Features to help grow the Esports/Competitive scene for this game.
I believe this game has the potential to have a great competitive scene, which would increase its popularity overall. However, for that to happen, I believe there needs to be some key items that need to be included either at launch or shortly thereafter. I'll list the ones that come to mind immediately, and may add to this later:
1. Match Replay mode.
This would enable teams to really dissect their gameplay, determine their strengths, weaknesses, and better understand the way they shoot, move, and communicate. As well as learning from the enemy and potentially coming up with new tactics and plans to overcome that enemy, especially if what the enemy was doing completely blew up whatever plans were in place initially.
2. Robust Ranked mode.
Yes, overall, your rank doesn't truly matter as far as the competitive scene goes, but it is a good place to start in determining who you want to recruit for your team or if you want to join a team. It also gives players some instance of practicing different tactics in a more competitive setting, instead of casual mode where people may just be screwing around in, which would make learning new tactics almost useless. This is also helpful for new teams who don't know who or how to scrim, by allowing new teams a place to work on their basic communication skills, in a somewhat competitive environment, prior to them trying to scrim against more competent teams right away.
3. Weekly/Bi-Weekly/Monthly Tournaments.
By this, I mean holding tournaments that offer prizes to all players to compete. This could be the free premium currency, unique skins for weapons/characters, etc. Holding tournaments like this in-game allows players to see what they're made of, before trying to get into more serious competition. You could even limit the players who join. You can hold tournaments that are pro-player specific, and tournaments that are for everyone else. This allows pro-players an opportunity at the unique items, while allowing other players who aren't pro, an opportunity at the items as well, without having to worry about getting completely destroyed by the pro-players.
4. In-Depth Team/Clan System.
If this can be implemented in a way where players have their own individual page that showcases their player stats (casual, ranked, and tournament), along with their faction of choice, main characters and abilities, and preferred weapon setup, including a graph that shows their progression, or regression, of skill. I believe this would be huge. It incentives players and clans to show off their stats and perform well.
5. Heat Maps.
Supplemental to the Match Replay Mode I mentioned above, having Heat Maps to show where you died most often, killed most often, with what character, weapon, etc., provides even further insight into your playstyle and offers you another way to learn and improve. Having the option to also show where your teammates were at the time of your deaths/kills, and vice versa (where you were during their deaths/kills) can really help hone in on improvements and match analysis.
6. Detailed Match Statistics.
We have all seen it before, people flaming one another for the highlighted K/D/A, without taking into account any other context. Allowing players the option to go into the Match Statistics, in detail, can really help teams determine who is holding the team back, was it just a bad game, who has the most consistency, accuracy, damage output, etc.
I do believe that these would be huge for the competitive scene of this game and, in reality, any competitive game. These are key items that I believe would help all players looking to improve, and definitely help professional players (and those looking to go pro). All these tools would allow pro players to constantly push the meta in different directions and keep the game fresh and alive.
I welcome all feedback and if anyone feels that they have other ideas, please include them in this thread.