Lately I’ve noticed that the philosophy in fixing many issues in this game has been to use a bandaid. In fractals, the ledge in the ice level was a point of exploit. Instead of fixing that, they just made lethal stuff drop on the ledge. In the cliffside fractal, instead of fixing the bug with the final boss, they just changed a minor property of one of his skills, and he is still exploitable after all these months.
I’ve seen this happen in PvP also and it needs to stop. Raid on capricorn has a key underwater component. Underwater combat is unpopular, so instead of fixing the map, it’s just off of tournament rotations. Ques were too long for 8 team tournies when 2 teams were created, so 8 team tournies were just eliminated.
Revisions:
Raid on capricorn needs to be completely changed, or deleted. Underwater cannot be a big component on this map. Instead, why not make use of the ship? Put the capture point on the ship. Put harpoon guns on the ship that can hit anything in the water. Remove all formations in the water where people can use to LoS. The team that controls the ship will then control the water. The water will be a shortcut to the two points, providing extra value for controlling the ship.
There are probably many other ways to change this map where underwater combat, which is not balanced and specifically destroys certain builds does not have to be a huge component of the gameplay.
QoL
Traits should be more easily refunded. I should be able to subtract 5 points from a trait line.
Builds should be savable.
Gear/runes should not have to be bought. I should be able to pick them from a dropdown menu.
Public servers need to be better. Variations in map rotations, goofy servers (for instance, a server where all players entering will have an afro of a different color).
Rewards:
This has been talked about in other threads. It does need a total overhaul, not a little bandaid like adding a laurel to the pvp daily. I think something like the black lion limited edition stuff would be a good idea. They should cost a lot of glory, of course.
Variety:
We are in desperate need of new maps and new modes. Even if the new maps/modes are not super polished, they need to be there. Consider adding “event” maps. PvE events occur every month or two and this has been working. Why not follow this model for PvP? Every month or two, release a new limited edition map or game mode that is fun. If it’s a smashing success, consider bringing it back for good.
Overall:
PvP is still the least popular aspect of the game. This is why the game is now stuck with 2 team matches only; not enough people play. All of these things need to be addressed before you will get enough players to do any kind of big game sponsored tournies with shoutcasting and such.
With minor changes, entering PvP can be streamlined. How much easier would getting into it be if you could save builds and not run around looking for vendors?
With some more major changes, such as game mode variety, map revisions, and rewards changes, more players will actually stick with PvP as their main time sink.