One thing I would like to see is different modes to queue for. Playing as a solo can be really frustrating when you run into a team of 4 who chase you down. It can also be a mood killer when a casual player runs into a sweaty ttv player who's perfected all the game mechanics and is simply a much higher skill level.
My suggestion (very open to discussion/modification) would be to implement 3 game modes.
- The standard mode we have now, allowing up to 4 teammates to join a raid together.
- Solo queue, where groups are unable to join.
- Ranked queue. A solo queue where players don't bring any equipment or ships. There is only one raid location. Loot tables are slightly altered so that equipment and heals would drop more. Someone with a bigger brain than me would improve the point system but something along the lines of a 50 point cost to enter the game. 1 point for looting. 1 point for every 5 minutes survived. 2 points for AI kills, 10 points for player kills. 5 points for extraction maybe. Something like this would separate skill levels to help ensure casual players don't get stuck against hackers like squiddy (/s)
Edit: Almost forgot also tutorial/practice mode, pick a raid and explore with/without ai something to give players a chance to learn the maps.