I've talked with some people already about how Pirates are treated like a nation in this game. And, I'm probably in the minority here but here's what I think.
Being a Pirate I consistently see other Pirates sailing around in SOL's and heavy Frigates. I've always been under the impression pirates sailed things like Brigs or other ships around that size. I remember there being some talk pre release about limiting pirates to certain ships, I think that should be implemented. Pirates should be able to cap & keep ships (AI & Player) but are only allowed a very small amount of crew to man them, or allow people to rank up higher in Pirates but MUCH slower to avoid seeing everyone in SOL's.
Also with ports, I think that Pirates should just get random ports scattered across the map and just replace free ports with pirate ports. Make them uncappable, but anyone can enter.
So:
Limit Pirate crews Replace Free ports with Pirate Ports (maybe add a few more in between)
What are your thoughts?