Great read!
I been playing ~11 years or so and EU never been "interesting" MMO wise. Gameplay, missions etc is all garbage, always been. It's the economy, breaking even and later crafting that kept me going.
I have given away my gear to others to use, tier, I have pretty much stopped playing in 2021, just going through mats I have in storage. Once these run out, I will probably keep crafting something, as it is profitable.
I'm small time player though, my deposits are around 10k$ and current TT value of account is around 10k$. I do have tons of expensive prints, skills etc, but I don't think I'll be taking any money out of it anyway, since that is small amount for me irl, wount change anything for me. It does though, keep me in game, if I decide to go and do something active again.
Like real life, EU is pay to win. Always been, always will be. Not counting PVP, I'm pretty fine with it.
PS! "homework" for mobs, crafting, all them calculations and maths has provided me thousands of hours of good time here!