Hey guys! I want to throw in a "noobs" point of view. My wife and I started playing about 3 weeks ago...so please take this with a grain of salt. I have played most of the large title MMO's for years, starting with Ultima Online (circa 1997) thru all of WoW and its expansions, as well as SWTOR. From my POV thus far, this game really reminds me of DAOC/UO as far as some of the dynamics, depth, and the economy. So far, the most challenging aspect has been getting money in the game, by far. Selling of things at the settlement deed does not garner much income and we currently do not have the resources to corner any markets like we did in WoW and on UO...yet. That being said, I have found a great community that have discounted (or just given to me outright) things to help us get started - and I think this is the selling point for me. I pay for our premium access and maybe a 3rd priest alt, which has been enough to cover my in-game expenses, but I think the community has been the biggest selling point for me thus far.
On the economy:
I like that I am not getting spammed into submission by china gold farmers, and the markets are one of my favorite things...auction houses hurt modern MMO's and took some of the cool factor from my youth. I remember, some of my fondest memories in MMO's were visiting the local blacksmith and pilfering thru vendors in UO as well as going into the housing zone in DAOC and doing the same. The fact that I can *make* weapons an armor has much greater reward to me personally than going in a pub instance run knowing I need to kill X monster for some awesomesauce gear...or grind weeks on end in battlegrounds/arenas for points to purchase them with.
Maybe it is just me - but people now are far too accustomed to being handed content in a game. Hell, even vanilla wow was far more challenging that the cluster they have going on right now. I don't disagree that the sub #'s should be higher and they could 'do more' to bolster the numbers, but there seems to be a fine balance also...remove some of the hardmode to attract those looking for instant gratification, or hope that you have a solid enough game to pull in people like me who have some sense of nostalgia from MMO's long past. At any rate... o7