While obviously the combat system and boat mechanics are vastly different that doesn’t we can’t gain inspiration for activities.
Events
I think a big one is that in Sea of Thieves events can be seen across the map essentially urging people to come and fight over it.
These events for AO can range from many things such as the boss islands as suggested here by VictoriaYa: https://forum.worldofmagic.dev/t/3-boss-island-suggestions
To maybe some very rare events that can lead to lost scrolls such as BiggestDisgrace’s suggestion https://forum.worldofmagic.dev/t/how-lost-spells-and-maybe-lost-and-primordial-magics-should-be-obtained/44915
Or AI fleet battles that drop cargo when sunk. (I also think all AI ships should drop cargo when sunk, or drop chests when all enemies on the ship are defeated but once a ship has spawned chests it can’t spawn cargo)
Smarter people than me can come up with more map wide events. The main takeaway is that AO is a PvP based game so events that try to entice people to them would be a good addition.
Treasure Seeking
Now I don’t think we should have voyages like SoT, but something similar like the planned Treasure Charts that lead to hidden loot that could be added.
Voyages in SoT lead to treasure that only spawn in once the voyage is activated. From my understanding Treasure Charts don’t spawn the loot in just lead you to pre-existing loot so I think they should be changed to do that. (I do think treasure charts should remain rarely found in chests though)
Obviously, multiple spawn locations are needed so people can’t camp them. They can range from chests hidden on islands, to cargo on the sea, to even spawning in diving spots. These can randomly have nearby NPCs who are also after the treasure or protecting it.
TLDR
Add events that can be seen server wide to get people to fight over the rewards. Add more random loot locations to encourage exploration.
