World Building is so important to me, I often think of the setting as a character in and of itself. E.g., Mervyn Peak's castle, Gormenghast. A house, a train, a planet, a nation, all can be as vivid and authentic as a person. I'm with you, @noughtshayde, in not wanting too much of a good thing. Cut to the chase! Too much description, and we do what Elmore Leonard does - skim past it, cut to the action. As writers, we're told to just not even write the parts that readers skip. Still, don't we hope some readers will care enough to read the backstory and description? I'd say let the skimmers skim, and let the rare reader read every word.
(That said, I almost never read every word of a battle scene. Bullets, swords, fists; blood flowing, body parts flying; meh. Not for me.)