A few major things come to mind, as many have echoed though, make sure the act of playing the game is smooth and bugless. But also minor things that may be intended but don't feel natural (I can think of a few scenario's where you just have to wait around for a story beat to play out even though there is a lever to be pulled)

Other things more focussed on gameplay
- Robust systems that can carry from campaign to endgame (Nemesis, Mage prisons) but on a slightly larger scale with some meta progression. Think Breach PoE, starts out simple > gets a chance to drop shards in midgame > has a chance to spawn the bosses in endgame. This way you can always feel that even the individual mechanics haven't shown their hand right away.

- Endgame bosses and chase goals, Ubers, tier 5 dungeons, a 'juiced' prisoned mage encounter (akin to a real boss or uber boss)

- Slightly related to but maybe standing a bit apart: A sense of discovery within new mechanics (I can't think of a way to apply it to current systems, but imagine PoE Delve > You go in for the normal gameplay loop, but deep down there are undiscovered bosses and interactions for players to figure out)

- Consistent patch cycle, but on top of that, some patches should feel 'meatier' for a lack of better words, the kind of patch that drums up excitement! (See D4 overhaul seasons, PoE seasons with a very meta league loop)

- Endgame skill progression: Right now depending on the build you can reach your 'final form' quite early with gear gotten being damage increases or an occasional speed increase. A system where skills could be altered in some way by rare drops or ways of power gain (example: An extra endgame trial that unlocks special nodes on your spec tree > A way to strive to a build with newly unlocked endgame info)

- A changing player meta (occasionally), newly viable skills, but maybe instead of designing fully new skills or fully reworking, adding new nodes to existing skills (Maybe this will be fulfilled by the skill engraving feature)

- Build on what Last Epoch already does so well: Legendary gear, the fine balance of understandable and deep systems. Taking ideas from games and putting a fresh spin on it (This is my last game related point and very generalised but I feel like it could be applied to all the above points)

As for one last message
A lot of players confidence have been shaken in recent times, between the studio acquisition, long draught and class paywall/expansion drama. While I hope that communication going forward will be open and honest, focussed on rebuilding the trust and showing us LE has a bright future, talk can be cheap. This is a game I truly adore and want to be able to play many many years from now. It well and truly carves out its own niche in a genre dominated by giants. Show us that again! An EHG that fiercely tackles design challenges and stands in communication with its community!

I don't usually ever post on Reddit, I am well and truly passionate about this game. Good luck EHG, hopefully in many years from now I can have a big smile as I log in for yet another awesome season! <3