Just out of curiousity, when's the last time you had a 'holy shit this is awesome' moment in an MMO? It's been a long time for me. I play for mild amusement nowadays. If I can get 3 months of fun out of an MMO, I consider it a win.
Previous to yesterday, several years. I tried Blade and Soul yesterday, and at level 1 you unlock sprint. Which seems trivial, then you try it and you run at the seeming speed of an epic mount in any other game. The animations following it are perfect, including the cat following me in sprint mode. Then I jumped and pressed space again, and I could glide.
Both things done before, but it was so smooth and the setting fit it perfectly. Asian themed fighters can fly, we all seen that from Chinese movies. Animations and abilities are set to fit with the culture of China.
So, the holy shit moment came from just everything looking and feeling just right. Not that it would save an entire game, but having that feeling in the first 10 minutes is something no MMO has given me in a long time. (EDIT: Last time was the quests from The Secret World) That initial burst of fun instead of "end game is where it is at". Fun from the start should not be a strange concept. And this is in a MMO where I understand nothing apart from the few translated UI bits and some quest text.
MMOs are more fun when played together. However, since the actual interactivity and group play has been downplayed a lot in the later years in favor for "your" experience, they have had to make the gameplay faster and more interactive in order to keep players retention (like a single player game). Constant progress, constant achievements and constant rewards to offset the lower risk put into the games as well. Instead of making things group based, where one class had CC, one damage, one tanked, etc, everyone needs every ability, and group play becomes a whirlwind of abilities. Usually no need to really think of group composition or playstyle (pulling, main tank, etc) until "hard" or "expert" dungeons.
I not good at twitch combat (anyone who grouped with my evasion skills in FF 14 can vouch for that), but I love tactical combat. For instance in EQ I could fight one mob for hours trying to get pet chains just right in order to kill it. Much rather build upon being able to use a few skills more effectively than getting new skills every level. Skills who base up damage until my level gets within range of the mob so the hardcoded resists no longer make the fight unwinnable.
Wildstar goes back to the more tactical choices of only having a limited set of abilities, but it still looks like the same formula we have seen lately. You play by yourself to level except for occasional quests and there is no need for grouping. In a standoff against a single mob your level, you will never be in danger no matter what skills you pick, as has been the case of every mmo since Everquest I think. Now most mobs nearly feel invisible to the eye as you are only on the lookout for the one listed in your quest tracker.