This coming from a player who has been playing since Albion alpha two, and is still currently playing: Albion's biggest problems start from day one and as you progress though the game. Albion has a player life cycle that I've seen over and over, that lasts three to six months. As my friends come and go from the game, its the same story every time. Albion is not a true sandbox.
First and foremost, it not only limits players to towns with a broken auction system, but newer guilds that were not established early on into the game are not able to gain a foothold in the world because the mechanics favor the guild that has already claimed the space. When new territory was introduced, the same guilds and alliances that already had claim to all of the old territory engulfed the new area, becoming even stronger and more able to take what they wanted, since there was less risk for them. At that point, the mechanics entrenched them there as well with little chance of being uprooted by those that actually needed the territories.
Second would be the over-focus on player killing. The rewards vs the risk of PK-ing is very one-sided, which takes away from the true potential of the game. It is far more rewarding for players to group up and harass gatherers that have spent sometimes hours of gathering, only to loose it in two minutes to a group of five, ten, sometimes more than twenty other players. Reputation has no real influence, since reputation does not hold any real consequences. This puts the game at a constant imbalance.
Third would be that there is no true sense of adventure from begging to end. Albion is one continuous grind no matter what aspect of the game you choose. There is nothing more than unlocking skills to reach for. Even most of the higher content such as the GvG battles over territories is exclusive to a very select handful of players without much room for other players to try to break into unless they have the right connections. Dungeons or raids have no actual reward, and no sense of accomplishment. The loot is very underwhelming since it is just what other players have sold to a separate vendor for more money inside the game. There is nothing unique about loot chest rewards. Most of the time it is not even something that matches the gear of the player that receives it (if they have any use for it at all) so it gets sold. Thus sums up the life cycle of players within the game.
Players like feeling as though they accomplish something, and are working toward something that makes the game and their character uniquely their own. There needs to be something for the players to accomplish that affects and changes the world itself. It is my hope that Fractured will be an environment that gives that to the player base.
I feel like it was missed in a lot of other games, and would love to see it here!