I do not want to be off top... but I feel like I should post sth.
LBD
I would not expect a ground-shaking overhaul to the main progression system. I feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the sheer number of books to read xddd. I feel like the weather progression system is slightly overdone.
Players may sprint in a straight line, glitch themselves on one side of the shaped block, plant cacti or simple traps in the cosiness of their safe base. Then artificially boost their stats without taking any meaningful action or risks. Spamcrafting is another thing, and perhaps there needs to be a cooldown or something. Do not be fooled, and do not tell me that LBD is the best thing on Earth. LBD is most of the time - Glitch me up fast, Scotty, and the story ends.
PoI Burnout
Welp. I feel like I hit the ceiling, floor, and wall at the same time.
My biggest problem with repetitiveness in the game is the Points of Interest system. The main loot can always be found in the same location, such as a room, basement, or rooftop. Sometimes I open one wall or land on top to get the main drip.
The zombie spawn system is another story. The same amount of zombified, spawning in the same corners, no wandering zombies, zero surprises after X updates. Pretty much, I enter the same location, and I do know what to expect and how to navigate. I do know where to find the biggest 'area of contempt' with the zombified party, especially after looting the same PoI X times.
I feel burnt already without some dose of randomness with PoIs.
Bandits
I do not expect Bandits to be groundbreaking. Instead of getting shot on the spot, a player could be wounded and dragged to the facility run by local thugs. Then I could plot my way out during interrogation or something, knock someone down, crack some safes, and gear up. Would local thugs like to know the location of your doomsday stash? Minigame would be welcome, not just a death screen with magical spawning back to your own safety.
There must be an abundance of random events in the world. Rescuing trapped bandits for a stash location, maybe some negotiations while figuring out if they would cooperate this time. Falling into a trap and getting ambushed while dealing with zombies is probably a must. Perhaps I could get raided in the late game stages. Possibilities are pretty much endless. Running into bandits with a shootout scenario, naaah, too predictable, incredibly nauseating.
Serious Burnout
I feel like the 2.5 update has been received positively. I think players might want new content badly.
Bandits. New Biome. New means of destruction.
Flipping stats back and forward with refreshed icons will not bring players back, in my humble opinion. Instead of weapon parts, a weapon attachment system should have been introduced a few years back.
Backpack
Would you consider adding physical backpacks to a game and increasing its slot size? Backpacks could also work as a stash. More and more content gets poured into the game, and slots are tiny. I know, vehicle slots were increased in the last update. I think the most popular online servers are those with increased inventory slots and that prohibit the use of mechanical tools (to avoid a lag of cosmic proportions).
On the positive note, the last update brought me some faith. I thought for a while that 7DTD is resting slowly in the abandonment phase.