If any of you are reading the beta boards there are many vets crying bitter tears over the "dumbing down" and "slowness" of combat. These are the same people who are uber in every game; they have the time, money, and inclination to put into the game. They discover broken mechanics and exploit them- remember when you could fire all your rays at the same time? Remember how some guilds had seemingly infinite amounts of money a week after launch?
I have a family, and will not be putting that much time, money, and effort into the game. I will play it every chance I get, however, because there is nothing else out there like it.
It's not for everyone- you need to have a high threshold for self-abuse. But when you down one of the ubers it makes up for the 30 times you got killed.

I think the new combat system is going to reward teamwork and group composition much more than the old system.

If you decide you want to play one class and not craft, you are going to have like 15 skills to "grind". Each additional class you pick is going to add like 8 more skills- there is a bit of overlap. From what I've seen, the skills level up pretty quick. You can probably do it in half the time it takes to get a WoW toon to 85- maybe less than half. If that sounds like too much, I would not recommend playing. To me, it sounds wonderful.

Don't worry about the elite- they will always be elite. If you chose to play any competitive game, you will encounter them.

KGB Darkfall