TDM changes: Timer, Rounds, Playable drones.

TDM right now consists of 5 matches that are quite short and once you're in you are stuck with the drone you picked for all 5 matches. I think there is a better way of doing it.

The respawns are nice and in TDM this works great because no one wants to wait X amount of time for a new match, especially if you die early. So I would keep that in.

Match length/amount:
5 matches on the same map are a bit too much. It tends to get a bit tedious.
Very short matches break up the flow too much IMO. Not much time to strategize with your team and it doesn't feel that rewarding because you can get a few kills but it will end mid-fight a lot of the time and your left wanting a bit more each time.
Being stuck with the same drone throughout doesn't help.

Solution 1:
Have 3 matches each lasting 7 minutes but not less than 5.

Solution 2:

Have one 10 minute match.

That being said, for TDM, the best option might be to have the one 10-15 minute match.

My reasoning is that unless it's a tournament event, What is the point of having multiple small matches on the same map in the same drone?

a longer 10 minute game would feel more satisfying and it's enough to enjoy a map without getting too bored of it which can happen if you have to load into it 5 or even 3 times in a row. I would not make a single match more than 15 min as that would really be pushing it. More testing is required to see if 10 or 15 min would be best.

This leads me to another point which is being stuck in one drone for the entire match.

Drone Switching:

This game has a lot of strategic potential in it, however, all that is thwarted if you're stuck with the one drone you blindly pick at the start of the game.

Sure maybe you love playing that shotgun drone and getting behind and maneuvering well and it's just your fave playstyle. However, it's not fun to lose a match and die a lot because it just so happens that most of the enemy team perfectly counters your pick.

No one wants to be the swordsman charging into 2 or 3 archers from across the field if you know what I mean. Sure if you manage to sneak up on one it's easy pickings but good luck getting there.

lots of people would just rage quit.

Solution 1:
If the devs/community want multiple rounds in a TDM, you could at the very least have 10 seconds to swap to another drone between rounds.

Solution 2 I prefer this solution whether there is one match or more:

After death, have the chance to switch a drone or configuration as you wait for the cooldown. Perhaps add a "Swap" button and it will give you an additional 10 seconds or so after the respawn timer to make a selection

The ability to switch drones mid-battle is not only a good way to keep someone from being bored or frustrated, but it is also a great tool when it comes to strategy to win.

if your map is really small, a long-range weapon like a sniper may not be the best so before the match starts but when you know the map, you should be able to pick a drone.

Regardless of what you may pick first, it may turn out that your current team composition is not doing too well, no matter how much skill you have. some stuff counters other stuff.
Being able to switch drones to counter your enemy and/or switch to something that synergizes with the rest of your team will add so much more depth to TDM.

Right now it's "pick a drone and hope the enemy doesn't end up hard countering you". It's a bit of a dice roll for some picks.

Being stuck in one drone also means a meta will pop up of most people playing the same drone that's safe in any situation as they don't wanna risk being hard-countered the entire match.

A final thought on strategy is COMS.

Now as the game is now with locked drones and all that, coms are not as vital but would still help with communication.

That being said, in other game modes and with a more strategy-based TDM (like with swapping drones between deaths) Voice Coms would be something I consider necessary.

If you need help, or to focus fire, or to warn someone that an enemy is on his 6. saying it with voice is much more effective than a ping or stopping everything to type.

Also, someone could call out an observation like "Hey, they have a sniper, I or someone should take shotties to counter, Should I or any1 else want to?"

or perhaps "Yo so what if we all respawn as the minigun drone and just overwhelm them and focus fire one person together"

This kind of stuff would add even more depth and strategy to a game and would make everything more fun. Coms could be its own post but it makes more sense to pair it with a post about strategy as you could honestly not have coms in a more or less free-for-all, and this is what TDM is at its current state, just a team-based free for all.