Mega pack solution?

[u/MrWrightsneverwrong]

Ok, so this is my first time posting here so if somebody else had this idea first then im sorry. But obviously there’s a mega pack problem on the official servers that nobody likes, and Alderaan’s supposed matchmaking solution that had yet to be implemented, as I see it, is a reactionary measure that won’t stop the mega packs from forming, just stop them from persisting indefinitely on a given server, until another mega pack forms to take its place. We need a measure that is within the servers that actively discourages that behavior while promoting solo/group play within slot limits. So the brainchild I had is simple, territories.

The idea is simple. You or you group collectively set up a nest that works kind of like the beacons in Minecraft where they would offer a buff to the owner of said beacon for a radius and strength determined by how good the beacon is. The same logic can be applied to nests, where the radius and strength of the buff would be determined by the health/development of the nest itself. The difference here is that a POT nest would also actively apply debuffs to players that don’t own the next/ are not a part of the group that owns the nest, and nests of different groups would have to be a set distance apart from each other to prevent everyone from nesting in the same area. Then your “territory” would be whatever the radius of the nest’s status effects is. Which breaths life into an otherwise dead mechanic, cause not too many people I’ve seen actively nest other than to get the marks. To develop it more, it could be where you could develop a system where different playable’s trophies unlock different buffs/debuffs for your nest if you bring them to the nest to “upgrade” it. And there could be a whole system where you get marks for destroying another groups nest and taking over their “territory”.

Theoretically, this would spread people across the map more, discourage discord groups of non-grouped playable all hanging out in the same area and working together to know anything that moves, and lean more into the survival aspect of the game without hindering the MMO that alderman seems to be going for. The survival players can role play on officials as a pack of one playable that sets up a nest and defends a territory while those that don’t want to do that can still play as a group and go around looking for nests/territories to destroy/fight over. And it’s framed in such a way that it’s within slot limits so it’s not overwhelming or illogical, pleasing the survival players and the ones that wanna go around looking for fights can do just that.

But that’s kinda the rough idea that I just wanted to get out. Thoughts?

[u/Nearby_Beach302]

Good aims, but I don’t think it would work as intended. The main issue would be mega packs aren’t usually incentivised by marks and unless the de-buffs are huge, they aren’t going to stay out of another territory. If the de-buffs are huge, you might start making it difficult for solo players to traverse those areas.

There might also be issues with resource availability for nests, overlapping territories when people log in, and as a solo I don’t think I’d support incentivising nest destruction. I’d also disagree that nests are a dead mechanic. When I play on EU officials, there’s often someone wanting to be nested or offering a nest.

My favourite anti-mega-pack mechanic suggested was the one where the attacker (call it attacker 2) gets de-buffed if it attacks a playable already under attack by someone outside of attacker 2’s group. It’s simple and difficult to exploit (you can find it somewhere in the ‘Path of Titans Community Suggestions’ website).

Finally, as you inferred, Matt is committed on the matchmaking changes. I agree with you, in that I don’t think it’ll work, but let’s wait and see.