I believe you highlighted a very key issue on the server currently. The difference in gameplay is drastic when you find yourself alone clearing an objective during war or standing in base with only 1 afk in sight, compared to seeing multiple people running in, dying, clearing angles etc. The time when new players join the server and experience their first war is extremally crucial for player retention, and if I place myself into the shoes of a new player I no doubt would find myself immediately logging of if I found myself only surrounded by 2-3 people the whole war defending a desolate objective from nobody.
You brought up another good point about peace time activities, the fact is bases are currently too big in correlation to the player population. This is another great vouch for CS desert as the introduction of gathering hubs for the non-afk players in peacetime is another crucial aspect of player retention. Being able to meet and connect with the people you play with, in contrast to feeling like everyone in war is an NPC is another important aspect.
As veterans a new player myself I hope staff and veterans can try their best to insert themselves into new players shoes and figure out new ways to maintain these people who log in one day and never come back.