Gonna start by saying the obvious and what is the current player sentiment around the entire PvP before moving on and talkink about Trials: - [b]Matches don't feel fair:[/b] unbalanced matchmaking across teams that may include teams with 1 good player + 5 that aren't that great vs 1-2 good players + Average but helpful teammates; or the worse: matches starting with less players that expected, which results in awkard matches specially if the map is big enough like Cathedral of Dusk, and most of the time: the losing team don't get any reinforcement over the entire match and/or get less players compared to the other team (example: starting a game as 4v4, finishing a game with 5v6). I can't relate how many times I've heard the following: [i]if I am on the top of the scoreboard, then I know I don't have any chance with my team.[/i] - [b]Matchmaking connections are still an issue[/b]: either by playing Rank Based, Outlier Protection or Open Skill, most of the time there is at least 1 guy in the match that is teleporting due to connection issues, that it is oftenly impossible to track with our guns or skill, and killing them has a delayed effect which also stop some streak perks to work properly or to activate correctly (example: Kill Clip, Rampage, etc.) - [b]There is no incentive to keep playing a match or game mode once you get the stuff you want[/b]: For the average player, Competitive can be sumed up as: log in, play 3 matches for the weapon, never come back until next week. While the emblem is an incentive for a niche group of excellent players, it does nothing to convince players to keep on the game mode. Similarly, the trend of quitting matches keeps going around, and, while the leavers can be punished, the players inside a match on a losing side have to accept their fate and get kicked -blam!- so hard and get nothing in return for it, which also create more negative sentiment over PvP. While that wasn't the whole list, those are the main problems right now besides of the obvious one: cheaters. And while balance patches are also needed to be fast and efficient, at this point many of us have given up on the balance of the game (you can already see right now: Redrix Estoc keeps as the #1 weapon and Void Hunter as the #1 subclass played in this Trials Weekend, and we are yet on Saturday but the differences of usage between others are abyssmal) : we want the games to be fun despite the meta. Moving to Trials of Osiris, the main issue of Trials is the loot (Mid weapons or not interesting ones, and how psychology affects on due to how the system is planted), player population, and the previous player sentiment around the game, which also can be affected by the current map in rotation. - Players already have their favorite maps. If the featured map is not one of the favorites, then the only incentive is the loot. On the other hand, if the map is a fan favorite but the loot isn't great, then some players will give it a chance just for playing in their favorite map. - [i]Not all the loot of Trials of Osiris is interesting enough[/i]: while there are some bangers (like Exalted Truth), some of the other weapons don't feel special enough or worth the grind, either by perk pool, frame, or if by any chance there is another weapon that fits the same role that it is more easier to earn: people won't get interested enough to play Trials. - [b]Psychology over loot grind:[/b] I can understand that Trials needs to keep any sort of prestige when we talk about the Lighthouse, and I don't know anyone who hates the idea of getting into the Lighthouse for loot just for winning 7 matches regardless of loses. However, I do still think that having % drop rate based on weekly streak is an awful design. While I can understand the idea of promoting excellence, it is also a double-edged sword. Despite reasons, most of the players play for loot, and, in a game that currently doesn't respect your time invested over a session, if you tell them that the only way to get more loot is by having to go flawless, then they will try to do so. Reality is: not everyone is capable of doing so, and those who are unaware of what they can't possibly achieve (yet, perhaps), this only aggravates the issue. I am not saying this is 100% true for every player, but you should consider that there are players that might think like that: [i]if I can't go flawless then I can't farm my weapons efficiently[/i]. Then, realizing that a flawless card is almost impossible for them (either by them or things that they can't control that may happen in a match), this will feed up more negativity towards the game mode, which will drive them away eventually. - [b]Trials of Osiris needs more players:[/b] all of the issues described below are factors that may drive players away from the game mode. In reality, the entire game needs more players, but that is another big issue that hasn't been solved for years and we desperately need players so the core activities like PvP have any sort of "magic": the feeling that every match is different than the last one, and the illusion of not knowing what to expect or fight in the next game. Right now: playing against the same team over and over the weekend, and the next weekends, and the next ones; is something that is killing the replayability: all matches feel the same, all results feel the same, and it is easy to expect the income of the match which can feed more negative sentiment if by the start you know that you will get stomped if you already know who you are playing against and who are you playing with. Overall: make PvP great again: make it fun, make it appealing, make it so players can spend their entire time on the most ridiculous game mode and not even care about it because they feel that it is worth of their time.