I don't envy SE for having to balance PVP issues -- I really don't. But PVP really is enjoyable if given half a chance, and I think the GARO event just made that even clearer. People *want* to participate -- when it's done right. Since Feast seems to be getting all the attention, I have some proposed suggestions for it.

Leaderboards

This system needs to be reworked entirely. From exploits with points to buying wins to reaching diamond status and just sitting on your boatload of points knowing you'll never lose them (so there's no incentive to get back in and fight) -there's so much wrong with this system that all these "band-aid" measures aren't doing anything to address.

I have mad respect for the legit PVPers who earned those points, and if I were in their place, I wouldn't want to lose my points either. Especially considering we have people who PVP exclusively and then others who do so with limited time to play. So I don't think they should lose their points but rather give them a reason to want to mentor newer players. Kind of like mentor roulette/novice network, but for PVP. I know we have Team Tryhard in Discord but having something in-game with rewards for those who help others would be beneficial too. Maybe even like a PVP commendation system.

The Chat

On one hand, I can see exactly why SE removed chat in Feast. It was a toxic blame-infested cesspool of pompous scum. Add to that, when a bunch of people are ganging up on your healer, you don't have time to type. Still, a little bit of strategy, especially for beginners, would be SO helpful.

If you were to implement something like a "Feast Hall of the Hungry Wolf" - like a PVP hall of the novice that instructs you based on the class you want to play, it would go a long way toward helping individual players to improve. Still, there are those "don't tell me how to do my job" types, and SE has already made it clear that "difference of playstyle" isn't a bannable offense - so all you can do is blacklist them. And if you *do* blacklist them - the system should recognize that and you shouldn't go back into a party with them.

I, for one, can see that the auto-chat system has its merits and drawbacks. On one hand, it's great to simply press a button and issue a command (if anyone listens). No toxicity. You lose? Suck it up, buttercup.

But on the other hand as many have said, it's seriously lacking any ability to plan or strategize. If anything, we need *more* buttons to help devise some kind of strategy, but who wants all that hotbar bloat? What if there were a compromise - buttons that are divided by the type of job you have? As in, (since I play tank, I'd use that as an example) --
- I have enough medals
- Purify is up/down
- Holmgang/Hallowed/Living Dead is up - please heal me!
- Full swing vulnerability on (class)

Healers would have commands where they're attuning, out of mana, or the user is out of their line of sight. Things like that.

Reporting Feature

If SE *does* decide to bring back Feast chat, it would take nothing short of a small country's army to try and moderate it. Having the right-click/report harassment option like we do for RMT would go a long way toward helping, but I'm sure the GMs have a million other things to do than babysit. I could also see such a system being abused. As a compromise, I'd propose something like a 3-strike rule:

Strike 1 - Right click / Report Harassment - Player goes to your blacklist. More than one of these in a given timeframe mutes the player for (whatever the timeframe is for RMTers, I have no idea).

Strike 2 - GM intervenes and warns the player that continued offenses won't be tolerated. Depending on the severity of their actions, they could lose points in the Leaderboards or lose their rank altogether if they're genuinely and continually being a goobue dungstain.

Strike 3: Depending on severity, the player cannot queue for Feast matches for a set time period, they may lose their points/ranking, etc. It may have to happen on a case by case basis.

The Rewards

I'm still agitated that they put a mount that a bunch of people wanted as a PVP reward that's practically unattainable by now. Although I do think the top players deserve something (those who legitimately earned it). Let whatever rewards they get be account-wide though. We don't need a bunch of alts cluttering up the top 100 or top 30 across data centers. And why is it limited to data centers and not servers anyway?

I think these suggestions would go a long way toward improving the Feast overall. What are your thoughts?