I would love to have the old Hardcore back. The problem is that the last few Hardcore seasons lacked any real originality. Even the rewards were largely the same, so a considerable chunk of the player base just didn't seem to care. I think the new softcore style is fine for now, at least until the devs can come up with something that makes Hardcore worth participating in for the majority of players again.
The biggest issue I see with the current softcore style is that it is too easy to bypass the Hardcore challenge. Because the player is doing the challenge on a server where they have spent years building up resources, they can simply use those resources to support their new characters. A lot of what makes Hardcore appealing is therefore lost. Particularly, the feeling of "everyone starting fresh from day one and then seeing what you as a player can achieve within the limited and strict death penalty."
My personal opinion on what might come closest to recreating that experience without needing a separate Hardcore server would be a "home server" system. Each account could choose one server as their home server. Then, during seasonal Hardcore events, if a player creates a new character on a server other than their home server, that character could earn the same types of rewards associated with Hardcore, such as mounts, cloaks, footprints, etc., for achievements like favor, levels, and Reaper Points earned on that server.
During these events, characters created on those servers could also have access to a lantern type cosmetic or similar buy in features that are already being used with the current softcore style. I would also restrict progress toward Hardcore achievements so that it could only be earned while playing with other players actively participating in the Hardcore experience.
The main change I would make to the current softcore system is adding a tag to items so that ONLY the character who looted the item can use it. Allowing characters that are not participating in the event to farm gear for their Hardcore characters is too easy and undermines the challenge that Hardcore is meant to provide.
I would also reset first time favor rewards, including DDO Points, on servers other than the player's home server each season for players actively participating in the event. This would give players another reason to participate if they are not interested in the current rewards provided by the achievements.
I think this could solve one of the biggest problems with a separate Hardcore server: the "casual" population feels isolated from the rest of the game. Instead, you would be mixing the Hardcore population into the existing server communities while still giving players a reason to participate in the seasonal challenge.
It also avoids the additional cost and infrastructure of setting up and maintaining a completely separate server. You would essentially be using the existing servers to create a temporary Hardcore experience without permanently splitting the player population.
