Hey, I'm all for bringing new people into the game, but there's only so much one can do without additions to the engine. If you have any suggestions that can be implemented within the game's current capabilities, I'm all ears.
I think the only saving is basic area development. Keyword: basic. Nothing special. Plenty of good ideas on the forum with only current mobs and/or dupes of current mobs.
Personally I think 10 areas dumped all at once (sourced from players/ex players..) would suffice to at least double the average players online. There are multiple ideas on the forum that only source current mobs and/or mobs that can be duplicate/renamed current mobs (i.e vultures/eagles vs scorpions/spiders).
In this I believe the major bosses should be duplicated. (GSW, CG, TK, AM, Cappy, DG, Ect.) The drops and droprates should reflect a similar value to what its counterpart drops. Again, this could all mostly be sourced and peer-created on the forum. It would allow for more drops that are fair and fun. Whereas some items being added without transparency can be extremely overpowered. I.E Barbarians braid.Drops could be what i believe were missed over the last decade (3ac stat ammys, 5 ac rings with negative stat modifiers, ect ect; the 3 ac stat ammys would probabably best be added as a craft that requires a boss dropped 3 ac ammy and a trade in of a shop bought ammy and maybe mana core, to stop an influx of shops old ammy gold
And it doesnt have to be a difficult endeavor. This could very much be duplications of many small areas (lf, barrax, misty path, ect; I recall the Hedge maze once being duplicated for a quest, so i would imagine this would save a drastic amount of time.).. The kicker, is that you could connect the map in a more realistic way. Create a chasm that goes south of resthaven that connects to a new city. To the east of the city is an overgrowth (duplicate of hedge maze with ktp maneaters sprinkled in). Further east, you make your way to the southern portion of the enchanted forest/dendeya. South from the new city is a duplicate of entangled overgrowth with some teleport squares to add a bit of confusion. West a troll camp with GE dupe that leads to Mt Fen. (just examples)
I like the idea of chasms because it opens the doors to multiple area additions with a relatively decent roleplaying element. Additionally, you could make the chasms relatively difficult to traverse so that players could hide from potential pkers... all off the top of my head, but basic nuts is what the game needs. Not elaborate additions.