Yeah I know, interacting online with others players can be scary !

oh lord no. If it is, I won't touch it. There is only ONE MMO world I can bear doing this BORE fest again. That would be Fallout MMO and even then I will stop playing after reaching level Cap. I will not spend HOURS a day to play "End Game Content" that they believe is worth it when I think it's shit.

It's kinda funny to see that so many still believe that players raid end-game content to get better gear though ;)

Having raided some of those bosses I can say, that with the current group I play with it is not at all about the "PHAT LOOT".  There is nothing more entertaining then watching someone accidently screw up and wipe the raid or more enjoyable in the game then finaly coming together as the group and downing the boss/trash that has beeen mocking you for so long.

/agree
You raid to kill the boss and be with friends, not to get phat loot of them, those that raid with loot in minds rarely stick around...

Killing an end game boss in Wow is like trying to beat any very hard mode on a single player, except you get to do it with a bunch of friends so you can share the experience ( and get a little fame in game when you succeed lol) :P

I personally disagree ...

When you're trying to be the first group to beat the raid boss (or you're actually there with friends to beat it together) it is an enjoyable experience, unfortunately that represents a tiny fraction of raids that occur. Most raids in WoW take place between a group of people who are actually trying to get gear to become more successful in PvP or to move onto the next raid; the challenge is soon eliminated because the strategy to beat the boss is posted online and everyone follows the exact same strategy over and over (and over and over) again.

I found many of the 5 man dungeons to be much more interesting (and at times challenging) because there was far more variety in how you handled things. If you ran the same dungeon two or three times your group was (likely) very different every time and your role in that group could be very different; a Paladin, Shaman or Druid (for example) might end up being the primary healer in the absence of a Priest, they might do additional damage or be an alternate tank, or they could end up being the primary tank.

When I first started playing WoW, in the open beta, I ended up running the Deadmines without a single class that could heal; it was a warlock, a hunter, two mages and a rogue and we were (actually) highly successful but there was a challenge associated with it due to the unconventional strategy it required.

Raiding:
1. Show up with a group of people at the raid dungeon entrance at the same time.
2. Obey your raid leader.
3. Do as your told for X number of hours.
4. Leave and receive DKP/a new item.

Work:
1. Show up with a group of people at the workplace at the same time.
2. Obey your boss.
3. Do as your told for X number of hours.
4. Leave and receive a paycheck.

WoW is like a bad prank: you spend hours leveling up your character, increasing their power and capability in the game world, and when you reach the level cap, suddenly you can do nothing of value unless you do it as part of a small army. For the record, Shadowbane did the exact same thing.

But my biggest gripe with the game is that everything is static and unchanging. You, as a player, can have absolutely no lasting impact on the world. There aren't even any GM-run random events to make the game more interesting. Every NPC is like a figure in a wax museum with a button that says "Press to hear audio".

What sucks even harder is the fact that you have figures from Warcraft lore like Thrall who just stand around all day waiting for the alliance to come kill him.

I loved WoW's PvP until I realized that, instead of grinding dungeons, I was grinding players. WoW is the only game I've ever seen which was actually able to take PvP combat, something which should be the most thrilling part of any game, and make it routine.

WoW is like an online Disney World theme park: you see the sights (explore the world), you ride the rides (go on quests) but at the end of the day, when you leave (quit the game), it's like you were never there at all.

Why put so much time into something which has no dynamic storyline, no consequential actions and where nothing you do will have any lasting effect on the game world?

FYI, I've played Lineage, Shadowbane, PSO and Clan Lord before WoW and I can safely say that WoW is the only MMO which actually discourages you from interacting with other players for any reason beyond acquiring better gear.

To put it bluntly, it's the biggest single-player MMO I've ever seen. I actually enjoyed posting on the WoW forums more than playing the damn game because there was actual player interaction.

It's Activision-Blizzard now...no parades were rained upon.

New IP could be better...