All this experimentation is in service of building a better understanding of how new players actually behave, which we can then lean on in future to build a better overall new player experience. We're very aware of the need to review all aspects of the way we introduce DUST to new players; what we're doing here is just trying to learn what we can with the tools already in place.

I've elaborated extensively on this subject in our internal CPM/CCP forums, but I wanted to put my thoughts here too for the record.

The TL,DR is this:

1.) Domination is one of the most aggressive and competitive modes the game has to offer at the moment. It's also one of the most fun because of the challenge of uprooting the entrenched enemy team off a single objective, and randomly assembled new players are going to have a tough time finding the best way to be useful because of the degree of practical skill required to succeed in Domination. Skirmish, on the other hand, offers much more flexibility in terms of dropsuit type that can be used, it offers more objectives (and less pressure) for new players to run around and take, and more freedom to explore all that the game has to offer. A few really experienced players will have a tougher time locking down the game and mowing down noobs that feel like they're in a meatgrinder.

2.) 5 matches is crazy-short in terms of acclimating a new player before throwing them into the deep end (and yes, public matches are "deep end" until CCP makes FW more attractive for casual competiive play using the best gear and players begin to separate.) The one-two punch of Domination ---->general matches is like blanching a noob in boiling water before crisping him in the deep fryer. Proto-stomping is still a contentious and well-documented issue that many of us have been offering solutions for - and a couple in particular are strong enough that they may replace the need to have an arbitrary Battle Academy in the first place

I strongly suggest that we consider an uncapped SP threshold (4-5 million as a conservative start) where new players can catch up to competitive levels for general matches without feeling like they have to wait a hopeless amount of weeks (risking losing them as a customer). This has the immediate side effect of a short-term PCU boost - and if it successfully acclimates a new player to a point where they're no longer discouraged, it results in a permanent PCU boost.

I also think that FW and PC should be incentivized enough that they become the primary playground for competitive players wearing the best gear, freeing up high sec matches to have their gear quality limited. Team queuing and reward improvements may or may not be enough to start to separate competitive from more casual players, we'll have to see. But once we achieve a strong enough risk reward balance that the best players prefer these matches at all times, we no longer have the issue of "what will my corp do when we're not defending/attacking districts". We'll always have the issue of pro players starting up noob alts, but there's no reason to compound that problem by throwing young players against the full gear spectrum, especially since the game is just as fun with cheap gear, assuming your opponent is wearing the same. Some players have suggested a "militia only" mode, or "no proto" mode, etc - but I'd rather see this gradient played out across the system as a whole, offering distinctly attractive environments for different types of player - rather than stacking a bunch of game variants that only serve to fraction up an already thin PCU.

Really, if you make adjustments along the lines above, you might be able to eliminate the need for an arbitrary academy environment altogether, providing you gently acclimate players into the competitive levels using the conventional game modes offered.