Powerplay 2.0 Q&A

Greetings Commanders,

Thank you to everyone who sent in their Powerplay 2.0 questions! We spoke with our Game Designer Curtis Griffiths to answer some of your questions during September's Frontier Unlocked! If you haven't had a chance to watch the stream then fear not for we have the answers to those questions, and a few others, here for you today!

Will Powerplay 2.0 be Open Play only?

We will be monitoring player feedback on this point after release but there are no plans for launch to make Powerplay 2.0 Open only.

Can you outline the transition plan between Powerplay and Powerplay 2.0?

There are a fair number of changes in what being a part of a power means so players will be unpledged when Powerplay 2.0 goes live, this will not incur any penalties like in PP1. As for Powers territory we will be taking a snapshot of the current state of the galaxy for PP1 and with as few changes as possible convert these systems into Powerplay 2.0 we expect 99% of systems to belong to the same power they did in PP1.

Will players be able to support multiple powers?

You will pledge to one power as part of Powerplay, however you are free to leave your power at any time and join another, though you will lose all your perks and start your loyalty ranks from the beginning if you do.

Will players be able to influence Powerplay 2.0 in more gameplay ways?

Yes! A large chunk of activities in the game will now contribute to Powerplay, for example if you like trading for profit, recovering salvage from wrecks etc. These can all affect Powerplay if performed in the right systems, if you are pledged to a power.

Will on foot activities play a larger role in Powerplay 2.0?

On foot activities on planets will indeed have a greater role in Powerplay, some examples of those include uploading spyware to settlements in rival power systems and delivering biological samples to your power contact in one of your systems.

Will there be any changes to the crime and punishment system?

There have been some additions to the crime and punishment system relating specifically to Power NPC Agents and crimes against other powers for example we have PP security in controlled systems now, these will attack you if they find out you're not aligned with them, but normal security wont attack you for the same thing. However the overall crime and punishment system will stay the same.

Will there be a wipe of the existing Powerplay gains when Powerplay 2.0 is released?

As mentioned before we’ll be unpledging everyone so you will lose access to your perks until you repledge and rank up again, though you will of course keep any modules etc you have brought before the switch and we will be porting the state of the galaxy to the new system.

Will new Powers be added?

Yes!

Will it be possible to completely knock out a Power?

We’ll watch how PP unfolds and make decisions about how powers are removed from the game. There is no automatic system for knocking out a power.

Will the ethos system linked to governments be changed?  

Governments will no longer play a role in how powers take over and maintain control of systems, you won’t need to have governments in control that don’t match the superpower of your power to be optimal.

How will the BGS impact Powerplay 2.0?

Whilst the BGS doesn’t directly interact with PP 2.0, your actions when engaging with the BGS will of course have an impact as they’re impacting your pledged power, so those BGS players can enjoy making contributions with their activities.

Will players be able to impact Powerplay 2.0 without pledging to a faction?

No, we want players to feel involved and connected with their Powers, so you will need to pledge to a power to be able to impact Powerplay.

 Will Powerplay 2.0 have more visible effects on the world?

Yes, stations and other locations will show changes based on which power is in control and to what extent they are able to exert their control over the system.

Will player effort be uncapped in Powerplay 2.0?

Player efforts will be fully represented in Powerplay 2.0, there are no diminishing return type restrictions.

How will Powerplay 2.0 make the conflict between widely backed powers and lightly backed powers more engaging?

There are ways which we will help smaller Powers to fight back and defend against larger powers, larger powers will also find themselves spread across a large number of systems when compared to those with less territory, this wont mean smaller powers are completely safe, but the aim is to ensure that all powers have a chance regardless of their size. (within reason)

 Can Powers be pushed out of capitals in the new system?

At launch, Headquarters are immune from Powerplay actions.

To what extent will squadrons be a part of Powerplay 2.0?

Squadrons integration with Powerplay is unchanged, other than the uncoupling of minor factions and Powers, so Squadrons can now align to minor factions with a different superpower alignment to their aligned power and vice versa.

What non-credit rewards are planned for Powerplay 2.0?

There are perks that give benefits in your powers systems, care packages that reward credits and engineering materials and module unlocks unique to Powerplay

What will happen to the current systems unique weapons availability when the change occurs?

Every power can now reward it’s Agents with each of the unique Powerplay modules. You will gradually unlock each one as your loyalty rank increases

What impact will Powerplay have on commodity pricing?  

There are some direct effects such as some powers will affect commodity prices in the systems they control and there are some indirect effects like, gameplay loops that incentivize calculated trading which can have impacts on markets as well.

Will Powerplay modules be rebalanced?

Not for the launch of Powerplay, this is something the team is going to continue to monitor but for launch they will remain unchanged

Are there any limits to how far a Powers influence can spread?

As long as a system in populated by humanity and a power can get a system with a control range that reaches it then a system can be influenced by Powerplay

Will there be an in game way to see up to date progress on Powerplay influence?

While it will not be a minute by minute representation there will be regular updates in the UI that will inform Commanders of the current state of systems

Will there be negative consequences to being in the top 10 of a power, i.e. will rival powers be more hostile?

At launch, there will be no negative to being in the top 3, 5, 10 etc Powers mechanically, however the more territory your Power owns the more Powers they will boarder and the more competition you will have for maintaining control, as with many things we will be monitoring post launch to see is it could be a boon to Powerplay.

How much will Powerplay 2.0 effect those who don't wish to engage with it?

While Powers impose certain changes on systems they control, the gameplay features affect Powerplay players more than others, you might be witness to fights between two powers or other powers based events. For example, while Powerplay activities can influence the BGS, players interested in faction gameplay and BGS manipulation won’t feel any targeted changes in their gameplay due to Powerplay.

Are there any plans for unique/new Poweplay 2.0 scenarios such as fights over a key resource?

While there are Powerplay conflict zones and new USSs for Powerplay the hope is that any conflicts over resources or locations will happen organically with Powerplay 2.0, we will however be monitoring player feedback and player data to assess future additions to Powerplay.

How severe are the penalties for switching powers?

You lose all your loyalty ranks and have to start again, besides that you are free to play at being a mercenary for as many Powers as you like

Can you elaborate on how high population systems will impact Powerplay?  

Higher population is one of the many system statistics that go into determining the value of a system this also informs the resources available to the controlling power for defending the system so those with higher populations will tend to be harder to undermine.

Will Thargoid content affect Powerplay?

Powers like the rest of humanity in a system will leave upon a Thargoid invasion. A systems populace and government will need to be convinced again afterwards to allow a power to come in and act as the controlling power.

Will Powerplay modules still require pledging to a faction and ranking up or will they work differently under the new system?

They will but as mentioned above every power gives out every module eventually, though the order you receive them is different for each Power.