Orbus’ population issues are twofold: Experienced players have left the game due to having no more challenges to complete, and new players don’t stick around due to the low population and confusing mechanics. There have been some efforts in the past to make the new player experience smoother, but none of them have been as successful as they could be.
The first step to bringing Orbus back is to find a way to bring former players back. New challenges, such as higher level Shard Dungeons, would at least manage this temporarily. A few new levels of shards with new gear and new modifiers would provide an influx of players for a time, but to make the higher population evident to new players it would also be a good idea to add more around the overworld. Possibly new rare Harvestables to make higher tier potions to help tackle the high level content. With this step completed, new players are more likely to stick with the game, which means less likely to refund, and more likely to purchase the DLC, bringing in more money to fund more complex content.
Step two is to produce a second MSP. When Secrets of Mugwood was being teased, it was being referred to as the “First” Mini Story Pack, and I believe there were statements saying there would be a couple of these small DLC before a full flatscreen MMO style expansion. A second MSP would bring in funding from new and existing players, especially if it offers unique repeatable challenges. A wider array of content would also help retain the returning players from step one.
Step three will be the most complex, by far, as it will require bringing in the previously mentioned full size Expansion. Large DLC offering raised level caps and more challenging content are one of the primary sources of funding for non-subscription based MMOs. For Orbus, this could look something like raising the level cap to 40, adding a new class or two to give players something new to learn, and new areas comparable in size, if not greater, to the base game overworld. The expansion should contain dungeons, new resources, new quests, and should pave the way to adding a third raid. I know with the MSP there was a philosophy of not adding anything that would give players who purchase it an “advantage” over players who didn’t, but with a full expansion this should not be the case, as that severely limits what you can do with it. Although Orbus has several methods of PVP, it is a primarily cooperative game, so stronger players just means a stronger playerbase.
Step four doesn’t actually require being last, and parts of it perhaps should be spread out between the other steps. Simple, repeated funding is key to funding ongoing development. Be it a subscription for cosmetics as some have suggested in the past, or occasionally adding a new toy to the Cash Shop, in line with things like the confetti gun. Things that are fun to mess around with but offer no true mechanical functionality.