A few misconceptions I think people seem to have about the genre, let alone GW2.
(A). No MMO has years worth of endgame content until many implementations. Any MMO, if a person is dedicated enough can level crazy fast, it has been seen in ever game, because people like that challenge of "being first". Any MMO RPG had 0-minimum 'endgame' at the beginning.
(B). "Leveling is so easy and fast I can do X to level" Well, once you brake level 10. Mobs 2-3 levels higher than you will kick your ass. You may get away with a kill if you play smart, but as you try and kite you may pick up a 2nd friend looking to eat you. Also as I stated leveling is an average of 1 level per hour. Which is about decent and what is expected in this age of MMO. Most of the 80s either "cheezed the system (banned by the way)" or they literally played 16 hours a day for first 4 days. Anyone who plays that much would max out real quick. I am 1.5weeks in, 47 hours in and level 42. Also as you level, mobs get smarter. A.I realizes it is in AoE and moves out of it. They will interrupt your spells and use abilities to stun you. (Also rushing to 80 is a horrible way to play this game fyi)
(c). This endgame isn't always about the "raiding" this is more about how a person wants to enjoy their own game. Want to join in on some of the max level 100+ people needed events in which bosses kick your ass? Want to do a small personal dungeon of 5 people, that will get harder after the first playthrough in which you can go to new areas that was not previously accessible? Want to compete in pvp? Want to compete in a Huge WvWvW map in which pvp affects the server? Also as I have previously stated before.
(d). "Game is grindy" No offense, but if this is a definition of grinding, you obviously haen't played EQ or Asheron's Call. THOSE were grindy. That was the first age of MMOs, in which you just killed stuff. All the "quests" you do in here you literally have multiple things you can do to progress it. The only way for an MMO to level someone would be through an XP resource. Whether that is killing, or just questing (with no killing), either way leveling will always feel grindy though. Reguardless which game it is. Some people like it, some dont.
(e). Crafting is amazing. I love that I can discover items by mixing them in a panel, or that I can purchase recipes through karma. Also crafting is difficult and you need a while to gather resources to get enough to really get some crafting done. That said, I don't know how good the items are at max level and craft. But I like how it is now. At least it isnt as brain numbing as SWTOR that you literally did nothing to acquire the mats, or as simplified as WoW in which you just obtain mats easily and make the objects.