What would it take for a new mmo to recapture the feeling of eq?

[Tsalarioth]

I don't think it's just the massive time investment thing- this game is still pretty fantastic for someone with only casual desires. A big part of EQ's draw and the reason I think people take much longer to tire of it is that it seems to be one of the only MMOs out there that does not immediately make the player feel like a hero of its world on your individual path to glory. You start out and a fire beetle or a snake can kick your ass if you don't watch yourself. Even as you progress in levels you are never really safe- it might take a while, but give some green con long enough and they will eventually kill you if you go AFK. There's also the lore factor mentioned above- how many huts and houses exist in this game with no NPCs inside and no real purpose other than to flesh out the world? Especially in the classic era, how many quests are there that give little reward or are completely irrelevant to every class but 1? Where else is faction so intertwined/complicated and so relevant even in high levels? Norrath is a world that doesn't care about you. You have to make it care about you if you want something. It will keep going whether you're there or not.