Please bring back mission quality scaling by rank

[Mephane]

In the beginning and for a long time, the missions offered to you depended first and foremost on your relevant rank. Thus, gaining in trade rank, for example, gave you access to more lucrative trade and mining missions, all across the bubble.

Then it was changed so that your reputation with the mission-offering faction determined the missions available to you, and the rank was merely a "hint" at the difficulty and risk involved.

Both systems have their advantages, and some grounding in "reality".

The old, rank-based system was basically like today when you buy on E-Bay and check out a seller's rating - you don't know them, but a high rating gives you some amount of confidence into their trustworthiness; likewise, Pilots Federation rank is an indicator of someone's experience and success in a field (e.g. trading).

The new, reputation-based system on the other hand, is like when you buy from a particular seller who you have lots of good first-hand experience with, and whom you therefore trust regardless what others might say.

But the new system as one big drawback. While it is a boon to players of low rank, who can gain reputation in a system and thus have access to the better-paying missions before reaching the higher ranks, it also effectively soft-locks you into the locations where you have attained a high reputation with multiple factions, to the point where going to a system you have never been to is absolutely not worthwhile in terms of mission choices.

Thus, we should combined them into a hybrid system. The mission board would check out your reputation and your rank. If your reputation matches the mission reputation requirement, it is offered to you, regardless of your rank. If you rank matches the rank listed on the mission, it should also be offered to you, regardless of your reputation so long as it is at least neutral (need to keep consequences for attacking a faction and becoming unfriendly or hostile).

 

[Ethaidan]

But then we'd lose out on reading about how some harmless pilot was attacked by anacondas... accepting an Elite mission!

No, it could/should be re-fixed, combining both metrics...?

Neutral reputation... missions available up to one rank higher than your rank (they're willing to give you a try, test out your skills)
Friendly reputation... missions available up to two ranks higher than your rank (you've proven yourself, a bit)
Allied reputation... missions available up to three ranks higher than your rank (proper reliable and trusted)

 

[Factabulous]

Since we now have lots of people with triple Elite they could basically take any mission anywhere with no extra work, that seems OP. Ranking with the local factions doesn't take that long - though it would be nice if we could see which factions we have rank with.

 

[Mephane]

But then we'd lose out on reading about how some harmless pilot was attacked by anacondas... accepting an Elite mission!

No, it could/should be re-fixed, combining both metrics...?

Neutral reputation... missions available up to one rank higher than your rank (they're willing to give you a try, test out your skills)
Friendly reputation... missions available up to two ranks higher than your rank (you've proven yourself, a bit)
Allied reputation... missions available up to three ranks higher than your rank (proper reliable and trusted)

That's my point; I didn't say replace the new with the old system, but combine them.

 

[Mephane]

Since we now have lots of people with triple Elite they could basically take any mission anywhere with no extra work, that seems OP. Ranking with the local factions doesn't take that long - though it would be nice if we could see which factions we have rank with.

Why is that overpowered? All it does is allow you to go somewhere else and get good missions there, too. It's not as if people go around grinding for reputation everywhere, they tend to just stick to the same places where they have a high rep and that's it. It shouldn't require grinding rank to get some change of scenery.

 

[rekurzion]

there already is a sort-of hybrid method in place already.

if you go to a system where you have neutral rep with all factions, but one of those factions is aligned with a super power you have a high reputation with, then you will gain reputation faster for each mission you create.

with the addition of variable star rep's missions it is easy enough to stack the right set of missions and raise your rep very quickly to the desired level.

personally i think it makes sense that a faction you have never done business with before should treat you like a newcomer until you prove yourself to them.

 

[Kaocraft]

Since we now have lots of people with triple Elite they could basically take any mission anywhere with no extra work, that seems OP. Ranking with the local factions doesn't take that long - though it would be nice if we could see which factions we have rank with.

Wasn't that the whole lore premise of Pilot Federation ranks and being "Elite" in the first place? An Elite pilot was someone spoken of in hushed tones, who could roll into any port and their expertise would be in immediate demand. If we're gonna use the PF as a magical space wizard to hand-wave any and all ludo-narrative dissonance in the game, surely the PF ranks should mean something?

 

[Ian Skippy]

The problem was lower ranked players having no missions available. Remember the board is shared...

 

[Shir]

And also, if you are already elite, there is now something to do when flying to a new system or area of the bubble, building rep with the local factions till they all know you and you get the best missions. It'd be boring if you already had them everywhere you go

 

[Falcon_D]

I liked the old sys

 

[Falcon_D]

I liked the old system. Where missions were only offered if you had the rank for them.
But then FDev started pandering to the “I want it now” kids, who went all over the board salting about how long it took to grind ranks and we are now at where we are. The PF ranks are basically meaningless and are more an achievement to be chalked up in Steam, etc.

 

[M00ka]

This is one thing about the rank level missions that has always confused me - which rank do they use!

Lets say I look at a haulage mission, it will tell me that it is ranked Broker and that hostile ships could be sent against me. Well Mr FD I hate to be the bearer of bad news but my Trade rank has nothing to do with my ability to defend myself against attackers. I would much prefer that the rank level for mission be solely based on the player's combat ranking as the only danger, whether it be perceived, imagined or real, is the chance of combat during the mission, not on whether I got really good at hauling cargo from one system to another.

 

[Cmdr. Numa]

Yep, I'd like to see the old system reinstated too. That way payouts balancing would be much easier.

 

[Ian Skippy]

But then FDev started pandering to the “I want it now” kids, who went all over the board salting about how long it took to grind ranks and we are now at where we are.

'pandering' 'salt' 'kids' and such are all words typically used here by people with no coherent argument to make. Back in the day mission boards often had less than five missions. There are ten ranks per type, and three types. It means that the average station would have 1-2 missions of the type you wanted, and if you weren't very high ranked there would be plenty of times where none of the stations you'd visit would have even one mission of the general type you'd want and could take, and plenty of times no mission you could take at all, regardless of if you'd even want it. That was clearly a bad situation for the overwhelming majority of players, and it made very little sense. PF ranks modify the frequency of high-rank missions spawning btw.

Its all cool to see old-timers, all high-ranked by now, want a system catered to them, but if you are serious you may want to actually propose a system that doesn't screw over >90% of the player base at the same time. Because FD ain't going to pander to salty kids like you.

 

[Faded Glory]

This is one thing about the rank level missions that has always confused me - which rank do they use!

Lets say I look at a haulage mission, it will tell me that it is ranked Broker and that hostile ships could be sent against me. Well Mr FD I hate to be the bearer of bad news but my Trade rank has nothing to do with my ability to defend myself against attackers. I would much prefer that the rank level for mission be solely based on the player's combat ranking as the only danger, whether it be perceived, imagined or real, is the chance of combat during the mission, not on whether I got really good at hauling cargo from one system to another.

Unfortunately, the only real challenge or opposition to pretty much anything in the game is combat, so that is what the rank of any mission, including those from trade and exploration ranked missions will refer to.

You're not wrong, it would be great if FD could come up with challenges didn't involve guns, but as it stands, that is how it is now. So, a Tycoon ranked delivery mission is simply a Deadly mission by any other name, and suggests that the attacking pirates, should they spawn will be ranked Deadly.

The good news is that if your combat rank is lower, the rank of the attacking NPCs will be massaged downward. By exactly how much, and where the cutoff is I cannot say (I am Deadly ranked, so if I take an Elite ranked mission my attacker will nearly always be massaged down one rank to Deadly so I don't know what I would get if my combat rank were say Competent), but I'm assuming there is a cutoff, otherwise Harmless ranked traders would be able to take Elite ranked missions with the subsequently higher payout and only face a Harmless attacker...

 

[RamirezKurita]

Rather than some arbitrary locking behind a Pilot's Federation rank, I'd much rather if we were paid according to what we were actually doing. Rather than artificially inflating credit earnings for established players, they should make it so that a rank actually denotes the difficulty of the mission rather than a simple multiplier to the money it gives. Let players take on whatever mission they want regardless of rank, but not necessarily expect them to be capable of completing said mission.

For example, a source and return mission that is Elite ranked should practically require a combination of one of the top-end freighters and extensive knowledge of the local area to actually get the stuff in time. An Elite assassination mission would require a fully G5ed Anaconda and a decent pilot to have a fair chance. Elite data delivery missions would attract the attention of a small fleet of powerful interdictors, making escape difficult without taking them down first.

 

[Hacker#451563]

I was a late backer (about 2 months before official release).
I remember the old system being very frustrating, so frustrating in fact, that I almost never done missions at all. If a courier mission was literally on my way I'd take it for fuel money, but otherwise there was almost nothing.

The system we have now gives new player a chance to:

1. Earn some decent money quite quickly even without having to watch 994,748 Youtube vids on how to learn to play Elite.
2. Get a basic level of the BGS even if they don't particularly want anything to do with it right away.
3. Beginning to Rank Up in Fed. or Imp. sometimes without even knowing they are doing it, but if they want a Rank Locked ship finding they are half or all the way through the first Rank is an instant boost to gaming enjoyment.
4. Test themselves against tough opponents without having to go to the more "gank-happy" places like CZ or REZ sites.
5. Feel cool 'cos they just managed to complete a "Deadly" or "Elite" mission.

The more new players that come into the game and have fun without hitting a grind wall so carry on playing, the better Elite will become.

 

[babelfisch]

I liked the old system. Where missions were only offered if you had the rank for them.
But then FDev started pandering to the “I want it now” kids, who went all over the board salting about how long it took to grind ranks and we are now at where we are. The PF ranks are basically meaningless and are more an achievement to be chalked up in Steam, etc.

That's not how I remember it.

 

[Drazkul]

The problem was lower ranked players having no missions available. Remember the board is shared...

Yeah when I started and missions were rank locked I quite regularly never had any missions available - it was an awful system.

I eventually gave up even looking at the mission board.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

The problem was lower ranked players having no missions available. Remember the board is shared...

Obviously the ideal would be lots more missions and then we use filters and searches (take on a mission then filter button for other jobs to that system)
However if that is technically not doable then the answer could be the same mission templates for everyone but them then scaled afterwards (client side?) So that they are suitable for our Cmdr . IF we have over levelled due to farming exploits and this makes missions too difficult then an added button in advance saying "search for easier missions as I am feeling like a lazy day" (ie think of lore context wording) and then it simply generates the missions for a few more ranks lower than we are