DF only needs to do one thing, it's the most important lesson they should have learned a long time ago. "Speed up THE GRIND" If they make the grind more attainable and realize a significant part of the players in game have jobs. And most don't have much time to grind without taking more time out of their lives to get their character in good fighting condition.

I don't think grinding a character should be so fast that you max it out withing a few weeks either. There could be some common ground with this, if they find the right mix they could see a new influx of players. I think that's the biggest issue with darkfall. They are taking to many idea's and throwing them in a box and mixing them up "literally" except for the main one they should be changing IMO "The Grind".