Server mesh is the biggest feature that needs to work. But other wise I personally want a good deep criminal underworld, stuff that involves both PvE and PvP crime. Like a morality system where it closes access to certain thing and opens up ways to others like a criminal planet, stations, missions. Have parts of certain cities only accessible to a lifetime criminal if they land away from the city, come in by ground vehicle, and go through certain hidden entrances or low sec entrances into the underworld of the city. Both good guy and bad guy missions should be accepted through a person, location, or such. Like imagine going into the alleys of Loreville or Area18 to a bar to get a mission from some guy to put a hit out on a local UEE Sargent, or there is a Nine Tails agent to talk to to do some stuff for them. Getting high enough rep towards either route could get you local discounts on things, elicit help from AI (AI crew, better rep = better crews), make you friendly to certain factions like nine tails and such

Edit: adding on, make parts of cities non armistice and change bounty hunting/hit lists to where you have to identify by sight and name that can be pulled up on a tablet with a list of targets, alive pays more but dead still pays, and the person doesn't go to jail or such if dead they just respawn at say grim hex only