I agree, I think GW2 did alot that was different then other MMOs, and really alot of those decisions were the right ones.
I agree, the limited skill slots is really nice, not over whelming, but more then enough room for skill to really make a large difference. There are another 5 skills that you are leaving out, which is the second weapon set, which should be used, and I think the big difference between good and great players will be that.
The queue is rough, but I think that will get figured out. Gonna give them the pass that they have more people queued then they expected. Im avoiding world play until then.
I agree, not sure what 'end game' is in GW2. Def not the same as other MMOs, but by the time I have leveled the classes I want to, I'll have put in lots and lots of hours. Long term for such as active player as you is alot different the most MMOers. ORs short term plans in DDO are > most DDO players long term goals

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(^ ya thats a bit of fanboism, but frankly, I think they will have released more cohesive endgame by the time I start to fully explore the game)
That being said I just read an interview with a GW2 Dev that was interesting. You have to remember that the game is 2 weeks old. End game is not fully fleshed out yet. DDO original end game was TS.
"Players can expect that we're going to very, very strongly support Guild Wars 2," he answered, measuredly. "I can't announce to you today what the upcoming updates to Guild Wars 2 are going to be, but we are in fact working on exciting updates for Guild Wars 2, and you're going to see them soon."