Why this game is dead and not so many new players

Girl, I've lost many matches against gennins when I was jonin. This is not an excuse. If anything it's a challenge for you to learn about their skills and strategies and try to beat them.

Extreme copium levels detected. Sorry but it's true, that stuff is bad for you.

There's a lack of new players and this is borking up the entire matchmaking system. This is beyond obvious, but that's never stopped the residents of SA/NA from doing this kinda git gud or rather "st*u" reply. It was reductive unhelpful bs then, it's unhelpul and reductive bs now.

Does that mean what you're saying isn't true on some base level?

No, skill is definitely a factor in this game which is why I think people have let you off the hook with this one for so long. It's not so much it's devoid of all reason or detached entirely from reality. It's just that it ignores the issues. Also as for your anecdotal example, you're a sample size of one. This is and has always been a factor that many, myself included failed to grasp.

Does this mean there's no issue, or that their complaint isn't valid?

Also a big fat no

The fact this game (still and in spite of it's obvious flaws) has an unlock system based on streaks, specific character victories and kills etc. Means that the only way it works is with a healthy playerbase which this game clearly does not have right now. This system should have been heavily reworked and modernised long ago and with it's "next generation" upgrade should have been the very first thing to be changed. It's a nightmare for new or in my case, returning players. the problem is the missions, it always has been. Remove the heavy reliance on streaks, adopt a currency system if you like. But the mission system has been the absolute worst aspect of the game for ages now and that same system. Is highly detrimental to new and returning players. You're not MEANT to, in a ladder system. To face people with vastly more options than you and to that degree. It's not fit for purpose. Doesn't work. Believe me I've watched it not working for years.

Don't even get me started on the whole having to mission swap with people due to hilariously bad "kill x character x times in a row" mission types. All of which are designed imho, to stretch out a lack of content which frankly doesn't exist anymore due to updates to the game.

TL;DR:

In my experience these problems have been endemic from the get go Poorly designed to either work to keep you playing in a really annoying way and no sense of continual progress at choke points of progression. This system worked sort of alright back in the days when it was highly popular, and playerbase count was high but those days are long since passed. If they can't fix the lack of players (probably never) then rework the missions to be less annoying. It's not hard, just takes admitting that it was never something to work long term.

Tl;DR of the TL;DR

Games f***ed.