I do think that for current-expansion duties they should definitely keep the story requirements. However for older expansions I really don't mind them unshackling the requirements for some things. Cleaning up the path to enter the Crystal Tower was a really smart move on their part in my mind and I think further house cleaning as the game grows older can only be beneficial. Likewise their desire to go back and fix the debacle that is 2.1-2.55 to ease the new player experience is desperately needed, as that's the stretch of the story people have the most issues with. I think you can still make people have to do the story to get to some things but make it so the whole process isn't so much of a slog either.