Maybe there needs to be "help a newbie" event day every Saturday on a duel server. Literally titled newbie tutoring on the server title or something. Along with an up to date in depth video tutorial on various techniques. The game has a large learning curve, reading bulks of text to try learning it isn't fantastic. And if you go on a duel server as a complete just started noob you'll find a lot of "on all day" 2 handed pros who are hardly going to give them a happy time.
Having started this game with a bunch of clan mates and playing siege / battle it's pretty clear that the disparity of skill is MASSIVE and that frankly puts people off. No one wants to get beasted over and over without knowing how to change it. Because what the bulk of new and mediocre players end up doing is spamming with a big 2h / pole because that gets you kills and that's satisfying. Even the biggest of retards can net a 1:1 K/D ratio with enough PS and a 2h/pole. And since so many are spamming, it's far easier to spam than block and if you spam hard enough against other noobs you don't need to block! and thus the cycle of mediocrity goes on and people get frustrated and leave pretty fast.
Until you work out how all the game mechanics can benefit you in fights / can chamber properly then you're just not able to progress. Most people don't get that far. Learning how to actively chamber changed the entire dynamic of fighting for me.
There's also the fact that there's such "extreems" to peoples builds. For example the high AGI guys or the people who have 12 shielding or something. Those sort of unrealistic builds that are possible and actively used turn most people off, because frankly they're bullshit and don't leave people on a level playing field. Running around after some peasant who has a dagger and cloth on who runs about the speed of light is going to make anyone go "screw this".
And then there's heirlooms, which do make a difference in a fight. a guy in the worst gear with 0 heirlooms can kill a guy in the best gear with a million heirlooms sure -- It's all about skill. But 2 equally skilled people, one with heirlooms and the best gear and one in crap gear? Yeah who's more likely to win? None of that is "newbie" friendly. (But then, of course it shouldn't be. It's RPG and there's reward for your skill and time input -- It's just this is a factor for turning people off).
