Perhaps EQNext is going in the right direction..

[Lisset]

In my opinion, there are 2 things that made EQ great.

1. Interdependence. With few exceptions, soloing was just a bad idea. It was always better xp to group and most classes NEED a group. You needed crowd control, healing, pullers, tanks, and utility classes. Because of this, you needed other classes. It wasn't like wow where everyone can fly where they want or rift where you can be any role. You actually had to depend on other players of different classes. You couldn't just take 6 people of any class and succeed. That was great.

2. Genuine risk. Corpse runs won't be in EQN, they've already said that. Corpse runs and xp loss add genuine risk to the game. You actually have to decide whether to attack that mob is worth losing xp and possibly wiping. You don't just run into an unknown area blindly knowing that it'll at worst cost you some money. It is this risk, this fear that make victories so sweet. THAT is where the crack in evercrack comes in.