So I’ve read through the many comments here and I think everyone has a pretty good idea of why there has been a decline in numbers. Obviously there wasn’t enough end game content at Cata’s release.

I would have liked to see the content included in 4.1 and 4.2 all included with the release of Cataclysm. I think it would have been neat if Blizzard had released this expansion with more than 1 tier of content in the first place, to make starting heroics and raids a lot easier than they are now. Give us a better curve or path to getting ourselves geared that would last longer as opposed to the painful 3 hour wipe fests that have been pugs up until now. I decided early on in Cata to simply wait a few content patches before I really tried running Dungeons or Raiding because it was simply too frustrating and time consuming.
But what I think this expansion has been missing is some new forms of endgame content that’s not focused solely on heroic dungeons and raids and that can be completed without a group. I would like to see tons of timed daily group quests similar to The Battle of Undercity or Retaking the Echo Isles. Big epic REPEATABLE events that you don’t need a group for at all. I remember running the echo isles on a Druid a few weeks after its release completely by myself. It was awesome. Some examples:
Once a week Garosh will call his forces to Zoram’Gar Outpost in Ashenvale. You’ll follow a phased event where you board a fleet of ships and attack a phased enemy capital city in order to rescue POW’s. (Allies could have a similar quest starting in Theramore)

I’d like to see Thrall and Nobundo call for us once or twice a week to protect them at the Maelstrom against an attack of black and twilight dragons. We could be asked to mount Red and Green drakes and battle in the skies above the Maelstrom.

These are just some idea to be thrown around, but I assume you get the point. If Blizzard would implement more of these events the possibilities would be endless.
I think each day there could be a large scale World PVP battle to be fought at one of the many new “fronts” where Horde and Alliance forces are clashing. Southern Barrens, Ashenvale, Twilight Highlands. Make it so you accept the quest and the whole area becomes phased for PVP until the battle is over.

On top of phased huge group quests, I think we simply needed an additional post 85 endgame questing zone or two at release. I think Firelands should fill this gap, but it probably should have been there at release. I would love some completely optional areas that aren’t whole zones, similar to Netherwing Ledge in Outlands.

We all know that Blizz makes cash like its nobodies business, and I think after the success of Wrath they should have doubled their development staff and should be pumping out content with no end in sight. Blizz needs to start looking at the MMO market and trying out some of the new innovations those games have been bringing to the table. Because for me Dungeons and Raids are simply becoming less and less interesting.

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