I think that it would be a good idea to add these types of things into the Privateer scenario. I mean they're already pitting us against each other in ship PvP, so why not just make those 2 islands into land PvP. You launch your ship from a privateer island, and then you port on the other side and hack away at your "enemies." You'd be designated as fightable by a flag of your home island above your head.. that or an emblem next to your name like founders have.
Also, on the classes side of things. Maybe, instead of making beginning of the game classes, they could make mid to end game classes. Example: Around level 20-25 you get a quest to talk to one of the class trainers (Tia for mage, will turner for rouge, jack sparrow for fighter, etc...) Once you choose a class you earn certain increases in stats. For instance: A mage (of course another, piratey name would replace mage) would have higher voodoo offense and defense as well as a higher mana pool, whereas a fighter type class would have higher melee defenses and more health.) If this is confusing, dont worry about it.. im just rambling
**But then, around level 35-40, you get an even more in depth class system where you choose to be a dps (damage per second) mage or a healer. For the case of the fighter.. you can choose to be a tank or a dps (damage per second) player. This would be chosen, again, by a quest and can be changed later by paying a somewhat hefty sum of gold at a certain vender.
At level 50!!-- you get a final class quest. This quest leads you to your ultimate profession. You get to choose weapons and armor (i pray for statted armor every day lol) that will be specific for your class and no other class can use them.
**Of course, the best part about not choosing classes at the start is.. you can change them whenever you feel like it!! Just like skill point allocation, you can reset your class, and re-quest to get your new class. This will keep the game interesting and fresh. Of course, with classes comes a million other options... which we'll save for another day.
Thanks for reading! hahaha