To me, it shouldn't go back to WoW at all, but rather the other game SE actually worked on, being FFXI. We know they understand how to make a compelling game. They've done it several times over, twice over when it comes to final fantasy mmorpgs one is 10 years old, the other is over 20 years old. That should tell us something. A very clear and pointed something. What they lack in recent years is an ability to find that easy medium between hard core "no-life" grinds like what are sometimes in FFXI back before rmt destroyed it, and super sparing drip-feed content, such as FFXIV in this day and age. There needs to be a medium level that they can tap into to reach the playerbase.

MMORPG's need some kinds of grinds (not only glamours and mounts and stuff, and not only tome stones for gear, either) to make you feel a sense of progression as a player, yet that grind can't be so overblown that it becomes ridiculous... the problem is a lot of people just say to go back and do old content, but if we wanted that content then, we would have DONE it then... and that's the key thing a lot of people overlook.

I don't think the devs are lazy, far from it. I think they just don't want to commit to any clear playerbase, and try to appease everyone. FFXI was certainly for the hard core, community focused grindy-type players when it came to nearly everything. FFXIV is much more casual, but sometimes when it comes to drip-feed content, too casual.

The kind of grindy content I would like is the kind I can take with me as progression... not just a glam or an emote, or a mount, but something that allows me to progress that I do get to keep. Look at merits, FFXI, for an example of that... now to be clear i'm not suggesting merits per say, but just a system that allows me to feel like I'm actually bettering the character beyond just what's "on content" for now.... something that can and shall stand the test of time...

That's what the game needs more of, I'd say... just tests of time... something that's long lasting and doesn't phase out as drastically as our current systems.