Torn has changed enough over the years that the player level system doesn't have much use anymore. Instead, I would propose a system that compares your stats against another opponent similar to how Duke's missions work. One possibility is using different colors to indicate the opponent's battle power relative to your own. A red name might have battle stats well above your own while a player whose name is green has stats well below yours. Perhaps this can be further refined by creating a faction special that provides useful intelligence to the faction.
Sure there's an army special - but during a faction war the war base moves too fast to make that practical. It's cumbersome to assess an opponent by how much xanax he has taken or how many achievements he has while trying to keep a chain alive.
I disagree that this is 'noobproofing' but this problem does affect mid-level players the most. If you can be wallopped for 2x your hitpoints in one hit by a level 3 player - what useful measure are levels providing anyway? The renknown system can do everything player levels does now and more. I think there is a solid need to be able to better gauge which players are in your ballpark.
Torn has changed enough over the years that the player level system doesn't have much use anymore. Instead, I would propose a system that compares your stats against another opponent similar to how Duke's missions work. One possibility is using different colors to indicate the opponent's battle power relative to your own. A red name might have battle stats well above your own while a player whose name is green has stats well below yours. Perhaps this can be further refined by creating a faction special that provides useful intelligence to the faction.
Sure there's an army special - but during a faction war the war base moves too fast to make that practical. It's cumbersome to assess an opponent by how much xanax he has taken or how many achievements he has while trying to keep a chain alive.