Still 5 bots..but extra SLOTS.

I'll take it. Also, have the option to purchase backup hangars for Ag or WP; you can own an unlimited number of hangars, each comprised of six bots (of which five may be used in a battle, per Scorpio's suggestion). However that gives you the alternative to have several different hangars ready to roll, so if you want to change things up for a clan match, or just want to change things up without having to dig through 30+ reserve bots, you simply switch hangars.

Or...

And this one is really out there...

What if, at the start of each battle, you select your battle hangar from ten reserve bots? What if the game remains as-is as far as hangars go (purchase battle slots), but on the bot selection screen, before you choose your first bot drop, you select your entire hangar for the battle from out of up to ten bots? That means, if you only have three slots, or four, you select your three or four bots from among ten. And, ALL 10 bots are taken into account for MM, meaning the strongest bot determines your tier. Thus there would be no deliberately juking the MM system.

That would give a serious advantage to players...who have battle awareness. Who think about what they plan to do, and then select the best bots to accomplish that; not just hammer away using their head as a battering ram. Because now, the limits of the game are still intact, but they've been changed and not pushed out. You can still only use up to five bots, but if you drop on Yamantu, you aren't stuck with five knifers. Or, if you have a sniper in reserve, but spawn on PP or DC, you don't have to select him for your battle hangar. For example, you could have a reserve hangar like this:

TO Lancelot
TT Lancelot
Tri Fury
Treb Fury
Zeus Fury
DB Griffin
PDB Rhino
TM Galahad
TM Galahad
Aphid Patton

Out of those ten, you'd select your five battle bots at the start of each match. On DC, you might choose two Lances, two Galahad, and that Patton. But say you spawn on Canyon, and those Furies and the Rhinos suddenly look a whole lot better.

Thoughts?

I disagree, actually. Too much leeway. At the moment, the 5-bot limit works because it forces you to compromise, and decide what setups you want to run more carefully. If you start allowing 6 bots, then whats to stop 7 bots, and even 8 bots, down the line? I think the decision for or against is too arbitrary.

On the other hand, this idea could help to placate those who are unhappy about not being able to choose the maps you play on. But then they might just become unhappy about having to pay even more gold for that 6th slot. Current top players will be able to afford it, but it will create an even higher glass ceiling for new players facing experienced, more well equipped players.

Especially if MM continues with the way it's going. For every additional feature you'd like to have, imagine what it would have been like to face opponents with these added "benefits" while you were still a n00b, limited to 3 slots, with no premium bots or equipment. Clubbing would become an even bigger problem. Let's think of the newbies and players who don't have that many resources, not just ourselves.

Thanks for all of your reply.
First, I don't believe this can be exploit by clubbers. Clubbers ain't exactly famous for their bot versatility, and a 5 Mag Gep hangar makes no difference from a 6 Mag Gep hangar if you are only able to use 5 bots.
However, I do agree that with this MM implemented any improving in power for experienced player is relatively bad for newbie. On the other hand, if this idea truly got accepted by Pixonic, I believe that this will have a lower priority compare to fixing the current MM, therefore we shouldn't be worrying about MM anymore when this is featured.
I have suggested that currency for MM would be WSP instead of gold. WSP can't be bought in unlimited amount using money, nor do we have to heavily farmed to gain a considerable amount of them. If you manange your WSP well, you might even get it before you placed your hand on your first Lancelot or Fury, let alone a top tier hangar.
Don't forget that 6 bots, or even more, don't add direct power to your hangar, but rather give you a choice to adapt with your battle environment. It's the fact that you don't have to compromise that give you the freedom to show up your skill as much as you like, rather than being limited to the potential of being randomly countered. It's the most skillful and tactical players who gain the most benefits from this, so I believe that the idea will encourage players to think more and be more tactical, instead of just being a "gimme your lunch money" idea.

I feel that choosing good bot and weapon combinations for a successful hangar is a skill in itself. Particularly, if players play every map they get spawned onto, as intended. Then the ability to use that *skillfully* chosen hangar setup in a manner that suits the map you're spawned into, and crucially *when* and *which* bot jump into next depends on reading the current battlefield situation, which is another skill developed from experience. Adding an additional bot so you don't have to compromise as much dilutes the skill you need to pilot the bots you picked to play because then you have the option of an extra specialised bot.

e.g. You like knife fighting, but sometimes there are too many long range bots on the enemy team, or you get spawned onto a map like Springfield, Canyon or Shenzen, where long range bots play a significant role in controlling the center beacon. So you add a sniper as your sixth bot. If the enemy has no long range bots, or you get a knifefighting map like poweplant or dead city, then you can have 5 db setups, effectively giving you an extra DB bot over players who don't yet have that sixth slot. But if the enemy has long range bots or you're on an "open" map, then you can choose to camp for however long you survive, in your long range bot.

On the other hand, if you're a long range camper, and have 5 mid-long range bots, then you can have a backup short-range DB setup for when you get spawn raided. This allows you to have 5 long-range bots, so when the first four get taken out, you still have another! While still having the security of your DB bot.

Right now,if you've exhausted your first four bots, and the last bot is "not ideal" for the map-type you're spawned on, you have no choice but to pilot that last bot skillfully, regardless of the type of setup you've got on it and the map type. You'll have to know how to knife-fight and survive in a long-range bot on an urban map, or know how to get past the open areas to cap beacons or get to enemy snipers on an open map. An extra slot allows for anything in-between the afore-mentioned scenarios, which dilutes the overall skill required to excel in this game in general. So IMHO, from this aspect it's actually the *less* skillful players, with *less* tactical foresight that benefit, which seems to be contradictory to your motivating sentiments on the issue.