@Callum My frustrations literally come from the class system itself. I don't like that I'm
forced to carry weapons that I don't want, and I don't like that I'm limited to a small amount of weapons when I pick a class. I don't like that I have to sacrifice my playstyle to play along with the class meta.
All I want is Infantry, Ranged, or Cavalry. That's it.
To say that it's easy for someone to just jump in on a more level playing field just because they don't have to select gear is silly. Not giving the player enough credit for being smart enough to click a button. Someone's skill isn't determined by the gear they have. Trying to make it so is frustrating and actually gives players an unfair disadvantage when they're facing someone who has better gear than them AND has a higher skill level than them anyways. Giving players the ability to pick a weapon that works well against heavy armor on the fly is what made Warband so balanced. You get to adapt to your situation at respawn.
It took me less than 1 hour to understand the gear in Warband. We're talking about primitive weapons that everyone is aware of. Not 2020 modern military assault rifles with 20 different attachments. If someone can't understand that the length/mass of a weapon determines its reach/damage/speed, I'm surprised they can even work a computer.
It took me much longer to learn what each class does and what weapons it can carry, than it did for me to look at all the weapons in Warband and quickly realize their simple function.
And to your point about cosmetics, absolutely. I hate that everyone looks the same and that I can't look like a complete idiot. And not being able to suit my own playstyle is 100% a part of it as well.
I think you guys got too wrapped up in trying to attract a new audience, and forgot about the fun. What we had was awesome. Just needed to be improved on. Not changed entirely. Ended up having the opposite affect and turned away your existing playerbase, which turned away everyone else who might have been interested.