In a recent livestream I brought up the thought of having additional server types. I understand we are still working on getting an OG server back up, but I am just thinking long-term. EQOAEmu still has a ways to go, EQOA Sandstorm is far from complete or perfect so this is by no means a criticism of the current amazing work being done.
We could increase or decrease the difficulty of the game based on what your personal playstyle is or if you just want a harder challenge this week or maybe you know the next month you are going to have to work more so want an easier path to get into the game with a smaller time commitment for a bit. You could even just use those as escapes from the base-line game and spend most of your time playing OG EQOA.
QUALITY OF LIFE SERVER
One thing I brought up specifically in the stream is maybe a quality-of-life server that has some upgrades that makes playing a bit easier, for instance having an NPC with a few dialog options to cast SOW and Invis on you next to each coach. I am thinking someone heard this because a few days after I brought this up I saw someone with what appears to be a scripted character casting SOW on people next to the Freeport Coachman. A day or so after that a person to cast invis showed up too!
Some other things I would think would be neat in a quality-of-life server would be an NPC next to Spiritmasters that cast Resurrections for a small fee. This next one, likely controversial, but having all starting cities coachman unlocked on a new character but all the in-between coaches you still need to get. At the risk of ripping off Dungeons and Dragons Online, having a hireling system where you can hire NPCs for a fee, obviously these wouldn't be as strong as normal players so grouping would be preferred but if you are having a rough time finding a party and have a limited play time because of work or family, you can still get in, play and feel like you got some stuff done. Making it so that 100% EXP + 10% CM EXP at all times but you can add to the amount of CM EXP you want to get 100 CM EXP + 10% EXP.
HARDCORE SERVER
Sometimes you might want more of a challenge and that is where the traditional MMORPG Hardcore Server comes in. I would think Perma-death would be a thing of course. Everything cons Green, White or Red to make encounters more dangerous not knowing if they are a little or much more difficult. No auction house, you have to farm/earn/trade everything you get. Fewer drops making money harder to come by which means repairs and food and whatnot are harder to come by. Obviously none of the quality-of-life server enhancements.
PVP SERVER
Just a normal OG server but with duel always enabled to everyone against everyone. The catch with this is that you have faction, so if you are a good aligned character and you kill another good align character you lose reputation with good factions. I think that would be a neat mechanic to kind of split faction lines while at the same time enabling you to attack anyone giving you more player choice. On a technical level this would likely take a lot of code to build to enable healing and whatnot, but I think it would be kind of neat.
FAN GUIDED SERVER
This one I see as a bit of a stretch but just something that I think would be fun. A server that starts as an OG server, but then a page on a website that players can make suggestions for new Quest, new Storylines, new Enemies, etc. Then if a suggestion gets X amount of upvotes then the developers make a commitment to put it in the game within a reasonable timeframe. Meaning the players could help with the world building and create a non-cannon server that would be one of a kind. Then every six months or year, spin up a new one of these servers or do a refresh on the work done, not a wipe of the characters just remove all customizations and bring it back to OG server then start the custom buildup again. If you did it the second way you would have people with knowledge of past events and quest, maybe even items that players can never get again.
What do you think? What kind of servers do you think would be neat additions in the far future for EQOA to keep things fresh?