I am a new player who has stuck around for a while. I suppose everyone on these boards can say that, but as someone who has recently gone through the period of adjustment, I'd like to lend my two cents to the discussion. I have nobles on Dwilight and Atamarra, and the distinctions that have been drawn before this have largely held true in my experience. On Dwilight, my character has managed to work his way into some minor positions of leadership mainly by being reliable and actively sending messages to people. This has been extremely fun and interesting for me, and has led to my sticking around the game for as long as I have. Unlike most online games, I do find this to be a real team game, and that's what keeps me hooked. In Atamarra, I've found relatively little opportunity for advancement or leadership so far. This isn't really a criticism, as the leaders of my realm seem to be extraordinarily nice, but when I look at the days in realm of the leaders, they are often in the thousands. That's great and wonderful, but also pretty intimidating to anyone new looking for an opportunity to advance beyond order-following knight. I know there are things I can do on my own to spice up the game, but I don't think most new players would know about them right away (and changing classes takes some time/honor/prestige anyways).
I would say that benevolence from the top is pretty important as it is difficult to make bank as a knight. (in 3 months of daily playing I've accumulated no surplus gold on either character - I'm dependent on the army sponsor for gold every single time I refit and haven't had any extra to spend on training or anything else) Another thing that was mentioned that I've found engaging is being invited in to message groups where decisions are debated and made - that's what gives me an understanding of the narrative arc of my realm, and deepens my engagement with the character.
Other players I'm sure have other priorities and likes/dislikes, but this has been my experience.
