Geistly
Cataclysm was actually much more difficult because Blizzard tried to give the vocal minority what they wanted: a return to the days of vanilla World of Warcraft. Which they falsely believed to be inherently challenging content when what it actually was, was poor mechanics and unpolished gameplay. Though that has little to do with my previous post. The reason I said that is because PvP at low levels is decided entirely by which team has the most heirlooms and if by some miracle each team has an equal amount, it is then determined by who has the most healers. Because unfortunately healers believe they are entitled to dealing large chunks of damage
and healing absurd amounts regardless of what specialization they choose. Unfortunately Blizzard caters to people like that while simultaneously nerfing classes that do not need to be (i.e. warlocks).
I wasn't thinking about PVP when I said it felt easier for new players. Leveling up, you get all the armor you need, stats were simpler than the old days, stuff like that.