Suggestion for PVP, to make it easier and/or more attractive to get games and try PVP.

Here are my suggestion to make PVP more attractive to new/PVE players.

1) Keep ratings between seasons so you for real can see difference on good, inter and bad players. As it is not the rating don't say very much at all for many players, and never will - it's only the very top that's decently reliable (many can be to low for having bad luck being paired with the top more than others).
*You can have a seasonal ALSO for the rewards as usual, but the unscrubbed one is the one used for matchmaking.

2) Fix a lobby system (like Voobly has for AoE2) so a n00b can open a room, enter a description and settings for map, and advertise with text that it's for players below a certain rating. This would be an alternative way to find games, and also help you avoid to start a game you never wanted to end up in to start with.
*Pr0's can do same in other direction ofc.
**There should be a rated alternative as well as an unrated one, where the later COULD be linked to your arena in the Capital, but shown in an alternative building in a list with other hosted games in Sparta, where you also could host a game without using your arena. Though you should still be able to host fully private games from your arena, or simply keep it only to that and make the lobby only in Sparta.

3) To lower the threshold into PVP I think AoEo should have same base stats as PVE, or rather the other way around where PVP is the standard. For many it's not easy to even dare to test PVP, but when you basically must relearn every techtree it's fifty times worse.
*If any gear in PVE gets OP due to this it's the gear that will be nerfed, or boosted if it's other way around.

4) Make an feature to spectate all PVP to increase both the social part of the game as well as inspire more to engage in PVP. Hence a way to see a list of all active games and ability to join them where they're at is the way this should be solved. Spectators should be able to chat with eachother but not players, as well as mute all/people if they just wanna watch the game with peace and quiet (and unmute if change mind).
*Again I want to refere to voobly.com which have had this since many years for AoE2, and it's been VERY good for the communitys inner life.
**There the host decides if spectate should be possible (usally are), and anyone joining such a game know that due to settings saying so.
***Also the host can set a time for delay so spectate-cheating should be much harder.

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Why do I write this? I've played AoE1/AoE2 since 1998/2002, and there I've only played PVP (and been clanleader of the largest and oldest swedish clan since 1st year). Though I think AoEo favors PVE MUCH more than AoE1&2 does, PVP has some life/adrenaline to it that PVE never can get. However - due to the lack of chance to meet players on same level, as well as the "relearn all civs elelement" - I really feel that PVP as it is today feel far from intresting, eventhough I love RTS PVP (with even games). The rewards for event is a good tool here, but FAR from enough to keep me there outside the events.