Since well before launch, therefore, we’ve had a plan for what we call the ‘underdog tools’. They’re a variety of approaches to the population issues, from simple UI features to complex back-end PvP calculations. In the simplest terms, they fall into two categories: incentives and modifications.
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The bonus loot we’re rolling out for the first pass at the underdog tools is a 20% chance of a second loot roll, applied to the last place nation. The bonus experience is also applied to the last place nation, and is a 20% increase to experience gained.
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Offensive unrest modification is a bonus or penalty to how much unrest you generate when you generate unrest against an enemy port – by sinking ships, completing missions, etc. The values we’re setting for this modification are a 15% increase to offensive unrest for the third place nation, and a 35% increase to offensive unrest for the fourth place nation. This makes the underdog nations potentially a larger threat, though they still need to field a port battle team capable of winning to follow through on that threat.

Defensive unrest modification is a bonus or penalty to how much unrest is generated when an enemy generates unrest against you – again, by sinking ships, completing missions, and so forth. For this modification, we’re setting the third place nation to -15%, the fourth place nation to -35%, and the first place nation to +20%. This means that it is easier for all nations to attack the current leading nation, and very difficult for any nation to attack the underdog.