Abolish RPR - Level the playing field

[xDarknessdawns]

As someone who has been personally affected by RPR for long periods of time, after a discussion with some newer members to the server I believe that RPR has no place in 2024 Arelith. In the past it was used to gate-keep many things that were limited because Jjerm did not want an influx of players to have access to classes/races/gifts to make them more desirable. The attitude to the server development has changed over the years and there's nothing wrong with that. When I owned nwn diamond, I was a 40 RPR player, but during the transition from diamond to ee, new player keys were necessary. I left for the military and pretty much never had time to devote to playing Arelith for many years. I recently retired and I decided to check in on things roughly 5 years ago, and rpr has been an issue ever since. It took 3 years to get 20 rpr, and at that time both my wife and I had joined to play occasionally. Weekends occasionally, or just some nights after work and because I worked odd hours we were mainly playing off peak times. I am going to do my best to break down my argument so that it makes sense to people who are new and old alike.

Reasons to dismantle the system:

1. Although the gatekeeping has been somewhat changed, without a doubt it is something that every player has to contend with. There are still classes/races that are MANDATORY RPR required to play. I have always felt as if everyone should have equal access to all the goodies the server has. Having some players able to access them and others not is limiting to everyone's experience, regardless to if they have the RPR. I know that I'm going to get responses saying "Immersion breaking" BS, but consider it from a new player perspective. Automatically being at a disadvantage as a new player will drive some away. Irongron told me straight up before that this is not a democracy, and that is part of the reason why I did not come back to play Arelith for many many years.

2. RPR is based on luck, playtimes, and if you are a player who is in the in crowd. Arelith has always been this way. There is a mechanical advantage with relation to RPR XP ticks, and it makes the leveling experience much easier for those who play alot more than others. It's a natural fact of life that you can only play so often, and IRL will always trump RP in that regard. No RPR would get rid of the luck factor of having to opt into whatever the DMs are doing or forcing more playtime devoted by people who don't realistically have the time to play.

3. The RPR uptick experience is entirely based on staff control. Getting rid of RPR and allowing everyone to get the same XP upticks would allow the staff to never need to worry about who has or has not achieved RPR and doing it manually based on request from players. Yesterday I was criticized by a contributor because I was asked to post my previous RPR request from Astrolabe because the message given by the DM was something he agreed with (Something to do with time basis NOT PLAYING ENOUGH... -,-). It's BS again. I do not disagree with the DMs stance on it, but also why force yourself to take up more work when it is not necessary. RPR is broken up in 5 levels. Break it down to 2 levels. And make it easy for recommend to allow us to give ANYONE an in to the system. Not this 30RPR recommend bs.

4. The current system is inherently unfair. To speak on my experience, for 5 years I have never achieved 30 RPR. It took 2 years to hit 20 RPR, and from then never another increase. Others will say that they got 20 RPR within a week, 30 RPR in 2 days. I have literally heard the gammut. It's something that people are heavily incentivized to get as high as possible from a mechanical perspective, yet it's not something anyone talks about OOC from my experience unless it's someone asking or complaining about the current system.

I am certain that everyone is going to have their opinions about this, and I would love to get some honest perspectives with regards to this issue. Please do not be an Snuggybear to the staff. They aren't paid to do what they do. And Irongron, I know it's not a democracy, you're free to ban me. I feel I need to speak up on behalf of everyone stuck in this stupid system.

[Azensor]

Things that require rpb still:

Good monster(40 rpb)
rdd for kobold(30 rpb)

Thats it,thats all thats left that requires rpb

[Griefmaker]

I am of the opposite mind: Gate more things behind RPR and encourage others to engage in good RP first and foremost and try to change Arelith away from the growing trend of making it more like modern MMOs.

However....

The sheer number of players to DMs (definitely not the fault of the DM Team! Arelith is just huge compared to 15+ years ago) makes that very impractical and so it is probably better to keep most things not gated behind it.

Plus as was mentioned before this, basically nothing is gated behind RPR now. I would prefer to see other things fixed instead of those which are not really broken, even if more of a legacy sort of thing.

[DM Herald]

Things that require rpb still:

Good monster(40 rpb)
rdd for kobold(30 rpb)

Thats it,thats all thats left that requires rpb

To clarify on this, non-40+ RPB players can still play a good aligned monster, but it must be done via application.

[Dreams]

RDD for kobold should be behind an award, not just RPR. RDD for everyone else is a MAJOR AWARD. Maybe the RDD for kobolds should be a few notches lower, but shouldn't just be a free run! Normal award might be an appropriate place.

[CptnCandyass]

Things that require rpb still:

Good monster(40 rpb)
rdd for kobold(30 rpb)

Thats it,thats all thats left that requires rpb

You also need 20 rpr for Assassin, which is a weird rpr requirement, but it's there, and surprisingly enough you don't need rpr for Harper and Zhent, both being WAY more guarded than any other class.

I'm entirely for getting rid of rpr. People who even think about making a good natured monster probably understand that theyre not allowed in surface settlements just because they're good, and if they're not, they'll be promptly reminded in game. People get around this requirement anyways by roleplaying it out and acting as spies or information exchangers. It happens all the time, so making an rpr limit just to select the alignment? Kind of silly.

And increasing the rpr requirement on rdd for Kobolds...? It's not like rdd for kobolds was making them stupidly strong, there's no reason behind gatekeeping it further. There is a very large majority of players on arelith that don't have 30 rpr. The enforcement is just silly.

Get rid of it. You already judge people's characters harshly for class tokens, keeping RPR ratings as a second gate is just asking people to not even bother, especially with how long it sometimes takes for the application to even be looked at. Some people wait months for their application just to be viewed.

[Subtext]

Well, the really big one is that getting awards is locked behind RPR 20. I got it very early on but I've seen people wait a long time for it as well - folks I'd definitely considered interesting RPers.

I personally don't like the idea of RPR at all. Still sitting at 20, I've often been told to apply for a higher rating, just...I don't wanna.
The idea of getting one's RP graded feels very very strange to me. There are so many different things people enjoy that I have trouble seeing how that can be quantified. What really matters is those involved in a story having fun while respecting the setting.
Besides, the grading DM might have very different ideas about the quality of one's RP but that doesn't mean one is necessarily worse than the other

[ltlukoziuz]

Arelith already imo suffers a bit from being outsider-lith (closest name though applies to more than just outsider races). There's always plenty of genasi and aasimar/tiefling and fey. Any new race gets way too much attraction because hey, it's new and shiny, only to then get pushed out of reach because population control and/or people misunderstanding the race (one prominent example being Fey'ri).

In an ideal world, yes, I would love for rpr AND award system (which imo is the bigger issue than rpr at unfair gating of content) to go poof and disappear. But the only good replacement for that is to rely even more on application system and gate way many more things under it to avoid wacky (over)representations of certain races or classes. In a 2000+ active player server that still gets new people, that would be a lot more strain on the DM team that I would not want to toss on them... So bad crutches (rpr and awards) it is then.

[Darkstorn42]

My understanding is that RPR 20 is pretty much granted once you are no longer considered a 'New Player'. New Player is a mechanic added to the server that just restricts what you can do until you have played X hours on a single PC. After that time is up you just apply for RPR 20 and it is granted with very little review. (I had two friends get theirs without them even being online from time of submitting the ticket to getting approved.)

Outside that, I will agree it is not a perfect system, but good RP should be rewarded. Should that be faster leveling? I don't know, but once you hit level 30 (which is entirely doable with rpr 10) it no longer matters.

[Kythana]

I personally don't like the idea of RPR at all. Still sitting at 20, I've often been told to apply for a higher rating, just...I don't wanna.
The idea of getting one's RP graded feels very very strange to me. There are so many different things people enjoy that I have trouble seeing how that can be quantified. What really matters is those involved in a story having fun while respecting the setting.
Besides, the grading DM might have very different ideas about the quality of one's RP but that doesn't mean one is necessarily worse than the other

Exactly my thoughts on this. Trying to arbitrarily rank people on a very subjective type of creativity is quite odd. Being completely honest, I've seen some rather poor RP among some higher rated players, and generally feel like the score is more indicative of in character levels of clout.

The higher ratings in particular associate "good" roleplay with affecting a large number of players, which I find almost the exact opposite in practice. Often in attempts to reach a wider scope, the RP becomes incredibly shallow and dull.

Decouple the application bypasses, I'd say. (While I don't think applications are particularly effective, it should all or nothing.) And rename it to something like: Community Engagement Bonus. Roleplay Rating/Bonus is such an icky way of describing it.

[Rubricae]

i've never liked rpr

i understand why it's there, i don't like it, and i disagree that it even accomplishes the purpose it's mean to

it's nice to have +100000 xp every tick i guess

[CptnCandyass]

My understanding is that RPR 20 is pretty much granted once you are no longer considered a 'New Player'. New Player is a mechanic added to the server that just restricts what you can do until you have played X hours on a single PC. After that time is up you just apply for RPR 20 and it is granted with very little review. (I had two friends get theirs without them even being online from time of submitting the ticket to getting approved.)

Outside that, I will agree it is not a perfect system, but good RP should be rewarded. Should that be faster leveling? I don't know, but once you hit level 30 (which is entirely doable with rpr 10) it no longer matters.

Inherently the system seems like this;

"Good roleplay gets rewarded with a wider range of classes and races you can play to expand the great roleplay you do."

In reality, very few, if any people are meeting these high rpr requirements because Arelith is two things;

1. Not being constantly watched by moderation that can hand out these RPR increases

2. The majority of people do not have the time to spend grinding "roleplay scenarios" that makes them look like a good roleplayer

Yes, how you remain in character, support other people's characters and how you add to events that happen in game should definitely contribute, but WHAT do I need to be doing to get my RPR to go up? What does the DM need to see?
The RPR page suggests very little. This is the only line on the page that makes any kind of connection with how you're supposed to get it increased:

"The Role Play Bonus is meant to be dynamic, and will go up and down throughout time on server as players are observed in different circumstances, according with the level of roleplay that they tend to display, or are currently displaying. "

Okay...so what does that mean? Am I being judged for how massive and detailed every reply I make is? Am I being judged based on how interactive I am to every little thing said? Is it based on...how much I can force other players to interact with me? All of the above? If the answer to that question is "all of the above", then that's an extreme amount of work to expect out of any player, period. The majority of us have jobs. Families. Arelith players and staff always say "Irl comes first!" and that's very much true, but that also means that we won't be rewarded (assuming "all of the above" is true) in the time that we do get to play, meaning we will have drastically little, if any chance of obtaining the rewards gatekept behind high rpr, and that is without a doubt the MAJORITY of the active playerbase.

On TOP of that, DM's don't even observe players for RPR increases. I have a hard enough time getting one to reply to my DM Badge that's been up for over two weeks! We have to submit for an RPR increase now- WHAT? (Yes I do understand that some DM's actually do play the game and they probably consider people for rpr increases while playing, but I really could not tell you how many of them are doing that)

So now in order to get that RPR increase to play the thing I want to play, I have to:

A. Be a top notch roleplayer that (assuming "all of the above" is correct) does everything wonderfully for everyone and myself

B. Save and store "evidence" of me being a great roleplayer ?? What ??? I'm not doing that, YOU'RE the DM. Go look at my recent roleplaying! I did the work already!

It's such a flawed and vague system that's only important to the staff. Just get rid of it. I 100% understand the original purpose behind RPR, but it's faded away now and your playerbase can't keep up with it's expectations.

[Iceborn]

I do wonder the same - if RPR is a necessary evil, or a product from a different time.

The RPR system is flawed - no one in their sane mind would tell you it's perfect - many of the OP's points are fair and valid, and as somebody that spent like 6 years before crawling out of the RPR 20 hole, I know perfectly well how it feels to not be acknowledged by the system. It's frustrating, diminishing, discouraging; why should you keep putting all your effort into writing beautiful prose or making some memorable scenes, if at the end of the day you have the same rating as Phart McSmelly The Trog, which all it does is wander around spamming that smell ability and the laugh voiceline? I think it was Gabe Newell that described this exact kind of logic as a narcissistic wound.

That said, there are some merits to the RPR system - in a way, its existence is what allows DMs to reward players without falling into flagrant favoritism - as other systems can exhibit - and it takes away the necessity to enforce a 'RP quality barrier'. In this way, you are perfectly allowed to roleplay "Voluptuous Sorcerer of Otherworldly beauty #99998", but don't expect anybody to be impressed, specially the players that have been around here the longest. Nothing's stopping you from - if I may be so crass to say - being cringe.
Without RPR ,there might also not be any stop gap between a warning for disruptive play, or being shown out the door.

The real issue of RPR is not what it gatelock - because let's be honest, RDD kobolds are a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of our playerbase (I love you all) - but the illusion that your worth is tied to a 'rating'; that your quality as a player can be quantified. It really can't. Perhaps in that regard, is the RPR system a misnomer? Should it be called something ridiculous like the "Star Rating System"? "Hi, I'm a 4 star player, please die for the good of the story." Should we implement an uber-like recommend and see how many thumbs up/thumbs down people give each other for their roleplay? None of the above, probably, hopefully.

PD: It's not nice to say a contributor "criticized you" when all I did was point you could try for another RPR evaluation again next month.

[xDarknessdawns]

As a point of reference I would point out to say that in my original feedback post, I mainly hit on the inconsistent nature of how the system is applied. Things are gated behind two major points -> 20 RPR is needed to do some classes, applications, roll for awards. That is actually huge because you can go long time gaps where new players never get the opportunity to do any of those things, and based on the wiki information the longer things go and you don't get 20 RPR, it definitely leaves you with a question of if your role play has been good. I am confident that I am not a bad roleplayer, outside of Arelith and on various other games I get good feedback. Especially for organizing events. It still took 2 years to get past 10. The 30 RPR gap is where I've been stuck at for quite a while, and I will admit, it's very frustrating because out of the 2133 hours I have on NWN, ALL of them have been played on Arelith. That is alot of hours spent playing this game.

With regards to the application process up until a month ago I never had a character that hit level 30. I frequently switch characters because I exclusively play Mark of Destiny Characters. I love the RP that goes along with knowing that you don't have infinite lives. Every death feels meaningful to me; but to the DMs who approve applications that may not be what they want to see. I get that I could apply again, but to me it really feels like having to grovel to do so. I was already wary about applying in the first place, but I was told that I should apply through Astrolabe and that my rp would be considered. That is NOT what happened. Instead the reply I got back was that I hadn't played the character long enough. I have a job, I have a family who I support. I am parent to a wonderful daughter. I really do not have the ability to play that many hours. I have played alot recently because I work from home now, but I don't get to fully put myself out there because some of the hours I spend are just afk farming things resources because I can't give my full attention to the game while I'm doing other things.

I have tried to put the thoughts out of my head that tell me I have to be bad at this game to still not have hit 30 RPR after so much time spent, but when I applied to get the bump I was not even considered because "I didn't play the character long enough". Fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion; but I believe that I have made interesting characters who have had great interactions with many other players on the server. Literally you're telling me that I am not worth considering even looking at because #time. It is silly to me so of course I gave up. Who wouldn't? I shouldn't need to grovel at the feet of the DMs to get RPR. In alot of ways I was seeking validation when I sent the request. To be disregarded did not feel good at all and I'm sure I am not the only one who has this feeling because of this system.

[Critique]

Plus as was mentioned before this, basically nothing is gated behind RPR now. I would prefer to see other things fixed instead of those which are not really broken, even if more of a legacy sort of thing.

The epic sacrifice system is gated and requires 20 RPR. I've been playing for years, multiple characters in multiple factions, I know I'm not a spectacular RPer but I stay in character and do okay, even quite well on a good day... but can't get that bump from 10 to 20. I've given up on trying to get a 20 and just play to play... but the RPR system really made this place feel like it doesn't want me here.

[AstralUniverse]

20 RPR here.

RPR is necessary in Arelith, unfortuantely.

Its not a real issue until you want to play kobold RDD (which is a relatively recent thing, previously 20 + application).

I've been told to apply for RPR evaluation but honestly I just couldnt care less and I'll just not play kobold rdd I guess.

I agree that it's not a perfect system, because how 'good' RP is measured seems very subjective.

Over all, it's meant to represent how good you are at making the Role Play aspect of the game fun for others, whatever that means.

Players who have more play time will clearly have big advantage over casual players like me who mostly play few hours per week if at all in recent years. Which kinda stings but it is what it is.

[Aeryeris]

I don't believe it is a good idea to couple exp increases to RPB. I have never really understood why this is the case when the RPB system isn't mean to be viewed as a "progression system" as such.

If the DM team needs the RPB system to evaluate players and help with enforcement / fast-tracking apps for gated races / classes, that's understandable. But it shouldn't be any more than that. Decouple it from exp gain.

[D4wN]

In my personal experience, high RPR isn’t a blessing at all. It’s simply used as a tool to punish or threaten players. If it was an actual reward system for players being positive contributors to the community, players who consistently create and run factions or doom themselves to play settlement leaders. If it was to acknowledge people who create RP and stories then yes. I think it would be great.

But RPR is a tool of favouritism and luck. If the DMs like you and just so happen to know you and see what you’re doing and/or contributing, you can get easily to RPR50. You don’t even need to be sacrificing hours and hours of play time creating fun and inclusive experiences for other players.

I know this will likely be an unpopular opinion and viewed as very negative commentary. But this is my own personal experience with the RPR system. I rather have low RPR and not have it hung over my head fearing constantly it will be taken away if I do something wrong. I can just focus on RP and enjoy what I’m doing without heavy scrutiny.

Honestly? To use it to gate keep playing certain races or classes is silly. You already have applications for several races. Why then also put them behind RPR and potentially limit excellent RPers because they just keep flying under the radar? I’ve played in Australia for years, and getting any DM even to know you exist is almost impossible, let alone being rewarded for good RP.

Imo? Just observe players and reward them with an XP amount for good RP whenever you see it and allow players to assign recommend people for a small XP award based on their experience with someone. With the new system you can then save this up also to level alts faster. I believe that is a much better solution than RPR. And simply approve or decline races locked to all based on an application if you really want to gatekeep certain things like with Fey’ri for example or planar beings, get them to submit some lore and force people into researching their class or race so you can prevent weird and lore inaccurate background stories.

[chris a gogo]

Got 20 RPR around 15 years ago after playing for around 2 months.

Still got it.
What I did find was you would get threatened if you did something a particular DM had as a pet peeve.
For example my Gnoll (20 RPR requirement back then) was running alone through a forest and got a DM message threatening to remove my RPR for running and not walking.
After that I've not cared about RPR not when it can and was used as a stick to threaten.

[In Sorrow We Trust]

it felt good when i got my 30 (it's 40 now)

but mostly i only like it for the ecl reduction and free out of combat exp. i don't care about rpr at all. wouldn't mind if it got removed in the least. it's sometimes just a feelsbad thing anyway

[AstralUniverse]

Got 20 RPR around 15 years ago after playing for around 2 months.

Still got it.
What I did find was you would get threatened if you did something a particular DM had as a pet peeve.
For example my Gnoll (20 RPR requirement back then) was running alone through a forest and got a DM message threatening to remove my RPR for running and not walking.
After that I've not cared about RPR not when it can and was used as a stick to threaten.

15 years ago it was a real wild west. Almost any player from those days got scars. I was dropped to 0 rpr by a mean DM (maybe I deserved it, but the other player was left alone while my tiefling was taken away because it required 30 rpr at the time. Literally removed from my vault without a word). lets just hope we're entirely done with Watchtower and those DMs like him.

[Algol]

One of the best if not the best roleplayer I know is stuck at 20 RPR, while there has been 30 RPR players that are less than impressive in my eyes. I'm not sure what the criteria for bumping someone up is but I don't have faith in it nor think it is fair.

Also, as long as humans are doing the evaluation there will be favouritism. It is just human nature, the server is too big for DMs to form social bonds with everyone, and people tend to see those who are close to them more favourably.

Maybe I'm salty low RPR player and that is warping my view, but I don't think RPR system above 20 is necessary or helpful.

[MissEvelyn]

Got 20 RPR around 15 years ago after playing for around 2 months.

Still got it.
What I did find was you would get threatened if you did something a particular DM had as a pet peeve.
For example my Gnoll (20 RPR requirement back then) was running alone through a forest and got a DM message threatening to remove my RPR for running and not walking.
After that I've not cared about RPR not when it can and was used as a stick to threaten.

15 years ago it was a real wild west. Almost any player from those days got scars. I was dropped to 0 rpr by a mean DM (maybe I deserved it, but the other player was left alone while my tiefling was taken away because it required 30 rpr at the time. Literally removed from my vault without a word). lets just hope we're entirely done with Watchtower and those DMs like him.

It's a little funny, because around that same time was when I got my first RPR increase - from DM Watchtower

Back then you started at RPR 0, and you had to earn the RPR 10. Between 10 and my increase to 20, it was almost another 8 years of roleplaying. I had long ago resorted not to care about RPR.

It's not a decent evaluation tool. Unlike an exam, where the DMs would be able to watch all the players under supervision, RPR increases are almost entirely circumstancial, based on if a DM happened to be watching. The only times it's not, is when you're under a DMs radar and they're vested in your story/event/campaign.

It's meant to be dropped when you either break rules or do something that breaks immersion (?), but it's been a very long time since I've heard of anyone getting their RPR dropped for saying "lol addy" and other immersion-breaking silly things, and I myself took a 6 month ban a few years ago without my RPR 20 dropping.

So, really, for your own peace of mind, ignore the RPR entirely. The Roleplay should be the reward, otherwise why are we all here? It's certainly not for the RPR. I guarantee you a high RPR won't be impressive on a real life resume (I mean, I'd be impressed personally).

We're here for the stories and the roleplay, obviously. RPR can be a mental block for the roleplayers, especially newer ones. Just it existing and letting its existence known can cause newer players from not bothering.

The idea of RPR is nice, but as our server grows, RPR becomes more impractical. A relic from the past that so many of us have tried to learn to love. Instead we have come to regard it as a mental thorn in the side, a constant reminder of "you could be roleplaying better".

Detaching RPR from experience points would be the first step to making RPR less important, and I agree with it. It would also just make it less visible in your face every tick.

Also, if RPR 20 is expected of eventually all players, why not automate it? We have the new player timer, just use that along with, say, a set number of dialog interactions with other PCs, and RPR 20 is gained automatically once the new player interactions and time are fulfilled.

Automation of RPR 30 and up would require far more tweaking, and I imagine unless it's extremely complex (and obscure in exact details), it would be very easy to game and abuse, so I'm not actually sure it's a good idea beyond doing it for RPR 20.

[perseid]

I'm weird in that I actually agree with the existence of rpr but I do disagree with the culture around it. Whenever I see rpr talked about it's always as a way of grading rp whereas I always viewed it more as a trust metric. To me the scale goes something like:

10: This guy is either new or he was rpr 20 and did something dickish enough to need a punishment but not severe enough to warrant a temp ban so he got dinged.

20: This guy is fine. Maybe he's a little wacky or a bit self-oriented but he gets the gist of roleplay and how to roleplay within a setting. If he can write a good application he's probably fine to trust with access to some content we'd prefer to see handled with a degree of care.

30: We want to restrict this content just a little but not to the same degree as something gated behind a hard application

40: This person can be trusted with access to content we'd prefer to see consistently handled in a manner that respects the vision the server has for that content.

50: This guy is consistently fine to let do whatever. If they don't understand the material they're applying for they can be assumed to do some research beforehand to handle it with care regardless of what it is and without making a bunch of errors along the way.

[Cthuletta]

The way I've always had RPR explained was how big of a character you played. You're more likely to get those higher levels by running big successful factions or being a settlement leader than you are someone adjacent to them.
I got RPR 20 within three days of playing. I applied for RPR 30 after about two and a half years and was given it. I agree it was an odd and somewhat anxiety-inducing experience to have my roleplay 'graded', but doing it that way is easier on the team.
As far as I know, you can't apply for 40 and 50 like you can the others. It really is up to luck on if the DMs see what you're doing and think to suggest it among the team. No idea what that process looks like, but the team isn't omnipresent anyway nor should they have to be.

It seems to me the only way to get those increases is by being online every waking hour of every day and running something BIG. I've personally been trying to treat Arelith less like a job in that way, so I've given up hope on getting those increases myself. Whenever the RPR 50 first came out and was announced, I saw a lot of comments across a multitude of groups saying 'Oh look, another thing I'll never obtain!', which told me a lot about how the community seems to view them.

Meanwhile, we have some of these races that have some pretty strict lore which are not locked behind RPR or an application but rather locked behind deleting a character and getting lucky, which then go plummeting South-wards as they're played not-at-all like they're depicted in canon. I even feel this way about some basic races or classes! RPR doesn't help that issue in the slightest. It seems to me RPR is desirable for a bit more of an XP tick every six minutes, but otherwise it doesn't truly provide what it perhaps used to.

I'm not entirely sure what the answer to this would be, myself. Remove RPR entirely since it doesn't really do what it's meant to anymore? Adjust it so that RPR is only viewed as an XP mechanic? Go the full opposite direction and gatekeep even more things with more strain on the team to push those reviews and upgrades, or even more systems entirely to provide that boost?
I do agree that the system as it stands however is not ideal. People seem to have either stopped caring about it entirely or seem to fear it in some way. Just not sure what the best way forward would be! It's hanging in an odd in-between spot right now.