Exactly, free build was great for new players, because people typically don't want to be forced into a stagnant prebuilt world. Right now new players are usually forced into a specific way of playing for their foreseeable future, and the only ways to get out of it seem unattainable. When I first joined a couple years ago, one of the few things that kept me on the server at the time was freebuild wildlands, because it was easy to find, fun rp that gave you the ability to create your own unique rp environment.
Maybe a player wants to be a hunter living in a secluded woodland cabin, maybe they want to be a roadside tavern owner, these are reasonable characters that players come in expecting to be able to play as, but get rammed into a brick wall of systems.