Here's my two cents' worth:

Tim, the GoS Creator, has started the 'countdown' posts laying out new features for v10 - keep an eye on the GoS forum for his updates on new v10 features and all of the things he's adding to build up towards the Last Battle, a brand-new endgame scenario to close out a round of gameplay in epic fashion. http://gosos.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=cdv10

I played most of the early GoS versions, and thankfully was tipped off to Tim's revival of the game just before his "v3" revision/expansion a few years back, and I've been playing it consistently since. Tim didn't mention this above, but he just went 'live' with v9 on May 4 - his NINTH round of improvements/expansion. He has added SO much to the gameplay, the customization of characters, and the overall experience. His pal Edward Givens has pretty well remodeled the world, as well, with updated or all-new imagery throughout the game. At its core, there's still the eternal search for the perfect weapon/mod combinations - but there are now three 'body' slots for armor (or other gear) to go along with the handheld weapons. Skills and specialized player classes, based on WoT groups (Warder, Aes Sedai, Wolfbrother, Thiefcatcher, Deathwatch Guard, etc) give great depth for customizing your fighting style. Yes - Channelers - male and female Channelers are playable options now, with Aes Sedai and Asha'man available as specialized classes, with a weave system where you choose which of the five powers your character develops - Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and Spirit. You can play GoS with a minimal time investment if you choose, but there's SO much more to the game if you choose to spend the time. There are many different rank categories that players compete for - most Wins, Duel Wins, Duel Earnings, proficient slayers of various NPC classes, and many more. The addition of NPCs to battle in wilderness areas between cities provides a way to upgrade your gear, whether by scavenging, selling loot dropped by the NPCs, or undertaking Quests with shiny new toys as the reward. A new v9 feature, Hordes, points mass groups of NPCs at your cities - you get better experience points against them than regular exploring, and you can burn a whole lot of turns in a hurry if you need to. Or, you can sit back with a bowl of popcorn and wait for a Horde to ravage the enemy Clan's city next door. Clans added another layer to the game beyond personal achievement, struggling for control of your favorite Cities, and we had some pretty epic throw-downs in v8 when the Clan Battle feature was added to the game, and the in-game player Tournaments are a nice diversion from time to time. Estates are also a new feature, giving you a 'home' outside of city where you can stash spare equipment and influence the control of neighboring towns, among other things. The various professions for earning extra coin either passively (Cutpurse, Performer) or actively (Farmer, Miner) give you something to work on when you've used all of your battle turns. There's so much to the game now, there's something for every WoT fan, whether you choose to build a specific WoT character or create your own original. Wander by and give GoS a look - ask questions in Tel'aran'rhiod chat, join a clan and ask there, or check the Wiki site for information on just about everything (some sections in the Wiki are still being updated gradually, so feel free to ask around if something doesn't match up). Several of us long-time players answer as many questions as we can, and when we can't, The Creator occasionally appears and offers guidance - so we're WAY luckier than the Randland crew in that respect! Hope to see you over there soon - stop by the Silver Legion and say "Howdy!"