COMRPG's are not for everyone. So, yes, GW is for casual players.
Well, there is a reason it's not a good MMO......... it's not an MMO at all.
GW is, in Anets own words, a COMRPG (Competative Online Multiplayer RPG).
It's not made for ppl who like to grind, it's made for ppl who want to form guilds and battle. GW is gearded towards PvP and everything you do is designed to build your character up for just this reason. this is also the reason the lvl cap is stuck at 20 and why monsters that you battle will never go above lvl 30.
The fact that we don't have to pay to play is a huge selling point for many of us, as well as the fact that we don't have to deal with PK-er's and drop/kill thieves.
It's about team work.
With the advent of factions, 2 new facets have been added that I would like to touch on...... alliance battles and guild alliances.
Alliance (or faction battles) allow for very large, on going "world battles' between various allied guilds and factions (kurzik and luxon). The winning faction/alliance's also gain perks for being the victors.
Then there is the one thing I really liked, Guild alliances. This allows various guilds to band together, permanently or temporarily .
If you try to compare GW to MMO's you're bound to fail, because GW isn't an MMO, it is really in a class all it's own...... and I prefer it this way.