Idea for changes to Powerplay merits..

[nrage]

I think the whole merit system should be reworked. I think power play ranks should reward the time spent supporting the faction, and not players with deep pockets or merit grinders.

Here is how I would do it...

Instead of allowing players to earn as many merits as they like, at each rank have a merit requirement to reach in that week. If they reach that requirement 2 weeks running, increase their rank. If they fail to reach the target 2 weeks running, decrease their rank.

So, to reach rank 5 would require 8 weeks of support, reaching the rank requirement each week.

So, you cannot buy your way there by dropping a load of credits and you cannot grind your way there by spending hours and hours merit farming.

The requirements each week would be small enough that players could achieve them without spending so many hours doing it that they have no time to do other things. Which also means that players who cannot play as many hours may still have a chance to reach rank 5 if they really focus on it. Others with more time can reach rank 5 and then do other less merit-worthy more fun tasks.

The point of this change is to stop people from feeling they have to grind to really take part in powerplay, to free them up to take part in other ways or get on with other things they would rather do than grind for merits. It will not stop someone from doing some extra fortification, and they will still benefit from doing so by the fact that their power will do well if they do. Perhaps additional fortification will come with a larger monetary payout.

 

[NeilF]

...at each rank have a merit requirement to reach in that week. If they reach that requirement 2 weeks running, increase their rank. If they fail to reach the target 2 weeks running, decrease their rank.

If we're looking to re-work it, why go down this odd "weekly goal" approach?

Can we really not come up with a method whereby someone isn't needlessly penalised for achieving the same over two weeks rather than one, and where someone can go away on holiday/business for a couple of weeks without needlessly down-ranked?

Are we so short of ideas we're not just happy with over simplistic grind orientated missions/tasks, that we need to even make them so we need to hit needless weekly targets too?

 

[Raduk]

Why would anyone think that they have to take part in Powerplay? There is no direct benefit.

 

[NeilF]

Why would anyone think that they have to take part in Powerplay? There is no direct benefit.

I suspect people will start to realise this, so people will start leaving it... There are some hard-core tier 5 folks, who are openly happy (at the moment) to grind for it each week - But I suspect even that will wear thin for many of them.

Maybe it will prove a hit for lower level players as an easy (easier) way to grind 5mCR a week?

But I doubt many will bother with the board game aspect of it.

Seems a shame such a huge development, aimed at creating an interesting political meta-game has resulted in little more than an alternative grind mechanic for many.

So it's going to be fascinating to see where Powerplay is in 8-10 weeks... And what "adjustments" FD make to the rewards and goals etc if/when people start leaving it. eg: Slowly increasing rewards to try and entice (buy) people back etc.

 

[nrage]

If we're looking to re-work it, why go down this odd "weekly goal" approach?

Because your rank is based on your value to the power, your current value, your value week by week. So, a weekly goal seems a fairly good way to achieve a reasonable measure of that.

Sure, if we chuck out the whole "current value" thing we can change it up a lot more, but I kinda like the current value aspect. It's not such a problem if the requirement each week is much smaller and more achievable.

Can we really not come up with a method whereby someone isn't needlessly penalised for achieving the same over two weeks rather than one, and where someone can go away on holiday/business for a couple of weeks without needlessly down-ranked?

So long as rank is based on your current value to the power, going on a holiday will down rank you. It could be slower perhaps, but as long as we keep the "current value" concept it has to stay.

Are we so short of ideas we're not just happy with over simplistic grind orientated missions/tasks, that we need to even make them so we need to hit needless weekly targets too?

The point here is to remove the grind from power play. With a smaller weekly requirement, you'll have more time to do other things... like grindy trading - if that's what floats your boat. I made a conscious decision ages ago to do as little grinding as I can, I just play the game and progress "naturally" so to speak.

Why would anyone think that they have to take part in Powerplay? There is no direct benefit.

People are complaining that it's grindy. If you remove the ability to grind it, they cannot make that complaint any more and they will do something more fun. I suspect people are getting burnout from all the grinding they're doing, it's killing all the "fun" of the game. I say, remove the ability to grind, bring back the fun.



Of course, I want to see other powerplay changes WRT communication and maybe more diverse missions (on the bulletin board) which give power play merit as well. This topic was just about the weekly merit system and removing the grind.

 

[NeilF]

Personally I'd like to see Powerplay being something far more subtle. So you can go about your daily affairs, but certain trades, missions and other tasks are affiliated to help your Power. Doing these increases your reputation/rank.

As appealing it might be for these reputations/ranks to lower/degrade if you don't do a certain allocation of effort each week/period, I really don't see the point TBH. Why not apply that methodology to your Elite ranks and see the reaction you get


The heart of the problems of powerplay IMHO:-
- The backbone is based on the fact players care primarily about if systems (they've probably never even been to) are in their Power's coloured cloud or anothers. Most players don't! I'd suggest player mainly care about their own gameplay experience (fun), and the rewards (CRs) they receive while doing it. Because of this Powerplay is broken to its core IMHO.
- Powerplay, for all its development time, really hasn't brought anything new for players to do. It's juggled existing gameplay elements around, but ultimately not brought anything more interesting for players to do, and certainly not anything that couldn't have been done far more easily (& probably better) with less development time.

If you get the impression I'm not impressed with Powerplay, then you're right. I find it worrying FD spent time/effort producing it, more worrying they will now spend more time/effort trying to fix it, and very worrying what it means for future development work when so much effort (appreciation? importance?) is put into simply orchestrating and embrasing such simplistic grind orientated mechanics instead of actually moving the game forwards with more interesting, intelligent and involved game play (eg: missions and game contents).


The fact we have people so very dedicated to grinding 15 point haulers over and over and over for hour after hour after hour to get their 50mCR a week, is a bit of a sad reflection IMHO of the gameplay being accepted by both FD and the community as "OK" - We have a huge galaxy in ED, supposedly a monstrous sandbox, and yet this is what it's been created for? Interdicting unchallenging ships you can destroy before even your FSD drive has even cooled down... over and over by the hundreds and thousands... Is that really all we can imagine ED can be? Is that it?

 

[Rardain]

Why would anyone think that they have to take part in Powerplay? There is no direct benefit.

Well, actually, there is a direct benefit at the higher ratings...you are earning a substantial wage. I only intend to play power play until I make rating 5...once I score the 50 mill I am done with it. Grindy as it is, I will persevere for the pay-off. I haven't paid anything towards achieving the goal, just purely doing cargo runs and combat. Unfortunately, due to nefarious individuals employing cheats I have been forced to play in solo mode for the time being...its bad enough having to grind without some moron using shield cheats...at least in solo you don't have to endure that rubbish!

So, week 5, and I am close to 5,000 merits...I reckon another 5 weeks of torture will do it

 

[Raduk]

Grinding is not the problem. Why am I grinding is the problem. I have 13000 merits right now, why should I keep grinding? Right now it's so I can get to 20,000 and defect without losing rank 5. That's my only real motivation. I've figured out a way to make it profitable to some extent and not feel like a grind, but again that's not the issue. The issue is what the heck am I doing this for? The only true mark of achievement in the game is credits so you can buy more ships or improve your current ship. It felt like unique modules would be an incentive but now they are nothing more than a novelty. I think the problem is there needs to be a major incentive for people to hit. Rank 5 is too easy and lacks a solid incentive for maintaining.

 

[nrage]

Grinding is not the problem. Why am I grinding is the problem. I have 13000 merits right now, why should I keep grinding? Right now it's so I can get to 20,000 and defect without losing rank 5. That's my only real motivation. I've figured out a way to make it profitable to some extent and not feel like a grind, but again that's not the issue. The issue is what the heck am I doing this for? The only true mark of achievement in the game is credits so you can buy more ships or improve your current ship. It felt like unique modules would be an incentive but now they are nothing more than a novelty. I think the problem is there needs to be a major incentive for people to hit. Rank 5 is too easy and lacks a solid incentive for maintaining.

I think we will see more "end game" content eventually, it's all about priorities and I think FD are already being pulled in a million directions, fix these bugs, add more end game content, CQC, xbox, shield meta, etc.

Also, rank 5 might be easy for you, but not everyone has the hours to put in to achieve it

 

[Raduk]

Well, actually, there is a direct benefit at the higher ratings...you are earning a substantial wage. I only intend to play power play until I make rating 5...once I score the 50 mill I am done with it. Grindy as it is, I will persevere for the pay-off. I haven't paid anything towards achieving the goal, just purely doing cargo runs and combat. Unfortunately, due to nefarious individuals employing cheats I have been forced to play in solo mode for the time being...its bad enough having to grind without some moron using shield cheats...at least in solo you don't have to endure that rubbish!

So, week 5, and I am close to 5,000 merits...I reckon another 5 weeks of torture will do it

It's not really a benefit though. Maybe further down the road it will pay off but from a time per credits perspective that salary is just compensating you for the activity of doing something at a reduced reward to what you would normally do.

- - - Updated - - -

I think we will see more "end game" content eventually, it's all about priorities and I think FD are already being pulled in a million directions, fix these bugs, add more end game content, CQC, xbox, shield meta, etc.

Also, rank 5 might be easy for you, but not everyone has the hours to put in to achieve it

More about playing focused, not playing long. I play around 15-20 hours a week at most. What I'm doing isn't really that tough or unique. I have a large ship and understand trading. The problem that I see is the incentive isn't there from as you indicated, an end game perspective.

 

[NeilF]

Grinding is not the problem. Why am I grinding is the problem. I have 13000 merits right now, why should I keep grinding? Right now it's so I can get to 20,000 and defect without losing rank 5. That's my only real motivation. I've figured out a way to make it profitable to some extent and not feel like a grind, but again that's not the issue. The issue is what the heck am I doing this for? The only true mark of achievement in the game is credits so you can buy more ships or improve your current ship. It felt like unique modules would be an incentive but now they are nothing more than a novelty. I think the problem is there needs to be a major incentive for people to hit. Rank 5 is too easy and lacks a solid incentive for maintaining.

Point well made...

You've not mentioned the entire back bone of Powerplay, the steps to help your power grow and prosper. I think you're suggesting you don't really give two-hoots about it, and you're simply *grinding* where is the most efficient, and how is the most efficient, for tier 5.

All that effort to put in all those mechanics for Powerplay and simply not of interest to most players I'd suggest.


As for rank 5 being too easy, I couldn't get there. The mindless unchallenging repetition of it prevents me... My brain would rebel. And that's ignoring simply not having enough free time a week to even achieve it...

 

[NeilF]

I think we will see more "end game" content eventually, it's all about priorities and I think FD are already being pulled in a million directions, fix these bugs, add more end game content, CQC, xbox, shield meta, etc.P

Maybe so, but the only serious addition to core gameplay I'd suggest we've had since (before) release in Wings. We've not really had any enhancements to add deeper or more interesting missions, occupations, space content or exploration content... ie: Core content. My concern is FD might think they've actually done enough for the moment, so that's what we'll have for the long term! And the fact they had enough time to go away and design and develop a complete curveball like Powerplay possibly (worryingly) backs that up?

 

[Raduk]

Point well made...

You've not mentioned the entire back bone of Powerplay, the steps to help your power grow and prosper. I think you're suggesting you don't really give two-hoots about it, and you're simply *grinding* where is the most efficient, and how is the most efficient, for tier 5.

All that effort to put in all those mechanics for Powerplay and simply not of interest to most players I'd suggest.


As for rank 5 being too easy, I couldn't get there. The mindless unchallenging repetition of it prevents me... My brain wold rebel.

Grinding is an easy broad brush to stroke over any activity. Sometimes it's good, Fun and relaxing. Other times it's tedious and boring. You cannot eliminate grinding, but you can provide incentive to do it so it feels less lime a grind and more of an activity which leads to an accomplishment. When activities ultimately have no real benefit to the person doing them, they will eventually stop once their own internal goals are realized.

Powerplay lacks reward and it lacks reward over time. It also lacks risk for commitment to a power.

 

[Rardain]

It's not really a benefit though. Maybe further down the road it will pay off but from a time per credits perspective that salary is just compensating you for the activity of doing something at a reduced reward to what you would normally do.

For me it is exactly that. I have concentrated most of my game time so far on combat, which isn't really a lucrative career path. I did go off on an exploration sojourn for a while - I eventually had a 17 million CR exploration Asp that I subsequently lost in asteroid field combat...no insurance...ouch!

So from that painful lesson I have been slowly rebuilding my bank balance. Trading has never held any appeal for me but PP actually forced me into doing it (return trips after running federal packages). I have now just taken my second weekly salary of 5 million CR so by my reckoning, if it takes me another 5 weeks of grind I will have earned 35 million on my way to gaining the 50 million...it's purely a means to an end - a way to the bigger ships.

That said, whilst I engage in PP I shall endeavour to do it in such a way as to actually assist my power, rather than just repetitively make the same run. I guess some people do that because the amount of systems I see fortified way past 100% is staggering.

 

[NeilF]

Grinding is an easy broad brush to stroke over any activity. Sometimes it's good, Fun and relaxing. Other times it's tedious and boring. You cannot eliminate grinding, but you can provide incentive to do it so it feels less lime a grind and more of an activity which leads to an accomplishment. When activities ultimately have no real benefit to the person doing them, they will eventually stop once their own internal goals are realized.

Powerplay lacks reward and it lacks reward over time. It also lacks risk for commitment to a power.

True... Grinding is an easily abused word.

But my issues are:-
- Powerplay has offered mechanics which simply for most are of little/no interest. ie: The entire meta-board game. People generally hold their own experience (eg: fun) and personal progression (eg: CRs) in far higher importance than which coloured Power cloud DirkaDirka will be in next week.
- It basically introduced no new mechanics, and certainly didn't attempt to offer any gameplay (eg: tasks/missions) more challenging, involved or deeper.

All/most that development time could have gone into deeper/more engaging mechanics. Too much went into mechanics most players are not interested in, or simply wrapping put existing mini-game (grind) mechanics already the game and offering them just in a different guise.