This is what I was predicting as part of my "SotO impressions":

I highly doubt that the SotO maps will see much play in a few weeks. There are a lot of places in the game that are both more fun and more rewarding.

ArenaNet is currently pushing hard by throwing rewards at the player base via the Wizard's Vault and Bonus events. But while I think that rewards are generally a good idea, it should be the content itself which is the main attraction with rewards being the icing on top.

I already feel kinda annoyed by how much the game is telling me what to play now/next.

To be expected. What is the draw for this meta? There's a reason why HoT metas are still played to this day.

Same here today, on two areas of SotA, other maps were full of life.