more complexity. For example...I have no idea how to be a banker and only limited ideas on being a marshal. I have been both but before changes that make them how they are now.
While change and evolution of the game is important...and well done... it does create an environment that can cause players to become detached from the way they have learned to play the game.
Imagine the look on a returning player who logs in and expects to see battle groups and a General who can still stab a ruler in the back, but finds that the system of government is now much more complex.
It is a good thing...but it will and has cause players to leave. Refreshing the player base is the job of the players...I know I have failed to bring more people into the game in a few years.
