The new Avatar Welcome Pack is a huge win. Seeing brands like LeLutka and Legacy to give new users a high-quality mesh head and body is a game-changer. It’s a massive upgrade that helps new residents feel like they belong right away.
That said, I think we’re missing the aesthetic diversity of the old starter avatars. The old library had a "vibe" for everyone. Whether you were into Gothic, Fantasy, Urban, Non-Human styles. It allowed people to immediately pick an identity they actually identified with.
While the new avatars look amazing, they are currently very "standard". I believe it would be much more motivating for new players if they could choose between styles that let them define who they want to be in Second Life from day one.
The tech is great; we just need to bring back that variety so players can find "themselves" the moment they log in.