I can relate. I loved the people and the armory wasn't half bad, but the payout sheet was convoluted and the high turnover rate was exhausting.
I'm sure its a tricky thing to balance faction growth vs individual growth, and highlight how much of the faction's growth reaches the individual at the end. But the thinly stretched pot, getting stuck in turtle wars(especially for all the recruited folks under lvl 15), answering the same questions over and over after every war, the in faction progression feeling like obligation if I wanted to train and becoming a mugger to make real money. All of that made me feel like this is a tutorial faction where growth is paid in knowledge and experience rather than raw profits and stat gains, like an entry level job.
I think mass recruiting green leafs is the main issue, especially as a plat faction that will be ranked against higher stat factions, particularly on the low end of the member list. The stat frustration was clear in faction chat while I was a member. Perhaps it was being dismissed since its coming from so many new players who "dont understand yet", or because it can be justified by paying for the outsides.
Shouldn't the fact that Divine kept trying to train be an indicator that the leafs want to grow, and the faction interests tower over them like a massive tree?