What I want in a game

(Note; this is just a hypothetical wishlist for what I would consider 'the perfect game', just in case some dev is lurking for ideas.  I'm *not* soliciting suggestions for existing games, my MMO plate is full as it is, and there aren't any games that currently satisfy all my criteria).

Here's what I want to see in a game:

• I want my character to actually make a difference in a game, and have a permanent, game-wide impact. It's a little disappointing to spend time killing a huge boss, knowing he'll respawn a few minutes later. I'm not actually sure how to accomplish this; you obviously can't make bosses one kill only, because everyone wants to kill him; but still, I want to 'leave my mark' in a game. There was one game (I forget which at the moment) that had statues of the top players erected, that's a step in the right direction. Tabula Rasa also named NPCs and items after players, but that was merely an epilogue on a game that was to die soon anyway.
• I want the whole PvP thing re-thought. First off, I want it to matter; if I'm killing what's supposed to be my enemy reward me for it. Give me XP or something. Look at WAR as the right way to do this; you can totally skip the PvE part and still level up just as fast as you could by questing. On the other end of the spectrum is WoW; I get XP for killing random animals wandering the countryside, but vanquishing my hated Alliance/ Horde enemies doesn't get me anything unless I'm in the 'designated PvP area'. I also want it to be fair; I propose a sliding reward scale. Limit PvP to three levels above/ below you; killing equal to your level gives 100% XP, killing three levels below you gives 50%, and three levels above gives 200%. This should help prevent high level characters from just running around and ganking noobs.
• I don't want to do the same things over and over again; most of the time, the noob areas are meant to teach you how to play the game; if this is my fifth or fifteenth character, I think I know how to play. There should be 'threshold' levels, where once you hit a certain level, you can create new characters (of the same race/ class) that *start* at that level. WoWs Death Knights are a great example of this, and I doubt there would be as many running around if DKs had to start at level one.
• I want less emphasis placed on gear, and more emphasis placed on skills and abilities. Think about this; take your strongest character in any game, and strip him naked. How tough is he now? And how much sense does that make? This one's an easy fix; instead of dropping loot that has a bazillion modifiers, make the loot scrolls or something with similar modifiers that affect the character directly. You can have modifiers be mutually exclusive to avoid making characters too powerful, if that's a valid concern.
• I want real persistence; when I log out of a game, my character more or less ceases to exist. What if you could assign a task to your character offline; harvesting, working on skills, crafting, etc? He'd be visible (but not attackable, if that's even a word), but clearly marked as offline character. People could click on him and leave you a message, or browse your player-run shop, or haggle over pre-defined trades; you could even have it set where you receive a txt message or e-mail when something happens.This way, my character feels 'alive', even when I'm not logged in and controlling him.  The constant skill training in EVE Online scratches the surface of what's possible.
• I want longevity; these pixels we spend so much time with are an extension of ourselves; we develop a bond with them. If you release 'Dragon Teeth Adventures' and then release 'Dragon Teeth Adventures 2' a year later, make sure the characters carry over. This is the main reason I don't play Guild Wars any more; with GW2 looming in the horizon, I know it's just a matter of time before my N/E will be rendered obsolete (yes, I know about HoM, and no, it's not the same). It's hard to develop those 'remember the time' memories with almost forced character wipes every time a new chapter or expansion comes out.
• I want a sense of community; WoW has enough players to populate a country, but how many do you talk to outside your own guild or small circle of freinds? Give me ways to find people I want to hang out with, because the sheer scale of volume practically guarantees they're out there. Show me people online close to my age range; people who live near me; people who have similar tastes. Make it optional, because some people are very choosy about what kinds of information gets released, and some younger players shouldn't have it released at all; but at least give us the option. The more time I spend hanging out in your virtual world, the more likely I am to fork over my fifteen bucks every month.

I'm sure there's more, but it's like 2am and I have to get up early tomorrow. These are my wishes; what are yours?