It’s not marketing. It’s designed to get players to pay for a subscription. This is not a free-to-play model. Notice how there is an extremely limited cash shop. If this were really free-to-play we would be able to enchant our guns for $10 a pop and +1 our armor reppers all the way to +15. But at +7 you have to buy items from cash shop.
Stop grinding isk to play the game and pay the money for a sub. Or at least stop complaining about it, because no one can solve this problem that you have created for yourself.
Edit: Forgot about the lootboxes. You want loot boxes? No? Pay for a sub. I don’t want a loot box with 0.03% chance for an officer module and a party hat.
Gaming industry of MMOs is going to FtP with optional Expansions model. FYI core game is price bound for X-Time Period then goes to FtP. Expansions are optional however give either extra content or/and more options as an addon but are one buy time only. Sub model is vanishing - why pay 15$/Euros per month if you can buy good packages of decent pipe tobacco / Magazine / newspaper / Kids pocket money etc. PLus you have control of expansions - if its sucks you dont buy it - just imagine how EVE would look like if majority would not buy bad expansions such as Incarna etc.
The idea behind Incarna was good and if CCP had delivered what they promised, it would have been a great expansion. However CCP listened to number crunchers who sold them on Micro-Transactions and as such the game development as well as log in numbers went south from there. CCP’s execution of that content is what made Incarna a bad expansion.
Their lower instincts that make them believe wealth and owning crap is equal to a higher social status. The thing is, apparently, people who are slaves to their instincts and inadequacies are incapable of understanding that what they call “being forced to” is actually “i’m immature, lack self control and am an unhappy loser in real life who can’t see beyond the self imposed slavery”.