Hi this is interesting stuff. i am totally new to (any) powerplay and on top of that i have been thinking of finally fininshing off my mining T10 build but then the thargoid stuff kicked off.
am i right in saying it matters not who i pledge to, as ultimately all will offer all the rewards if i am fully committed to them? So all i need to worry about is the flavour text of who my commander aligns more to combined with the other non equipement bonuses?
finally.... is there any decay in reputation? ie i often go months without playing, will that matter or can i do a bit of reputiation gain today, then come back in 4 weeks time and carry on from the same point?
thanks.
(it was the reputation decay which put me off PP1)
All powers will offer all the PP modules, which used to be exclusive to each power. So yes, in that case, the power you pick doesn't matter.
However, each power does offer
benefits that are unique. At max rank with LYR, I get 100% bonus on exploration data, 15-30% trade dividends (I don't recall off hand), and all refuel/repair/rearm done in LYR systems is free! Arissa still offers a bounty bonus. Archon Delaine will reduce new bounties you incur by 100% if they are acquired in his territory (e.g. should make being a criminal fun and lucrative). And so on.
All powers also offer some equivalent benefits: at rank 100, if not earlier, you will have your rebuy reduced by 100% if killed by another faction. You will also have your rebuy reduced by 100% if you die, for any reason, in your power's systems.
There is no decay of rank any more. Instead there are 100 ranks (plus bonus ranks after that) to grind up. No progress is lost. After rank 100, every rank will earn you a care package (not mini care package) full of engineering mats and 500000 credits.
Finally, each week, you'll be competing with other players in your power on the leadership board. Think of this as a mini-cg that just happens while you play. If you come in the top 25%, you earn 10,000,000 credits. If you come in the top 10%, you earn 50,000,000 credits.
Honestly, there is little reason not to sign up for power play at this point. All the powers offer nice bonuses and there are a lot of ways to earn merits.
Oh, one last bit - in certain stronghold systems (not sure why it isn't all of them) for each power, there are stronghold carriers. If you are aligned with that power, you can dock there and buy everything (like Shinrarta Dehzra) save for Federal and Imperial ships (possibly even those if your power is aligned with them). LYR offers an extra bonus in that, since everything in his systems is 15% cheaper, anyone pledged to him has multiple Shinrarta Dehzras with an extra 5% off!
Important Note: The only catch is you need to choose your pledge power carefully. The old system let you transfer half your rank and merits if you defected. In this system, you just start over from zero. As there are 100 levels (plus all the delicious bonus levels), that isn't something you'll want to reset.