Elite Dangerous | Powerplay 2.0 Update

[Ian Doncaster]

The galaxy map does allow you to filter power play by activity amount in the current cycle. It's fairly easy for an individual to see where the effort is being applied and go there to help, without joining a group.

Yes, certainly - the map is great, and this tends to be exactly how I operate nowadays - but I don't think this changes the point I was making.

Put another way: if you're following the priorities of big group X which has put 400k merits into a particular system this cycle by throwing in another 10k of your own, does it really matter if you aren't on their Discord and only vaguely have an idea about who they are? It's still a case of "join a big group" (no matter how informally) or "achieve nothing in the big picture".

And to be clear, I think that's unavoidable and within those constraints the current global progress balance seems about right, plus PP2 does allow for a multitude of big groups per Power each with their own (not necessarily compatible) agendas.

 

[CMDR_Brantford of FLC]

Yes, certainly - the map is great, and this tends to be exactly how I operate nowadays - but I don't think this changes the point I was making.

Put another way: if you're following the priorities of big group X which has put 400k merits into a particular system this cycle by throwing in another 10k of your own, does it really matter if you aren't on their Discord and only vaguely have an idea about who they are? It's still a case of "join a big group" (no matter how informally) or "achieve nothing in the big picture".

And to be clear, I think that's unavoidable and within those constraints the current global progress balance seems about right, plus PP2 does allow for a multitude of big groups per Power each with their own (not necessarily compatible) agendas.

That's no different from Powerplay 1 -- there were big groups organized for that as well. It allows people as well to join groups who had figured out what to do in Powerplay and guided people what best activities to do to help their power. Trying to figure it out on your own as an individual was simply overwhelming to most people - plus Fdev had terrible instructions/documentation on how things worked.

 

[SergMx]

and guided people what best activities to do to help their power.

That was PP1's biggest mistake, people didn't play the way they liked, they worked.

 

[hitchhiker54]

I think we need some clear communication as to what the expected level of merit/hr is from the devs perspective. if we have a guide rope we can give better feedback as to which avenues are under or overperforming

 

[Ian Doncaster]

That's no different from Powerplay 1 -- there were big groups organized for that as well. It allows people as well to join groups who had figured out what to do in Powerplay and guided people what best activities to do to help their power. Trying to figure it out on your own as an individual was simply overwhelming to most people - plus Fdev had terrible instructions/documentation on how things worked.

Rather better than Powerplay 1 in that it's no longer the case that 99% of the things you might do will doom your Power if you succeed, too.

If I spend time fortifying up some minor exploited system 50 LY from the frontline ... well, at best it does no harm, and at worst it'll save some work later once the frontline has been rolled back that far. If I spend some time undermining a system on my own and the other side just counters it, well, at least I made them take time to counter it that they could have spent on something they wanted more.

(And if they don't notice or have other priorities, maybe slowly taking a few thousand merits a week off it goes under the radar until it falls.)

 

[FrogVoid]

Greetings Commanders,

We have identified an issue where certain actions are being excessively used for Powerplay gains.

In order to investigate and resolve this issue we are temporarily suspending Powerplay gains via the following methods:

• Rare Goods Trading
• Settlement Data Delivery
• Escape Pods

Once we have resolved this issue these options will be enabled again.

Thank you for your continued reports and feedback on Powerplay 2.0.

this is great. hopefully they get the nerf they deserve

 

[Ruthless4645]

Power Play 2.0 is already 3 weeks old and to this day remains a bug riddled mess that so far has had...

1. Exploration data for merits suspended.
2. Exobiology data for merits suspended.
3. Rares trading for merits suspended.
4. And will most likely soon have the kill spamming of SLF's at opposition Stronghold ships suspended.

Yet no bug fixes or patches have been seen so far, not really a good look. Unfortunately PP2.0 is also ruining the game play of players that are not even remotely interested in playing it.

 

[Devian1]

It's not about grinding levels, it's about doing things in game you enjoy and earning some merits at the same time.

Does anyone seriously enjoy hauling rares for hours upon hours of play time, day after day? If so, why didn't they do that before powerplay 2 came long?

Some of did, just a different trading loop with different rewards, hours on end running a loop watching the credits roll in or running a loop watching merits roll in.

 

[August Lagrange]

To get across my perspective on this, there were multiple ways this could have been avoided.
One, FDev could have spent longer testing in beta, and opened it up so that organised PPers could get involved and show how we would play.
Two, FDev could have talked to those in charge of the various communities and asked their perspective. Ideally, that would be the first thing to do- ask the people that have been involved in this for years what they think. Propose various options and ask for their preference.
Three, this whole thing about allowing almost any activity to be done at almost any time was never going to work. PP1 worked because expansion was done one specific way, undermining another, and then you relied on BGS for the rest, which is a tried and tested system. We could have told FDev that this wasn't going to work, because the community would inevitably game the system and find the single most merit-efficient method and grind that. Hell, that's the case somewhat for BGS and bounty hunting.
The important thread running through these points is that FDev should have talked to their playerbase and taken advantage of our knowledge and experience. Many of us are programmers ourselves and understand the challenges they face.

 

[Rebel Yell]

So, the innocent get punished along with the guilty. I don't do relogging. I DID snap up my fair share of pods, though, usually at the end of a merry pirate-bashing session.

I guess I'll have to thank the folks who have to use every exploit in the book. Thanks heaps. :/

It's sad, and I (we) bear it on my (our) shoulders (=time).

I (but I can speak on behalf of the whole Kumo Crew) despise any form of exploit... one can call me (us) criminal(s), scoundrel(s), mongrel(s), murderer(s) whatever but not exploiters.

 

[SergMx]

4. And will most likely soon have the kill spamming of SLF's at opposition Stronghold ships suspended.

They're too much to pay for. Scouts were also given a lot of money at first ...

 

[Sighman]

Hey there. PP coordinator of the largest hauling power in the game here. We did indeed haul things up to 200 ly away every single week for close to a decade in Powerplay 1. We do enjoy hauling things in large ships. While rares are not great due to low allocation, it is much better than wasting time hauling trade goods for double digit merits. The reason we, powerplay people, did not do so before is because it was not an option.

I should have said 'outside of powerplay'

What I meant was that people weren't hauling rares because it was fun, they were hauling rares because it was the most unbalanced way to gain merits. Now they'll just farm SLFs at strongholds until that's fixed.

I like many (all?) tasks in the game, but I don't want to be funnelled into one specific task because it's the only viable one.

 

[-Meka-]

What about buffing other activities? If i have to spend hundreds of hours just to unlock that one module i want to have little bit of fun with, no thanks im not doing it at all

 

[Sighman]

That was PP1's biggest mistake, people didn't play the way they liked, they worked.

Exactly. The minute I start taking orders in this game is the point where it becomes a job.

I'm gaining merits in a little out-of-the way system which has been my home for about 5 or 6 years now. Nothing I do has much effect, but I can see slow progress and I'm happy with that. It gives me a reason to be in that system doing bounty hunting, or mining, or whatever - rather than doing the same gameplay in well known more 'efficient' systems.

 

[Roadtrip0088]

Easy way to fix pods:
power play specific pods!! (i know, big brain)
[(PP power name) Escape Pod]
normal pods not adding to PP. Look, no exploit without needing a nerf or rework of any numbers.

 

[metatheurgist]

So...you guys designed this right?

 

[yianniv]

Selling stuff a unit at a time to gain something that selling in bulk didn’t sounds like exploiting the mechanic. It doesn’t feel like it is breaking the rules but…

It's paying attention to detail and using the game mechanics to one's advantage. I wish I could take credit of discovering this, it was shown to me by a very magnanimous cmdr.

 

[Cmdr. Numa]

What about buffing other activities? If i have to spend hundreds of hours just to unlock that one module i want to have little bit of fun with, no thanks im not doing it at all

And there you have the biggest problem of the system. It's progression is set up for the long term powerplayers, as it should be. But people like us, who just want the modules are alienated by that. That's why I always say those modules need to be removed from powerplay and given to tech brokers or specific engineers. At the very least have all 12 unlocks within the first 24 ranks. That is still an acceptable timeframe.

 

[DarkmoonFury]

If the past has taught us anything it is this:

1. Players, in general, will gravitate to what ever farming method is most profitable even if it is less fun then others. Just look at credit farming or imperial and federal rank progression. It's just human nature and aside from that, grinding sucks.​

​

2. FDev has made liberal use of the "Nerf Hammer" over the years and has at least in some cases been very slow in addressing exploits. Think board hopping and restarting the game to farm the same USS over and over again.​

​

3. Lastly, and maybe a bit more subjectively, It feels like FDev focuses more on how they think the game should be played then what is actually fun for the players. It feels like maybe they are trying to change that?​

Personally I liked the rate that rare goods trading earned merits. It was engaging in that I had to figure out what commodities and systems were most profitable to deliver to and from. But mostly it didn't feel too grindy and I saw progress at such a rate that I didn't feel like achieving my goals with the time I have available to play was out of reach.

Exploits not withstanding, the fact that players are gravitating exclusively to the methods in the OP, to me, indicates that the problem is not with the afore mentioned methods, but a problem with all of the rest.

Stow the "Nurf Hammer" FDev!

 

[Rat Catcher]

Unfortunately PP2.0 is also ruining the game play of players that are not even remotely interested in playing it.

Fortunately, it isn't bothering me in the least, I'm able to play how I want, and am not in the least even remotely interested in playing it!
I guess it all depends on how one wished to play the game though...