Current Layout
In the current layout there are many items that take your attention at once, due to the amount of bold and capitalized text and buttons everywhere.
The chat area feels a little disjointed from the friendslist, which is hard to tell that it is a person list due to the iconography.
There is a repetitious use of the user's avatar and again there feels to be some disjointedness in terms of interaction with people (chat) and the people you'd most likely interact with (party and friends).
Hard to know where to click.
New Layout
In the revamped version of the site, I had fun with a left-side navigation for the main interactions with the site, where a notification circle can be used for relevant information/notices. I made use of iconography to keep it at a quick glance/click.
The left navigation gives a clear idea about what is on this page first and foremost.
Because I moved the navigation to the side, I was able to use the top for a few interactions that seem seasonal and brings more attention to them by unfurling them from the shadow of the top nav buttons.
The play button is more emphasized while the the advertisements are made just a little less abrasive with less bold and a smaller font.
The profile got moved to the left side as that is typical area for a profile, and moved all of the social interaction such as friendslist, party, and chat together on the right side.