It's funny you say that because in WOW auto-attack hasn't been a big thing for a very, very long time. They've gone mostly to rotations which have you stare at your action bar 24/7 and that have no affect on auto attack; while auto-attacks are just something that's there and enhanced by stats. WOW hasn't been an auto-attack MMO for a very, very long time.

FFXIV is starting self combos too, which I'm guessing will be closer to rotations or maybe Aion's combo system so that's good. But I'm okay if combat isn't as fast paced as WOW, Aion or RIFT's. As long as it has a decent pace and is tactical, people will like it.