Disclaimer See bold text for TL;DR
These comments are made because I think this game is fun, offers unique gameplay, and this I want it to succeed. I do not think playing as a group is bad, in fact it almost always provides the most satifying experiences achieveable within the game. Please comment (especially developers) with your opinions and thoughts on my following proposal and reasoning.
Problem
Elite groups pub stomping in solo que is a huge problem that many forum warriors here are no doubt tired of hearing and arguing about. I will not bother explaining why its a problem, we all know.
This does not change the fact that somthing must be done to curtail this issue.
Hoping that the playerbase expands to the point where groups only get matched against groups is a fallacy. The playerbase will not expand fast enough, because of this very issue (and others).
Reasoning
I have been a part of the community, and still am, of various fringe free online games over the years. See "Eve Dust514" "Mechwarrior Online" "Planetside 2" just to name a few.
A huge controbuting factor to why these games did or do not attract the audiance they deserve, is that a new player, the most valuble product to these games, get turned away by getting stomped.
New player starting safe zone sanboxes (see tier 1 and 2 in this game) are a good idea in principle, but people are not nearly as stupid as developers seem to imagine. Experiences in these safe ques fail to provide a credible hook to new players. They know that these experiences are not representitive of the true gameplay.
Solution
Until the playerbase expands to provide consistent matching of a group only que, limits must be put in place to increase player retention. This will lead to a larger playerbase, at which point restrictions could be lifted, or a group only que created.
I propose limiting group size in VETERAN and RECRUIT que to 2 players. No limit in legendary.
What this allows: Two friends to play the game together (a majority of most groups). Eliete groups to que legendary.
What this disallows: Large organized groups from clubing seals.
Potential Problems: Que syncing, but even then those groups of 2 could get matched against eachother. Really, from what I've seen in other games, a negligible issue.
In addition, members of the few "groups" in this game will be the very vocal minority in opposing a proposal such as this. I suggest taking a more objective approach to this issue, for the better of the game, and all of us players.
Thank you for reading if you made it this far.