My all time favorite MMO is Ultima Online. I started there, it is where I learned about what I wanted in a character. I liked the idea that you could really be anything you wanted, and then change to something completely different... and it was slow. You couldn't just push a button and go from top notch healer to top notch tank to DPS. At the same time, you COULD be all 3 of those things. The housing is easily the best in any game I've ever played. A mule character, nothing but crafting and gathering with a touch of magery to be able to recall around. The dungeon hunters, the farmers, the PVP toons. The only negative is basically what I like about games like Wow/SWTOR and that's the graphics. UO graphics weren't great, but the customization of the gear (dye tubes) made it still pretty awesome.
When you sit in character creation for an hour in ArcheAge but then never really see your character again... what's the point? WoW and SWTOR I love that when you join a group, you know you are in a party with a Tauren, a goblin, a Sith Pureblood or a Twi'lek.
Many of the new MMOs might be clones, but they are always missing something, some measure of comfort that is deal breaking. No LFR/LFD? You lose 60% of your subs. No end game? There goes 50%. No arenas? 80% of your PVPers just left. No transmog, pet battles, open world PVP, events, crafting, housing..... a new game needs to be perfect. None have been.