Akinoss on Mar 23, 2020 wrote:

Since mostly all people in this community have looked for a story line update to the game, maybe a new PvP mode could be added to occupy us while we wait, or just to have fun in the moment!

In Brief

I suggest that some form of "Draft PvP" mode could be added to the game that allows players to experience different classes and companions outside of their class at the highest level of 70, with an additional luck component with randomized gear (including all gear in the game even 10+ gear) and randomized class.

Basically, an order will be randomized from 6 different competitors that enter, where each take turns to choose 6 companions that fits their needs (is good with their class and gear). This topic will be discussed further into the post.

Before I continue, I would like to address some possible ideas that conflict with Kingsisle, and also give credit where it is due.

Credit
https://www.pirate101.com/forum/the-shipyards/companion-only-pvp-draft-pick-8ad6a4154b541ff1014b88e8f1e36670 - Saw this version of pvp draft idea and decided to develop on it since it was a while ago.

https://draft-league.nl/public/pages/index.php - the format of the draft and round robin/bracketed gameplay was inspired by the many independent pokemon draft leagues on this website.

Who can Play?

I would love to see a pvp mode where lower levels are not massively undergeared with less companions and basic stats, and this would be the best place to create that experience, since all competitors are set to lvl 70 with the choice of all companions.
Furthermore, lvl 70's who have not experienced other classes may have the chance here.

The Problems:

This may not be a good idea on Kingsisle's point of view, as they want people to buy memberships and crowns to experience the game, and having this "free-to-play" pvp mode with so much customization conflicts with that.
Furthermore, there may be trolls in the game who join and choose the best companions and leave, ruining the game for others. Also, a person leaving can mess up the round robin and bracketed processes, which is not ideal (people who would play this gamemode need a reason to stay).

The Solutions:

- Only lvl 70's could be allowed to enter this draft mode (since they cannot quest further, and have already experienced the game to its current fullest)
- A payment of gold or other methods (crowns would not be ideal, but it probably does make sense, since the draft process and round robin/bracket process includes a lot of individual 1v1 games, which will be assessed later in the post)

Pricing:

My suggestion would be 100-200 crowns for an entry, since these processes are long, and maybe a match is played everyday rather than the whole process on one day

- I feel this is the right pricing since you can get 100 crowns a day through trivia and these are long processes and include the ability to customize and try new things

The Process:

1. After 6 entries were found, each would be confronted with a GUI showing what class, gear and talents have been randomized for them.

2. The competitors then get to view the other competitors' classes and gear, and can plan on what companions to choose in order to support them.

3. Draft Phase (elaborated on below). The order of picking is randomized, and each player picks a companions one by one (there cannot be duplicate picks this way).

4. After that, a round-robin process is used, where all competitors face all other 5 once each. Before a match begins, the two sparring pirates can view the six companions picked by their opponent, and decide from their pool of six companions who they should bring to this brawl. This phase also allows the pirates to choose the talents and epics for their companions, based on what strategy they are implementing, and who they predict the opponent is using.

The above is essential for a draft league, and a winner could be declared by just the person who is first in the league table. The further processes below are extra.

5a. After all round-robin games have been played, the top 4 in the table will move on to the bracketed portion of the draft league where two matches would be randomized

5b. The 2 pirates at the bottom would play a consolation match, in order to somewhat divvy the gameplay amount

6a. The two winners from the bracketed matches will play in a final and the winner would be decided

6b. The two that lost from the bracketed matches will play the game for third-place

There could be a prize or not, tell me what you think!

How the Draft Phase Works:

Out of the 6 companions a pirate can receive, they can acquire different companions from different tiers, and cannot pile up on only the best. Basically, there will be four tiers that companions will be placed in: Super, Mega, Epic and Basic.

Every player will have 6 slots for companions, meaning they will overall draft 1 Super, 1 Mega, 2 Epics and 2 Basics.

I am going to be making my own tier list and reply to this post with it, but I would love to see how you guys rank the companions!

Further Development:

It would be amazing if there could be a way to make this gamemode 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4, which could make the gamemode more fun!

If you read this whole post, thanks for noticing my idea, and tell me your suggestions and improvements!

- Dishonest Cedric Finch
- Crazy Phillip