Is the F2P/Preffered system too prohibitive, and if so, what should change?

Darsik is actually pretty correct. The vast majority of those CM sales came from subscribers. Subscribers are important. They have shown they are willing to spend money on the game... as opposed to F2P players who show a stunning commitment to spend zero on the game and Preferred who show a willingness to pay, but within strict limits.

Just to remind you - if the game didn't have 'freeloaders', it would be dead. It's that simple. The only reason why these free players are allowed to run free is to give subscribers a sense that the game is busy when the truth is, its not.

You may have found value in the game - great, but others probably don't and if 'story' was enough to keep people paying $15 a month, then the subs base wouldnt have dropped like a stone now.

In most other F2P games the people who spend the most money are usually also so-called premium players (who have a premium account that they pay a monthly fee for. IE subscription by another name). They have different names in most games but Premium account is one of the more common ones.

We need to remove the concept of subscribers completely from the game.

We need to remove the concept of subscribers completely from the game.

The game is now F2P and should handle that like other F2P games do.

In most other F2P games the people who spend the most money are usually also so-called premium players (who have a premium account that they pay a monthly fee for. IE subscription by another name). They have different names in most games but Premium account is one of the more common ones.
It usually comes with advantages such as earning more XP and money, More freedoms in different aspects of the game and other stuff. Just like a "sub" in SW:TOR does.

Nobody claims that the number of premium accounts is important to know in other F2P games.
Why?
Because the only thing that's important is the net revenue. Who is paying for it is not that important. It is usually whales that are also usually premium account holders (but not all of them)

We need to remove the concept of subscribers completely from the game.

The game is now F2P and should handle that like other F2P games do.

In most other F2P games the people who spend the most money are usually also so-called premium players (who have a premium account that they pay a monthly fee for. IE subscription by another name). They have different names in most games but Premium account is one of the more common ones.
It usually comes with advantages such as earning more XP and money, More freedoms in different aspects of the game and other stuff. Just like a "sub" in SW:TOR does.

Nobody claims that the number of premium accounts is important to know in other F2P games.
Why?
Because the only thing that's important is the net revenue. Who is paying for it is not that important. It is usually whales that are also usually premium account holders (but not all of them)

So after surfing the net a bit I discovered that the reasons I reasons I had to walk away

Go back to your Magic Castle where either only Utopia or slave to CC exists. The world is a bit more complex, but that would be a very confusing discussion for you.

Disagree. I have philosophical and practical objections to entitlement culture. As a result, if the game eliminated subscriptions and gave all the benefits of subs to F2P players, I'd probably quit playing.

Get what you pay for, and pay for what you get. Words to live by.

Furthermore, I really really REALLY hope you won`t come in here with a straight face and tell me that a player that finds 15 bucks not worthy for this game is spending 20 a month on the same game in the form of coins.

This is only the logical point of view, since we all know that the subs are the most that bankroll the game.

So basically just rename "subscriber" to "premium account"? What's in a name? People get so wrapped up in the unimportant stuff...

If you like the game and you can pay for it, you should pay for it. Getting value at others' expense without compensation is selfish and shameful and ultimately destructive to whatever you're getting value from because without compensation, it's going to go away.

If you like the game but cannot possibly find a way to scrounge 50 whole pennies per day to pay for it, you should be damned thankful you have a computer and internet connection capable of playing it and the free time to play it and therefore issue exactly zero complaints about any restrictions.