[dsl]

The Blizzcon panel on why they removed/simplified a lot of stuff was great. It is well worth watching if you can find a copy.

Basically they had a lot of abilities that weren't fun, and a bunch of stats that made the game suck. Most people were going to Ask Mr Robot to figure out which piece of gear to put on, and Icy Veins to figure out what button to press when.

They needed to carve out all the old cruft before they can add the new and exciting back in. I was equally cynical when the shattering happened, but after a few content patches was quite happy with the change.