Incentive at 60: Character Growth

[Mraj]

In effect, you have beaten the current game. Well done. But what is it that you want after that? No developer can continue to provide fresh content at the pace that our hardcore players use it up. So, you can't progress your gear treadmill for a few weeks or a month. Challenge yourself to run things solo unsync'd or something. the game has options, but you capped your level and ilvl already. I just don't see how you think you can continue on progressing levels and gear 100% of the time.

It's an MMO. The point of an MMO is either progression or "things to do". Keeping players playing, even through catch-up patches, should be a goal of the game.
PotD Deep Dungeons is a stab at this.
Diadem was a largely panned attempt at this.
PvP is an attempt at this.
Housing is an attempt at this.
The Gold Sauc- okay, well I won't even joke about the effectiveness of the gold saucer on players unless you absolutely have to get the Fenrir mount.

In the same way, a merit system of sorts would also be doing this. And, if you bothered to read other posts, it would still come with limitations or some some sort of cap. There's always a cap.

There is no 100% nonstop progression.
But there should always be suggestions for filling in the gaps between content. This can take many forms, some easier to implement than others. Seeing as how we're approaching Fanfest and 4.0, now's the time to voice those suggestions.