Elite Dangerous | Powerplay 2.0 Questions and Answers

[Ian Doncaster]

I'm hoping, but seriously doubting, that there will be some way to avoid pledging to any power; I'm more dedicated to the pilots' federation than anything or anyone else. Would love for that to be a viable path, it just makes sense for a bounty hunter to be completely independent of any political beliefs and their inherent ties.

I don't see why there wouldn't be - nothing in the rewards previewed so far stands out as a "Frontier will absolutely expect everyone to have access to this, which is only obtainable through Powerplay". The only PP-exclusive things at all shown so far seem to be modules, even the best of which aren't essential.

I suppose it depends how you view something like ALD's bounty hunting bonuses in PP1 - getting double pay is a powerful bribe, but on the other hand it's certainly not compulsory to accept it.

 

[Rubbernuke]

I don't see why there wouldn't be - nothing in the rewards previewed so far stands out as a "Frontier will absolutely expect everyone to have access to this, which is only obtainable through Powerplay". The only PP-exclusive things at all shown so far seem to be modules, even the best of which aren't essential.

I suppose it depends how you view something like ALD's bounty hunting bonuses in PP1 - getting double pay is a powerful bribe, but on the other hand it's certainly not compulsory to accept it.

People can still be independent, but they'll be living amid a BGS imposed on them by Power wide bonuses on top of the regular BGS. For example security- The King halves it, ALD strengthens it, or increasing certain goods or prices (such as Grom with gold).

 

[Ian Doncaster]

People can still be independent, but they'll be living amid a BGS imposed on them by Power wide bonuses on top of the regular BGS. For example security- The King halves it, ALD strengthens it, or increasing certain goods or prices (such as Grom with gold).

Sure, but it feels unlikely that those effects will be strengthened to the point where someone who doesn't otherwise care would be so motivated to put particular powers in charge that they felt they had to sign up to do so. The bubble is big, there'll be somewhere with that combination if you want to make use of it.

 

[Mrc_NorthEast]

What would really turn people off is if they behave as written in the Q&A and harass anybody not pledged to their power.

Yes, unpledged to any power is one question. More questions are, pledged to a hostile power, or pledged to a neutral power. And what strength will the pp2.0 po po be, your average NPC, or a wing of 4 ATR/Spec Ops, there is alot of difference there.

I have heard that the pp1.0 po po used to interdict and attack hostile players. Does anyone remember why that was shut off?

 

[Ian Doncaster]

More questions are, pledged to a hostile power, or pledged to a neutral power. And what strength will the pp2.0 po po be, your average NPC, or a wing of 4 ATR/Spec Ops, there is alot of difference there.

A Power's systems are supposed to be attacked by unfriendly players, leading to the Power's supporters having to reinforce it, so I can't imagine the proactive NPCs are going to be tough enough to defend the system themselves.

(NPCs in Powerplay-specific POIs waiting to be shot at? Sure, they can all be flying a combination of ATR, Spec Ops and Medusa builds, why not.)

or pledged to a neutral power.

Even for that, Frontier haven't confirmed that there will be neutral/allied powers in the style of PP1, rather than a 12-way brawl.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Sure, but it feels unlikely that those effects will be strengthened to the point where someone who doesn't otherwise care would be so motivated to put particular powers in charge that they felt they had to sign up to do so. The bubble is big, there'll be somewhere with that combination if you want to make use of it.

Indeed, I'm just highlighting that independents will have some things they can't control. That can be innocuous (like some places producing more of a certain thing or a discount on ships) to more immediate (attackers having all bounties forgiven regardless of gov type).

 

[Wily Rites]

I don't see why there wouldn't be - nothing in the rewards previewed so far stands out as a "Frontier will absolutely expect everyone to have access to this, which is only obtainable through Powerplay". The only PP-exclusive things at all shown so far seem to be modules, even the best of which aren't essential.

I suppose it depends how you view something like ALD's bounty hunting bonuses in PP1 - getting double pay is a powerful bribe, but on the other hand it's certainly not compulsory to accept it.

I'm now waiting with some anticipation to see what they have implemented, though really very new to the game and only now just beginning to see what power play v1 is. By wanting to abstain from pledging I certainly don't mean that I'm not interested by power play and above all the background simulation; I was thinking more along the lines of how it might, or it could be, possible to access tech on the black market, or perhaps by completing particularly difficult missions for a power as a freelancer.

I wasn't yet aware, though I am now, of Aisling Duval's bonuses to bounty hunters, it is fair to say that this may have swayed me eventually in the roles of PP v1. But I'm not so sure that I could leave shinrarta in the state that it is in, with such a decline of the standards of the pilots federation; I was wondering, would I need to be within the federation for that; Is Yuri Grom doing anything to restore some order within the lofty halls of the pilots federation?

 

[WhiteHaulerMan]

I wasn't yet aware, though I am now, of Aisling Duval's bonuses to bounty hunters, it is fair to say that this may have swayed me eventually in the roles of PP v1. But I'm not so sure that I could leave shinrarta in the state that it is in, with such a decline of the standards of the pilots federation; I was wondering, would I need to be within the federation for that; Is Yuri Grom doing anything to restore some order within the lofty halls of the pilots federation?

You'd probably need to stick your head into the Russian parts of the forum and Elite Dangerous Community, as Yuri Grom was creation of the largest playergroup with that Native language, so I imagine that community is still trying to steer his power.

 

[Wily Rites]

You'd probably need to stick your head into the Russian parts of the forum and Elite Dangerous Community, as Yuri Grom was creation of the largest playergroup with that Native language, so I imagine that community is still trying to steer his power.

Oh man that is so cool, I'd no idea; Amazing that this is possible within the game!

 

[Nowski]

The feedback I've received is people are being put off PPv2.0 because they're under the impression that if you pledge to a power, your play will be restricted to the a Power's Bubble.

In the absence of a "powerplay holiday" toggle, maybe one alternative idea would be a per-power "powerplay notoriety" which would increase when you perform successful activities against the interests of a power, but decay over time like normal notoriety.

Local PPP would lose interest in you if you lay off antagonistics for a bit ("we know this CMDR, but we've got bigger fish to fry right now.."), allowing players to stay pledged with perks, but modulate their direct involvement in PP2 action to taste.

As soon as hostile actions are resumed it could spring back to a higher value, I guess ("Back to their old tricks I see..")

 

[SergMx]

so I imagine that community is still trying to steer his power.

I hope this stays the same in PP2, no strategy whatsoever.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Aisling Duval's

To be Picky its Arissa Duval who has the bonus and not Aisling. IIRC Hudson and Antal have similar bonuses and for years there was a bug that quadrupled bounties.

I hope this stays the same in PP2, no strategy whatsoever.

V2 is not as reliant on crazy maths so groups can work apart and not cause problems. It will also be like the BGS in that while you can do stuff alone, if someone fights back you'll need other to help you keep that system. The strategy part will be identifying places that if demoted to exploited cause other exploited systems to drop (if I understand what FD are suggesting).

 

[SergMx]

To be Picky its Arissa Duval who has the bonus and not Aisling. IIRC Hudson and Antal have similar bonuses and for years there was a bug that quadrupled bounties.


V2 is not as reliant on crazy maths so groups can work apart and not cause problems. It will also be like the BGS in that while you can do stuff alone, if someone fights back you'll need other to help you keep that system. The strategy part will be identifying places that if demoted to exploited cause other exploited systems to drop (if I understand what FD are suggesting).

+1 And I've been wondering what kind of bonus the peaceful Aisling has

I meant distance from HQ, so that some large mob doesn't end up taking over the whole bubble, squeezing out all the other forces.

 

[Rubbernuke]

+1 And I've been wondering what kind of bonus the peaceful Aisling has

I meant distance from HQ, so that some large mob doesn't end up taking over the whole bubble, squeezing out all the other forces.

From memory (and happy to be corrected as I'm not a super Imp expert) Aislings power is political in that she has lots of BGS effects to make non Imps Imps.

 

[Bard Voronwe]

This new Powerplay is something more "player pledge centred" than "faction centred".

In Powerplay 1.0 it was all about governments, so coexistence between Powerplay communities and PMF communities was basically based on the PMF government, making the players to be pledged basically unrelevant.

Now PMFs per se do not harm a Power, what might be challenging is what players supporting THAT faction will do Powerplay wise, because even if it's true that pledging is not mandatory, it's clear that the advantages and bonuses are too good to be true, considering both all modules being unlocked forever and bonuses being available the same way.

It's gonna be tricky from a diplomatic point of view, and I guess that sooner or later the Open Only discussion will become relevant once again, but in a different declination than what it used to be.

 

[Phoenix_Dfire]

Might be trickier to assess in PP2 - handing in exploration data was listed as an action in one of the previews, and it's hard to avoid carrying at least a little bit of that around.

As a counterpoint, if the simple act of pledging to a Power means that the bubble goes from "homogenous beige mass" to "actually makes the slightest difference where I'm jumping to next" I'll be signing up immediately.

("You only get an easy life in your own Power's space, neutral space, or uninhabited systems" at least gives some incentive to try to expand it into the rest of the bubble, too...)

You can go where you like, you just have to be aware of your location. For example, flying into a rivals strongholds is not going to be a good idea. As Ian points out, if powers did not have any impact on the bubble, why give them territories or even have powers at all?

In the absence of a "powerplay holiday" toggle, maybe one alternative idea would be a per-power "powerplay notoriety" which would increase when you perform successful activities against the interests of a power, but decay over time like normal notoriety.

Local PPP would lose interest in you if you lay off antagonistics for a bit ("we know this CMDR, but we've got bigger fish to fry right now.."), allowing players to stay pledged with perks, but modulate their direct involvement in PP2 action to taste.

As soon as hostile actions are resumed it could spring back to a higher value, I guess ("Back to their old tricks I see..")

Lets split things in two. You have the minority hard core powerplayers, who do the runs and try to increase their power's influence, and there are the more casual, who just do it for the modules.

As a 'Hardcore' Powerplayer, I'm all for the PPP attacking opposing power players on sight. I feel that's needed to mitigate the imbalance between pvt, solo and open, if these encounters happen enough and are a challange. Playing powerplay, you had to change your mindset from I'm a trader to I'm a blockade runner, so don't bring a fat slow t9 to powerrplay trade run because, well, big badda boom!

My major concern is when there are events that make Elite so great, like buckyball, expeditions, CGs, and going after thargoids / titans, the PPP will put the casual powerplayer off (and especially the non power players) trying the new system because they feel that the PPP will restrict their movements to much. Then PPv2.0, despite it's improvements, will be seen as a failure by the community.

I guess, we'll just have to wait and see in the next few weeks.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Lets split things in two. You have the minority hard core powerplayers, who do the runs and try to increase their power's influence, and there are the more casual, who just do it for the modules.

As a 'Hardcore' Powerplayer, I'm all for the PPP attacking opposing power players on sight. I feel that's needed to mitigate the imbalance between pvt, solo and open, if these encounters happen enough and are a challange. Playing powerplay, you had to change your mindset from I'm a trader to I'm a blockade runner, so don't bring a fat slow t9 to powerrplay trade run because, well, big badda boom!

My major concern is when there are events that make Elite so great, like buckyball, expeditions, CGs, and going after thargoids / titans, the PPP will put the casual powerplayer off (and especially the non power players) trying the new system because they feel that the PPP will restrict their movements to much. Then PPv2.0, despite it's improvements, will be seen as a failure by the community.

I guess, we'll just have to wait and see in the next few weeks.

The easy answer (which I asked FD about and I feel they misunderstood) was:

link effort in Powerplay to NPC resistance.

So, if you are the top gun of your power you'll get NPC PPP / PP NPCs (if they even exist) while if you are a casual doing some activity you'll not be molested by a proportionate amount.

But, I have no qualm about (if an activity fell in a Powerplay stronghold) rivals being hassled where it is. CG location is up to FD doing homework, Goid attacks the same, expeditions are (I assume) not in the bubble (so not affected anyway) and Buckyball is held where the organisers want (so it again has control over where it is).

The danger is that unless PP has some edge somewhere, its going to turn into V1s Tesco trundle.

 

[Lu-v H8-2020]

I doubt PPP would stop and inspect non pledged players. I'm hopeful that will be a thing.
If thanks to better npc's doing PP is not going to be an afk game... well yeah for those people pp 2.0 will be a failure but hey np nobody will see them anyway and they can kill task, they will discover this... mechanic they didn't feel like it was necessary to use before but hey that's a new input to master!

 

[Rubbernuke]

I doubt PPP would stop and inspect non pledged players. I'm hopeful that will be a thing.
If thanks to better npc's doing PP is not going to be an afk game... well yeah for those people pp 2.0 will be a failure but hey np nobody will see them anyway and they can kill task, they will discover this... mechanic they didn't feel like it was necessary to use before but hey that's a new input to master!

Powerplay NPCs don't care about the unwashed. They only care about any rival pledge that has a bounty from their power or has power cargo (IIRC).

 

[Phoenix_Dfire]

But, I have no qualm about (if an activity fell in a Powerplay stronghold) rivals being hassled where it is. CG location is up to FD doing homework, Goid attacks the same, expeditions are (I assume) not in the bubble (so not affected anyway) and Buckyball is held where the organisers want (so it again has control over where it is).

You, I and most people I've talked to are in agreement about when you are involved in powerplay, then you have to accept the consequences of powerplay. However, the vast majority of casual players, when told about the PPP and there's no way to avoid them if they're doing non powerplay stuff have said that they'll give this feature a pass. It's is a shame because ;-

1. They'll miss out on all the features that Fdev have been working on with this thing for the last couple of years.
2. We'll miss out on a vastly bigger player base for this under-rated feature.