OK, here's what needs to be done to Faction Play.. simple, yet, doable changes:
1) Factions - make them distinctive, immersive, and important. Award certain mechs to their lore-given factions. Make those mechs cheaper for loyalists.Make them more expensive for Mercs and even more expensive for Freelancers. Sort of like Timberwolves belong to Clan Wolf, Ebon Jaguars to Smoke Jaguars, Kodiaks to Ghost Bears and alike.. Give mercs better contract bonuses and give freelancers better freedom to switch factions.
2) Planetary value - Make certain planets dictate the prices of mechs and equipment. Holding some planets makes mechs cheaper. Holding others makes some equipment cheaper. Holding supply route planets gives extra cbills or even MC.
3) Careers - loyalists should get different bonuses from Mercs, and freelancers, but make them distinctive, and immersive. Freelancers should be able to change factions like we do now, no penalties. Mercs with a week long contract. Loyalists with penalties.
4) Payouts - faction play payouts and bonuses should reflect number of held planets. If your faction holds many planets, especially planets with mech factories and supply planets (described above), you should get better payouts and bonuses.
Coupled with point 2), this should create a player effort-driven economy. Because if say, Clan Wolf players disregard FP, and get pushed to their homeworld, their QP payouts will suddenly be 30% lessened, and their new mechs 30% more expensive.
Divide planet worth between large factions like Davion and Stiener, and smaller factions like the Clans equally, with strategic planets being worth more than others, dictating prices and payouts.
5) Conquering planets - Targeted planet is voted for out of the nearest planets available - the planet chosen is then attacked in a very similar fashion as the Kurita vs Davion event is played - in stages, with locked-in game modes. Game modes determined by progression bar, map determined randomly. IS vs IS, Clan vs Clan and IS vs Clan fighting available.
6) Maps - all current invasion and scouting maps and modes available, plus, return of the counter-attack mode. Adjust certain maps (like Tourmaline) to discourage spawn camping. Remove O-gens on doors, and make the doors themselves destructible (because new players instinctively shoot the door, I've witnessed this many many times). You can do that now, that you know how to make destructible walls.
7) Map modifications - Make the o-gens and Omega targetable and hit-able by LRM, but only with TAG or NARC. Would make LRM boats and scouts a lot more useful on many invasion maps.
8) Events & rewards - Make more events like Kurita vs Davion, stop gearing most events towards QP.
9) Immersion - Appoint staff members as official "faction leadership", and have them post and be active in the forums and in-game. Have daily messages and news from the front be posted. Have these official leaders actually drop-command. Like, literally have people sit in a PGI office or where ever, behind an account with a famous name, like saaay, Victor Steiner-Davion, and have that person drop into FP and have Drop Command immediately assumed by them, and have them actually directing drops. Multiple people can use the same celebrity account. We need not know their names. But they need to project a role-play persona and leadership, geared towards making drops more fun and immersive. Kinda like Heaven Kendrick style.. These individuals must apply all tactics and play styles, not dissing on LRMs or snipers, or brawlers or whatever. Not promote cookie-cutter builds, or brown tactics like Linebacker rushes. Simply assume command by default once in-match, and drop command from there.
10) Make maximum group size in faction play 4-6 (dependent on playtesting). That would at least curb some big units from stomping pugs.
11) Immersion upgrade - When joining a faction, immediately make all faction-specific paints, decals, cammos and cockpit items available for all owned mechs. If possible, make the homescreen reflect faction chosen (faction banners in the 3D mechbay, like those that used to be on invasion doors). When you leave the faction, re-lock and remove all installed faction regalia (except already owned items). Mercs get merc-specific items, decals and cammos. Freelancers get freelancer specific items, decals and cammos.
If a player is switching factions, and saaaay, has a mech with all cockpit items in Clan Wolf regalia (that he does not already own before this change), Wolf cammo and painted in wolf paints, with "clan Wolf" decals applied, and is switching to Jade Falcon, immediately replace all installed items from wolf to jade falcon regalia. If he is switching to IS, and they are installed on a clan mech, simply remove them.
I believe you guys can do this, because, right now, forum avatars reflect factions that we belong to, and reflect changes, even reflect merc or loyalist, or freelancer.. so why not do the same for mechs and mech vanity items? Would increase immersion into a faction..
12) Make additional mercenary factions according to lore. Let us be Wolf's Dragoons, Death legions, Kell hounds, Waco's Rangers and alike..
So basically, make Faction Play the "Campaign" mode, meat of the game, and QP the "arcade mode" side dish, with comp and Solaris for additional competitiveness
Edited by Vellron2005, 06 August 2018 - 05:50 AM.