How i see situation :
First thing in game is “playing”
Class being the first thing , and the one you don’t have to fear to release too fast. (except if fast mean rush develoment for sure, clearly not subject here)
The variety will make newcomer more willing to stay (more chance to have a crush on a gameplay if there are 20 than if there are 2… )
Then contents : SWTOR began by a fail because it was empty of content… just because of this
But you have to not give too fast… it would be overwhelming, give a false feeling of stupid difficulty. You can totally “drip feed those” just have to find the good rythm to not have people bored.
There are minor content for player retention, and major for retention, hype, comeback, etc.
And then, all side things, skins, funny quests/events. For me those are clearly not what will make people stay or comeback, or even just come in the game. And it can be down to a “bare minimum” just enough skin to have people to feel way to customise their character as they want.
So no, i would not consider skins and event as “marketing” tools. (you can think it for sure, i explained why i didnt speak about it for the current topic, and will never ^^ )
It blows my mind that someone sat down and thought OMG YES, I GOT IT! they want more classes well let’s give them what they want “changes it to 1 class ever 2 months”
Their prime excuse is that they are still releasing faster than KR. Smilegate have to design, make crucial decisions, develope and market Lost Ark; meanwhile AGS only have the easy part of the job here, but still have the audacity to claim the former.
It’s crazy how they stated “accelerated releases” around the time they did 1 month per class for Glaivier and Destroyer, then circled back to the original 2-3 month and acted like nothing happened lol