As you may have read, there is a lot of concern over the next steps forward in pvp.

In this third installment of the PvP report, I will as always do my best to present the issue in a non-biased manner.
As two sides heat up their arguments, the future of PvP hangs in the balance. Two paths have been proposed, each taking the game in different directions. The choice is for each of us to decide.


The Federation PvP initiative:
Increase federation bonuses as necessary to allow the casual gamer to participate competitively in FvK PvP. This would increase the amount of feds queuing up for FvK PvP. Satisfaction of the largest number of people is the primary goal.

Positives:
Increase in Federation player participation in FvK PvP.
Higher level of PvP satisfaction to a larger population.
Increase in Federation player participation via Klingon Alt character in FvK PvP.
Increase in new player sign-ups.
Loss of PvP oriented players reduces the gap between experienced and non-experienced PvP players yielding a more even playing field.

Negatives:
Loss of PvP oriented players due to one sided handicap system.


The Pro PvP initiative:
Reduction in the Federation "handicap" to allow true competition between veteran PvP oriented players in both factions. This would increase the amount of veteran PvPrs queuing up for FvK, and promote more premade competition. Fairness is the primary goal.

Positives:
Increase in PvP oriented player participation in FvK PvP.
Retention and return of PvP oriented players.
Promotes evolution of PvE oriented players into PvP oriented players as they grow tired of PvE, instead of leaving game.

Negatives:
Less casual player participation in FvK PvP.
Loss of Federation PvP players due to inability to compete.

For what it's worth, I think Cryptic has been moving in the direction of the second option-- at least for now. The Orion Star Cruiser, er, Marauder Patrol Cruiser is yummy!

what I want to see is a dedicated team queue:

Team Queues:
- you can only enter with a team of 5
- you can only queue into the arena from a dedicated launching area.

Rewards (the carrot):
- The winning team receives 1-3 emblems per win. (with no limit to the amount of emblems attainable in a day).
- The winning team receives 1 accolade point towards a dedicated "team arena" title. This title can be displayed in space and on the ground.
- The losing team receives nothing.

From the launching station:
- People would be gathered doing the traditional "escort/healer/science" LFG if they wanted to pug te arenas.
- Venders for devices would be present and all the traditional services (bank/mail/exchange) would be present.

do it cryptic!

As a semi-casual player I dislike the concept of giving any one faction a buff in pvp to "bring them up to the level of play" of another faction.
Anyone who enters pvp should have already made the decision to play and casual playstyles should not be a factor in balance.
If one is not able to personally accept the risks and level of play needed to compete in a pvp arena, one should not participate.
I learned how to pvp from a casual status and so should others whom wish to participate.

Also I like Faithborns idea of a Team Que system.

I'd love to see this, but only KvF. Don't want feddies hiding away in FvF racking up emblems without a chance to kill them.

Well there is always KvK.

I'd love to see an all or nothing system. Just like the RSP nerf, it forced people to adapt to a higher level of play and the community actually came out better out of it as a whole.

I believe that an all or nothing system should come along hand in hand along side with a change with how emblems are earned.

There is a noticable amount of players in the STO community who simply queue up for PvP and idle away or perform actions that are detrimental to the team just so they can speed up their grind. It's irresponsible and it does not reward the PvP enthusiasts.

Someone once mentioned the idea of having a set limit of how many emblems one can earn on any given day, but not be limited on what method they use to get it. Like it or not, the general population will always take the path of least resistance to achieve what they want.

Incorporating that concept and changing the PvP emblem reward system to an all or nothing system will seperate those interested in PvP from those who are just exploiting the system as the detriment of others to grind their way up.

I doubt Zigz was serious about his first initiative. Noone could seriously wish something like that.

Team queues are needed indeed, as well as some kind of reward for pvp'ing. Yes, in a perfect world we would do it for the sake of just doing it, but that's not how things work.
We need some strict lines here, and we absolutely need rewards for pvp'ing and especially for winning pvp. It seems more than just strange, that it doesn't matter at all if you win or lose - that's just a fail system, sry.

Faithborn's idea is quite good, though I wouldn't go that far, to give the "losers" nothing. Ideally they would get one emblem (for example) as well, to be able to progress further. If you're constantly face melted and lose every game (or the vast majority) it would hurt a lot. Of course we would then need proper itemization and maybe even pvp equipment. You'd farm your marks in pvp (and there only) to get gear and become better through experience as well as proper pvp gear.
If this would ever happen, I would also think about making a ranking system (see faithborn again) which regulates access to certain gear levels. So only who is good and tries hard to win, will get the best items. (the standards here should maybe not be too high. In the end just a handful of best players of the best fleets would access the best gear and get even more unbeatable, since they're already skilled most. So the best gear should be available to "good" players, not just the "outstanding".)

If this won't happen, then the gap between "winners" and "loser" should just be clear (i.e. noticably more Emblems or *insert random name*-badges for winning and just one for losing). So that winning will get you geared up way faster, while losing a lot will only allow slow progress. To not scare away beginners, no reward at all is too harsh imho.

But I talked about stuff way off of the current state of STO. So maybe we should consider one step after another.
Nerfing anything because Mr John Casual can't handle his buttons is clearly no way to go. And I'm far away from beeing good yet. But I can try hard to become, creating a casual ez-mode dice roll pvp system where Jason McOneEye with just one arm is as good as a freak playing this game several hours a day is just pointless. If there is no goal to aim at, why even bother at all?

While I understand your motives it would make Team PvP a camping ground for PvP fleets to pick off the not so PvP oriented fleets (which are many). I believe that rewards should be across the board with better rewards going to the victor. It isn't a carrot if you can never get it but by luck.

Simplest approach would be to just have these things also count for the other Daily reward. That way you get 3 Emblems after 3 times in the Team Queue, but if you win you get more and get rewards for playing longer than that,.

But the idea is that winning in the Team Queue is not "luck" but skill.

Yes to all this. Dumbing down the game or "buffing up" one faction is not needed.

Just some Boot Camp for Noobs maybe.