The Eterran Conclave - a new Guild System for LE: Core principles - Tiers/Progression - Conclave Renown/Contribution - Specializations (Doctrines) - Conclave Hall - Rewards - Leadership & Management - Anti-abuse measures, etc. (all explained!)

Feedback and Suggestions
1

The Eterran Conclave: A Guild System for Last Epoch

After sitting with how a Guild system can work in LE, the general concept I come forth with reimagines Guilds as “Conclaves”. Conclaves would therefore not just be a ‘glorified’ social hub. There would be a ‘shared’ purpose between all Members within a Conclave.

While not everyone will agree on certain ideas, this post also serves the general purpose of helping to push the creative gears further to help come up with more ways LE players can engage with one another in a meaningful way towards an actual goal, fun and rewarding.

Core Principles:

  • Meaningful Progression: Conclaves gain power, influence, and unique benefits through collective effort.

  • Diverse Activities: Beyond just killing monsters, Conclaves engage in research, crafting, trade, and even territorial control.

  • Strategic Choices: Conclaves must make decisions that impact their identity and available benefits.

  • Individual Contribution, Collective Reward: Players are incentivized to contribute to their Conclave’s goals.

  • Dynamic World Impact: Conclave actions can subtly or overtly influence the game world.

  • Anti-Abuse Measures put in place: One example being a small amount of individual contribution decay over time to prevent inactive Members from benefiting endlessly (scroll down to the “Anti-Abuse Measures” header for more on this particular topic).

Conclave Tiers & Progression (examples)

Conclaves progress through tiers, unlocking new features and benefits. Progression is tied to accumulating “Conclave Renown” (CR).

  • Tier 1: Fledgling Collective (Starting Tier)

  • Tier 2: Established Chapter

  • Tier 3: Venerated Order

  • Tier 4: Eterran Grand Conclave

Conclave Renown (CR) & Contributions:

Conclave Renown is the primary currency for guild progression. It’s earned through various “Conclave Contributions”:

  1. Conclave Bounties (Daily/Weekly):

  • Lore Hunts: “Investigate anomalies,” “Retrieve lost texts,” “Decipher ancient Runes”. Those activities would involve specific monster kills in Lore-rich areas, interacting with environmental objects, or completing mini-puzzles.

  • Resource Gathering: “Gather X amount of [rare crafting material],” “Procure specific affixes on items,” “Collect Y unique idols.”

  • Boss Hunts (Tiered): “Slay X number of specific Monolith bosses,” “Clear specific dungeon tiers.”

  • Crafting Challenges: “Craft an item with X desired affixes,” “Discover a new crafting recipe (through experimentation).”

  1. Conclave Expeditions (Weekly/Bi-Weekly):

  • Specialized Monolith Runs: Conclave leaders can activate special Monolith modifiers (for example, “Chronicle of the Void” - significantly increased Void Damage and rewards yet tougher enemies) that apply only to Conclave Members in that Monolith. Completing Expeditions with high corruption awards bonus Renown.

  • Dungeon Ventures: Conclave-specific challenges within existing Dungeons (for example, “Clear The Lightless Arbor without taking Fire Damage,” “Defeat The Soulfire Bastion while carrying a fragile Artifact”).

  • Echoing Conclave Chambers (New Instanced Content):

    • Unique, procedurally generated instanced areas that appear in the Monolith of Fate after certain Conclave milestones.

    • Those chambers are tailored to a Conclave’s chosen “Doctrine” (explained below) and present specific challenges (for example, puzzles, elite enemy waves, environmental hazards).

    • Completion awards significant Renown and unique Conclave-specific rewards.

  1. Conclave Research & Development:

  • Donating Crafting Materials: Players can donate specific crafting materials (shards, glyphs, runes) to the Conclave Stash. This contributes to a “Research Pool” that passively generates Renown. Higher tier materials contribute more.

  • Item Deconstruction: Donating high-tier or unique items for “analysis” also contributes Renown. This could even unlock specific crafting bonuses for the Conclave later on.

  • “Ancient Lore” Fragments: Rare drops from specific content that can be “researched” by the Conclave, providing a one-time Renown burst and unlocking Lore entries in a Conclave Codex.

Conclave Specializations (“Doctrines”):

Upon reaching Tier 2, Conclave Members will be given the option to choose a “Doctrine,” which significantly influences their gameplay and benefits. This choice will not be easily changed (and would come at a very high Renown cost) with a warning message saying so.

  1. The Chronomantic Cartographers:

  • Focus: Exploration, Monolith of Fate, and Temporal manipulation.

  • Benefits:

    • Increased chance for rare echoes and unique timelines in Monoliths for Conclave Members.

    • Access to unique “Temporal Distortion” Conclave Bounties involving specialized Monolith runs.

    • Unlocks a Conclave-wide buff: “Temporal Alignment” – temporarily reduces cooldowns or increases cast speed for all active Conclave Members in the same zone.

    • Unique crafting recipes for idols or gear that enhance Monolith progression.

    • A Conclave-specific “Temporal Beacon” that can be deployed in a zone to increase echo web stability or draw specific echo types for a limited time.

  • Conclave Chambers: Focus on time-looping puzzles, escaping Temporal anomalies, and defeating chronomantic constructs.

  1. The Arcane Artificers:

  • Focus: Crafting, item discovery, and material manipulation.

  • Benefits:

    • Conclave-wide bonus to crafting success chance or a reduction in crafting material cost for Members.

    • Access to “Artificer’s Mandates” – Conclave Bounties focused on crafting specific items with challenging requirements or finding rare crafting materials.

    • Unlocks unique crafting stations within the Conclave Hall (details below) with exclusive recipes (for example, applying a unique implicit to an item, combining certain unique items).

    • A Conclave-specific “Masterwork Forge” project that, once completed, grants all Members a temporary buff to item rarity.

    • Can discover and share “Forbidden Knowledge” crafting recipes that offer powerful, but risky, crafting options.

  • Conclave Chambers: Focus on overcoming elemental hazards, activating ancient construct defenses, and disarming magical traps.

  1. The Factional Vanguard:
  • Focus: Combat prowess, territorial control (PvP/PvE elements), and direct intervention in Eterra’s struggles.

Note: The mention of anything ‘PvP-related’ in this post serves the purpose of speaking in terms of what the future could hold for LE with Conclaves (if ever implemented).

  • Benefits:

    • Conclave-wide bonus to damage or survivability against specific enemy types (for example, Void, Undead).

    • Access to “Vanguard Directives”: Conclave Bounties involving defeating elite enemy encampments, defending key locations, or specific boss challenges.

    • Unlocks “Conclave Enclaves”: Small, defensible outposts that can be established in specific Monolith zones (requires significant Renown and resources). Those Enclaves grant passive Renown over time and can be contested by other Vanguard Conclaves (optional PvP toggle for those who opt-in to open-world PvP).

    • A Conclave-specific “War Banner” that, when deployed in a zone, grants a powerful combat buff to nearby Conclave Members.

    • Unique gear sets focused on combat utility and survivability.

  • Conclave Chambers: Focus on waves of challenging enemies, boss gauntlets, and protecting a vulnerable objective.

Conclave Hall (where Conclave Members can meet up to take on content, etc. together):

A customizable, instanced hub for the Conclave.

  • Initial State: A basic, functional Hall.

  • Upgrades: Renown can be spent to unlock and upgrade various modules:

    • Shared Stash: Increased tabs and organization features.

    • Crafting Stations: Specialized stations for each Doctrine (for example, Artificer’s Forge, Chronomantic Chronometer).

    • Training Grounds: Dummies, target ranges, perhaps even a “simulated combat” area for Members to test builds against specific enemy types.

    • Lore Library: Tracks unlocked Lore entries and provides insights into Conclave history.

    • Trophy Room: Displays achievements and unique items earned by the Conclave.

    • Conclave Merchant: Sells exclusive cosmetic items, crafting materials, or even unique gear with Conclave-specific affixes.

Note: ‘Exclusives’ would be ‘additive’ to the game not a ‘requirement’ for builds to be viable.

  • Teleportation Nexus: Allows quick travel to Members’ current locations (with limitations) or specific Conclave-established Outposts.

Conclave-Specific Rewards:

  • Unique Cosmetics: Transmogs, pet skins, Conclave decorations, banners, etc.

  • Exclusive Idols & Uniques: Extremely rare drops from Conclave Expeditions or crafted via Doctrine-specific recipes. Those exclusive Idols & Uniques can have powerful, Conclave-themed affixes.

Note: Again, ‘exclusives’ would be ‘additive’ to the game not a ‘requirement’ for builds to be viable.

  • Temporary Buffs: Conclave-wide buffs that can be activated by leaders for a duration (for example, increased experience, better drop rates in specific content).

  • Crafting Material Vouchers: Rare vouchers for high-tier crafting materials.

  • Conclave-Bound Glyphs/Runes: New crafting components only usable by Conclave Members, offering unique crafting properties.

  • Conclave Blessings: Passive bonuses unlocked at higher tiers.

Examples include: a slightly increased chance for specific drops, a Conclave-wide 5-10% Attack/Spell Cast/Movement Speed buff, a Conclave-wide 5% chance to retain FP (Forging Potential) when using the Forge (LE’s Crafting window when press ‘F’).

Conclave Leadership & Management:

  • Leader & Officers: Traditional guild roles with permissions to manage bounties, upgrade the Conclave Hall, and activate buffs.

  • Voting System: Important decisions (for example, Doctrine choice, major Renown Expenditures) could be put to a Conclave-wide vote (if not by the Leader themselves).

  • Contribution Tracking: A robust UI showing individual Member contributions to Renown, encouraging active participation.

  • Conclave Event Calendar: For scheduling group activities and special Conclave Expeditions.

Anti-Abuse Measures:

  • Contribution Decay: Small amount of individual contribution decay over time to prevent inactive Members from benefiting endlessly.

  • Renown Lockouts: Limits on how quickly a new Member can contribute to Renown after joining to prevent guild hopping for quick rewards.

  • Cooldowns: Specific Conclave activities and buffs have cooldowns to prevent spamming.

Example Gameplay Loop:

  1. A new player joins a “Chronomantic Cartographers” Conclave.

  2. They check the Conclave Bounty board in their Conclave Hall. They see a “Lore Hunt: Investigate the Ruined Era Monolith” bounty, requiring them to clear specific echoes and interact with a hidden Lore object.

  3. They complete the bounty, earning individual Renown and contributing to the Conclave’s overall Renown pool.

  4. The Conclave leader activates a “Temporal Alignment” buff, which benefits all online Members.

  5. On the weekend, the Conclave organizes a “Conclave Expedition” into a specially modified Monolith, earning significant Renown and rare “Temporal Orb” drops (unique to Chronomantic Cartographers).

  6. The Conclave reaches Tier 3. They decide to invest Renown into upgrading their “Chronometer Workshop” in the Conclave Hall, unlocking a new unique idol crafting recipe that benefits Monolith progression.

  7. An individual Member finds an “Ancient Lore Fragment” during a regular Monolith run and donates it to the Conclave, earning a burst of Renown and unlocking a new Lore entry for everyone.

Conclusion

The “Eterran Conclave Guild system” would aim to provide a dynamic, engaging, and rewarding Guild experience in LE that represents a true sense of community and shared purpose beyond just an empty shell of a ‘glorified’ place to chat with other LE players.

I thank everyone at EHG for looking over this genuine Guild system proposal :slightly_smiling_face:
Xalviloph

1 Like