Nusquam, Please consider a PvP rewards system overhaul. PvP gear and AA's have destroyed PvP for the majority of the PvP minded player base. Entire guilds left the game after 1.05, and before that the gem debacle. A huge portion of the original subscriber base came to AOC because it was advertised as being more skill based when it comes to PvP. The combat system was made to cater to the skilled player over the player who had better item stats. However now, that combat system we all love so much is undermined by inflated item stats and the AA system.
There are a few other things that if done right can and will bring back hordes of players.
1. World PvP objectives. It doesn't have to be fancy. Simply putting guild quest givers that offer rewards for enemy guild/faction player heads would do wonders.
2. Sieges... if they worked right, would be a big deal.
A} Seige mounts are currently useless. Would be nice if they actually did damage enough to warrent their use in a siege. I've been yelled at for using my war mammoth... That shouldn't happen.
3. PLEASE DO NOT LISTEN TO THE "PvPer's" who claim they need meaningful rewards in the form of vertical progression for PvP. These are NOT pvper's They are a minority of the demographic and do not represent the masses of PvPer's who did it for the fatalities before the gear was even a brainfart. Instead of PvP specific items with stats, offer Vanity armors, ranks/titles, consumables ,access to special mounts, emotes... ANYTHING but actual power from gear.
The bottom line is that Gear grinding is for PvE players. They like progressing their characters and seeing increasingly difficult content. Fine, let them eat cake. Just put a cap on PvP stats for all gear. Hell, you could even hardwire PvP stats to character level, that way no matter how inflated the item stats get after 80, the character will never surpass a set PvP stat cap. This would make PvErs happy, since they will still require better items to progress through harder content, but at anytime they want to jump into PvP, they won't be held back by their items, nor will they have an advantage over those who aren't as PvE equipped as they are.
Again, rewards for PvPing should be cosmetic, and the rewards for PvEing should not effect PvP from a gear power standpoint. The amazing combat system is rewarding enough when players learn to be proficient with it. Fatalities NEVER get old. (Unless you are killed by a caster and get stuck looking charred until you change zones) I know it's difficult to pull something like this off, but if you really look at it, there's not much else that would be worth the effort. Changes like this would have huge positive impact on the population. There's no doubt about it. Since you are already working on the new crafting system, you may be able to work some of these changes along with it. Kill two birds if you will. Anyway, I hope this doesn't fall on deaf ears. Thanks for reading. That is all.