Too bad that we're talking about the story here
Too bad we are talking about the story in an MMORPG. The story does not exist in a vacuum. It is a part of the game as a whole and thus needs to fit in there. Making it separate is by no means sensible idea.

The story is *already* unfolding in each player's "personal sandbox". Like every quest-driven story in every MMORPG out there. That's the simple, undeniable fact that you continue to miss, probably purposedly.
You keep saying this like you think it matters. It is irrelevant. It was, it is, and it will be in the future.