Hi i been playing here on and off for about 2 years, and recently with leaving of some veterans the server seem kinda...dead. I don't know about any other period, but the population is the lowest compare to all the periods i were active on the server.
Anyway i just want suggest perhaps 2 major change to server to attract and retain new players.
HeRO job changer:
This perhaps has been brought up before but of all the newbies i met over the year, 9 out of 10 are disappointed when i told them server don't have job changer and they have to do job quest. This in my opinion is a newbie killer.
Rates:
Well i don't have much of a case with the top 3 low rate right now being 5x, but if they were increased to 7x ~ 10x base/job exp i think it can attract more people who simply don't have time to grind with real life obligation, or those who found mid-rate too easy but 5x too hard. It also encourage people to create more characters without having to think too hard about grinding again.