Powerplay, as it stands right now, seems very stagnant and pointless. We often see one Power rise to number 1, then drop to number 5 the next cycle. There is no real lasting consequence, and it's almost like all the factions are stuck in a permanent "rival" or "cold war" status.
I would really like to see more high stakes, large-scale Powerplay development. For one, Powers should occasionally engage in all-out war against rival Powers for a period of several weeks or even a few months. There should be a method to this madness; Powers which have more active CMDRs engaging in Powerplay should be "more aggressive" and potentially "invade" bordering hostile powers.
At the end of such Powerplay "wars" the losing side would lose VAST swaths of territory, perhaps even 50% of their systems, with the winning side taking over that territory.
Here's why this new dynamic would really engage CMDRs: Suppose you are a CMDR who hates the Empire but you're not really motivated to do anything about it. Let's say Aisling forces go to war with... Winters, and win. Winters loses 50% of her systems, and Aisling gains those. Then Aisling goes to war with... whatever other Federation Power she borders. The momentum is now heavily in favor of Aisling, and standing on the sidelines may just mean that Aisling will eclipse the other Imperial powers and swallow up most non-Imperial space around her holdings. So now the neutral CMDR has serious incentive to get involved against Aisling, and even other Imperial Powers may be motivated to subvert Aisling's war effort to ensure that Arissa, for example, doesn't get overshadowed by Aisling.
This also introduces a potential for dynamic Power faction creation/destruction. Let's say that Hudson loses several wars in a row, dwindling to nearly nothing. Winters becomes the new main Federal Power, and Hudson disappears entirely. Meanwhile, a contingent in the Power with the largest holdings secedes and becomes an entirely new Power.
This will force CMDRs to get involved to preserve the Powers that they support. There will be less migration between Powers for just the module benefits, and more meaningful participation in PP gameplay elements.
I would really like to see more high stakes, large-scale Powerplay development. For one, Powers should occasionally engage in all-out war against rival Powers for a period of several weeks or even a few months. There should be a method to this madness; Powers which have more active CMDRs engaging in Powerplay should be "more aggressive" and potentially "invade" bordering hostile powers.
At the end of such Powerplay "wars" the losing side would lose VAST swaths of territory, perhaps even 50% of their systems, with the winning side taking over that territory.
Here's why this new dynamic would really engage CMDRs: Suppose you are a CMDR who hates the Empire but you're not really motivated to do anything about it. Let's say Aisling forces go to war with... Winters, and win. Winters loses 50% of her systems, and Aisling gains those. Then Aisling goes to war with... whatever other Federation Power she borders. The momentum is now heavily in favor of Aisling, and standing on the sidelines may just mean that Aisling will eclipse the other Imperial powers and swallow up most non-Imperial space around her holdings. So now the neutral CMDR has serious incentive to get involved against Aisling, and even other Imperial Powers may be motivated to subvert Aisling's war effort to ensure that Arissa, for example, doesn't get overshadowed by Aisling.
This also introduces a potential for dynamic Power faction creation/destruction. Let's say that Hudson loses several wars in a row, dwindling to nearly nothing. Winters becomes the new main Federal Power, and Hudson disappears entirely. Meanwhile, a contingent in the Power with the largest holdings secedes and becomes an entirely new Power.
This will force CMDRs to get involved to preserve the Powers that they support. There will be less migration between Powers for just the module benefits, and more meaningful participation in PP gameplay elements.
