so teaming could be partially solved by stripping all ships and players from identifying marks. it wont totally solve it but it will make pre-match teaming much more complicated and wouldnt change the spirit of the mode.
this would also fix the weirdness where for whatever reason it takes 2x time to load into guardian as servants since all lobbies for each mode could just be merged and save overhead... not sure why they are identical anyhow but.... they arent clearly.
make repairing / shooting / hitting / bailing / boarding / damaging etc.... worth emmy credit... so you get more points.... also emmy bonuses by time. the reward for participation rather than loss farming should be huge.
make the circle size based on number of ships in the match. 6 ships in a puddle is horrible and random.... 4 ships in the huge ring is bad too... having the ring sized based on the number of ships really fixes that where each mode its hard to run far, but theres some room to work... keeping the pressure on but not insane.
at the end instead of sailing into the portal have something you can vote on, so that if the flag you are trying to get is too close to the portal it doesnt screw you... or if your position is wrong.
also consider:
consider making ship races with wind changes, skill shots... sea mines etc.... non pvp but competative. i would make it give guardian and servants rep but it could be a new thing unto itself... however a ton of peopel in your game seem to hate the hourglass modes full stop and only do it for the curses. also would give new pvpers a way to build skills.
