I apologize for vanishing.
I left the the hobby altogether. I was waiting for burnout to fade before diving back in, and it never did. Not for a year, anyway.
All of you in NEXT deserved better, and I am sorry I left you adrift.
On-topic: the limitations of a mature game are real, and finding a meaningful-feeling niche can be difficult.
The bottom line for me is that Trakata and Malacia were even-handed staffers.
I shared the worries others had when they were elevated to wizard. Giving greater authority to already-important PCs can be a terrible mistake, but those fears haven't been born out by my experience. The game isn't their playground. They're working to do right by their players.
I recommend trying Dawn of Defiance out to see if it's a fit for you.