TBF, there's really nothing in GW2 that requires a whole lot of thought. I'd argue that the boss encounters in WoW are MUCH more in-depth. Aside from the first time you encounter an event...it's just the same-ol same-ol(like anything else).
Combat wise though, yes, it is much more fluid and enjoyable.
As an Engineer, an Elite encounter (or surprise mobbing) in the Tower, just for me alone, is something like this:
"Oh shit! An Elite + a stunlock mob + several ranged just ambushed us.
1. Static Shot + Incendiary Ammo to blind/burn and confuse at least four of the mobs, making sure to hit the Elite first.
2. Magnetic Shield to bounce back some of the ranged aggro I just got, dat reflect!
3. Poison Dart Volley on Elite to prevent it regenerating some of the damage being done to it by the rest of the players around me.
4. Static Shield to block some of the melee mobs now tracking on me because I'm clearly a threat.
5. Throw Shield before Static Shield runs out at the Elite to interrupt it's charge-up AoE trip.
Now it gets fun.
1. Drop Healing Turret and hit its Cleansing Burst to remove some of the debuffs on the players.
2. Switch to Flame Thrower for a burst of speed (trait).
3. Shoot a Flame Blast at the Elite, Detonate as it gets near for some AoE on mobs around it.
4. Drop a Napalm line on Healing Turret.
5. Switch to Elixir Rifle.
6. Detonate Healing Turret on the Fire Field from the Flame Blast for Area Might stacks on players.
7. Quickly do a Magnetic Inversion on the Fire Field for more Area Might.
8. Acid Bomb on the same Fire Field for more Area Might, dropping an AoE poison field there, and moving me out of the ruckus a bit.
9. Rocket Boots to blast PAST that same the Fire Fire for MORE Area Might, taking me behind the Elite.
About 30 seconds have passed since combat started.
0. Drop the Healing Turret again and Cleansing Burst to get rick of group ick.
1. Switch back to Flame Thower to Flame Blast some mobs away from me.
2. Smoke Vent to blind the ones that blocked or I missed.
3. Rocket Kick the Elite in the ass just for fun.
4. Switch to Elixir Gun and Fumigate the Elite since I notice we're lacking Vulnerability stacks on it. Vary the spray to the sides a bit to cure conditions on ranged players near it.
5. Drop a Super Elixir orb on the Elite which is a Light field, so players shooting projectile finisher into it get conditions removed.
6. Switch back to Flamethower and Flame Jet the Elite and mobs for a bit, building up Might for myself due to Juggernaut. Waiting for Magnetic Shield.
7. Throw Shield to interrupt Elite when I notice it's charging up.
30 seconds later.
0. Static Shot + Incendiary some mobs.
1. Hit Cleansing Burst on Healing Turret, which creates a Water combo field.
2. Run into Water field.
3. Magnetic Inversion to blast AoE heals to everyone around me.
4. Detonate Healing Turret for another AoE heal. MORE HEALS?
5. Swap to Elixir Gun and Acid Bomb for ANOTHER AoE heal. HOW CAN ENGINEER HEAL SO MUCH!
Seriously, Engineer heals are insane. And I run Zengineer (full Celestial all the way, all trinkets, pistol and shield). And it's all AoE too. I've managed to bring an entire group back from disaster more times than I could count.
...
While all this is going on, I'm using Regenerating Mist to give allies Regeneration and make some Water combo fields they can blast, leap, or whirl through. I'll be sure to do it near Warriors doing Whirling attacks, because that helps a lot.
I'm also using Healing Mist to break myself out of stun or reset my animations if I need to do faster bundle swapping.
Where I find the time, I use the pistol's basic Explosive Shot to bleed enemies. Ironically, in spite of people saying you can just hit 1 and autoattack to victory, my 1 skill autoattack is almost the least-used skill.
Meanwhile, everyone *else* is doing *tons of stuff* that help the battle not result in failure. Or, sometimes, they're not, and when I realize things are going south and I can't carry the group, I Rocket Boot the hell out of there and res them once the mob has moved on or I get backup.
tl:dr; It's not that combat in GW2 doesn't require a lot of thought, but rather, a lot of it comes *naturally*.
After playing for a while, you're responding to things in the right way thanks to experience, knowing which things to blind, which ones to stun, which ones to interrupt and when. Which debuffs to prioritize removing. And of course, the mainstay of WoW mechanics is also there, ever-present: don't stand in the fire.
I'm a retired raid healer, resto Tauren shaman. I made the bars go up, and even had some DPS inbetween making sure the tank doesn't die, because then the baby starts crying. I knew the rotations. It was all about rotations. Rotations rotations rotations. Like playing baa baa black sheep on the piano. Don't get me wrong, I *really* enjoyed my time playing WoW, especially the super-serious raid content. I was in a great guild, we got together regularly, and I learned a lot. I played a healer because I wanted a challenge. DPS just didn't do it for me, nor tanking.
I don't miss the Holy Trinity. I really don't. It was fun for a while, but I've seen what things can be like without it, and I think it's better this way.
In Guild Wars 2, your sense of agency and ability is better than I've ever experienced in an MMO, the only thing I felt came close was Vindictus, but that was a glorified coop Source mod. It could get away with some impact combat because it wasn't doing a whole lot else in the instanced levels.
I have noticed though that in Guild Wars 2, a lot of people are being carried. A *lot*. I cannot tell you how many times I've had to resurrect 'Zerk warriors. I res clothies less than zerk warriors. But that's just a personal pet peeve: this notion that 'DPS uber alles', when in reality, I'd rather have things take a bit longer but people know how to play so I don't have to keep rubbing their downed asses.
I digress. At the end of the day, the combat in GW2 is fun. It's immediate, *feels* good, and I like being able to tell what's going on without having to look at icons or timers. If someone is crippled, they limp! If someone is poisoned, they're green! If someone is building might stacks, their character shouts stuff out to indicate it's happening. You could turn off your UI and just listen to the game, watching the battle, and get at least 70% of the signal you need to make the informed choices needed from you moment to moment.
Effects LOD helped a lot, though there needs to be more work done in cleaning up the mess a battle creates onscreen. Better enemy outlines, the ability to have them with post-processing off, more AoE indicators with priority, cleaner visualizations of the different Combo fields, etc.
Granted, perhaps I'm experiencing a different game. Put five blind men in a room with an elephant, and you have five different animals described to you.
I would agree that I think Anet should ramp it up. Design harder encounters. The Queen's Pavilion Gauntlet was totally on the right track, those could have all been dungeon bosses on their own.
