PvP Related Suggestions for Improvement

BB_RobinHood3 was running around on the Sandycove server earlier looking for feedback about PvP and suggestions for it.

From what I can gather from both myself and my Guild, these are the problems that detract from people doing PvP:

Troops are slow to make, even with the academy at 6.

Weapons are the most painful part of PvP. The time it takes, buffed, to produce any weapons, at 6, is again, painfully slow.

The costs are high vs the reward.

The combat system is puerile.

The colonies are too simple to conquer. You conquer it, 12 hours later and it is gone. A waste of troops and resources. Levelling system does not help in this manner at all as all that happens when you level is that you get a few more rewards and those rewards are not worth much.

Maintaining 3 separate armies is annoying.

The combat (essentially rock, paper, scissors) has none of the subtlety of the original combat system. The old system, whilst not entirely without its own flaws, is certainly a great deal more engaging. I find the real time combat interface extremely fiddly.

The high cost and time commitment to troop production would be fine if the rewards were better, but to spend a fortune in iron and steel and lose a marble colony <sarcasm>woohoo!</sarcasm> after a day just makes regular adventures far more cost effective.

The fact that defences are limited to a handful of generally poorly chosen sites is irritating - let us build the defensive towers exactly where we want.

It doesn't in any way feel like a PvP experience, it's Player vs AI using someone else's settings - not what we were expecting for 3 years.

Maintaining 3 armies means a huge commitment to residential buildings on the home island.

I'm not against the idea of PvP per se, but the TSO version just doesn't grab me after a few goes.