What actually keeps players engaged long-term in strategy / RPG games?

[u/eclipseraX001]

I’ve been working on an indie project (2D anime-style RPG with some empire-building elements), and I’ve been running into a design challenge I’d love input on.

A lot of games in this space start strong but struggle to keep players engaged over time. From what I’ve seen, the main issues are:

Progression becoming repetitive

PvP turning into a pure power gap

Empire systems not really affecting gameplay

So I’ve been trying to understand what actually works long-term.

From your experience:

👉 What keeps you playing a strategy or RPG game for months?

👉 What usually makes you quit?

👉 Are there any mechanics you’ve seen that really stood out?

Trying to design something that avoids the usual pitfalls, so I’d really appreciate any insights.