Again an old SC problem. The thing you can't do is just let people get insanely powerful, or again, the game starts shutting out beginners.

1. I like custom drones and bragging badges. That also helps newbies know who's an old hand and can answer questions authoritatively. I'd love to see this also pick up "thank yous" on the forums: shows who is big in community and not solely a big grinder.

2. We all need to think about special powers that aren't simple attacks but aren't impossibly complex to program and implement.

3. As I suggested elsewhere, ramp down xp rewards for blasting players and structures that are very far below one's own level, so the super-hitters have a disincentive to pick on newbies.