The Daily Grind: What components make up an attractive MMO expansion?

When Star Trek Online announced its Deep Space Nine-themed Victory is Life expansion last week, Eliot and I were briefly talking about its potential appeal and whether or not we would be going back to this game that we have both frequented over the years. The verdict was a bit of a toss-up, but who knows? I love me some DS9 and keep finding my way back to STO despite having burned out on it numerous times in the past.

With all of the expansion announcements as of late, I’ve been thinking about that initial reaction we have to each of their feature lists. Past the flash and glamour of the trailer and PR hype is a laundry list of what’s going to be added to the game. And it’s here, I feel, that MMO players find themselves quickly evaluating whether or not this is attractive to them.

What components make up an attractive MMO expansion? Is it word of a new class or race? Some exciting feature you’ve never seen before? A trip to a region that you’ve been dying to see? Or something else?