Thoughts on S28

"There is no incentive for people who are “above average” to play."

I'm not here to counter any of the things you've said about the game. But I will observe that in general, at any level of skill, fun is the incentive to play the game. Any game. And when a player starts asking themselves what their incentive is to play, or to keep playing, odds are good that they're burnt out. Yes, there are things the game can do or offer than will slow or speed up the burn out, but the real incentive to play, for the love of the game, remains the same. No badge will make up for that if you've lost it, and if you still have it then who cares about a badge? When did being good, or even as you said "above average," stop being its own reward?