Old School:

Tough gritty grinds for leveling

Complicated skill sets ensuring mastery over a character a difficult and long process

Mild to severe death consequences

Long waits/travels

Days/months of gameplay for epic items

Sense of achievement for ranks/items

New School:

Mash one button ftw!!!

True.

Old school MMOs most certainly had their downfalls but I do miss the long travel times, the grindy public dungeons, the thought process that goes into actually building a character instead of just playing one.

If you are going to do cynical, do it right.

Old School: Ultima Online circa late 90's/early 2000's.

Not that I want that in ESO, btw.

)

This forum isn't the place to discuss every MMO created, or how they evolved over time. Such a broad topic has no focus on ESO.
We also do not allow versus threads.