The reason why the champion system is great

I've been playing GW2 for about 12-14 months, a game where there is almost no character progression. For example, if you stop the game for 6 months and then come back, you will find the game almost unchanged. Same gear, same skills, same character: almost nothing has changed, with the exception of some new cool looking stuff.

Well, that may not be a problem if you're in the position of the person who comes back, but imagine how the people who stayed in the game can feel like. This game gets more and more boring as you play it because there is nothing else to do in this game than doing the exact same thing again and again, day after day, month after month, with abolutely no character progression at all. At least in ESO our character makes some progress as it becomes a bit stronger day after day owing to the champion system, and believe me or not but that's really better than nothing.

Every MMO needs a progression system. That's what makes an MMO so different than a classic RPG: a persistent world where every character can evolve constantly. And this is what keeps people motivated at doing something in an MMO: constant evolution. Looting or crafting new gear with more stats, unlocking new abilities, gaining more defense and more attack power, yes that's exactly what people want and make them willing to play the game more, always more.

This is the reason why the champion system is great: it offers this constant evolution. Yes, there is no enough new gear in the champion system, and this is badly missing in the game, but this is something that is going to be addressed in the next patches, and if getting such new gears requires leveling 2 additional VRs, let it be.


The reason why the champion system has to be fixed
Unfortunately, this constant evolution is also what makes the people unhappy, especially for those who don't have the chance to equip the last great new gear, or have no enough play time to catch up the top tier of players who are now too powerful compared to the rest of the community. That's a real issue, especially for the PVP endgame.

Indeed, how a new comer could catch up the players who have been in the game for two years or more? Should that new player accept to be largely out performed by most if not all the other players, having almost no chance to win any 1v1 combat in Cyrodiil? And what about the people who don't have enough play time to earn enough CP to remain competitive?

In its current form, the champion system leads to a dead end, and this is not a surprize to see so many people complaining about the champion system everywhere in this forum.

So what could be done to solve this issue while keeping the champion system up and running well for everybody?


A proposed solution: the season system
A system season is quite simple to understand: when a new season starts, everyone has a minimum number of CP and no one can gain more than a maximum number of CP. It's just as simple as that. And it solves a lot of issues:

- New comers start ESO with a minimum pool of CP. They can decide to spend these CP or not. If they do spend their points, they will be able to level up quite quickly, because they will be much stronger than the originally designed contents. If they don't spend their points, they will be able to play the game in its original form. It's up to them to decide. Once they reach the max level of the game, they can spend all their champion points and be quite competitive both in PVE and in Cyrodiil.

- People with a small play time start a new season with a minimum number of CP. They can therefore catch up the top tier of players and remain competitive.

- People with a huge play time start a new season with a new cap of CP to earn, giving them new objectives for the new season. However they cannot go beyond that new cap, because it's very important for the health of the game that the difference between the top tier of players and the rest of the community remains within reasonable bounds. Playtime will remain rewarded, because people who can play more can have more CP, but not beyond a limit fixed by the game designers.


How the season system could be implemented:

The 3600 champion points we can earn in the game are divided in 10 seasons of 360 CP each: no one can earn more than 360 CP per season. Each season lasts for 6 months; the 10 seasons would therefore cover a 5 years of constant progression where more powerful new gear would be made available at the begining of each new season. Of course, the 6 months period is an example and can be tuned down if the community thinks it's too long.

The season #1 has started when the champion system has been released.

The season #2 will start when update 7 is released. With two new VRs and new VR16 gear, the next update is probably the ideal time to start this second season. In this season, no one will be able to earn more than 720 CP. If some people have already more: lucky ones. But they won't get more. Every one will have at least 180 CP. If some people have less, they will start the season with 180 CP. This is a great welcome to new comers, and a good incentive to people who have a small play time: we don't forget you. Finally, everyone who has not yet 360 CP is permanently enlighted until they reach that cap.

When the season #3 starts, the same system is applied, with different numbers:
- Min CP: 540
- Max CP: 1080
- Perma enlighted up to 720 CP.

The idea is always the same:
- Keep the min-max numbers of CP in reasonable bounds
- Keep control over how and when the players can have their character progress, jointly and in sync with the addition of new contents
- Allow casual and new players to catch up with the top tier of players - don't abandon them


Conclusion
The champion system is great but it needs a season system or an equivalent system to remain at the same time attractive for the hardcore gamers and pleasant for everyone else.