It was recently revealed that, according to internal data, many players are experiencing difficulties with the attribute system and creating underpowered builds through misallocation. I agree this could be an issue that could impair the enjoyment of potential customers, but I personally appreciate the present attribute system and dislike the prospect of significant alteration or replacement with a skill tree.
Players are like water, most go the route of least resistance; the attribute system is the least worst option, so long as re-spec is available to them.
I don’t think Enough spotlight is put on Re-spec in the current game; it’s not a Quest Objective, and casuals likely don’t even know it exists
This might explain some of the odd data points Thomas brought up: players may not know what they’re doing and invest their stats poorly; if they don’t understand what they’re doing wrong, or know that they can re-allocate them via the Seneschal, they’ll likely have a bad experience with the game.
Personally, the current game is fine for me; I like climbing over challenging skill-cliffs, and beat Darak 2 before Hotfix 2. I disagree with the notion of making the game easier via universal player buffs and enemy nerfs; I argue that the confusion most players experience is the result of a lack of game knowledge that can be fixed via Tutorials and Quest Objectives ~ the Crucible quest is already there, so adding a side-objective to unlock attribute re-allocation (have Elsa tell the player the stories she has read about Cerim reconstituting themselves, etc. and ask the player to unlock the potential and demonstrate it for her research).