1) Factions !!! Most obvious way of adding content and reasons for PVP. You could have faction specific goods / vanity items, which would automatically be rare goods in the other factions and extra reason to try and plunder enemy ships.
2) Anything that can promote ship PVP !!!
3) And if you could in some way lower the "equipment gap" and raise the skill element.... So it will not always be the ones having the highest tier stuff that wins. But I guess that's kinda difficult to fullfill. Maybe some kind of negative multiplier depending on the number of ppl in your company and the lvl of your character, so it would diminish the advantage of mega companies and the ppl who plays 150+ hours a week. Just to give casuals a chance
4) Dock-building elements.
5) Freeport-marketplaces where you can rent a stand / put up your player shop - but plz make it cheap / almost free. Maybe put up arena for mock-PVP, racetrack for horses/pets, cock-fights (someone elses idea ), bull-fights and possibility to bet on these - extra reasons to make freeports into hubs where ppl meet up with strangers from other companies. Again, if you could find a way to moderate the trading, so there is not a too big advantage of being in a mega company or always online. But I recognize this to be difficult.
6) More vanity-tems and blueprints for them
7) Extra rare resources with low drop-rates usable for vanity items.
8 ) Rare drops - for instance old swords and stuff like that.
9) 6, 7 and 8 is for promoting reasons to trade - AND by proxy/necessity - reasons to plunder / PVP.
10) More ways to personalize buildings and ships - decorations and so on.... Perhaps related to 6, 7 and 8
11) ... and my opinion only: No more tames plzzz..
