Totally agree with this. I have a level 28 Chanter as well as a 22 Cleric, (yeah always play the priest type class) and am really enjoying the game. The abyss is a lot of fun and you really learn about the pros and cons of flying in this zone. No linger is flying / gliding a means of fast travel, it now becomes more of a strategic tool esp if you are a melee class.
I really wasn't a big fan of the rifts, for me they were more of a gank patrol then anything else but that might have had more to do with the hours i was playing then a fault with the game.
Still wish they had battle grounds for some fast pvp action and anther means of levelling rather then mob grinding but we cant have everything.