I will admit that I still don't know a ton about invasions, so please take my perspective with a grain of salt.
From what I've seen this year, surprise attacks don't really seem to be an option anymore without stirring up drama. As a result, invasions have to be carefully planned and coordinated in advance, which I imagine places a considerable burden on the staff of every faction involved.
I can understand the appeal of offering some kind of reward for all that time and effort, but I worry about the larger impact this could have on the board. There already seems to be a growing sense of defeat and hopelessness among smaller factions, especially when it comes to challenging the larger, more established powers. We have reached a point where some factions seem almost untouchable, and I think that perception is already discouraging people from trying.
My concern is that rewarding these powerful factions simply for participating, regardless of the outcome, could make that imbalance feel even more insurmountable. If the biggest factions continue to gain rewards and advantages just for showing up, what incentive is there for the underdogs to keep fighting?
I worry that instead of encouraging more invasions and conflict, we could unintentionally reinforce the idea that the powerful factions will always remain powerful, while everyone else is fighting a losing battle. Eventually, people may decide there is no point in trying at all, and I think that would be a real shame for the board as a whole.
Surprise invasions can still be a thing. You can still announce a surprise invasion while collaborating afterward on a proper timeframe that works for both sides, along with a narrative that gives everyone something meaningful to work with.
Planning and coordinating is ideal because it allows both parties to be aligned and have it be set up where both factions can try and figure out how to maximize its participants. That, and build up a story that make sense that leads to an invasion for both factions as a whole. Honestly, its one of those things: It's a "burden" if you make it a burden. Huge shout out to the MF staff and site staff for taking the time and being patient with each other to make these invasions work for both sides, while
respecting other writers in the factions time so they can attend to these invasions.
It is pointed out multiple times here already that writer burnout is a thing. Surprise invasions don't really help and chain invasions are a thing that can be tiresome. It can start to feel like a burden when you're trying to collaborate and make things work in a way that makes sense for both sides, but things just aren't coming together. At the end of the day it is about respect. Respect for other people OOC/ICly, their time, and story as a whole.
Keep in mind, these larger factions you speak of didn't start off as "large". They were once the "little guys" as well. In the grand scheme of things, it is finding and building the community you want to build up. From my understanding the board is like seasons. There had been times where the Jedi were the forefront and there were hardly any Sith, there was a time when NFU's were huge, and I heard that there was even a time that even droids/AI were a big thing on the board as well. For people who mainly RP within certain factions or character types, I guess it can be frustrating when their preferred style of writing isn't what's currently popular or considered the "trend." To me, it's exciting to see what might come from a rebirth of the different types of factions and what kinds of stories people will create with them. That's how these smaller factions grow to become "bigger factions".
For the "larger winning" factions, there are only limited SSD slots. So if that is filled that is filled and the only thing they are receiving is territory, along with whatever mandate they have selected. So there is a "max limit" to the "powerful factions". If it is writers burn out you're trying to say, then yes. I can see how it can be viewed as writer burnout. Especially if the MF that are going into each invasion have that constant mindset of they're going to 1000% win and surprise surprised, they lose to the defending MF and lose territory. There is no 100% guarantee, it can be anyone's game. I can see how that can stir up negative feelings and make other factions that want to go on the offense be more hesitant if they were to be penalized for wanting to initiate. To me, it makes more sense for it to be a mandate with the added cool down effect that was mentioned above.
But, if this leans more towards having both. Perhaps for the winning defending side, they get a chance to build something similar like an SSD? but have it be half a point system compared to the full point the invader would get if they were to win?
