Q - Questing

A single idea saved MMORPGs forever: quests.

Sure, they existed prior to every MMO now relying on them to tell the story of provide experience, but they weren't nearly as interesting.  Most quests prior to the WoW-generation of MMO games were direct toward gathering something over and over again, or they were very few and far between.  I remember FWO having quests based on your spec at certain levels and a few quests that provided seriously awesome rewards.

A lot of MMO fans don't remember the old days of shitty quests and grinding out experience on random mobs for days or weeks on end.  We now get all sorts of things handed to us.  Quests give us gear, experience and money.  We really don't have to go out and collect much of anything anymore.  Sure, at the endgame we are still responsible for gearing, but that's about it.  Even at those endgame levels we sometimes see long quests that provide us with some of the best items in the game.  In WoW, specifically, it tends to be weapons.

I love the current questing system, but I think that it needs to be toned down a bit as we move forward in gaming.  I think that it does way too much hand holding and doesn't require enough people to go out and do things.  Go farm for gold.  Kill mobs for money or for cloth that you'll sell.  Level up an appropriate trade skill for good gear, don't rely on questing to make sure that it outfits you with everything you need in the first zone of an expansion.