MAN is definately a different style of play from RTS, and even from regular MA vs the AI because turns aren't made immediatly. The first day I played MAN I must admit I didn't like it because I had to wait for other players to make turns, so I'd sit in the chat room and try to play a whole game with someone else who was on-line. After about a week I got used to it tho, and enjoyed it far more than vs the AI just because of the variety of play styles I encountered.
Ultimately, I subscribe and continue to play because I have enough skill to win (or at least give others a hard time
), so the game is enjoyable. It can also be frustrating when I have a stroke of bad luck, or make a foolish mistake, but I take the good with the bad. Most people do enjoy winning (and probably even more people dislike losing), so if we just wanted to increase the chances of newbies sticking around, we could simply have all the Mentors purposely lose their games against newbies. How many of you Mentors would be into this idea?
I agree we need more players, but I don't think we should worry too much on newbies who play and leave right away - you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. This game is similar to chess, you either get it and like it, or you don't and you quit. Instead, the focus needs to be on getting the right kind of player to play the game, players who are used to this style of play from table-top, pen and paper, or other turn-based games. This isn't really something the Mentors can do, it's more about marketing by wargaming.net, but Mentors might try to actively search out these types of players and invite them to play a game.