I think EQ's charm, in terms of combat, was that things weren't always so scripted. Unexpected things would sometimes happen. Certain mobs would run, others would stay and fight. You always had to be on your guard in tougher dungeons or encounters, and come in prepared with the proper group balance and spells selected. You had to account for different types of mobs, know if they'd run, or if they'd stay and fight, whether they were undead, or not, etc. Lots of variables. Then you also had to worry, in tight quarters, about spacing, your place in the area, not accidentally pulling more mobs, roamers, and respawns. Many a group were wiped due to a mob running causing a train.
Nowadays, its mostly run into a group of mobs, no way to CC, no way to seperate, just smash everything in the way. No group cohesion, just a group of people soloing the mob in front of them pretty much.
