I began when ARR launched in 2013, and I completely agree with you. I have not played continuously since then, but I always come back for the expansion, and I always buy the digital collector's edition including for Dawntrail (except I bought the physical for ARR). But at this point, I feel like I am just going through the same MSQ template over and over again. The experience of going through the MSQ is just not fun anymore, and now the story itself is no good either. They really need to take a risk and change the formula.

This will sound dumb, but the most satisfying experience I have had so far this expansion was finding the aether currents on my own after I finished the MSQ. I could easily just look them up, but I just decided to find them on my own without any help. I am doing so while listening to old WoW music that I enjoy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj9j_VyIeks). It takes a while to find them, and I'm still not done with all the zones, but I am really enjoying this experience because I am able to get into a flow state while playing, and I am being rewarded for making my own discoveries. The MSQ doesn't really give you an opportunity to have that type of experience (getting into a flow state and making discoveries). You are constantly being interrupted by cutscenes and dialogue and don't get many opportunities to just 'play'.

One way the MSQ could be made more enjoyable is by having fewer MSQ quests and making it so that the MSQ quests themselves don't give you enough experience to get to the next stage. Instead, we would have to spend some time playing, doing fates, dungeons, side quests, etc., and leveling up to get the the next stage of the MSQ. This would make MSQ quests feel more like a reward, and we could have fun actually playing the game while going through the MSQ.