The problem is the lack of incentives to continue the match. As it stands, FW doesn't even have matchmaking or any teambuilder logic yet it has more fun matches than pubs primarily because the incentives to continue playing the match are there. You get to pick a side, you can q-sync easier, you get paid more in LP if you win and at a set rate regardless of your effort, team killing lets you get rid of AFKers your own way (hard to punish someone if you're not at the controls), and you get better salvage.

Pubs don't offer much of that. In fact, you often get thrown into matches that are half-way or almost over very often in pubs. FW doesn't do that to you. At least not for me since I haven't experienced that problem so far.

Of course, FW (according to some who just told me) sometimes has its own quitters. Apparently Negative-Feedback managed to gain a reputation that causes a whole corp in one team to quick a FW match at the first sight of them.

Trade has even opened up opportunities for people to earn ISK without having to continuously run pub matches. Think about it. Right now a single Archduke's Modified Sentinel Mk.0 is selling for 1.5 million ISK a suit. How many matches does it take for you to build up that much ISK?

That might be why we're not seeing that many players sticking around in pubs, yet they stick around quite often in FW.

Pay closer attention when picking a game:

This is not a shooter. In fact, if you find yourself in a firefight you're doing it all wrong.

You're supposed to collect types of suits and purply weapons, and come on here to try and talk lore.

If you simply must fight, get an ARR and quit trying other things.

Haha what? Completely disagree...everybody plays for different reasons, but IM a slayer. You can not fire your gun in a war game, if you want...I don't mind.

Fix the battles...I've been playing since open Beta and starting 32 player matches 7 vs 12 is unacceptable. I've spent my hard earned money on a game that, at the moment, is not even worth playing. I play to kill, and these servers make it impossible to do so when I spend ten minutes just looking for a red berry. Fix this, or Dust will not only be able to not gain many new players, but will also lose players like me who have been playing for 2 1/2 years.

Obtusius Ignoramus Maximus, I salute you!

The communtiy asked for a new matchmaker, but got another nail in the coffin instead.
Im not convinced people leave battle because their scared of the opposition, because why didnt we see this mass exodus from battles before?
I think its because the matchmaker fails to pull the entire squad into battle, then they leave, to pick up the lost squaddie.

There is always someone who leaves battle because of the wrong reasons, but when you see entire squads leave, theres something wrong. Especially when it takes forever to even find a battle.

I been in plenty of matches before the MM fix where a decent number of people left. I think it was less apparent then because they were replaced with other people. Now it seems like when people leave they aren't replaced, and when new people do join it seems 9/10 times they are placed on the side that has more people.