I feel like I should do everyone in this thread a favour and direct you to Dark Souls 2... or even Demon's/ Dark souls 1, it has everything most of you talked about in spades.

- Danger, Atmosphere, Exploration, Secrets, Non-linear gear progressions, Online community that stays together but also tears at erachothers throats (*literally ), action RPG gameplay but with amazing strategic and tactical cooridnation and patience involved