Hey there. My suggestion would be a quite simple one: Introduce collectibles like those in Everquest 2 & Rift.
just to make sure everyone knows what I’m talking about:
Pieces that can be found in the open world. If you find a whole set of those small parts (with a bit of lore) then you can turn it it for a specific(!!) reward.
the system:
It should work similar to the system Anet introduced with the lost heirlooms in the Flame & Frost storyline. There is a chance that a certain piece of a set spawns in specific locations. A set consists of about 6 pieces.
a spontaneous idea:
Sets from a collection can be found on certain paths. Imagine you’re a treasure hunter and follow the footsteps of important characters from GuildWars lore. There will be multiple ways to find pieces of a certain set:
1.) If you find setpiece XY in Spot A in the north and setpiece XZ in spot B in the south, it is likely that you can find other setpieces between those spots.
2.) You can find lore-pages which tell the journey of this person. For example: After he left Ascalon city he found shelter on top of the northern wall. You can now follow this accurately described path and have a chance to find some of those spawns.
opinions
You don’t understnad how much I loved collectibles in Rift! Being able to collect sets of artifacts and play like a sort of a treasure hunter with a bit of added lore was amazing. One reason I got bored of GW2 so fast was the instant gratifcation with every Vista, POI, WayPoint, in the game. It felt like I was just ticking a check box instead of hunting items down to complete a set.
Agreed – artifacts were all kinds of awesome! I probably spent more timing doing artifact runs in Stillmoor than anything else. Was a great social thing too since you could exchange both artifacts as well as your “secret spots” and optimized paths. I REALLY wish WildStar will feature something similar.
how it can look like
http://www.freemmoguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Rift-Artifact-Collections.jpg
(edited by Marcus Greythorne.6843)