"Content" for me as a paying player has been less about the gates and tiers, since once the AI is learned a lot of the challenge goes away, and more about expanding the arsenal to try different toys that Three Rings made for the players.
Prior to the latest update, the costs for such content seemed a bit on the pricy side, primarily due to the limits of existing gate/tier content, but still reasonable. Currently, it's too expensive for me, and though I've coughed up the higher fees to finish a few crafting favors for friends, there will be no more crafting until something is done to address the situation.
The icing on the cake is that the reasons given for the increased crafting costs was that "we want everyone to do their own crafting" - this flies in the face of basic enconomics: with supply and demand being otherwise equal, raising costs on the supply side will REDUCE demand. Taken for what it seems to be, it feels like being lied to, and that does NOT encourage goodwill nor an opened wallet.
I love the auction House, it gave the game a whole new level of depth of economics and sales. I get so happy when I see a notice about receiving a new mail.
Hihihihihihihihi