Most MMOs are overly focused on player engagement. MMOs should have built in botting mechanics, so you can just let your player do the tedious stuff while you are asleep/working/living real life.
Let me set my character up to run in circles mining ores or chopping down trees or killing whatever enemies it sees in an area until your character dies. I'll farm easier areas than I could when at my computer, but feel delighted when I log on to a full bag of loot (loot filters please!) and a 1.5 levels of XP.
One of the Final Fantasies (I forget which one, 10 was the last one I personally played, so I only ever saw my sister play it) had a concept of actions you could program into your off-hand characters. You had only a basic number of slots to define command to begin with, but as you progressed in level, more slots opened up and you could program more complex behaviors.
I believe you are talking about ff xii with its gambit system. It's sort of a simplified programming tool to program your AI companions behavior without having to directly micromanage them. For example, a companion can be programmed to heal ally if their HP is less than 50% hp, cast specific spell if there 3 enemies or more, attack nearest enemy in that priority order. I wish more games have this system.
Let me set my character up to run in circles mining ores or chopping down trees or killing whatever enemies it sees in an area until your character dies. I'll farm easier areas than I could when at my computer, but feel delighted when I log on to a full bag of loot (loot filters please!) and a 1.5 levels of XP.