No real opinion on which version was best. They got rid of Promenade to reduce center-of-map hot dropping. And they added in Quarantine. To promote center-of-map hot dropping, I guess. Exactly the same deal as all the Fragment reworks on World's Edge. Utterly pointless.
Hot drop with ten other teams = bad. I agree.
Cool drop with one other team = best case scenario? Hard no.
Cold drop with NO other teams = best case scenario. Why is everyone in such a hurry to get themselves killed in this game?
And don't worry: it'll come back, just not this season.