Posted 25 August 2010 - 17:13
You really want to fix the system? Here are my ideas. I'm not sure if they're all perfect, but I think there's some merit here. Warning- long rambling ahead.
Do something like TKP. Every PvP rating point over 1000 you get nets you X points towards PvP tokens. Those on the ladder get a bonus amount, such as a small mutliplier. 1.2x, 1.5x, 2x, in that range. Enough that yes, you do want to be on the ladder. Not enough that people are investing 100 FSP and hiring mercs constantly for the serious difference between 1/2/3/4/5. If #1 on the ladder gets 2 or 3 times as much as #15 or #20, that's sensible. 100 times as much causes a lot of abuse.
This would mean a low intensity PvPer who gets perhaps 1100-1200 rating will take a long time to build a PvP item, but it's possible like a part time Titan killer. A serious PvPer will achieve tokens faster. It permits everyone to participate, it encourages PvP for everyone, and it rewards effort proportionately.
Bounties- Cut ratings transfer for serious level differences. After a certain level, anyone less than something like half your level on the board would only yield 50% of the ratings transfer. There's still plenty of room for high levels to gain rating from this, but it does dampen the effect. I know a level 500 isn't going to have as many targets as a level 50, but a level 500 will beat that level 50 on the bounty board 100% of the time. Meanwhile, if the level 500 is placed on the bounty board, it's going to take someone with significantly more punch to knock them out. The bounty board is still a threat, but it is not the nearly guaranteed annihilation of rating that it is for a lower level. More targets, more risk of losing it. Fewer targets, less risk of losing it.
Seven day PvP limit just like GvG. After seven days, no rating transfer. Gold is fine, no sense in letting it rot in the hands of inactives, but no farming 25 day inactives. If your target has less than 1,000 PvP rating and you have more than 1,000 PvP rating, cut the transfer by 50%. Beyond the 500 point gap, this also reduces rewards for hitting punching bags.
Require all new players to exist for 14 days before they start transferring PvP rating. This prevents sudden loads of multi accounts from popping up for a fresh ladder and gives you guys time to run a sweep of new accounts to check for multies/proxies.
These changes won't fix everything, but the PvP rating points towards tokens would be the biggest fix for the problem by far. It worked for Titans, it will work here. Unbind resources and gear. With the incentive to cheat greatly lessened, it's going to be people with legitimate strategy that succeed.
Anyone have parts of this to pick apart? I think there's some good ideas here, but if any of it sounds off, please say so.