[Powerplay] Defecting players should be pursued by ATR level ships

[Rubbernuke]

Powerplay leaders should not tolerate defection so easily, and send such weak ships after defectors. To really spice things up, please punish these weak willed traitors with heavily engineered ships, and get these guys to insult you via messages when they are about, Judge Dredd style. For example:

Pranav Antal: "Heretic! Prepare for death!"

Archon Delaine: "The boss doesn't like loose ends!"

You would then have a 'hide and seek' game, where you might suddenly see a local message like "No where to run traitor!" and you really do have to run since these guys are crazed zealots.

When the defection cooldown is over, you could have a message from your new master saying "Looks like the heat is gone, welcome!" style. You could tinge it all with menace, with the 'welcome' being like "welcome to our power, don't think of escaping as we will kill you.

 

[ebbrell]

I like this personally.
power play is going to become more popular, this will be the only area where people can commit to PVP properly. People not wanting to take part in PVP will end up not pledging.

but for people pledged, we need some pain for defecting. and hid and seek would be very cool.

in BETA 2.4, I managed to be come hostile to a controlling faction, I must admit it was a totally different game. it became dangerous and exciting just travelling through an area and worse when docking. if you got scanned you would instantly be rejected and would abort.

I ended up hiding on planet surface to recharge shields etc, to then attempt to get across the system. if the ATR followed you and hunted you down. well could be a very good game mechanic.

I've not pledged, I probably will end up pledging... and would expect some bad people to chase me if I defected.

 

[Rubbernuke]

In essence you would become a fugitive for x days, and that within your old powers territory you are wanted and KOS.

You could really go to town with it, example:

Instead of the usual 'do you really want to defect?" message, you have a welcome screen of sorts with your new power. It could read "So you had enough of Alliance bureaucracy eh? I'm glad you saw the light. You might want to lay low for x days while the pen pushers look for you!"

And, if you don't go through with it, you could give the player a scare with a message from your current power, like "Is your faith in the Alliance wavering?" appear in the inbox.

 

[StiTch]

I've always said the PP cooldown is pathetic.

PP pledging should be a genuine pledge of allegiance at best, and at worst something you still actually have to consider.

Adding my support to OP for high level harassment of your ship, also including an extension of the cooldown time from 1 day to 1 week.

 

[Rubbernuke]

I'm not sure if it still happens, but for a while the ships sent to kill you didn't even have interdiction modules, they'd simply loop round you.

I suppose what I really want is for the act of pledging to add to the nihilistic tone of the game- you try to be free, but in the end whoever you go for wants you dead eventually.