You're absolutely right, this is aimed more at those who want to play for a while without going competitive, or those who can't afford to level up everyday.

You mentioned D&D Online, and also Lord of the Rings Online is getting quite an impressive update frequency. For older games, these are definitely getting some good support and without the whales, they would certainly be dead by now.

I'm not against cash shops as well, and I understand the appeal - however, I don't recommend spending a good amount of cash ($100 or more) in a recently released game, unless that game is 99.9% going to run for a long time (FFXIV, Elder Scrolls Online, Black Desert Online and so on).

Those who spent money on Bless Online's Early Access and cash shop... well, what were they thinking, paying up for a game that was failing everywhere else?

Thank you for your comment! :)