I tried putting this in General but I can't even get people to tell me I'm stupid for suggesting it. Is the post too long and needs a TL;DR?

TL;DR Segregate battles by the total Meta value.

Use the security status of the system the battle is in to determine the gear that can be used. Take all the meta ratings from everything on the the suit and add the suit meta number to get the total meta for the entire fit. Use that number to segregate battles so that mercs can choose the difficulty of battles based on suit setups.

1.0 sec status battles would have a total meta of two. I had to use two because the medic carries a meta one injector on a meta one suit. No squads and only free LAVs allowed in the sec stat one battles and with the super low meta level - just enough for starter gear - they would be an automatic training area.

0.9 sec stat would have a total meta of around five. I used five because the starter fits usually have a TM ( total meta) of one and would allow most suits to add a few new items to boost the suit. All militia gear with the exception of suits and equipment are level meta zero and as far as I know all basic gear is meta one. With a TM of 5 a merc could customize a suit with a few basic items or try out weapons that are different. No pre-battle squads, only squads made on the war barge would be allowed and only free LAVs. Mercs can squad up in the war barge but are dropped from the squad at the end.

0.8 sec stat would be around eight. Advanced weapons starts around meta five the modules and suits start around three. Mercs with low skill would know that they were going to up against similar types of suits and weapons. As an added bonus the choices made in fittings and SP would create a wider diversity of suit fit on the battle field because to try out a more advanced item we would have to sacrifice something. I may have an advanced suit with an extra slot that I can only put militia mods into but the guy in the militia suit caring an advanced AR might get me first. War barge squads that last out of battle but no pre battle squads. All militia vehicles and militia mods.

0.7 sec stat would be about 20. With the advanced suit meta at four, weapon at seven and modules at three I think 20 would be a good number. Using eight slots for the standard suit minus the 11 meta points for suit and weapon we could fit nine more meta points to the suit. That is only three advanced mods or nine basic adding to the weight of choices. Prototype gear should start to show up but it would limit module and weapon choices so even lower tier suits that with proper fits and well placed SP would do well. Pre- battle squads allowed and all advanced vehicles and mods.

0.6 sec stat would be 32. Porto suits have a meta number of seven, weapons are eight and modules are four. Suit and weapons at prototype levels would be 15 leaving 17 points to fit 10 modules. 10 proto modules at 4 points each is 40 so there would not be enough points to go around. Again sacrifices would have to be made and choices of fits and SP would have influences. All vehicles allowed.

0.5 sec stat would be 64 and allow more high tier items and better fittings but still keep total proto pub stomps. This last area would be the final stepping stone to anything goes. All of these battles would have standard payout and slavage. These battles are for players of different SP and personal skill and I tried to scale them so they would become progressively harder and pay out differently because of the the gear players use.

Low Sec battles would allow any fit and pay out better. Six man pre-battle squads allowed and all vehicle types. Aur weapon drops. All battle types.

FW battles would be set up like EVE with size of the plex influencing the type of planetary battle. The novice site creating 0.8 battles, small creating 0.7, medium creating 0.6 and large creating 0.5. These battles would payout better ISK than normal battles and drop officer gear. These battles are again segregated to allow players of different skill levels to play at the level they are at and experiment with new gear and fits.

Null battles are the final type and are totally random on the type of battle selected. These battles would also allow a full war barge team stack. After selecting a battle the merc would have a few minutes to invite as many people as they wanted on their team up to the max. They would not know who is on the other team or what type of battle they would be fighting. Regular, Aur and officer weapon drops with the best pay.

These are my ideas for the battle finder. I did not have the time to go to every suit at every tier on every frame size so some numbers will need to be adjusted and talked about. My goal was to have a system similar to EVE that encourages players to move to progressively harder battles in search of ISK and specialize in a role. Separating the battles based on a total meta number ensures that the levels of dropsuits will be similar enough to allow for experimentation.