I don't think it's near as friendly to beginners as World of Warcraft, but other than that it's almost exactly what WoW would be if it were a sequel of itself. It's WoW 2. The main difference is taking itself much more seriously with little humor or camp and the insane amount of particle effects on everything. It also does lighting and shadows better than WoW.

The story is pretty involving and their public group system is one of the best I've seen implemented. There are almost constant events (Rifts opening) and if you run up to any gathering of players attacking something "Join Public Group" appears as an option at the top of the screen. When you click it, you instantly join those fighting around you without asking for raid invites.

The Talent Point system, which they call Soul Points is a bit much to get used to, but there's a great deal of customization available. The base attacks from each tree are nearly identical to each other on some classes and one or two can be superfluous (or even a reduction in power if you allot points to improving your favored tree's base attack).

Honestly, if you've played WoW or most fantasy MMORPG's of the last five years, you're familiar with the interface and how to play. It's just prettier and newer.