Hi! A little background on my question first. I led a guild in EQ, which I played for five years. Aside from small stints with other games, I was away from MMO's for a few years after that. Since 2005, to be exact.
Coming back, I chose CoH because it seemed to compensate for things other games got wrong. I can jump right into the action. I move fast, so there's no long wait while traveling to content. There are stories in place and things to achieve from level one. I don't have to wait for the "real game" to start. But instant gratification only goes so far.
The exact same things being achieved from level one are being experienced at level 30, which is where my highest character is now. Granted, there are a few variations on the missions, but the same things remain: Read a bit of text, go into a mission map, defeat a few enemies. Even in the more challenging missions such as TF's really are a rehash of the same experience over and over.
That could be overlooked, except for one thing: What would a SG leader lead his people to? In EQ, there were zones to work toward, big enemies to defeat, big loot to get. In CoH, there's no ultimate goal for people to work together toward... or is there?
I know this is a long post. Please excuse that. Bottom line, what keeps you hooked in the long term? What are you working toward or striving to achieve? What do people work on together? What's the point in the long run? Is it the same rehash of the same experience with a slightly different skin all the way through?