Alliance Covers Need to be Adjusted Again

Vhailorx

In the most recent PVE release event (Deadpool v. MPQ for Phil Coulson), the maximum progression reward was set at 28k. The #100 alliance averaged 42,517 points across all 20 members. My own alliance finished just outside the top 100, but we were in 64th position when S4 ended.

In total, this means that entire alliances need to average more than 150% of the max progression score, and that more than 1/3 of the top 100 slots turn over in the final few hours with merc'ing. And none of this is especially new, it just happened to affect my alliance this event in a way that clearly illustrates the problem.

This is a horribly inconvenient system for players. It requires alliance commanders to (1) be available right up until the end of each event in case the alliance needs to add a merc, and (2) be sufficiently well connected to the merc'ing community to get mercs on short notice. The system also creates a very significant competitive advantage for those alliances with players who can play or commanders who can recruit mercs at the end of slice 5, since they can add to their scores right up until the end.

Just as the old top 50 covers for 4* releases eventually created too much competitive pressure and had to be changed (with the KP release in spring 2015 iirc), the current alliance cover system is broken and needs to be fixed.

Push alliance covers down to the top 250 alliances; that would reduce the pressure to merc so aggressively at the end of each event. (Alternately, alliance rosters could lock-in for PVE events the way they do for Boss events, but that system has its own problems, namely punishing 19 players if the 20th happens to be unexpectedly detained by rl after joining the event.)

C'mon demi/d3! 4* covers aren't precious treasures to be guarded jealously anymore. You already give out covers faster than you give out iso for more hardcore 4* vets. So throw us players a bone and reduce the level of hassle and inconvenience necessary to play in a competitive alliance.

(Edited to clarify the discussion of competitive advantage)