To put it simply, the game is too difficult for new players. Did you start playing Guitar Hero on expert level? Did you start playing Zelda at the last boss? A game is too daunting to start at the end. You need to work your way up to that level, learning each part of the game little by little. Look at any single-player FPS... you start with just like one weapon, and you have ample time to learn that weapon. Then you get one more weapon, with enough time between that one and the next to learn that one. In QL though, you start with all the weapons, and you don't know anything about the maps or timing of items, and you just have to deal with it. The players don't help, usually they just insult you, as if a new player should be as advanced as themselves.

Being that QL has no single-player portion (unless you count bots), the method of playing through a single-player campaign is not an option. What other options are there? What can we do to motivate new players to get through those early difficulties? Small prize-purses would probably work. If they can win prizes, they would likely be willing to suffer through those early game frustrations. It's possible, that is the only thing that would work. If you had a ladder, but there were no new players, any new players would still have to play against experienced players. I suppose you could impose some kind of handicap, but would experienced players be willing to play like that?

There's nothing wrong with older games. There's something wrong with games that are too difficult for new players. The skill-matching system has proven itself inadequate. Until we figure out a way to get people past those extremely difficult early games, QL will continue languishing with a small playerbase, and probably a declining playerbase. The playerbase gets small enough, and the game is dead. The only thing currently keeping QL alive is the quality of players. While quality is preferable to quantity, having both is even more preferable.