CF suffers because:

1) It is unholy in that walkin from one end to another can take more time than to use the flight paths on World of Warcraft(those who played CoH first know what I mean)

2) Gearing is a pain because it takes forever to find it and then of course if you lose it see point #1.

3) GIANORMOUS skill gap between players. Skilled players travel in packs which makes sense because they are drawn to each other. No one likes traveling with an incompetent character.

4) The learning curve.. even if you have played before.. is just TOO insane. The difference between the haves and have nots is too large. Makes the average to knew player feel unappreciated and unhappy.