Hello! This is another one in my series of threads where I put together Powerplay activity data for the past Cycle. If you haven't, you might want to check out the thread for
Cycle #2 and
Cycle #3. As always, if you have suggestions (particularly about the formatting or the type of data to be shared in the next post) or corrections to offer, they are very much welcome. My thanks to /u/panterjd42, who helped me format the data for the original post.
In the previous Cycle, we have seen a decrease in Opposition to Federation Expansion and a moderate increase to the amount of Opposition Imperial Powers have seen. Imperial Powers have seen more activity than all non-Imperial ones put together, Federation and Archon received the most Undermining and, crucially, the data showed Arissa and Aisling having the most activity by far. In fact, those two Powers had almost as much PP activity between them as all non-Imperial Powers put together. As ever, there's a few things to note before you check
this week's data.
- The data was collected between midnight and 3 AM British time on the last day of Cycle #4. Very late pushes and last-minute merit dumps have to be taken into account, but these are unlikely to significantly affect the overall numbers.
- Some Powers have "better" ways of furthering their goals, some have "worse". For example, Hudson needs to do combat tasks, which are slow and tedious, to push his Expansions. Meanwhile Torval completes the same through economic means, which is easier, less tedious, and it means that supporters with deep pockets can contribute a *lot* more than pilots of combat-oriented Powers. For that reason Hudson's numbers are likely lower than would be expected from his player count, and Torval's are higher, for example. Just how much impact this has is hard to assess.
- Opposition for each Power refers to the level of opposition *their* Expansions have faced, not what they inflicted upon others. Same with Undermining. In all cases, absolute values are used, not percentages.
POWER RANKING BY ACTIVITY
Power ranking by support (Fortification + Expansion + Preparation)
1. Aisling (975,967)
2. Arissa (932,480)
3. Hudson (527,084)
4. Torval (394,891)
5. Winters (381,972)
6. Mahon (380,585)
7. Patreus (246,121)
8. Sirius (229,777)
9. Archon (215,071)
10. Antal (141,083)
Power ranking by opposition (Undermining + Opposition)
1. Hudson (632,700)
2. Winters (547,035)
3. Archon (261,975)
4. Torval (244,426)
5. Mahon (124,440)
6. Arissa (102,723)
7. Patreus (100,296)
8. Sirius (91,925)
9. Aisling (60,622)
10. Antal (39,412)
Major faction ranking by support
1. Empire (2,549,459)
2. Federation (907,669)
3. Independents (585,931)
4. Alliance (380,585)
Major faction ranking by opposition
1. Federation (1,179,735)
2. Empire (508,067)
3. Independents (393,321)
4. Alliance (124,440)
ANALYSIS
- The trigger increase last Cycle appears to have made *some* impact on overall activity, but it's not as major as one might have expected. Pranav Antal has seen the biggest increase in activity, while most Powers have seen an uptick of around 20%. Sirius is the only Power which has actually seen less activity this Cycle.
- We see a further gap between Powerplay activity in the Empire and elsewhere. At this point the combined activity for the Imperial Powers is significantly higher than the combined activity of all non-Imperial ones. In fact, Arissa and Aisling combined see more Powerplay activity than that of all non-Imperial Powers put together, and are chiefly responsible for this skewed trend. I felt the need to highlight that since they were moving towards that line for the past two Cycles, and have finally crossed it.
- Opposition and Undermining values are also skewed, albeit not as badly as in Cycle #2. Federation Powers see the bulk of hostile activity, with Torval and Archon the only other Powers to see anything approaching significant enemy action. Just like in the previous cycles, Archon remains the most Undermined faction in relation to its overall level of support. While Torval has seen only very modest amounts of Undermining, that Power has actually seen the most Opposition in Cycle #4.
- As expected, Fortification values have universally increased across Powers, though again this increase isn't as great as one might expect, given the fivefold increase in triggers. Arissa remains the galaxy's Over-Fortification Queen, however, Aisling claims the brand new title of Over-Expansion Queen. Her Expansion values are higher than that of all other Imperial Powers put together, despite the fact that she has seen close to zero Opposition. Hudson remains the Power with the highest Fortification values relative to overall Powerplay activity.
- As in previous Cycles, Arissa and Aisling due the bulk of Preparation in Powerplay. In fact, those two, combined, have done significantly more Preparation than all other Powers in the game, combined. I think it's safe to say you don't want to get into a Preparation race against either one of the two.
GUESSES AND ASSUMPTIONS
This is the section where I ramble semi-coherently and try to make far-reaching assumptions based on the flawed data I have collected. I also try to make some guesses about overall player counts for each Power, an endeavour that is foolhardy given the many variables I can't properly account for. You can probably safely skip this section and do something productive with your time.
- What's to say about the Empire other than that the situation continues to be a little ridiculous. With bulk of player support and not much Opposition or Undermining in their space, Imperial Powers continue to have an easy time, with Overhead their only significant threat. I see the situation only getting more skewed as time goes on, given the incentives to join Imperial Powers.
- Patreus has in previous Cycles been the only Imperial Power under signficant threat, and his supporters did a good job of shoring up their borders in face of significant hostile action. However, it seems that the trigger increase might have put an end to that. Suddenly Patreus sees very little Undermining and Opposition, after Cycle #3 where he almost lost 3 Expansions and had several Fortifications cancelled. Without a doubt, this is the Power that has benefited the most from the trigger increase - with Kumo Crew now needing to spend more time in their own space, the Space Loan Shark is safe for now.
- While higher than in Cycle #3, the massive Undermining and Opposition that the Federation Powers have seen in Cycle #4 is actually lower than it has been in Cycle #2. That suggests to me that aggressive Imperial Expansions near Federal borders have had little, if any, effect in that regard - or that effect has been offset by other factors, such as Torval's defence of her Expansions.
- Not much has changed in that whatever strategies we might make on reddit or the forum, merit-farming still seems to be the primary motivator for many, likely most, players. This is true in every single Power, every one of them has done things this cycle that can only be described as monumentally stupid - such as pushing an unopposed Expansion to 500% while another one is at risk of failing, Preparing systems in the same area, over-fortifying one system while leaving others undefended... the list goes on. It's possible that at least some of this could be mitigated by changes in game mechanics or better UI indications of the impact of your Powerplay actions.
- It's hard to gauge which Power is the biggest in the game - Aisling or Arissa. Arissa's player count is probably higher than her Powerplay activity would suggest, since she has to complete the tedious and unrewarding combat actions for Expansion. At the same time, Aisling has edged ahead while apparently playing in a parallel Elite universe where everything is puppies, rainbows and friendship, and Opposition and Undermining haven't been invented. It's entirely possible that if Aisling ever sees significant hostile actions, she will mobile reserves of player support that are at this time largely dormant.
- I feel Winters deserves a special mention this Cycle. She is a mid-sized Power by activity while receiving huge amounts of hostile activity, yet her supporters have handled Fortification with the increased triggers beautifully. Very little over-fortification and no vulnerable systems to speak of. This is a Power that's getting a lot done with limited resources.
- It now has been a month since Powerplay release, and blatant balance and mechanics issues have not only not been fixed, Frontier has yet to comment on them. I don't want to harp on about this, as we might get some information in this week's dev update, but I find myself increasingly frustrated. Revamping Powerplay perks and bonuses so that no Power is stuck with clearly useless crap should be the priority right now.
- The increase in triggers is a good idea pushed out too early. With the population skewed as it is, it barely affected the biggest Powers and those who see little enemy action, while significantly stunting the growth of Independent Powers with less player support and putting the already disadvantaged Federation in an even tougher position.
