12 replies to this topic

[RedSail]

So I'm not okay with the way mercenaries are set up. So my suggestion is that instead of everyone taking up "contracts", you pick a side. Yes you pick a side for a long period of time. However, units have the ability to mark themselves as "up for hire".

When indicated as "up for hire" you put into a LFG type library. You still fight for your faction like normal but you could be hired to fight for another faction.

Now let's say my unit has lots of cbills in the coffer and has reached a fairly high rank within our faction. I now have enough cbills to pay the minimum cost to hire a unit and have a high enough rank for my faction to trust my decision.

I would go to the Up for Hire library and pick a unit. I would then offer them an amount of cbills I deem worthy.

If the unit accepts the contract they will immediately switch to our faction and fight for us FOR ONE WEEK. Once that week is up, they are paid and switch back to their old faction.

So what happens if a faction is over powering everyone? Well there's a lot that could happen. Maybe other factions have a lower min cbill requirement to hire out.

Maybe there should be a limit on how often a unit can be hired but for now that's my idea.

What do you think?

[RedSail]

Bump?

[Joseph Mallan]

I have been a Lyran Since November of '11.

[Kdogg788]

That's a rarity. The system now only benefits those units that change every week or two to follow the bonuses around the map. That doesn't sound like how CW was supposed to be implemented. They need to increase rewards for house loyal groups to give incentive to stick with a faction and play out CW as a faction force.

-k

[Darwins Dog]

Kdogg788, on 04 February 2015 - 08:15 AM, said:

That's a rarity. The system now only benefits those units that change every week or two to follow the bonuses around the map. That doesn't sound like how CW was supposed to be implemented. They need to increase rewards for house loyal groups to give incentive to stick with a faction and play out CW as a faction force.

-k

Take a look at the reward list for faction loyalty points. The people who are switching every week will get a lot of the lower tier ones from every faction, but the ones at the top of the list are amazing. 50,000,000 cbills, 50,000 GXP, and 2,500 MC at the top. That's enough for three fully loaded heavy mechs (with modules) and a medium hero (on sale of course). Only loyalists are going to be getting that level.

[Adiuvo]

What about the lesser units that will inevitably never be hired out?

[Odins Fist]

RedSail, on 03 February 2015 - 11:14 AM, said:

So I'm not okay with the way mercenaries are set up.

So are a lot of people and mercs, BUT..

My escape clause says that I can BOLT if I feel it's in the best interest of.. ME. LOL
Seriously though, the INSTANT I think that a situation is NOT in ther best interest of MY Merc Corp, then... SEE YA...!!!
The Exact reason for NOT picking a permanent allegiance with ANYONE.

We'll see if PGI comes up with a better idea to handle it without making all Mercs angry.

I'm getting kinda sick of the "SOON" thing with MWO, I don't plan on waiting too long for another round of development to get finished.

[Davers]

I could have sworn I made a reply to this thread...

The problem with mercs is NOT that they are switching factions. It's that they join factions that don't need them, creating 'super factions'.

[Dawnstealer]

I thought of making the rewards ramp up the longer you stay with a faction. So you can go somewhere new, but you're going to be starting at the very bottom again, whereas if you stay where you are, the earnings and rewards are greater.

[Davers]

Dawnstealer, on 04 February 2015 - 12:53 PM, said:

I thought of making the rewards ramp up the longer you stay with a faction. So you can go somewhere new, but you're going to be starting at the very bottom again, whereas if you stay where you are, the earnings and rewards are greater.

So it is better if all the mercs stay in Ghost Bear and not switch? Doesn't that defeat the use of mercs as population control and makes them just another Loyalist unit?

[SuomiWarder]

Main problem is that there is no official leadership for Houses and Clans. Who gets to decide on hiring?

Eventually PGI should program in some type of virtual base and long term benefits to a merc unit that permanently contracts with a house. That should be enough to tie down a merc unit voluntarily.

Maybe some type of vote by official units of a house on taking on a merc unit for a specific time or planet battle for mercs perma attached elsewhere.

But having run an MW4 league in the past, I know that sometimes no one was hiring mercs. Or only the two merc units that usually won. So as admin I had to offer ComStar contracts (usually to scout a house or can unit that was not being active otherwise). Thus generic contracts by PGI will have to stay in effect even if some type of vote to award a contract system emerges.

Edited by SuomiWarder, 04 February 2015 - 01:30 PM.

[Basilisk222]

I think you should have to choose What you are. Mercenary or Citizen. Mercenaries can switch factions whenever they want, for the current penalty system, and citizens lose 100% of any progress made in their faction for leaving, and new factions they join do not see gains for a certain number of battles (lets say 10-20). BUT Citizens gain LP faster than Mercs do or get thier rewards at lower lp values. In addition, breaking a contract should result in a big payout for Mercs, and Fees should be placed on citizens to move.

Breaking contracts is frowned upon big time, the cost would be much higher.

I also propose that Mercs make more money by a percentage than Citizens.

Also faction content requires you be that faction to use it, and you MUST have the LP rank to install it it requires unless you've purchased it from PGI.

Options are there, flip floppies are there, but there's some serious bonus on both sides.

[Dawnstealer]

Davers, on 04 February 2015 - 12:56 PM, said:

So it is better if all the mercs stay in Ghost Bear and not switch? Doesn't that defeat the use of mercs as population control and makes them just another Loyalist unit?

Well, from my description, they can certainly jump, but they probably wouldn't jump enmasse and it wouldn't be like now where from week to week, one power is turned into a superpower until they push on to the next one.