>>714645893It's a combination of two things: Bad expansion, but also the end of the original story arc and people wanting something fresh. If it were one or the other, people would probably stick around, but the truth is a lot of people were just tired of FFXIV and the current expansion didn't give them a reason to stay.
I know I left before DT just due to fatigue, I had played since ARR and just didn't want to be on the XIV treadmill anymore. The story kept me around for as long as it did.