After nearly two weeks in game and playing the new sector conquest mode the last few days I wanted to post a few suggestions.
IMO sector conquest needs to be different than normal arcade mode, and needs to be more immersive.
Most Important fix MM so your actually only fighting against people representing the other factions, yes it may take longer but this ruins immersion and clan battles completely.
- Make sector represent physical locations, ie one sector is a set map or one of a few set maps. This introduces tactics on where you want to fight, and can give advantages to ship types or load outs. This could also be expanded in that a sector battle will be one set battle type, ie sector control only or detonation only, with a couple of different battles open people can choose to fight in sectors based on how they like to play and further specialize their load outs.
- Add bonuses via improvements in certain sectors, ie ship yards that reduce repair costs for adjacent sectors, or Energy Towers that boost energy regen, Radar stations that boost target ID range, etc. These installations will provide bonuses to every sector they touch for the faction that controls them. They can in turn be attacked via a new mode called Raid that will disable the effect for adjacent sectors if the attacking faction wins. This will enhance the tactical aspect of sector combat.
- Add realistic as a game mode for sector combat to spice things up.
- Add in a special warp gate at each side’s spawn that allows players to retreat ships off the field without them being destroyed. This gate should be able to be destroyed by the opposing team though, this would prevent new ships from spawning in and ships from retreating.
Longer Term Ideas/More Drastic changes
After playing for nearly two weeks I’ve unlocked Fed, and am rank 6 in both other factions. Soon I’ll hit the content wall that I’m sure many others have already reached. I think that this has a negative impact on the game as what is left is only an endless grind for equipment/loyalty. Also I find that I never go back and use any of the content I have unlocked as it would mean going back to lower tier ships that reduce my rewards. I propose the following solution that centers on sector conflict. Rather than introduce new content like dreadnaughts use existing content in a new/different way to achieve the same goals.
- Remove tier MM in sector conquest, let everyone be matched up with everyone else, its war and war is harsh. The High level ships will be the dreadnaughts or super powerful ships in the fleets. Keep tier MM for arcade as this mode will be more of a testing/training ground and a mode for fun compared to the war that sector conquest should be.
- To combat proliferation of high tier ships add semi perma death to them. Make all ships other than Tier 1 have time based repairs for use in sector combat. A destroyed T1 ship will be available instantly for the next game while a T4 ship will have a timer much like current contracts before it can be used again in sector combat. This repair time can be shortened at the cost of credits or gold, ie you pay to speed up repairs this provides a late game credit sink that will have more impact than ship repairs, and additional revenue generator. IMO this should be very expensive as it will validate the achievement of the lower tier ships that destroyed it. This will also add a tactical side to combat in that destroying enemy ships has a real impact on the war rather than just a simple kill count. This will also give players the ability to use more existing content thus adding value to it. If there are still to many high tier ships destroying low tiers then the timer can be for the tier itself rather than individual ships, so a player gets Z T4 ships per X time and each ship has a repair timer of Y. This way really high level players won’t just go down the list of all the T4’s they have unlocked. This will also serve as a way for development to make more money as players will “buy” back in with their higher level ships.
- As above, add in a special warp gate at each side’s spawn that allows players to retreat ships off the field without them being destroyed. This gate should be able to be destroyed by the opposing team though, this would prevent new ships from spawning in and ships from retreating.
- To boost low tier ships remove Synergy caps for all of the ships, this allows players to specialize in certain roles/ships and would also provide a way for lower tier ships to improve and be of more use in the above format. It also provides a constant reward for players. Modules and weapons from higher tears could be unlocked at higher synergy or buffs to damage/special modules could be increased with synergy to make high ranked low tier ships more of a threat. This will also increase the loss of individual ships in combat, as a player is forced to use a different ship that won’t have the synergy buffs.
This system would introduce a risk v reward system to ship utilization and add a whole new layer to the meta game of sector conquest. It would promote team work and corps, and it would grow the community as new players can make a lasting difference in the war from logon.
Last Change/Idea
Make ship hulls separate from class/special modules. Keep the roles, ie certain ship classes can only equip certain modules and have a set specific special module. But allow the players to choose what special module they want to use with their hull. This would allow for a lot of different builds and allow for the same content to be reused over and over again. You buy a Swift mk3 hull and assign it recon its now a recon swift mk3 forever, buy another and outfit it with something else and you now have a swift mk3 gunship etc. This allows for special sub faction versions of the special modules to be reintroduced, and the same mk1, mk2, mk3 system to be used on them. Just another way for players to spend money, and another reason for them to buy premium gold, ie more profit.