Star Cards provide too much advantage
Just putting this out there so the Dev's might see it and think on it a bit.
I believe the Star Card system as it is implemented alienates casual players. I just had a daughter, I don't have time to sit and grind out max levels and max star card tiers. This wouldn't be a problem if the Star Cards provided different ways to play your class rather than flat bonuses. Giving flat bonuses without some sort of penalty just screws over the people who don't have time to sink into grinding to higher levels... and even then, there's the grind to either hopefully get it in one of hundreds of loot boxes or to get the materials to craft the card up to the top tier. I understand progression unlocking things for the class, and that's not a problem... but when that unlock is a flat damage increase, or damage reduction, or even turn speed radius on a starfighter, that is simply too much of an advantage as it provides you a built in handicap vs newer players. If you're bad, you still have one up on new players, and if your even semi-competent, new players are in for a hell of a bad time. I've been playing shooters since the early 90s, so I'm used to people being better than me when I start a new game up... but when in addition to having played longer to know tricks and whatnot they also get the advantage of flat stat increases... it becomes like getting dropped into an arena match on an MMO as a level 1 vs a level 50.
So that I'm not seen to be bitching about a problem without thinking about a solution, why would these Star Cards not provide the same progression as any other multiplayer game should? Yes, some unlocks end up being pretty powerful but generally at a cost. Star Cards should change how you play your character, not simply make the character objectively better than somebody who does not have the same card unlocked. If you are going to increase damage, there should be a direct penalty to something like move speed or max health... same with the inverse, decreased damage for increased speed / health. Increase turn radius, decrease hull value. Increase starfighter damage, increase heat generated. Allow the tiers of the card to change the amount by which these bonuses and penalties affect kits and allow players to choose which tier you want to use (ie white +5% damage, -5% health and purple +20% damage, -20% health). It should not simply grant you unhindered benefits. This would give you a distinct feel to how your character plays without giving you an unfair advantage over a lower level player. The cards that replace abilities with other abilities are GREAT functions for star cards, but the Card level itself is a detriment as it increases the efficiency of said card in an unfair manner. It's the same concept of guns being unlocked being balanced by their multitude of stats, a high powered rifle wont have as high of a rate of fire as a lower damage smg. What we should be looking for is equality between players using different stat cards being achieved through proportionally lowering stats when buffing up others.
At this time I have returned the game, as I can't justify spending the little time I have to play games nowadays getting shot to pieces by people who have already hit high levels during the pre-release period. I truly hope some major changes come to the Star Card system, because I think this game has massive potential and I would love to play it. Best of luck to everyone sticking around!
