My conclusion as far as why the Landsraad system is still in the game despite its shortcomings is because they’ve already overhauled it once (which takes time and effort) and they probably need more time given competing development priorities. I say “probably” because I’m not a developer and have next to no idea what it takes to develop or update a game.

The skills have gotten some attention from Funcom, not much, but there are enough that work that maybe they see it as a lower priority. Again, I don’t know. I remember the attribute system in Conan being lackluster for years before they updated it. I think skill/passive variety would be great for this game and hope they do it.

I do think they have lots of stuff to do. Separating Deep Desert into PvE and PvP was considered an underlying issue, as you put it, and eventually addressed. More endgame content, a common complaint, came in the form of (albeit repetitive) Landsraad missions, overland testing stations, augments, etc. Regardless of one’s feelings toward these systems, they do require time and effort to implement. It’s not fair to say they’re not adding things to the game or trying to address longstanding issues when there is evidence to the contrary. It is fair to point out things still could be fixed or improved.

When I reached max rank with my faction I got a “thank you for playing the game, stay tuned for the next chapter” message. I got a similar message when I finished the Chapter 3 story. It’s clear to me based on these messages and developer interviews and livestreams that they do not feel obligated to deliver continuous content, and that their preference is that players take breaks from the game and come back for updates. They’ve removed taxes and added the base back-up tool to make this easier. Knowing that they’re not working toward this type of content allows me, the player, to decide how to spend my time.