Let's make the PVE server a great NA game. ( part II - poll )

[o Barão]

1- Let's add port battles to the pve server however with different mechanics. In the pve server it would be the faction king ( AI or the devs or it could be the players voting during the week ) that would pick one port per week for each nation to try to capture. Every port battle would always happen at the weekend in a specific hour and would be open for battle for 1 minute. Now what would make this more interesting to the players? To be guaranteed to always have a big battle. To capture or defend a port can be great of course but the idea behind this is to give all players once per week the fun to be part of a big battle if they wish. So how could make it work?

        Details:

        - Every port battle would have 20 vs 20 ships battle.

        - Doens't matter how many players are in each side. The game will always respawn AI ships in the beginning after the first minute so both teams start the battle with a similar BR and 20 ships in each team. 

        - If the port battle is between 2 factions , and there are players on both teams we will have pvp but only inside the port battle. 

Possible questions:

Why the faction King choose where is going to be the attack?

 - The reason is to not give the clans the power to choose, when , where and who can join the fight. No. Let's keep that system away from the pve server. Instead it will be open for all who wants to have some fun fighting a big battle. Open to all, fun to everybody. Fun to everybody translates to a great game. A great game means more players will join the server. More players in the game , more money to the devs. It is a win-win situation for everybody.

But if 26 players from the same faction shows up and there is room only for 20?

- The 20 player with the higher BR will join the battle.

But only 20 players per battle can be a low number if many more players start to play in the pve server.

- The same way your faction king choose a target for a port battle , another faction king/s can choose to attack a port from your faction. So instead of one port battle per weekend you can have two , three or four port battles happening at the same time and of course you can choose only one. This will guarantee that everybody will have the opportunity to join a port battle and have fun.

 

2- Let's add solo and open to all patrol zones where pvp is allowed. Simple as that. There are no pvp in the OW of course but that doens't mean that players are not interested to participate in some pvp engagements just for fun and to win good prizes. 

 

3- Let's bring AI agression to the game in a balance manner. 

So i propose this simple mechanic:

- 3 different situations : home waters; open sea ; enemy waters.

- In home waters ( 30k range or less from each friendy port ) the player can't be attacked by AI.

- In open sea the player can only be attacked by pirates AI.

- In enemy waters ( 30k range or less from each enemy port ) the players will always be attacked by that faction AI ships.

- Ai ships and fleets will always take into consideration the BR difference to decide if attacks or not the player.

- Friendly AI ships near your ship will always join the battle if you are attacked.  This will bring more tactical decisions and bigger battles (more fun) to the player when sailing in enemy waters.

 

With this i hope to achieve 3 things.

- To give a relax game experience for all the players that wish to play around the home waters.

- To give the player some exciting when sailing in the OW but not much.

- To give those delivery missions in enemy water or if the player just want to trade in enemy waters a high risk x high reward situation that would bring a fun and exciting gameplay to the players. 

 

In conclusion, 3 simple ideas , that i think are easy to implement and i believe that would make the experience in playing the pve server great and amazing fun to all.

 

Please vote and share your thoughts so the devs can hear your voice. Thank you.

 

Note: I apologize for my poor english, is not my native language.😆

Edited April 11, 2019 by no one

[Teutonic]

I mean yes?

The biggest issue is that if the peace server got these 3 points then that would really be the end of the war server :P.

[o Barão]

1 minute ago, Teutonic said:

I mean yes?

The biggest issue is that if the peace server got these 3 points then that would really be the end of the war server :P.

Probaly yes and the main reason would be the fact the pvp server doens't give the experience most players wants. Yes it can be great for the big players that plays with the big clans but for the average joe, solo players and new players, the gameplay they get inside the pvp server can be a lot different they were expecting.

Please consider the fact that is not my intention to kill the pvp server. If the gameplay inside the pvp server was more balanced and fun to all i would never considered in making this poll. But my time inside the game told me that what the devs want inside the pvp server is far away what i could expect from this game. Luckily they gave us the pve server so i can always suggest a different game experience to this server that will please the majority.

[Bragan Benigaris]

Regarding the port battles i would implement them only as player-vs-AI battles, something we already have on war server if a neutral port is attacked. The capturing nation (the players) should keep the port for a fixed time, for example for 2 weeks (4 weeks, one month, choose one) and after this time it automatically goes back to neutral during maintenance. Next chance for clans and nations to capture it and this keeps the map dynamically.

tl;dr

* player could capture only neutral ports
* battles only against AI
* ports go neutral again after certain time

[o Barão]

1 hour ago, Bragan Benigaris said:

Regarding the port battles i would implement them only as player-vs-AI battles, something we already have on war server if a neutral port is attacked. The capturing nation (the players) should keep the port for a fixed time, for example for 2 weeks (4 weeks, one month, choose one) and after this time it automatically goes back to neutral during maintenance. Next chance for clans and nations to capture it and this keeps the map dynamically.

tl;dr

* player could capture only neutral ports
* battles only against AI
* ports go neutral again after certain time

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

 

Cool. Yes it could be done that way.  Any system that brings port battles to the pve server would be great since we don't have anything atm. It's stupid  looking to the map and see all those neutral ports. I want to add that looking to the poll atm i see a lot downvotes about the AI agression. The AI agression i propose was a very light system that would only give some challenge in particular scenarios still from what i see, players don't want anything that could harm the relax experience in the pve server. So i understand very well why you and probably many others would like to see port battles only against AI.

Edited April 11, 2019 by no one

[Macjimm]

I think you are confusing the PvE server with the PvP server.   The changes you are describing may seem reasonable to you,  but they are drastic and will impact the very foundation of the PvE server.  Some players just want to have fun and may not want to have other's ideas forced on them.

Peace server = Calm, tranquility, relaxation. All nations are at peace.  There are no port battles.  There is no conquest..  There is no piracy or privateering.  The peace server is perfect for friendly. peaceful gameplay.

What you propose will alter the very essence of the Peace server, and may attract the wrong type of player.  It would be easier to change the War server, or introduce a separate server. 

It is perfectly okay  for some players to enjoy a game that is NOT focused on someone else's form of excitement.   Save the peace server.  Don't wreck it for those who enjoy it.

 

 

[o Barão]

1 hour ago, Macjimm said:

I think you are confusing the PvE server with the PvP server.   The changes you are describing may seem reasonable to you,  but they are drastic and will impact the very foundation of the PvE server.  Some players just want to have fun and may not want to have other's ideas forced on them.

Peace server = Calm, tranquility, relaxation. All nations are at peace.  There are no port battles.  There is no conquest..  There is no piracy or privateering.  The peace server is perfect for friendly. peaceful gameplay.

What you propose will alter the very essence of the Peace server, and may attract the wrong type of player.  It would be easier to change the War server, or introduce a separate server. 

It is perfectly okay  for some players to enjoy a game that is NOT focused on someone else's form of excitement.   Save the peace server.  Don't wreck it for those who enjoy it.

 

 

First i want to thank you for sharing your thoughts.

 

I found your post very interesting since almost everything you are saying i would do to the pve server if i could of course , is fake. Now this can be because english is not my native language so maybe i failed to express my ideas in good way. If that is the case i apologize.

 

You said and i quote: " The changes you are describing may seem reasonable to you,  but they are drastic and will impact the very foundation of the PvE server.  Some players just want to have fun and may not want to have other's ideas forced on them." and "Save the peace server.  Don't wreck it for those who enjoy it."

This is the interesting part. Almost 95% of the things i suggested to be implemented in the pve server will not interfere with your current gameplay in the server.

1. You are not forced to fight the port battles. You fight them if you wish. What i suggested is to have always a big battle in the weekend for the players just to have fun. if your faction capture or defend a port that is not the most important thing. If you don't like to have fun in fighting big battles , ok no problem do what you want. But many other players would like to have that option if possible. In the end port battles wouldn't interfere with your gameplay.

 

2. You maybe didn't read what i said about pvp and so maybe you are making a big confusion. I will explain again. There is no pvp in the OW. Simple as that. You are safe. What i was suggesting was to create some patrol zones where pvp is allowed. Again you are not forced to go there , no one will attack you outside the patrol zone , no gank squads are going to chase you in the OW. Nothing. You are 100% safe. Again same story. This suggestions is to bring more options to the server . Players can become bored sometimes and maybe they could want  to fight another players just for fun. This is why i suggested this, fun. In the end will not interfere with your gameplay.

 

3. About the Ai agression. This is the only thing it can interfere a little to your gameplay and is just a little. I said that near your friendly ports no Ai will attack you. You are 100% safe. And this is what most pve players do. They go out to fight some battle against AI, have fun and logout. In the open sea i said that only pirate warships would attack you in certain conditions. I ask you this. How many times did you saw an AI pirate ships in the open sea? Probaly not many times. Now the only part it will interfere with your gameplay is if you are staying near an enemy port. The only thing. That is what ? Between 1% or 5% of your time playing the game in the pve server?

 

Now take all this i told you and answer me.

a) Am i trying to destroy your gameplay in the pve server?

b) I am in fact suggesting to bring more options for players having fun in the game?

Edited April 12, 2019 by no one

[Sir Texas Sir]

1.  Leave it 10 ships, we don't have many clans or groups that can do 20 vs 20 fights right now and well other than shallow waters when was the last time you seen something so big?

2.   The only way I can see PvP to work on Peace server is flags.  You have a PvP flag and can only attack other folks with PvP flags.  Any one else can't be attacked or can't attack you.  That makes it mutual consent for all parties.

3.   They keep saying they will bring AI aggression but the Hard core PvP guys keep complaining they don't want to fight dump AI.  Well guess what half the guys that farm aren't any better than AI so what is the difference?  That you destroyed a players ship and put him back a week or two?  Really think they just want to troll other players and never fight each other.   

 

22 hours ago, Teutonic said:

I mean yes?

The biggest issue is that if the peace server got these 3 points then that would really be the end of the war server :P.

To be honest with the direction they are going with the War server and there not being any in the middle option for the average causal players I really don't give a crap about the War Server any more if there could be an option that interest more players.  It just will show that hard core PvP is not what the majority of the players want.  

[o Barão]

3 hours ago, Sir Texas Sir said:

1.  Leave it 10 ships, we don't have many clans or groups that can do 20 vs 20 fights right now and well other than shallow waters when was the last time you seen something so big?

2.   The only way I can see PvP to work on Peace server is flags.  You have a PvP flag and can only attack other folks with PvP flags.  Any one else can't be attacked or can't attack you.  That makes it mutual consent for all parties.

3.   They keep saying they will bring AI aggression but the Hard core PvP guys keep complaining they don't want to fight dump AI.  Well guess what half the guys that farm aren't any better than AI so what is the difference?  That you destroyed a players ship and put him back a week or two?  Really think they just want to troll other players and never fight each other.   

 

To be honest with the direction they are going with the War server and there not being any in the middle option for the average causal players I really don't give a crap about the War Server any more if there could be an option that interest more players.  It just will show that hard core PvP is not what the majority of the players want.  

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Texas.

 

You are the second person that comment here that failed to understand what i said. Now this can be because: a) people are reading only the headlines  and not reading the idea or b) my english is so terrible that i failed to express my ideas.

 

Now talking about the port battles where you completely failed to understand my idea. You said and quote: "Leave it 10 ships, we don't have many clans or groups that can do 20 vs 20 fights right now and well other than shallow waters when was the last time you seen something so big?

If you had read and understand my idea you would know that:

a) My idea about port battles doens't care about clans or groups.

b) The port battles are open to everybody that wants to fight them.

c) Doens't matter how many players go to fight the game will always respawn AI ships if needed.

You can have a port battle with only 3 players in the team A and only 1 player in the team B that before the battle starts the game will respawn AI ships to both teams. So doens't matter how many players are there it is going to be always 20 vs 20 epic fun battles every weekend.

 

About your pvp idea.  Imagine that you are sailing in the OW with the pvp flag how many players you think you would see using the pvp flag? I am going to give you the answer. Zero. 99% of the players would have any reason to use that flag. The only thing you could do is going to the global chat and ask if anyone was interested in doing some pvp. Doens't work your idea.

 

Instead read my idea again.

a) Create 2 patrol zones where pvp is allowed. One solo pvp patrol. One open to all patrol.

b) No need any flag. if players are interesting they could simple sail there to fight.

c) If there is no player to fight no problem. You are in a patrol zone and you will get amazing rewards for killing AI.

This idea is so simple and effective. Doens't interfere with the pve players that are not interested in pvp and there is no need to sail around the OW wasting time in searching  a ghost. You simple go to the patrol zone and have some pvp fun.

Edited April 12, 2019 by no one

[Sang Noir]

On 4/11/2019 at 5:29 PM, no one said:

In the pve server it would be the faction king

No, do not let it be player driven, nor let anyone choose which port to attack. Keep player decisions a 100% out of it. Who knows, maybe someone has their outpost  and assets in a certain port there so their peace would be ruined.

On 4/11/2019 at 5:29 PM, no one said:

But if 26 players from the same faction shows up and there is room only for 20?

Make it so that there are 3-5 designated ports, spread out in the Caribbean so everyone can reach it from their capital, and there's always going to be a port battle event at certain times (one event for each major time zone). Those ports don't switch faction after the battle, nobody decides on them, the only goal is to have a port battle event there without any consequences for the map.

No factions fight against each other there, you simply choose if you want to defend or attack and the AI will balance out the battle. No matter which faction you belong to, port battle fun for everyone without any changes to the map and no player driven events.

 

On 4/11/2019 at 5:29 PM, no one said:

2- Let's add solo and open to all patrol zones where pvp is allowed.

I think the PVP flag is a good idea, but then we all have to go search for each other again. Just bring on SOLO (No GROUP) patrol zones, so everybody knows where to go to for a proper duel.

 

On 4/11/2019 at 5:29 PM, no one said:

3- Let's bring AI agression to the game in a balance manner.

No. AI aggression could be annoying like hell. No general AI aggression, BUT ... in Sid Meier's Pirates you had two hunter ships spawn once you had a mission which tried to attack the ship you had to escort. Similarly I could imagine that hunter ships would try to engage you, once you pull a certain mission, a a passenger delivery or escort mission. Those AI ships may engage.

Also in Sid Meier's Pirates you occasionally had an extra powerful Pirate Hunter spawn, if you attacked too many ships of a faction. An extra mission like this would be fun and rewarding, defeating a Pirate Hunter giving extra bonus or a special ship if you manage to board him. But you would need to have some reputation system with the AI on PVE.

Edited April 12, 2019 by Jean de la Rochelle

[Sang Noir]

16 hours ago, Macjimm said:

Peace server = Calm, tranquility, relaxation.

I don't know, but every time I see someone writing this, it sounds like sarcasm to me, don't know why, like some pun against the people who like to play on PVE ... 😉

[Sang Noir]

5 minutes ago, Routan said:

Why not group fights?  Lots of ppl like group fights more than duels?

Because so far no proper way has been found to prevent ganking in the patrol zone? Ganking = No Peace

[Sang Noir]

5 minutes ago, Routan said:

Well you could have a sign up for group battles. Basicly you sail to the area and sign in.  Lets say the group is 5 vs 5. Then when there is 5 on each side it start

It would be a very good idea. Could still be abused by groups (organised on TS vs randoms) , so I would propose a random matchmaking. Might as well have a lobby in port though.

[o Barão]

44 minutes ago, Jean de la Rochelle said:

No, do not let it be player driven, nor let anyone choose which port to attack. Keep player decisions a 100% out of it. Who knows, maybe someone has their outpost  and assets in a certain port there so their peace would be ruined. True. This is probaly the best option.

Make it so that there are 3-5 designated ports, spread out in the Caribbean so everyone can reach it from their capital, and there's always going to be a port battle event at certain times (one event for each major time zone). Those ports don't switch faction after the battle, nobody decides on them, the only goal is to have a port battle event there without any consequences for the map.

No factions fight against each other there, you simply choose if you want to defend or attack and the AI will balance out the battle. No matter which faction you belong to, port battle fun for everyone without any changes to the map and no player driven events. Yes it could be done that way.  From my understading you would want to create a port battle event where all players from all nations could join and have a big battle between team A and team B. Cool.

 

I think the PVP flag is a good idea, but then we all have to go search for each other again. Just bring on SOLO (No GROUP) patrol zones, so everybody knows where to go to for a proper duel. Yes solo patrol zones are a much better idea but you could also have group patrol zones.

 

No. AI aggression could be annoying like hell. No general AI aggression, BUT ... in Sid Meier's Pirates you had two hunter ships spawn once you had a mission which tried to attack the ship you had to escort. Similarly I could imagine that hunter ships would try to engage you, once you pull a certain mission, a a passenger delivery or escort mission. Those AI ships may engage.

Also in Sid Meier's Pirates you occasionally had an extra powerful Pirate Hunter spawn, if you attacked too many ships of a faction. An extra mission like this would be fun and rewarding, defeating a Pirate Hunter giving extra bonus or a special ship if you manage to board him. But you would need to have some reputation system with the AI on PVE.

So after reading my idea about AI agression you still think it could be annoying to hell? This is the part i don't understand . You can't be attacked close to your ports, only pirate AI ships can attack you in the open sea and you only would get some challenge if you were sailing close to an enemy port. I fail to understand why this can be annoying to hell. Can you explain why?

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and i want to add a +1 for reading the ideas before.

Edited April 12, 2019 by no one

[o Barão]

17 minutes ago, Routan said:

 Like treasure Hunt, hunt famous pirates, Exploration, whale boats, craft your own trade goods and lots more.

This things you want probaly are not going to happen. The game is almost ready to release.

[o Barão]

39 minutes ago, Routan said:

That does not mean that it can’t happend. All it takes is that devs say they are going to implement it along the Road. Lots of games but new content in to a running game. They can make them 5 € dlc. 

 

True but if they do don't expect to be anytime soon. Exploration idea was already deleted by the devs. They are a small team. Only 2 or 3 persons if i am not mistaken so you can't expect too many features to be added to the game.

Edited April 12, 2019 by no one

[Norfolk nChance]

@no one

I just think any form of PvP in a PvE environment will not be allowed. I’ve pointed out a few times now that the Dev’s won’t budge on this issue. No matter how appealing it is... I agree

The closest I got was the Smuggler Flag system welcoming all. Even just open to AI aggression was a no.

The Co-Op EPIC, missions against AI is the only path. At Battle Instance even friendly fire is impossible. PORT BATTLE Co-Op from an attack against AI defenders or vice versa I really would like to see. And should be possible...

The reason why the Dev’s won’t allow ANY form of PvP on the PvE Server is consensual manipulation. Forcing another player into a PvP Instance against his wishes. Whatever system from flags to Duels no matter how water tight will be still not looked at.

Co-Op helps you to learn to fight as a single unit. It will help with PvP, but to learn PvP you must be on that server...

 

Norfolk

 

[derekticus]

I think the Port Battles need to change the Map, unless 99% of the map is Neutral, but a Neutral Map might be too boring.

As per War server, Player's could do Hostility missions, (and a new mechanic -  the ANTI Hostilities Mission could be added to allow the Attacked Nation a way to respond), to try and generate Port Battles in certain locations.  But maybe there would be a limit to 2-3 PBs for any one Nation over the course of a week.  If Players fail to generate Hostilities, then random Ports would be chosen for a Nation's offensive Port Battles.  THEN, the Ports involved in a Port Battle would have a 2 week cool-down before fresh Hostilities could be generated there.

This way there could be battles to control the Rare Wood Ports, and other Ports of value.

Additionally, Players should be made aware, when they visit any Port, that it IS a Rare Wood Port no matter which Nation owns it.

Port Battles can be AI v Players, as suggested elsewhere.  OR, there could be 2 simultaneous Port Battles, one for each Nation, all vs AI,  and the Nation that wins the quickest is determined to have won the PB.  Maybe with this mechanic the Players would ALWAYS take the side of the Attacking Nation, to keep things on a level.

 

Edited April 12, 2019 by derekticus

[Sang Noir]

1 hour ago, no one said:

You can't be attacked close to your ports, only pirate AI ships can attack you in the open sea and you only would get some challenge if you were sailing close to an enemy port.

Yep, but there are people in this game who literally want to do nothing else but trading, not even PVE. Maybe they want to do some long distance trade without having to worry about any sort of attack. Make AI attack you when you draw a certain mission, but keep the waters safe.

[Bull Hull]

11 minutes ago, Norfolk nChance said:

@no one

I just think any form of PvP in a PvE environment will not be allowed. I’ve pointed out a few times now that the Dev’s won’t budge on this issue. No matter how appealing it is... I agree

The closest I got was the Smuggler Flag system welcoming all. Even just open to AI aggression was a no.

The Co-Op EPIC, missions against AI is the only path. At Battle Instance even friendly fire is impossible. PORT BATTLE Co-Op from an attack against AI defenders or vice versa I really would like to see. And should be possible...

The reason why the Dev’s won’t allow ANY form of PvP on the PvE Server is consensual manipulation. Forcing another player into a PvP Instance against his wishes. Whatever system from flags to Duels no matter how water tight will be still not looked at.

Co-Op helps you to learn to fight as a single unit. It will help with PvP, but to learn PvP you must be on that server...

 

Norfolk

 

That rationalization about "forcing another player into a PvP Instance against his wishes" is a lame fear mongering straw man and false dichotomy.  The developers can easily implement something like the smugglers flag that would allow players to freely CHOOSE whether or not any other player can attack them.  Pure and simple with ZERO forcing of anything onto anyone.  All we need is the OPTION to CHOOSE to fly a battle pennant.  If I freely CHOOSE to fly a battle pennant then another player who has also CHOSEN to fly a battle pennant gets the CHOICE to attack me and that other player has freely chosen to permit to attack them.  If I don't want to be able to attack other players or to permit other players to attack me then I just CHOOSE to not fly a battle pennant.  Simple and easy.  No forcing of anything onto anyone.  Period.  The PvP area ALREADY does this but limits the CHOICE to a relatively small circle - unless of course a player in the right class of ship just happens to accidentally sail through a PvP zone without realizing it.

The bottom line is there is no rational reason to limit that PvP choice to such a relatively small circle.  It wouldn't even be necessary to make the entire OW open to this PvP CHOICE.  The developers could distribute a few large PvP circles and a few medium size circles and some smaller circles all over the map to facilitate the easy CHOICE to do PvP and do it ONLY with other players who want to proactively CHOOSE to seek out other players who have made the same CHOICE.  Most of the Gulf could be a big PvP circle.  Most of the Atlantic can be a big PvP circle or two or three.  Other places for circles of various sizes are easy to see just by looking at the friggin map.

But the sad reality is that the developers don't want to empower players with reasonable choices because they really don't care about satisfying as many players as they can satisfy.  They want to manipulate us into an artificial and arbitrary false dichotomy of either hard core PvE or PvP with little room for any other styles in between that continuum of player styles and player preferences.

[Sang Noir]

30 minutes ago, derekticus said:

As per War server, Player's could do Hostility missions, ... to try and generate Port Battles in certain locations. 

You would re-introduce ambition to the Peace Server which might bring unwanted competition along for those seeking a break from that kind of behavior.

As a side-effect I'd say an informal jump-in-and-get-your-feets-wet event would be a good way to promote port battles in general. I have a couple of hundreds hours in this game but never came an inch close to being inside a port battle. Maybe some people would be more willing to invest time again on the War server if they only ever experienced a port battle for themselves?

Edited April 12, 2019 by Jean de la Rochelle

[Sang Noir]

4 minutes ago, Routan said:

Think Exploration will come.

I remain positive as well. Game Labs has some other great games (Gettysburg, Ultimate General) that have some great AI solo-player content, so I remain optimistic about them being able to do that kind of game too.

[Bull Hull]

11 minutes ago, Jean de la Rochelle said:

You would re-introduce ambition to the Peace Server which might bring unwanted competition along for those seeking a break from that kind of behavior.

As a side-effect I'd say an informal jump-in-and-get-your-feets-wet event would be a good way to promote port battle. I have a couple of hundreds hours in this game but never came an inch close to being inside a port battle. Maybe some people would be more willing to invest time again on the War server if they only ever experienced a port battle for themselves?

That is a false dilemma.  Having the option to do hostility missions doesn't necessarily have to mean keeping a port.  Hostility missions can simply be nothing more than a way for players to set up opportunities for fleet operations to earn rewards.  Win the hostility missions and get a reasonable reward.  Win a port battle against a determined ai defender and earn decent rewards.  Basically, port battles can provide a chance for players to raid ports to loot them.  We don't have to keep anything other than the loot we earned by winning a port battle.  Then there can be a significant cooldown of days to weeks before we can raid the same port because each port will need time to recover.  So then players would have to raid a different port a little farther away, etc. etc. etc.

If players from other countries can't interfere with our hostility missions or port battles then how could there possibly be an "unwanted competition"?  There are soooooooooo many neutral ports on the map there are more than enough to go around to provide raiding opportunities for all nations and all players.  The only meaningful competition would be against the ai defending a port.  If that ai is as capable and competent as the ai in Epic Missions I have seen then that would be a decent fight.  In other words, hostility missions and port battles can simply be a variation on Epic Battles except in a know location with more options on what we could bring to the fight within the BR limits of each port.

Edited April 12, 2019 by Bull Hull

[Norfolk nChance]

@Bull Hull

“That rationalization about "forcing another player into a PvP Instance against his wishes" is a lame fear mongering straw man and false dichotomy.”

Is it? Take a look at EvE Online High-Sec missions and Seal Clubbing or Ganking.

 

I do see your point of view, and I’m just showing you why they (the Dev’s) won’t allow it. Remember I’m the one that first wanted PvP in PvE…

Ask a Mod like @Hethwill to comment on it. Dev’s probably won’t…

 

Norfolk

 

[o Barão]

18 minutes ago, Bull Hull said:

But the sad reality is that the developers don't want to empower players with reasonable choices because they really don't care about satisfying as many players as they can satisfy.  They want to manipulate us into an artificial and arbitrary false dichotomy of either hard core PvE or PvP with little room for any other styles in between that continuum of player styles and player preferences.

Well said.