Yeah looks like this expansion is a love letter to groups, and we all know how pick up groups in ESO are...most folks I know are heading back to FFXIV or GW2 until this one is over, Iv'e already got my expansion refund.
The mistake here is that Ashes of Creation is gearing up for beta, Pantheon is moving close to open beta...both of those games will take ESO's dungeon running guild population, because they are designed from the ground up exclusively for larger groups.
Camelot Unchained will take the PVP population, because Mark Jacobs
And here is Zenimax giving the finger to a very large population that wants to stick with the game, the same population the subscribes and buys from their cash shop. It's an idiotic move, to try and gain hardcore cred that doesn't exist.
You would think the industry would learn from Wildstar.