Player testimony IS evidence, but if you want spreadsheets I'll gladly create those too. Just give me the data. I asked several months ago for player retention data based on things like time in the game, characters' ranks and positions, and probably other data points that I don't remember right now. With relevant data and some smart analysis, we can zero in on what causes players to drop out. I suspect the drop-outs would fall into a few main categories: newbies who sign up and drop-out shortly thereafter, old-timers who have enjoyed the game but feel they've gone as far as they can go with it, rage quitters, and players who drop-out for personal reasons not related to the game. The next step would be to come up with targeted strategies that address the different reasons people quit.
And none of that would prove what you've been claiming: that there has been an
increase in new players leaving since the game's peak, and that that is caused by a lack of interesting things for newbies to do. Because a) we don't have statistical data going back 6+ years, and b) even if we did, it wouldn't include the
reasons people left. Just because someone leaves a week into the game doesn't mean they would have stayed if there had been 17 extra buttons for them to click that gave them shiny points.
BattleMaster is a very niche game. It isn't for everyone. I would
expect many people who try it out to decide that they don't actually like it within a week or two, regardless of how much easier we make the learning curve and more fun we make the new player experience. And yes, this is a problem, but it's not one we can solve without turning BattleMaster into WoW or DotA. Which we (obviously) can't and won't.
