Are older MMOs too intimidating to play?

So here’s an odd conundrum that I wrestle with every now and then. I am a big fan of established, long-running MMOs for their stability, breadth of content, and years’ worth of refinement. Yet I’m also intimidated by them as well because when any game’s been out for many years, it tends to have accumulated so many additional systems, levels, and complexities that it makes me feel horribly behind and in over my head if I attempt to play.

I don’t mind putting in the time to learn the new systems or the effort to level, but there comes a tipping point where it’s just too much and I retreat to more familiar stomping grounds. For example, I used to play a lot of Dungeons and Dragons Online back in the day — and loved it, too. But every time I think about going back, I look at the complicated mess of new features that veterans have mastered but make me cross-eyed. For this sort of reason, I wish that more studios would make it a point to revise and streamline these Jenga-tower additions every few years.

What do you think? Can older MMOs be too intimidating, confusing, or unwieldy to play, especially for a newbie? What could be done about this?

TH