I agree. It's too easy to get OBs in pub matches. And it'll be even more so in 1.5.

I'd like to see more uses for squad WP as well. Maybe disable/scramble the enemy's TACNET system for 30 seconds. Or remotely hack a CRU/Turret or Supply Depot. Or call in drones (once they're implemented of course).

Actually a good point.

I'm starting to think the OB's should be removed from the ambush gametype altogether

As for OB's in the other gametypes, here's a suggestion

- Changing OB points requirements:

Squad of 4 or less - 2500 WP
Squad of 5 - 3000 WP
Squad of 6 - 4500 WP

Orbital Strikes have really started to get out of hand with 6-man squads, and I seriously think with the new WP rewards we are going to start seeing squads get 5-6 orbitals on average if the requirements don't change.

The original 2,500 WP requirement made sense in a time when 4-man squads were the thing. It meant that squads needed a certain level of cohesiveness and ability to achieve an orbital. At most you'd see squads get maybe 3 orbitals in a match if they worked hard. As someone who plays with skilled players all the time, getting 4+ OBs in a Dom or Skirmish is not difficult. In fact, often times I find myself dropping 2-3 orbitals back to back because I forget about them. I honestly believe that's not fair at all. Our squad is already doing so well, and the reward is a bunch more free kills.

With 6-man squads and now even MORE ways to get war points the requirement should at least be 5,000 WP. 5,000 for a squad means every player is earning an average ~830 WP, which is totally feasible. Think about that the other way around. With 2,500 a player needs to earn an average of 416 WP. Considering most people in my squads usually earn on average ~1,500 WP all the way up to ~4,000 WP depending on the match it's not hard to envision why we manage to rack up 5 or 6 orbitals sometimes.

Please CCP, either disable orbitals in pubs (which will help quell pubstomping) or drastically increase the requirements.

A regular player easily obtains 500 WP in almost every match, and I usually get 1k; while when I squad up we usually get at least 2 OBs.
So going by standards I'd say maybe for squads with 1-3 mercs require 2500, and 4 and beyond go to 5000.

Also, OBs are a great (marketing) asset for Dust and you want to take it away?
You canGÇÖt simply do that

A great marketing asset?

I'm sorry but I had to laugh at that. OBs may seem cool at first (concept-wise) but their current implementation is hardly what I'd consider "great". I can earn an OB by myself (and often do) and CCP rewards me by giving me a free "splat-everyone-here" button. Getting OBs is not fun, not challenging, hardly rewarding, and ESPECIALLY not fun for the other person. When have you ever been OBd and went "OMG THAT WAS SO COOOOL!"?

The fact of the matter is that OBs were intended to be the tying mechanic between EVE and DUST, but their current implementation hardly represents that vision and instead lets anyone to get a free I-WIN button every so often from something as arbitrary as "warpoints". There's absolutely no sense why a squad who earns X warpoints should be rewarded that way. It only exacerbates the issue of pubstomping because, for example, in Ambush you can effectively kill the entire enemy team simply by dropping it on their next spawn point. I'm not complaining here as I'm almost always on the side dropping the OB on the enemy team. I simply think it's a completely unfair and stupid mechanic. Squads need different non-lethal rewards for doing well in pubs. Orbitals have become so damn bland because I'm dropping at least 3+ every match, which makes each subsequent one less and less rewarding. To make them truly rewarding you should need someone actually in space dropping it for you, not the freaking war barge.

The OB requirements are fine the way they are but I feel the mechanics are lacking. I believe that OBs should *ONLY* come from Eve participation in our matches. No more MCC OBs no more magical fire from the sky where there is no pilot to provide it. This should help eliminate some of the OBs and as for the rest, stop complaining that you don't earn enough war points and start looking at how to do it. 5 points for equipment destruction (1.5), 25 points for triage, 50 points for a kill/revive, 100 points for a hack/turret kill. Also, using a defend order on a person in your squad will award you more WP (+10) per 50 points, the only caveat to that is that you need to stay close to recieve those points. It is not unheard of for a good Logi to earn an OB all by himself and regularly. Figure it out, it is well earned when that OB comes.