I disagree that WoW handles repetitive play the best Bod, I disagree entirely.

For it to even challenge any other MMORPG in that respect it would have to be an RvR game IMO. But hey, people love the game so what can I say?

Obviously a DAoC fan :p

RvR is a PvP issue. Almost all problems with repetitive content are PvE, or Player vs. Computer content.  PvP content is very easy to iterate upon, because every PvP encounter is inherently distinct. Just as people are willing to play the same Halo characters for years on end, people don't have typically have a problem with "repeating" PvP encounters. 

I think this information is STAGGERING. I was addicted to WoW for a year and clocked in over 1700+ hours on it. I have since weened myself off. Thank god. I have my life back. But damn was it fun to play.

I don't have a problem with some grinding, it just sounded like at a certain point it was almost 100% grind. Maybe I should get one of those WoW trials to check it out.

Do you think WoW would be the best for an MMO-newbie?

Oh, and I played some Diablo I/II online, that was fun...for a while.

What's RvR? I understand that PvP is Player vs Player, but not RvR.

If the real Star Wars MMO without the awful design issues of Galaxy is every completed, then I may start playing MMOs again, but WoW was overall an awful experience for me. By that I mean it was fun, but demanded much more of my life than I ever want to devote to a game again.

I'm talking about the overall game Bod. For me, the extent I'm willing to play with an MMORPG depends on what I'm training my character for. If the game is RvR, then everyone is training so they can help the realm, or make a name for themselves while they are doing so. RvR games can still have dungeons, npc bosses etc. And if they don't they can be easily added.

But when a game isn't RvR, they've just closed off a whole lot of potential in my eyes. In WoW you 'can' reach the top as there is a level limit and limited PvP so you will be waiting on a patch or expansion. However in RvR games the players can evolve the game to an extent as the power shifts from realm to realm. And while this is happening the game can still be added to.

Realm vs Realm, it's like PvP incorporated into the gaming world.  WoW has the concept but it's somewhat gimped on the combat side.

Right, like Shadowbane. I gave this as an example in my original post. It's a game that people like you and I may like, but it's a tiny niche and most people hate it for obvious reasons (time investment is quite large).

Again, Blizzard's singular vision was to completely ignore your desires and to pay attention to the people who were, at the time, not interested in MMOs. You want consequences to your actions -- long lasting ones. You want to be able to change the game. Blizzard specifically chose not to do that, and it is precisely that chocie which has made it so popular.

I'm not saying your tastes are wrong, because it sounds like they're fairly close to my own. I'm just pointing out that it's a matter of opinion, and your (our?) opinion is the minority.  Blizzard consciously designed the game in a manner different than the one you're describing.

A similar example may be hardcore fighting games vs. Super Smash Brothers. Hardcore fighting fans want incredibly complex actions that require months if not years to master, all layered upon a highly intricate combat system.

It is not a coincidence that Super Smash Brothers does not play this way, and it is not a flaw: it is a conscious design decision by Nintendo to completely ignore all those people, and it has payed off, with Super Smash Brothers continuing to gain in popularity, while effectively all other fighting games in existance continue to decline into obscurity.

Well, actually Smash does so because it appeals to both, just as WoW does.  Tourney Smash gamers are scary people, and a regular Smash player won't be able to kill a tourney gamer once in a 5 stock match.  Smash follows the theory of "easy to learn, hard to master."