Online games are communities. If a game is to bank on quality at all and not simply try to create an avalanche of popularity to keep its playerbase above critical mass to constantly have PvP matches and instance runs happening, it must keep the right players interested. The sheep are not the ones who keep things going. You must provide for nerdy interests.
Nerds and geeks, renfaire costumers and closet poets, wannabe artists, scientists and philosophers and above all those with napoleonic complexes, the social engineers, these are the prime movers of online communities.
They're the ones who create strategies and tactics that keep teams together in PvP, they're the ones who can organize instance runs and keep remote outposts supplied. They set up roleplaying events and infiltrate enemy cities. They're the ones who will be able to see whether or not your game is better than others. Unlike the mindless masses, they will stay in your game even as your competitors crank out flashy new competition to store shelves. What's more, they will maintain other players' interest by keeping things moving.
Cater to the nerds. The brain of a realm of the mind is also its lifeblood.
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