[2022] CU1 does not provide enough incentive to return

This is indeed our first MMO, and we're learning still. Which is why we launched in Early Access, and why we read all these posts and gather the feedback we can extract from them. You're welcome to hone in on the specifics and express what you'd like to see or what would be fun for you, specially in regards to the current systems, and we'll do our best to make as much of the playerbase as we can happy.
As for the future, there's a lot of changes planned that specifically address some of the most common issues people point out. I totally respect not playing a game if the recent update hasn't satisfied you, and I hope we'll see you back for 1.0.

First of all, thanks for the faith put in us and for trying to walk in our shoes, too. I super appreciate the kindness in times of a lot of stress, like post-patch.

Second, while you're right that the MMO tag resonates a lot with people and is echoed often, the MMO nature of Temtem has always been described as different to the general mmorpg, and is super close, actually, to what you describe. This is taken from the Kickstarter's FAQWhen you think about an MMO or MMORPG you probably think of enormous games like World of Warcraft or TERA, in which you have an endless array of possibilities (raids, guild wars, infinite quests, enormous dungeons, a never-ending realm…) but our vision for Temtem is a lot smaller than that.The core idea behind Temtem is to build a classic adventure game with a focus on the story campaign, but with online elements added around it (seeing other people online, interacting with them to battle, trade, or just to talk and share experiences).

This was written back in June 2018, and although our vision for the game has grown much larger, it's still ultimately our idea for the actual reality of the game, and much closer to it than comparing it to FFXIV. But we still believe Temtem is Massively (for an indie game that still hasn't released in 2/4 platforms) Multiplayer and Online, and like some people pointed out below, changing our branding now wouldn't do much or would feel like a betrayal.Even if the MMO tag might be considered a double-edged sword, we still have a lot up our sleeves that we hope will make the game feel better in general, both in the MMO and the monster-taming department.

I wanted to clarify that we're not avoiding mentioning these issues because someone up there is being hard-headed. It's because we're working on internally addressing them, and seeing how to solve the ones we feel need fixing. We have our hands full with development, and we have a lot of plans in place we can't still talk about, and we're often seen as deflecting or avoidant when answering due to this. Not everyone in the dev team interacts with the community, too, and not all of us who interact with the community can answer many of the questions posed about the future (yet).

I'm the biggest fan of community engagement, and I always advocate for it when the time's right, but I also know you cannot design a game if you have the input of hundreds of people, each of whom want different and specific things, every day. Not everyone is a game designer, despite what the general attitude regarding videogames is. What people think "the majority of the community" is doesn't always match the insight we have, and we're not ones to make false promises, so I won't promise you we will align on every single detail, or that we'll share your vision for every feature. We address the stuff that's massive, we do, but I can't risk using absolutes in formal communication, it could cost me dearly in the future.

I totally understand that this is the time to provide feedback, and I have no issue with it. I only mentioned development because it truly is what occupies us all the time haha

Newer players are usually the more tame bunch, actually, because the grindier part of Temtem begins at the end-game. We understand where intense players are coming from, and we're trying to deliver as quick as possible.

As for that one last bit, we woke up in June 2018 and wrote this:
When you think about an MMO or MMORPG you probably think of enormous games like World of Warcraft or TERA, in which you have an endless array of possibilities (raids, guild wars, infinite quests, enormous dungeons, a never-ending realm…) but our vision for Temtem is a lot smaller than that.
The core idea behind Temtem is to build a classic adventure game with a focus on the story campaign, but with online elements added around it (seeing other people online, interacting with them to battle, trade, or just to talk and share experiences).

That is in fact the idea behind our game, and though our vision has grown a lot, and the game with it, it still is. That's why the single-player, story-focused bit of the game is stronger than the MMO element. The MMO element is also harder to nail on the head, but we'll get there. And don't mess with our PvP nerds, they drive us crazy but they're our PvP nerds haha

I don't blame the players who take the MMO tag by heart, because I understand it's an easy tag to see and fix upon. I just wish we could make the actual insight behind it as well-known as the MMO tag is haha
I think your viewpoint is great and I hope you can continue enjoying the bits you enjoy!

the storage doubles in size when you finish the quest. From 300 to 600 slots.

yes, due to the rework of the storage system that was needed to increase storage for free. It's a very easy, fast-paced quest with no battles, can be done in less than 15 minutes