Everquest 2 was my first MMO. It was released in aion classic kinah 2004. Fantastic game. I had a great time playing it for nearly 10 years and return to it occasionally. It has, in my opinion, become an unfinished game it was when it first launched. Everquest 2 had been released as the Time Locked Expansion Server a time ago. It was an EQ2 server on steroids. Servers would expand quicker and then catch up to live. The server could then be recreated at the same level. EQ2 has more expansion than WoW, and also has a quality over quantity issue.
Now I realize that EQ2 isn't quite as large of an MMO, isn't and never will be, however I have experienced the same feelings from the WoW community as well as Asmon's position on classic games and live in general, that the two games might be heading down the same path as the other. Classic may turn into a TLE. It's going to start off excellent, and everyone's excited for the nostalgia. But then the feeling goes away as people realize they do not have the same feelings no longer.
Another instance of how TLEs can affect the game's player base is Archage's attempts to do that. Aion, however, is trying to lure players back to enjoy the original vanilla version of the game.
It will be interesting to see the way Classic differs from the TLEs of Everquest or the new releases of Archage, Aion. However experience has shown that TLEs for EQ2 die quickly and there is less interest in expansions. This is the reason why Classic is not the best option for the most dedicated players.
Also, DayBreak, the company that is charge of EQ2, really doesn't care about the player base much as Blizzard does to WoW (aka, micro transactions, p2w mechanics, etc) which is why they are using it as a cash cow to keep the game afloat more than it is a method to attract old players or attract new players to the game that is currently plagued with problems on live and plagued with numbers and mechanic bloat.
It's hard to say what the maximum is, but I'm on Siel server at Aion Classic and it's super full day and night (I'm NA East). Fun and extremely packed with both NA and EU players, so I suggest you get in and join us. :)
After more research, i would not be joining the team, mainly due to the nature of the company behind aion. I'm not going to have the time to catch up, I'm not a whale and it's an absolute nightmare to win.
The Elyos are also an issue for Asmodians in Heiron. Some even are known to gank individuals who farm Aether in the middle of buy aion classic kinah eu a gate. I mean if you got an advantage, why not consider taking advantage of it.