I can play an mmo a long, long time. I put nearly six years into XI. You're also talking to a console gamer where playing a game over and over again is the norm. The repetitiveness you speak of I can take standing on my thumbs. My progress is sloooooow, but steady. I'm not kidding. I came with the 3.1 patch two years ago, and I only just recently got Bealsar's Wall into my Duty Finder. A big reason for this is because I do play content over and over again. I have three ARR relics and three HW relics to give you an example.

I keep playing for a lot of reasons. So many that it is difficult to encompass them all into a single word or even sentence. The easiest way for me to put it is I always have something to play for. I participate in so many of the game's activities: Crafting/Gathering/Fishing, Glamours, Housing, Hunts, Party Finder, Alliance Raids, MSQ, Gardening. Within these activities, each has goals, and each has a re-playability factor. If something starts running dry, there is always something else to do.

That is without mention that I also have to admit that there is definitely an emotional attachment to the game, my character, and some members of my FC. I am far more committed to this game than any other I have played. It's kind of intertwined into my life and holds a spot much like going to work, the gym, visiting family, etc. I literally can log on and do what I refer to as "chores" day in day out without progressing much of anything ^^