My friend mageuzi wrote up an article about his recent experiences in returning to World of Warcraft with me after not having played since Cataclysm's release. His summary does a pretty good job of expressing how I feel as well, so I figured I'd link to it here.
I know there are a ton of people out there who really enjoy WoW and have great guilds and have a lot of fun with raids and doing endgame content and all that jazz, and that's fantastic! I never got anywhere near that stuff, though - my highest level character, whom I've had since the launch of the original game, is only 62 and had barely set foot in the Outlands by the time I stopped playing regularly - so I really can't comment. Maybe that stuff is the bee's knees and I am totally missing out! I never got there because I took my time with my own playstyle. I would enjoy role-playing on the role-playing servers. I'd hang around places and fish for long periods of time. I'd gather crafting resources and just explore the land, taking my time and just enjoying the little things that I felt made Azeroth a vibrant, living world that felt fun to experience. I enjoyed the treacherous march to the next area because I didn't have a flight path there. I enjoyed having to do certain quests in order to unlock additional abilities or shapeshift forms or whatnot. It made me feel so much more connected to the characters and the world they inhabited.
Basically I'm someone who would take 2 weeks to go from level 19 to level 20 and I didn't have a problem with that. I'm not a big fan of PvP, even though I know a lot of people love it. I'd done some lower-level raids and they were okay, but given my play schedule they weren't something I felt like I could really commit to, nor did I feel they were fun enough to make the effort to. Nowadays, WoW by its very nature feels like it's saying, "You are playing wrong. You need to get to the endgame as quickly as possible. We are going to guide you to what you should be doing." Early levels feel like they're handed out like candy, now. You can train Riding at a much, much lower level than you used to be able to, and for 1/10 the cost. Everything's streamlined so that it's convenient; so that it's easier to hit level 85 and start playing "the real game". At least, that's what it feels like to someone like me.
I know the lore isn't dead - I love the Worgen starting area, and I love seeing how Cataclysm has changed the face of Azeroth and the effects it's had on its people - but the fact is, it feels like Blizzard's made it secondary to convenience and gameplay mechanics. The game has become less about the world and the characters and more about Tier 11 gear and "taking down the next big boss". I don't have a problem with that, per se - I know a lot of people would rather play the game that way, and that's fine - but I just want to immerse myself in the world and not have to worry that I won't be able to group up with someone because I'm not specced right, or I don't have great gear, or my DPS isn't as high as the Other Guy's. I like reading quest text. I like taking my time. Today's WoW makes me feel guilty for taking my time - like I'm not playing the game "right".
Sometimes, I just wanna go fishing.
