PVE:
The pve business is booming! Mythicmobs to make leveling better and no general concerns in this department. This also includes building/roleplaying etc.
PVP:
This is where the server is struggling. Deathchests take 6/7 minutes to open but thats not even the worst part. ELO is not really cared for anymore and to those who do, it either prevents them from entering combat due to them not wanting to lose their elo, or encourages combat for those who want to climb in elo. However in my opinion it's not really important for anything at this stage (no incentive). Rivalry between towns is well and truly dead as displayed by the only two major forces on the server lazytown and newerth (honourable mention to the ark, hunyaaa as mercenary groups) where newerth are too pre-occupied with other aspects of the game to pvp us (lazytown) and therefore there isnt really much pvp anymore. This isn't newerths fault at all, but I begin to think that it's our fault for playing on a predominantly PVE/building server where people are either not interested in pvp or if they are, they don't have a large enough group/are not skilled enough to challenge us (lazytown). This brings me to my next point in which incentive to play the game seriously has gone out the window.
Economy:
The economy is well and truly fucked thanks to Kainzo injecting money into the tip jar and whenever people buy boosts, they receive that money which is usually in large sums between 8-10k. On any other server this would be pay-to-win, however the money is literally meaningless because the economy is so broken because of it. Nothing really has value as anyone and everyone can just pay a bit of real money to get the coins to acquire the items. This is also one of the factors that ruins pvp, the fact that when you kill someone AND on the odd occasion manage to get their items from their deathchest, the items are generally worthless and there is no real point to any of it.
TL
R: economy is non-existent (lost large aspect of the game) due to boost pay2win functionality - money is worthless, pvp is dying because everyone is either pve fairies living in their own little fantasy world or there is no real incentive to it besides elo which most people don't even value anymore.
Thanks for the honorable mention fam.
My counter point to your perspective on PVP, and this is only an observation, is that you have a complete monopoly on the strong PvP players of the server. This means that A: No one is willing to fight you because they're not skilled enough, and B: Those that do fight are usually of little challenge.
Unlike PvE, PvP is a challenging experience that you never stop learning about. You can learn the basics of PvE content in a few hours, but understanding a small bit of what it takes to properly PvP in Herocraft is often what turns newer players away from PvP. It has a high entry-point for skill, and has an even higher skill ceiling. At the moment we may have many older players, but those of you at the stop of the PvP skill ceiling are usually grouped together, leaving only a few individuals in their own groups. It just simply isn't feasible to have half or maybe more of the best possible PvPers on the server in one town, and then complain about how there is no competition.
I've always come to the conclusion that PvE should be a gateway to HC's deep PvP, but not many players seem to agree. Don't get me wrong, I love doing builds and especially making traps (shoutout to LazyTown for "helping" me test that thing), but post-level 60 there really Isn't much else to do than kill other heroes. I think that's where the blockade on player retention is being hit. There isn't enough decent PvP players around to properly teach the newbies how to PvP.
And to camping, this is a hot topic that'll usually spark a hefty amount of debate, but here is what I have to say: I got camped a LOT--and I mean a lot. Right down to bounty abuse and even abusing the mechanics of legendary classes. And these events greatl reduced my interest in the server. Sure, I stayed, but I was running a town at the time and I had an obligation to stay on for them. New players don't have this same mentality, they literally have nothing, or very little. When they're used as simple ELO fuel it kills their experience, and sometimes entices them to quit the server before they've had any experience. And trust me, I've been on both sides of this, hunting and being hunted, and there are ways to nurture players after. For example, when I first started I would go bounty hunting and frequently seek the easier bounties on newer players (easy money.). Oftentimes I'd find these players minding their own business, and I would kill them. But I would not camp their things, and I would often message them telling them that they may retrieve their items--sometimes I would even offer advice on how they should handle it next time. I learned this when I first after talking to a person who killed me, and they gave me advice on how to win fights with my chosen class.
The point is, ELO farming has a heavy prevalence on the server. This wouldn't be an issue if it wasn't targeting the lower level players that are easy prey for top tier PvP players. If maybe, every once in a while you'd talk to that noob you pitilessly slaughtered (I say this in sarcasm.) you might be able to teach them a bit about PvP--and by extension, increase your competition.
TLDR:
Competition is small because your town monopolizes most of the top tier PvP players.
PvE should simply be a gateway to PvP post-level 60. ELO farming is killing noob's interest in the server or PvP. The overt complexities of class combat is too much as well (supposed overhaul in so that should be fixed.)
