Instead of clamoring for a PvP expansion, here's a list of things that could be ninja patched over the course of the next 18 months that would improve the PvP experience.
Not all of these things are super easy things to do, probably none of them are in the grand scheme of things, but instead of the golden unicorn "PvP Expansion" forever pushed back, how about a few small steps at a time.
1) Forget about *balance* - focus on creating niches with an ever changing meta whilst and bring some truly terrible modules and bridge officer abilities from out of the wilderness. (i'm looking at you tachyon beam...) Cryptic has more or less been doing this, however it would be nice if there was a more consistent dialogue with the community.
2) End open hostilities between KDF and Feds... Allow mixed faction teams! After all there are new challenges ahead!
3) New Game modes like pvp starbase defence or even just arena maps with interesting spawn points or system effects. See creating niches.
4) Create separate queues for premades and pugs, allow pug matches to start with 1 or 2 on each side
5) A PvP reputation store - Getting reputation marks for something we all do anyway will feel like less of a grind, in reward, pilots get [acc]x3 weapons store, and pvp things and a 3 piece set that's as good or better than 2 piece borg+ fleet shield. Although that's power creep to some degree, 1. the 2 piece borg set as been king of the hill for too long and needs serious competition, 2. If you PvP, this would probably be preferable to doing the other and, perhaps future reputation stores over and over again.
6) Exotic Damage, better define what it is and turn it into the 3rd axis of performance (probably major feat tbh but could benefit pve'ers if they desire to better recognise none dps roles in stf)
7) More export functions - eg, exporting a skill tree or ship build to .txt files - from there i'm sure 3rd parties can build new tools
8) Overtime, clean up your logs - some weapon types have the wrong name, pets aren't properly assigned, things like tetryon glider don't appear.
9) Mind the power creep - and update freely available stuff (after a year?) on both factions so that weekend warriors aren't lagging hugely behind because they don't want to do unholy levels of grind.
I guess all of these things in one season would make for an epic pvp expansion, but, I think some of these things can be ninja'ed in over a year or two, what do you guys think? Have I missed anything?
Hmm, I like the niche idea. At least it would give a variety of tactics available. But wait....are the Tholian Web Mines an attempt to do this?
No, Tholian Web Mines are just hilariously overpowered. Too much damage for the level of stun.
By niches, what I mean is, see now engineers excel at capture and holds whilst suck at arena's? Having more niches may provide more chances for certain ships, builds or professions to excel...
Hmm, I like the niche idea. At least it would give a variety of tactics available. But wait....are the Tholian Web Mines an attempt to do this?
unlikely, as they don't fall under 'niche'
Now, if it was 'tholian single cannon of doom', that might be niche, because nobody really does single cannon builds outside of the occasional tac cruiser, so releasing a weapon in an underused, underperforming type would encourage niche builds.
But you really don't lose out on anything for putting the web mines on your ship.
Splitting a small PvP community further into niches doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Same thing with splitting Pugs/Premades.
But I strongly agree on the mixed queues.
_________________________________________________ [Kluless][Kold][Steel Heels][Snagtooth] [Louis Cipher][Outta Gum][Thysa Kymbo][Spanner][Frakk] [D'Mented][D'Licious]
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First thing that can and should be done is impose hard caps on everything. Maximum shield modifier, maximum crth percentage, maximum knockdown percentage, etc. Then people can max their caps with a mix of skill, items, reputation, or whatever, but everybody will be at the same cap.
Once that is done it will be easy(ier) to find the outlier TRIBBLE
From the plural, sounds like multiple sections/segments/subsets.
_________________________________________________ [Kluless][Kold][Steel Heels][Snagtooth] [Louis Cipher][Outta Gum][Thysa Kymbo][Spanner][Frakk] [D'Mented][D'Licious]
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From the plural, sounds like multiple sections/segments/subsets.
niches as in build possibilities really. like a all cannon escort, or a heal cruiser, or a shield striping sci ship. start with the all the builds, and tweek everything until they all work within the system in 1 way or the other.
with all the power creep, the fundamentals need quite a bit of rework, otherwise some ship niches with continue to get more marginalized and more worthless
they should focus more doing things we SEE instead fixing bugs NO ONE knew about them...
im talking about new pvp maps, new weapons types (easy to do) new boff abilities (just ask the forums cryptic, its easy) new ships (oh oh new ships)... instead of wasting your time making "summer events and winter events" and offering free ships, i think they should focus on the points i mentioned above
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
"Achiever Killers often look to 1v1 duels for proof of their superior play and are frustrated by "rock paper scissor" game mechanics."
That's me !
niches as in build possibilities really. like a all cannon escort, or a heal cruiser, or a shield striping sci ship. start with the all the builds, and tweek everything until they all work within the system in 1 way or the other.
with all the power creep, the fundamentals need quite a bit of rework, otherwise some ship niches with continue to get more marginalized and more worthless
Fair enough, but I suspect you are right to suggest the fundamentals need work before a variety of builds/classes are viable again.
First thing that can and should be done is impose hard caps on everything. Maximum shield modifier, maximum crth percentage, maximum knockdown percentage, etc. Then people can max their caps with a mix of skill, items, reputation, or whatever, but everybody will be at the same cap.
Once that is done it will be easy(ier) to find the outlier TRIBBLE
I've said this for a long time... there is far too much that can be pushed to extremes, which makes it impossible to balance stuff. But if you know that the maximum damage buff is X%, you can start designing around that.
Look at GW2 - there are a fixed number of buffs/debuffs, with defined stacking limits. But many ways to get to those limits.
_________________________________________________ [Kluless][Kold][Steel Heels][Snagtooth] [Louis Cipher][Outta Gum][Thysa Kymbo][Spanner][Frakk] [D'Mented][D'Licious]
Joined October 2009. READ BEFORE POSTING
insist on having "fundamentals being looked at first" is a sure fire way to get no where. The dev's having said so in a number of different ways already, all we can really hope for are buffs to a number of abilities that suck and hope for variety instead of lobbying our own pet hates get nerfed into oblivion.
It was the premades in arena that eventually put me off PVP totally. Only time i go in for PVP is Cap and Hold against the klingons...and i ignore the capture and hold part just to fight the klinks because nine times out of ten the fed side cant organize a TRIBBLE up in a brewery so the klinks usually win the cap and hold part.
The premades have all but killed arena for me. I joined a few premades via the opvp channel and done a few roflstomp arena matches, then i thought to myself "that is usually me on the other side" felt bad for the noobs we was stomping and stopped doing arena.
There is only two things that Cryptic would need to do to get me a "casual" pvp'er back into the fold.
Split arena into two types...
Premade Team Arena (call that one "Elite" Arena and bump up the dil reward to 2000 after completing 3 of them).
Random Team Arena (pugs...on BOTH sides with no way for a premade team to get in).
When LOR launched i seen a lot of new folks enter into arena, those new folks that I still chat with now flat out refuse to go back into arena matches because of those premades. As the fresh blood in arena stops, it will soon be a case that premades will start going up against other premades and it will be the same old names showing up again and again in PVP.
"You know when that shark bites, with its teeth dear... scarlet billows start to spread..."
Balance is a good key for all competition. You would attract more PvP ers if they would not get exploit killed all the time. I have been klled by every exploit there has been on the forums.
Balance can never be fully achieved one being economics .. not all players walk around with MK XII elite fleet gear or any special Omega/ MACO/ KHG.. and these give players advantages.
But you can make it to where all is stuck with the same basic parts then a competition will be more enjoyable for all.
I say forget balance because no one and really agree on what's broken and what's just irritating. That combined with Cryptic policy for never nerfing anything someones paid for means it's fruitile 99% of the time. Diversity is more important, and boosting a few abilities is far more effective in creating a game where their are multiple routes to win (as opposed to what many try to do with imposing 'white list' acceptable items and tactics which is boring and harmful to mmo's long term).
Would I, if I was an STO game dev had introduced the temporal inversion set or web mines into the game as they are? HELL NO! But I'm not going to waste anymore time trying to get that **** nerfed when there's plenty of other stuff to do.
And if your complaining about elite fleet gear and omega sets, that's exactly why you should suport a PVP Rep Store, a rep store that provides a route 1, to comparable, pvp focused versions of those sets and weapons. So that new and eager players who want to specialise in PvP, can get there with the minimum of PvE grind!
Comments
No, Tholian Web Mines are just hilariously overpowered. Too much damage for the level of stun.
By niches, what I mean is, see now engineers excel at capture and holds whilst suck at arena's? Having more niches may provide more chances for certain ships, builds or professions to excel...
unlikely, as they don't fall under 'niche'
Now, if it was 'tholian single cannon of doom', that might be niche, because nobody really does single cannon builds outside of the occasional tac cruiser, so releasing a weapon in an underused, underperforming type would encourage niche builds.
But you really don't lose out on anything for putting the web mines on your ship.
But I strongly agree on the mixed queues.
[Kluless][Kold][Steel Heels][Snagtooth]
[Louis Cipher][Outta Gum][Thysa Kymbo][Spanner][Frakk]
[D'Mented][D'Licious]
Joined October 2009. READ BEFORE POSTING
That's not what we mean by niche.
Once that is done it will be easy(ier) to find the outlier TRIBBLE
>>>'focus on creating niches'
From the plural, sounds like multiple sections/segments/subsets.
[Kluless][Kold][Steel Heels][Snagtooth]
[Louis Cipher][Outta Gum][Thysa Kymbo][Spanner][Frakk]
[D'Mented][D'Licious]
Joined October 2009. READ BEFORE POSTING
niches as in build possibilities really. like a all cannon escort, or a heal cruiser, or a shield striping sci ship. start with the all the builds, and tweek everything until they all work within the system in 1 way or the other.
with all the power creep, the fundamentals need quite a bit of rework, otherwise some ship niches with continue to get more marginalized and more worthless
im talking about new pvp maps, new weapons types (easy to do) new boff abilities (just ask the forums cryptic, its easy) new ships (oh oh new ships)... instead of wasting your time making "summer events and winter events" and offering free ships, i think they should focus on the points i mentioned above
That's me !
Fair enough, but I suspect you are right to suggest the fundamentals need work before a variety of builds/classes are viable again.
I've said this for a long time... there is far too much that can be pushed to extremes, which makes it impossible to balance stuff. But if you know that the maximum damage buff is X%, you can start designing around that.
Look at GW2 - there are a fixed number of buffs/debuffs, with defined stacking limits. But many ways to get to those limits.
[Kluless][Kold][Steel Heels][Snagtooth]
[Louis Cipher][Outta Gum][Thysa Kymbo][Spanner][Frakk]
[D'Mented][D'Licious]
Joined October 2009. READ BEFORE POSTING
The premades have all but killed arena for me. I joined a few premades via the opvp channel and done a few roflstomp arena matches, then i thought to myself "that is usually me on the other side" felt bad for the noobs we was stomping and stopped doing arena.
There is only two things that Cryptic would need to do to get me a "casual" pvp'er back into the fold.
Split arena into two types...
Premade Team Arena (call that one "Elite" Arena and bump up the dil reward to 2000 after completing 3 of them).
Random Team Arena (pugs...on BOTH sides with no way for a premade team to get in).
When LOR launched i seen a lot of new folks enter into arena, those new folks that I still chat with now flat out refuse to go back into arena matches because of those premades. As the fresh blood in arena stops, it will soon be a case that premades will start going up against other premades and it will be the same old names showing up again and again in PVP.
Bumpy mcbumpeton
Balance is a good key for all competition. You would attract more PvP ers if they would not get exploit killed all the time. I have been klled by every exploit there has been on the forums.
Balance can never be fully achieved one being economics .. not all players walk around with MK XII elite fleet gear or any special Omega/ MACO/ KHG.. and these give players advantages.
But you can make it to where all is stuck with the same basic parts then a competition will be more enjoyable for all.
Would I, if I was an STO game dev had introduced the temporal inversion set or web mines into the game as they are? HELL NO! But I'm not going to waste anymore time trying to get that **** nerfed when there's plenty of other stuff to do.
And if your complaining about elite fleet gear and omega sets, that's exactly why you should suport a PVP Rep Store, a rep store that provides a route 1, to comparable, pvp focused versions of those sets and weapons. So that new and eager players who want to specialise in PvP, can get there with the minimum of PvE grind!
To achieve balance ,which is possible, we all in the PvP community would have to make large sacrifices .. which most would not accept.