I am playing a hunter type with a pet. The combat system is okay though only having 4 or 5 skills can be different for a lot of people but not that vastly different from the Hunter in Lotro. Truthfully, I haven't figured out all the stuff I could possible do with specialization and stuff. I have just been running around and doing the events and such. You level fast, probably too fast really. I am level 72 in about 10 days.
I like the auto-level part because you can go play content that you would have ordinarily outleveled. Since I always liked grinding the deeds in LOTRO, I do pretty well in GW2 where you spend a lot of time trying to complete all the tasks in each given area for extra bonuses. I would like to see some of the auto leveling stuff in LOTRO. In GW2, if you are L70 and go to a level 10 area, you are scaled down to L10 but the loot you get is for L70 (this is both good and bad, sometimes you want low level gear to break down for crafting supplies).
The events are the best part of the game to me. Its hard to run 2 minutes without running into some type of event going on. Far better than LOTROs stupid war bands, closer to Rift's system. I really haven't explored the nuts and bolts of the game but I am sure I will find plenty to gripe about at some point.
And for clarification, the CORE game is free. It is not inclusive with the expansion as was mentioned. If you have previously purchased the game, nothing to see here. But if you haven't and want to take a peek, its no cost.
As I am want to do, I already have several free accounts that I play. Oh, that reminds me of a gripe! You cannot trade stuff between characters. That is a real pain in the butt.