I've been playing WoW as a hunter since EU release (with a few 6-8 month breaks). I was in a top raiding guild back in TBC and we got a few server firsts (never any world firsts though).
I know some of it is nostalgia but I've never quite retained the same level of satisfaction or enjoyed the class quite as much as in TBC. I miss dungeons where you had to CC (and as a hunter, the special challenge that brought). I miss needing to weave my shots between the auto-shots so as not to delay it thus losing DPS.
The skill cap for a hunter used to be insanely high, far above any other class I've played which is most.
I also miss the way some members of a raiding team would take a spec that meant they did slightly lower dps but boosted everyone else. I was our guild's SV hunter in TBC which meant that I debuffed the boss and boosted everyone else's physical dps. It meant that I'd pass on gear upgrades because for me, it was all about the agi (to boost my debuff further).
Why has it been dumbed down? Honestly, it seems that every change that has been made has been for player convenience, some of them have been very welcome changes such as dual-spec. Others I'm not so keen on like insta-porting to the dungeon. I remember having to run past Undercity to get to Scarlet Monastery or getting into big PvP fights in the underwater cavern in underbog 'cause your healer healed someone who was PvP flagged. It was a distraction from the dungeon but it was fun... isn't that why we play games?
These conveniences are always welcomed when they're implemented. Hunters not needing a quiver and to carry arrows or buff reagents or soul stones for warlocks, poisons for rogues, these felt like a burden at the time but honestly, they were also flavourful and helped immerse you in the world.
The game is still fun but every time something is gained, it feels like something got lost too.