Concerning equipment and loot drops, I've played a game where everything in the world was player crafted. That sounds cool but in reality isn't much fun. I like killing npcs with the hope of finding something cool. I don't care if it just alters your look. I'm assuming mobs are only going to drop resources and currency.
I also played games where deforestation and mining altered the environment. If things do not respawn the landscape starts to become desolate and barren. I do like to see changes in the environment that is affected by events that take place within the game system.
I would like to see the human race category to evolve into humanoid and include basic races like elf, dwarf, orc etc.. for roleplay purposes. They don't have to offer stat/ability differences just a different look.
One thing SWTOR did right was the missions. I loved the cut scenes and progressive story lines. It felt like your own novel being written.