Let me start off by saying, this is my first character in the game. This entire post is merely an observation on the game from someone who just recently leveled to 80 for the first time.
With that being said, I finally feel like WoW is enjoyable, rather than a grind. I don't mean that 1-79 was absolutely awful, and that I didn't have fun and wanted to quit the game. That is hardly the case. However, the grind from 1-79 lacks any mechanics to make dungeons fun, and the questing itself isn't all that great.
As soon as I hit level 80 and was able to que for Cataclysm dungeons, it's like the game changed for the better. There were actually mechanics you had to follow in dungeons, such as standing in the way of a beam. Now I understand that after someone runs these dungeons several times that you can do it without thinking about it. To me at least, it's still refreshing to have things that must be done specifically to prevent wiping.
This became even more apparent to me last night. I joined a group that was about to run ICC 10 man. Now granted there were several bosses that just involved nuking them as fast as possible, but even the little things like standing in certain spots, or avoiding ice tombs make you feel like there is some thought put in a fight rather than just plowing through bosses like it's nothing. The Lich King fight is honestly the most fun I've had in this game since I started playing. It wasn't necessarily hard, but it was fun.
What I'm getting at is the almost non-existent amount of thought that is required for anything as you level up. I've seen several threads about wanting difficulty or the accessibility for all to complete a raid or dungeon, and while I would argue that difficulty is necessary to keep the fun level up, I think what's more important is a learning curve. Requiring people to learn an appropriate response to boss attack's, movement, etc... should be implemented, even at lower levels. There's no reason why a player in the 50's or 60's shouldn't be having to learn to actually work as a group, instead of just standing there for 30 seconds attacking, until the boss is dead. Yes, more people will wipe. Yes, leveling might take a little bit longer with said wipes. However, you'll learn important things before you get to the current content, and the game becomes more interactive.
This may come across as a rant, but I just feel like there's no reason that the game couldn't have thrown me a little difficulty earlier on. I'm having a blast now that I'm learning boss mechanics, focusing on those while attempting an achievement (Lich King 30 stack of necrotic plague was a little stressful for my first raid), and actually feeling like I accomplished something when I down a boss rather than just "alright, which boss is next".
Maybe this is how the game is supposed to feel. When you get to a higher level you get better game play. Personally, I don't understand why a fraction of this can't be implemented on the journey there.
Just an observation, from someone who's new.
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