Some weeks back, there was a buzz around the LN going to help the bitcoin network become more efficient, hence it would drive adoption. Still, not much has changed to the whole adoption puzzle, it seems we are really stuck with so many complexities.
What do you mean "a buzz"? Lightning Network has been in development for years and recently people have started unoficially using it on mainnet, despite its beta status.
New cryptocurrencies entering the market are offering lower entry barrier but only lack the popularity or dominance BTC has. I'm a superfan of bitcoin protocol but I still don't get why we can't have a tradeoff.
What entry barrier are you talking about? If you mean fees, than Bitcoin fees are very low now, recently it was even lower than ETH fees. Otherwise "entry barrier" is the same for any coin: you go to an exchange, buy coins, send them to your wallet. Altcoins are actually worse because often times they have some problems with their wallets.