It's not a requirement for an MMO. It's a requirement for a Personal Computer.
In no way do I mean to be rude in asking this, but, don't they still teach typing in school?
You may be accustomed to a gamepad now, but take the time to be accustomed to a keyboard, and you will likely like it just as much if not more. especially since knowing how to use both will make you all the more versatile
I play console games, I use controllers, I like them- But for the PC, I prefer a keyboard. I can only use one or the other- Thus, if any kind of chatting or text input is involved, I will reach for the keyboard, because I don't want to pick up and put down the controller all the time. If it's a single player game and it really benefits from the features of a controller, then I'll use one- I have one, I just don't use it for every game.