Forewarning, mainly speculative and terms used are simply there for a lack of a better one. Everything here is food for thought about systems that will probably not be used, but could be neat. What I do say regarding what the devs have brought up can be wrong, so please do correct me. I'll be using Space Marines as a basis to avoid listing every possibly character. Sorry for the outlandishly long read, I've spent about four hours typing it up off and on. If anyone wants to continue this, may need to start a new thread honestly.

Interesting concept, but a reward/system of sorts for the skilled players that fits somewhat into the lore(this is just something I'm thinking about after scrolling through everything but this would be a good chunk of time away). -I suppose it could be considered a Champion system of sorts where if you wish to prove your skill of play, tactically or through "strength of arms" (for those who excel at leadership or prefer to make an impact on their own, or both). -There would have to be an extensive set of trials I assume and there would have to be a limited amount based on player population and possibly race pop. Also could be considered the council or fellow players can decide on this, there are risks with that though(also if GW has anything to say about how many "champions" there can be). -These Champions would be awarded in some way if they aren't satisfied with their victories, specifically with shiny armours, warpy armours, spikes, etc. the idea being that they're supposed to stand out and be the pinnacle of their faction.
Intermission..................................okay
-They could participate in a variety of ways, but some of this is where it gets tricky and it's only possibilities. 1Arenas of a sort, whether 1v1, squad based(whether fire team size or full squad or two), or multiple champions fighting as squads or in general just fighting.
2 fighting in the war could be tricky with a limited amount of champions being at a battlefield at any time(based on either your factions numbers participating or the number of enemy champions or there is simply a base number of champions at any one time. On the battlefield, similar to the arena, there would be the champions who lead and those who simply fight. Those who lead could be attached to a squad(s) and those who don't simply could be a part of the roamer squads(a phrase I'm using to describe those who join a battlefield w/out a squad for various reasons) or they could be grouped together in their own squad, but they go where they feel or are ordered(I say this b/c I'm militaristic, born, raised, and it's my living, but others may not follow orders, is what it is, a (fun) game first and always, hopefully with a side of intricate depth featuring camaraderie and competition equally).
3 More difficult PvE or once more leading/accompanying PvE "missions". This would be more so that those who carry the honour or the power can actually use it for something besides fighting against people, b/c we all must admit, Space Marine was fun for the carnage in Exterminatus and being better than your enemies or simply out playing an AI(curious about playing other factions against the Nids now).
On another note, different tiers of champions for the two different paths, lead/roam? Using SM as an example, have those who have access to gear that improves their allies furthermore through insiparation buffs, etc. while the roamers have self focused buffs. Also, to sort of approach the veteran unit situation, as you gain more renown or complete more trials and move up the chain of champions, you'll gain access to different gear, Terminator, Centurion, maybe even Dreadnought(balance issues of course).
To conclude this, you wouldn't always have to be stomping around as a champion, but if you don't frequent it there may have to be some sort of repercussion, but I'd wonder about whether some rewards would be persistent for your efforts instead of being shafted for deciding being a champion then going into retirement, or have a retiree sort of armour and weapons, notable but w/out the benifits. Well feel free to message or a new thread is always an option, esp. since it sorta went off the beaten track.

When us unwashed masses get our hands on it, I feel the immediate problems will be quickly smashed down.

I just hope my beloved Assaults dont get wrapped up in the nerf for too long.

I'd rather have it so that Assaults are difficult to master, but really fun to use when one have learned to use it properly.

Well atm i can't see how skill is involved, if somebody shoots at you you just boost yourself up, and the time it takes to aim your gun anew in the sky is the time the raptor takes to smash down into you... And since you can do the trick thrice before having to wait a few seconds to do it again... We'll see how this is handled once the "real" fighting begins

That's one of the things that would would be solvd with more focus on staggering - That is, make the game designed around staggering and stunning your enemies, opening them up to being beaten up with your favourite Bolter. It would be easy to stagger a guy running around, jumping around with a large Jump Pack on their back, or pin/suppress him in the air, disallowing him his charge attack.

Less kill, more weight, please.

I am not a fan of hard crowd control in games. I'd much rather see slows instead of roots, suppression instead of stuns. Anything that makes it so you cannot play is not fun. I really think the suppression effect is fantastic. Getting shot at sucks, even for a fully armored Space Marine. Taking copious amounts of fire should make your job hard, very hard even, just never impossible until of course you run out of hit points.

So our fully automatic explosive launching boltors can destroy your entire army just by the knockdown effect?

I am completely fine with that.

HEHEHEHE......

I see where you are coming from, and yes, it sucks to see your digital avatar getting mailed around with no input on it what so ever, but that's kind of the point - If you stood out of that cover you were sitting on, and gets staggered back by repeated hits, then yes, it sucks, but you also chose for that to happen. You didn't know you had an opening, but ran anyway, and got shot. If you are lucky and quick, you might be able to roll out of there and get into cover again to recover, but them's the brakes.

Right now, that situation would have killed you, instantly. That teaches you nothing about what happened, and won't prepare you for next time. It takes away the ever-important ability to learn about a given situation, and adapt to it, the very thing video games is build up upon. That's why I hate games that are too lethal or too quick, or even based solely upon luck - They take away your only mean of survival. Either you are better, and you'll then rule the game, or you are worse, and you have nothing to fight it with - You are a pawn in someone else's game.

I think ME3 did it masterfully - Taking damage to health is permanent, shields aren't permanent, but it sucks to lose them all the same, and some happenings may stagger an opponnent for about a second or so - Focus-firing a rapid-firing weapon, hitting well with a single-shot one, hitting with a tech power or a biotic power all staggers a bit, and leaves the otherwise-pretty defensive and tough enemies out in the open. I'd love something like that for this game, and I'd hate to see it be turned into a mindless arena-shooter, where the quickest hip is the only winner.

How does that relate to the Assault? I dunno, really. It's a weird one, Assaults. I personally think that the regular Melee attacks should do very little damage, but stagger the enemy, so it can be used as a last resort to get away with or maybe get a powerful attack in. Assaults could very well be the "distrupters" of the team, slamming down upon and hitting people around to make them easier to hit for Devs and Tacs. Their mobility would allow them to take on lone enemies pretty well, and go scout and annoy the enemy defence system before the main force arrives... Anything but what we see now.

Seriously, the current build is cringingly powerful, stupidly fast and mindnumbingly deadly.

I remember a while back i said this. They need to limit the versatility of the pack. Being extremely versatile takes any advantage the ranged tactical marine might have, imo