Obscurity
commented
9 years ago Airships! The best way of transporting goods from place to place, and the safest trade routes available given the relative expense of crewing, repairing, and maintaining an airship. Airships, in this world, represent a sort of pinnacle of technological achievement. Hiring NPCs to crew them is fine, falling in line with protection for caravans or trade routes on the ground or sea, but these are of course less efficient. You'll get optimal performance with a crew of players.
Given the speed of transportation, it can be very profitable to be an airship trader. Flipside - sky pirates, whether NPCs who have been paid by some other faction or players looking for easy goods. It's also very costly to maintain an airship - fuel is a concern, the materials needed to keep an airship in good repair are numerous, and the crew requirement can be steep.
Airships that get shot down will become wreckage somewhere nearby on the world map. Survivors (if there are any) can attempt to repair the airship, or salvage it for goods. If they're too far out, they might very well die of exposure or thirst. Abandoned airships could become hideouts for NPC bandits, as well, given a sufficient span of abandonment.
A means of navigating the game world and travelling from port to port. PVP and PVE airship dogfighting. Investment, upgrades and repairs of airships conducted both at port and during flight. Requirement for a crew of players and possibly less effective hired NPCs.