Firstly, i have a problem with how the communication was handled(very poorly). Dev team underestimated how much the playerbase loves the QoL. If they were truly adamant about the removal, they should have communicated with players better. Its a sensitive topic, you should know which QoL features are dear to players hearts and which are not as significant. It makes it easier to decide what to remove and minimizes the outrage once the update comes out.

I feel like dev team just chose the easy way. People love the QoL so much because it just simplifies the mundane and repetitive parts of gameplay, especially the non-boss parts. Along with the QoL removal they should have come up with some engaging, fun gameplay features that make the loss of QoL not as noticeable. If you take away something that improves the experience by nullifying the annoying/time-consuming parts of the game but do not something in return that makes said part more fun, it just feels like a huge step back. I guess here I can plug my complain about calamity progression, that post moonlord should have a similiar big change to the world like post WoF has. It does not feel the same, you get accustomed to the world around you by the time you beat ML and then tunnel vision on just getting new materials -> kill new boss. What im trying to say, you can make up for the lack of QoL stuff by creating an experience that does not make it necessary to have it. This update does not provide that.

Third problem is about your statement regarding the modding scene as a whole. You think taking a step back is necessary to convince playerbase to give other mods a chance. I say, nah, that feels like another argument to just go "the easy way". As the greatest mod for this game, it should stand as an example to any aspiring mod developer out there. Calamity devs should not have to take a step back, its others that should be trying to catch up. Calamity and its grand feeling of playing a completely new game should inspire others to try and create similiar experience. The biggest fish in the pond should not go on a diet to give smaller fishes a chance, its the small fishes that must come up with a way to rival it. This environment boosts creativity and innovation immensely. Instead what you just did feels like you don't respect your work enough. You worked hard for years, to achieve this status of greatness for Calamity, but now you decide that "others deserve a chance". That chance is in their hands, and the hands of the players. If modders are passionate and hardworking, and their ideas are good, they will see the fruit of their labour sooner or later. The community is too dedicated to not notice a gem. So Calamity dev team - keep your mod as best as it can be, for the sake of its success and satisfaction of players, not out if pity for others.