A whole lot of the factors would be different judging by the ideas coming out the Devs lately.

So you are finally decided dont want to be a "too" niche game?

I would advice dont force people form teams, squads, let "lonely" players play more!

(Sorry Anni for the derail)

I think you can make it appeal to a wider niche, without drastical measures like throwing away features that make PVP enjoyable like robot permadeath.

It can be horizontal, not just vertical. Providing goals for players to strive for would be a good solid step forward.

I'd like a MOBA designed without the developers who thought up the robot change.

Preach it sister!

I told you, hats.  If you had made tradable hats people would play.  That and the necromancer bot.

Progression is vertical, because the game is developed as "themepark" game, and most player suggestions i see, support that development. Just look at Jitas "Conference" - most talk was about the themepark area "Beta".

Extensions - there are so many of them, but 90% of all combat-extensions are upgrades, not sidegrades. combine that with fixed-role robots with way to many equip-decision factors (CPU/Reactor + slot types + accumulator + specific bonuses) and you get pure vertical progression.

balance is a foreign word in perp, simply because the basic rule is not considered: KISS - keep it stupid simple.
-> ask someone how much damage his weapon does. 99% cannot really answer that question.

Its "Keep it Simple, Stupid".

A few thoughts on your post, as it can be misleading.
Your annalsis of what beta is, far from the picture at all.  You imply that beta is more pay to win, rather its the opposite.

Further more, the idea of PVP becoming a pure vertical progression is correct.  This is due to the simple min, max mentality that comes with all games of this type.

As for the KiSS mentality, this CAN be take a bit to literally.  You can dumb this game down and remove some of the general ?? about the game.  We could have a system base on a 1 + - 1 Damage.  This GREATLY takes away from the general feel of the game.  Critical, skills and how they play into the general game project this Feel.

I can feel in the Dev team the sense of another rebalance pass will becoming.  Why, The GREAT *** that will be T5.

Zoom if you still read my stuff, you need to make your other TEIR's FULLY useful FIRST, then add in other content LATER.

Example!

T1 - Base ***.
T2 - Great Base Speed (REALLY push it) - *** up Base Ammo Count
T3 - Great Base Range (REALLY push it) - *** up Reload Times (Redo Reload times and UPPPP!!! Them)
T4 - Best Ammo Amount / Energy Usage

Notice how Damage is not in the balancing of ANY of those?  Why, EVERYONE just works backward from base DPS at a set range in all the current builds.  All big fights will fight on max range of any weapon set.

***, I can go on and on and on and on.  But Good base, other ways to skin a Zenith.  Deal with it!

You Sir have hit the nail on the head.

True Pros make a Podcast to influence the Devs minds, 
The rest of you guys are Hacks

PS. I got my Highways & stopped playing b4 they came in & have never used them! ...... Irony much ?

I agree, though this is much easier to do with modules than robots, where we have a lot more variables. Why haven't we done it to modules yet then? Ask me something simpler, but I intend to look into it.

Some vertical progression is good.  It's rewarding for vertical progression to be able to take and get a random T2 ~T4 drop and be able to use it!  It makes players feel like they are accomplishing something.

TBH:  I always felt like your T1 and T2 items were ok, but your T3 was... well something lacking.

What would be cool is if T2 had the best fitting skills(better than they are now!) and T3 was the lightest and T4 was the best but most heaviest.

Vertical progression is the stupid, easy, simple thing to add in.

Its called damage, its the special snowflake of everything.  More damage, higher Tier WITHIN the Tier.

Vertical progression is so stupid easy, its the horizontal that gets ya.