ok my opinion on your points, not arguing just disagreeing
Story, for that I read books from professional writers who do it for a living
40+hrs a week? nope around 10/week for me and still hit majority of content across 3 chars
True there will never be a game that satisfies it all, so why do developers still try to cram in multible often contradictary playstyles:PVP{world, que, warzone, consetual, non-consentual, gear based, stat based, skill based} -PVE; soloists, groupers, (grinders-OCD, non-grinders-ADD, everyone else) min/maxers, stop & smell the flower folks, read the story; I hate the story, what story, crafters, raiders, social butterflies, altaholics.
imo developers would be better served to pick a niche and stick to it