As you can see, they don't care if server population is decreasing. Classic is a very good example, dead server but the amount of people that keep spending in there is fine for NC.
I agree with everything else you wrote. L2 Store - Consumables for real money, items for real money, destiny/prestige for real money, heavy pay2win promo "events" like the cloak "event", gambling casino loot boxes, farm with 1-2-3-4 and more PCs/laptop also increases your monthly electricity payment. The only "free to play" is to just login, for all the rest you need to pay.