Short post on where I think Blizzard went wrong over the last 2 phases.
Phase 1 was successful because the content brought people into the world, which in classic wow, was the “ligntning in a bottle”. Think about it, all the rune quests accented the world, which in classic was what was great.
Phase 1 had an engaging endgame that wasnt really “new” other than the smoother class design. BFD+ the Warsong Gulch premade endgame provided both main camps in wow, pvp/pve reasons to cross over and play together, making the game feel more alive.
Phase2/3 leaned heavily towards the pve side of things, with raid logging being the only viable content, and a dungeon grind leveling experience. These 2 things, were a drastic change in the game, but blizzard had alot of good faith built up due to the massive win that phase 1 was.
Phase 3 incursion launch was a massive failure, feeling required, and boring.
In conclusion, blizzard bring people back out in the world of classic wow, which is what was great. Develop new or unfinished story lines, ez clap. Also, fix pvp, make the grind, rewarding for both segments, bring people back together.