If there was some way I could just play with my friends, rather than having to spend an hour or so trying to find someone around my level and possibly of a certain class, that would be great.
I want there to be some abilities and items that I have to earn, rather than getting them automatically from leveling or random drops. And I don't mean just from raids; a person shouldn't have to come anywhere near a raid party unless they really want to. I want to see more things like Anarchy Online's Fixer quest: in order to get access to the Fixer grid (a form of fast travel only available to the Fixer class and those they allow inside), a Fixer has to complete a quest in which they must find and talk with several NPCs in different cities in order under a certain time limit. It is partially a test of how well you can buff your speed, but mostly a test of your navigational abilities, especially since, if you're with Clan or Omni-Tek, you have to avoid the guards in the enemy's cities. It's pretty tough; even as a Neutral, I only just made it in time (granted, I was pretty low level at the time; a higher level Omni or Clanner could have probably managed some way. I recall a guide mentioning getting a higher level Fixer to use Team Grid to help, or having a friendly Engineer in position to cast Beacon Warp, or just using a Yalm (a rather pricey but very useful personal flying vehicle)).
Players should have access to useful noncombat abilities other than crafting. Also, crafting should be a useful ability.