To explain as best I can with my limited english:
GW was touted as THE game to have for challenge, beauty, and rewards for GAMERS.
All video games have to have their 'elites'...be it items, weapons, or players.
It is the 'goal'...to have and be the best of the best.
To reach that goal used to mean...leveling your toon, learning and capping the needed skills for your proffesion, and using them wisely.
You completed the required tasks, collected your rewards...and THEN you were ready to either:
1.) Go for the end-game elite rewards..(HM, ELITE missions ect.-PvE)
2.) Have the max skills, armors, weapons to explore into the world of PvP.
Faction only skills, UB and others have made this transition fail.
People saw what the elite players were gaining after years of trial and error....demanded they could have those wonderous things too, but they wanted to be 'casual'...not invest the efforts as others had (Be it due to family ...work..school, LAZY ect.

)
ANet in it's 'please the plastic card holders' wisdom decided the 'elite' was no more.
The player that invested so much time, effort, and planning for the 'end-game' goals...no longer has a sense of pride for their devotion to a wonderful past time.
ALL games have the goal to compete, obtain, enjoy, and WIN.
ANet, I hate to say it...when you introduced faction only, and Blessing 'skills' into the game..it kind of ruined the acheivements alot of people were hoping to aquire thru challenges promoted in the original spirit of GW.