UPDATE: 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 (all explained!)

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Update - 5/29/2025 - Added a new Header titled ‘Important discussion points (from comments section) to ease a few worries’ that addresses a few concerns regarding in-game economy disruption (false), purpose of the Shared Stash in Conclaves (elaborated on), and the fact there will be cosmetic benefits/rewards for doing Conclave-specific content.

Update - 5/26/2025 - Removed the idea for ‘contribution decay’ on Conclave Renown as a result of constructive feedback in the comments section. It is agreed that 'power’ and ‘progression’ should come from our choice of how we play not our social circles, and definitely not our availability! :slightly_smiling_face:

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 will 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: Scroll down to the “Anti-Abuse Measures” header for more on this particular topic.

:exclamation::exclamation::exclamation: Important discussion points (from comments section) to ease a few worries

  • !!! On what the Shared Stash is for in Conclaves: The Shared Stash in Conclaves will be specifically for ‘donated’ Crafting Materials, not actual gear/items!

Consult the Header titled ‘Conclave Research & Development’ for more information.

  • On cosmetic benefits/rewards: Yes! There will be cosmetic benefits/rewards, which has already been mentioned in this post.

Note: If on Desktop PC viewing forums, hold CTRL + F (to bring up ‘Search Box’) - Type in whatever keyword(s) you want (e.g., ‘cosmetic’) - then, hold down CTRL + keep pressing ‘G’ to cycle through keywords throughout this post to find key points likely already mentioned.

  • !!! On economy disruption (no disruption!): Any ‘% increased item drop rates’ from Conclave-specific buffs that increase the chance to drop Conclave-specific items/gear (with a ‘Tag’ saying a piece of gear is tied to a Conclave) from Conclave-specific content will not be tradeable!

  • On Conclave Monolith drops: CM-specific items/gear dropped from CM-specific content will be ‘tagged’ as being a CM drop (not tradeable!). This is very similar to how item drops are ‘tagged’ after joining up with the Circle of Fortune (CoF) Faction (which is a totally separate system altogether in LE to boost your loot acquisition).

  • !!! On Territories: Allowing Conclave Monoliths (CMs) to be separate from regular Monoliths leaves room for a really neat idea for PvE and/or PvP Territorial Control! The possibilities are endless with this one and will be arguably groundbreaking if ever implemented into an ARPG like LE.

  • Conclave Monoliths vs. regular Monoliths: Instead of a Map with the usual ‘Monoliths’ we’re familiar with, there will be a separate Map exclusive to Conclave Monoliths CMs with its own Areas/Zones and general gameplay loop. Either that or CMs can be a copy/paste of the Monolith system we have now yet more tailored towards a group-play experience in LE.

In other words, the Map of Monoliths/nodes we play in now will not be rendered obsolete, especially since items dropped in regular Monos will be tradeable, just without items/gear with CM mods (or Conclave Monolith mods).

:exclamation:Further, items/gear you get from Conclave Monoliths will not be usable in regular Monoliths and will not be tradeable! HOWEVER, items/gear you get from regular Monoliths CAN BE used in CMs and are tradeable! Very important to make this clear!:exclamation:

This is called striking a fair balance without interrupting the in-game economy and without interrupting the general original gameplay loop of LE as we know it now.

Again, the idea of joining a Conclave (as it has been written/explained) is to add another layer of ‘fun’ to the game not another layer of ‘requirement’ to power through the game!

Moving on to how the system works…

CONCLAVE MONOLITHS vs. REGULAR MONOLITHS (it must be said once more)

Instead of a Map with the usual ‘Monoliths’ we’re familiar with, there will be a separate Map exclusive to Conclave Monoliths with its own Areas/Zones and general gameplay loop. Either that OR CMs can be a copy/paste of the Monolith system we have now yet more tailored towards a group-play experience in LE.

I, however, encourage the former idea with new Areas/Zones and Bosses altogether. The latter idea will be a shortcut to implement Conclave Monoliths into the game quicker except, again, tailored towards a group-play experience in LE with CM-specific drops, etc.

Going with the former idea also leaves room for controlling ‘Territories’ on the Map of Conclave Monoliths itself with PvE and/or PvP elements (think Guild Wars 1 with how zones were taken over, for lack of a better example). :smiling_face:

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. NOTE: The Shared Stash in Conclaves will be specifically for ‘donated’ Crafting Materials, not actual gear/items.

    • 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’ will 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. [REMOVED]

  • 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

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Tldr; but ill tell you right now, any power coming from some random social mechanic is doomed to fail.

Guilds are despised among my friend group in maplestory, because there is huge power locked behind them, so we cant make our own guild, we need to join a big one to harvest the stats there even if we have no intent of engaging with said guild.

And mechanics that decay your power/enjoyment of said system because you cant play as much as your friends are loser mechanics that reward basement dwellers and shitsockers.

Yes its boring when guilds are just social hubs, the downsides of putting power/mechanics behind them are to high and destorys what they were intended to promote which is social interaction. I dont join guilds in mmos for social interaction, I do it for the power/mechanics it provides me, which is quite sad.

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I give you a A for effort

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Thank you for joining the discussion. :slightly_smiling_face: TL;DR: I updated the OP and removed the idea for ‘contribution decay’ on Conclave Renown. When you’re absolutely right about something, you’re absolutely right. Period.

Again, the ideas I bring forward serve as a foundation to build onto where constructive discussion is encouraged like we’re having now.

Furthermore, the other anti-abuse measures would have to be in place, at the very least, like temporary Renown Lockouts for new Members who join a Conclave and Cooldowns on certain activities/buffs to prevent spamming. Those anti-abuse measures are reasonable.

It is very clear you are passionate about Conclaves (or Guild system) being fair, rewarding, and not punishing players based on playstyle or time investment.

You touched on a few core concerns that are viable: power imbalance, forced socialization, and the risk of content feeling inaccessible unless you conform to a certain play pattern.

And so (as a result of your feedback), here’s how to prevent those pitfalls you mention:

Solution 1 - Power without pressure: While Conclaves offer bonuses or progression perks, the idea is to ensure they complement our gameplay, not gate it! You won’t need to join a top-end, competitive Conclave just to keep up in terms of stats or performance. Smaller, self-run Conclaves can still access meaningful benefits without requiring constant coordination or social obligation.

So, again, scratch the idea for contribution decay on Conclave Renown.

Solution 2 - No punishment for playtime: We can agree to do away with decay mechanics, because you’re right, that progression should be designed to be rewarding whether you’re playing casually or diving in deep. Therefore, implementing features that support asynchronous contribution and progress will be key to prevent punishing players for playtime.

Solution 3 - Conclaves will be an opt-in experience: Conclaves will not be reduced to stat sticks and instead promote meaningful communities. The end-goal is to encourage genuine social interaction without forcing it. Mechanics should reward cooperation without requiring players to micromanage relationships or feel pressured into communities they’re not interested in engaging with socially (or to join a Conclave at all in general).

The takeaway from your feedback is this:

‘Power’ and ‘progression’ should come from our choice of how we play not our social circles, and definitely not our availability. At the same time, it is important to leave room for Conclaves to thrive as a social feature for those who enjoy them while ensuring solo (or less-social players) do not feel left behind.

Again, thank you for voicing your concerns! Feedback like that helps to push better systems and ideas forward for a fairer, more inclusive, and more fun experience for all players.

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Won’t you? If being in a guild gives you non-cosmetic benefits then you’d feel forced to be in a guild if you want to be more effective.

This is all a good idea if LE were an mmo & the ideas you’ve put torward do sound good, just not for a game where the devs don’t want to do content that requires a party (without some form of bots/NPCs so that SPers can also experience it).

I think this is the impossible thing. As soon as you add some form of guild-specific content or economic buff then you’re applying emotional pressure to players to join one so that they don’t feel left out or that they’re missing out or having a harder/slower time.

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I think a guild system shouldn’t really give you any in-game benefits. If you look at PoE, other than the shared stash (which won’t happen in LE without severe restrictions because of RMT), there really is no benefit in a guild other than the social aspect.

And to make a guild work as anything more than a glorified chat (which is what I believe we’ll get first) they will also need to fix all the issues that MP has. Otherwise you’ll get a guild, but you’ll still have all the problems you currently have playing with other people, like getting locked out of fights with Lagon, monolith quests not triggering for non-leaders, etc.

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True guilds like this will bring in more issues

This here tho is a stability issue. As in leader not checking to make sure everyone in the party is at the required stability and is only going off thier stability. Wife and i play this game together alot. And i mean its extremely rare we play solo. Ever since MP dropped in 0.9. We learned that if im leader and she doesnt have the required amount of stability monoliths quest wont complete for her. We noticed stability being the issue when twice in a row yrs ago in normal monoliths she wouldnt get a blessing pick option. We knew right then her stability wasnt at the required lvl.

Imo this should be fixed so that a party is going off of one stability and not needing worry about 2-3 other players stability. Or an easy way to fix this would be adding a stability bar below the health bar on player portraits when in a party. This way the leader can see where everyone is at. Just makes it easier for people not in the sake room heck state or country even.

Once we started making sure we both have the required stability we never ran into monoliths quest not triggering again for non leaders Only issue we ran into was unlock empowered on alts for non party leader’s which seems to have been fixed from a patch released during this season.

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Either that or you should get a warning when one of the party members doesn’t have enough stability.

I’m sure they don’t want situations to occur where the party leader is already at full stability (from playing alone, for example) and then someone joins and does all timelines in a row even though they have none.

But a warning would be nice to have, at least.

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A warning i agree would be great.

I agree i think EHG wants to avoid having people join a party with a player already at the required stability.

Could also add in a party stability system. Would work the same way as it does now. Except party stability is only for the party so if u play solo or leave the party ur stability solo is separate from party stability.

Now this would be more work than just giving a warning or a stability bar below player portraits

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I strongly encourage you to go through the OP once more. :slightly_smiling_face: I already covered and touched on the topic of ‘cosmetics’ under two different Headers.

Note: If you’re on a Desktop PC viewing the Forums, hold down CTRL + F (to bring up the ‘Search Box’) and type in the word ‘cosmetic’ (or any other keyword). Then, hold CTRL and keep pressing G to cycle through all bodies of texts with the word ‘cosmetic’ within them.

With that in mind, there actually would be a reason to join a Conclave for cosmetic benefits.

Further, there is no mention at all of any ‘economic buff’ within the OP. Not only that, joining a Conclave (as explained the way I wrote it out) would not cause negative effects on LE’s economy.

And the ‘Shared Stash’ mentioned in the OP? The Shared Stash will only be for Crafting Materials not gear/items from players.

NOTE: Something I forgot to mention is that any ‘% increased item drop rates’ from Conclave-specific buffs that increase the chance to drop Conclave-specific items/gear (with a ‘Tag’ saying a piece of gear is tied to a Conclave) from Conclave-specific content will not be tradeable! I will be sure to include that detail in the OP.

Not impossible, friend. :relieved: Regular Monoliths and the original gameplay loop of LE will go on as usual (and be updated upon as usual) for players who want to completely play solo.

Again, the idea of joining a Conclave (as it has been written/explained) is to add another layer of ‘fun’ to the game not another layer of ‘requirement’ to get through the game.

In other words, with or without Conclaves (a Guild system at all), players can already breeze through end-game content (or get help getting through it) by simply joining up on just a single random player that’s already maxed out to do it for you, be it for free or at a cost.

Therefore, nobody is going to feel ‘left out’ by not joining a Conclave (or Guild) that has a little more meat to it than merely being a place to socialize with other players.

Joining a Conclave will be a secondary, non-required, optional way to enjoy LE.

Just like players have the freedom to solo (or not to solo LE) in its current game state, players will also still have the freedom to solo (or choose to join up with a Conclave with a larger group of players to join up with to do Conclave-specific content).

That is the end-goal here and that should ultimately be the end-goal for any truely fleshed out Guild system. LE also does not have to be an MMO for a Guild system to work. To be honest, and in spite the game being an ARPG, LE with its design and choice of gameplay progression (the developers chose to go with) does give off MMO-esque vibes and therein encourages a Guild system that actually works beyond a social hub with an actual purpose.

Finally…

The general idea of ‘territories’ (mentioned in the OP) being taken over can also fit within the theme of the game (think Guild Wars 1 with how zones were taken over, for lack of a better example). I generally love the concept of ‘Eras’ in LE I believe can be expanded upon.

So, instead of a Map with the usual ‘Monoliths’ we’re familiar with, there would be a separate Map exclusive to Conclave Monoliths (CMs) with its own Zones and general gameplay loop.

And the Map of Monoliths we play in now? They won’t be obsolete, especially since items dropped in regular Monos will be tradeable, just without items/gear with CM mods.

And items/gear you get from Conclave Monoliths will not be usable in regular Monoliths and will not be tradeable! HOWEVER , items/gear you get from regular Monoliths CAN BE used in CMs and are tradeable! Very important to make this clear.

This is called striking a fair balance without interrupting the in-game economy and without interrupting the general gameplay loop of LE as we know it now.

I updated the OP as a result of your feedback! Thank you for joining the discussion. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Hi, I’m aware of how search works. Thanks.

You know the blessings on the left hand monoliths that give increased chance for particular shards or drops? Those are the economic blessings (the right hand monoliths are the player power blessings). Well…

Then you are flat out giving players more power for being in a guild if the choose the “PvP” option:

I don’t know if you’ve spent much time online or gaming outside of MMOs, but a lot of arpg players have a tendancy to “min-max the fun out of the game” so would feel compelled to join the biggest guild (with the most benefits/rewards) in order to play most efficiently.

I like the ideas, they’re very thematic & would suit an LE MMO well. Just not an arpg where the devs have said that they don’t want to add content that requires a party without some way for people who play buly themselves to be able to do it.

I’m not sure you understood what I said. Even if guilds only had cosmetic benefits, players would feel compelled to join to be ableto access said cosmetics. And that’s before the wide ranging economic buffs you’d be giving players, or the power buffs.

It would though. If you don’t understand that then I’m not sure you understand the mindset of most of your fellow arpg players.

Yeah, amd the player power your system would give would be a multiplier to that. It would allow players to push further.

You are either being dishonest or you really don’t understand the memtality of people who will repetitively run the same monos (or, monoliths as we call them) for weeks to get a chance at a fractional upgrade to improve their ability to do content. And you think that offering them easy power by being a member of a guild (or clan) wouldn’t be a significant psychological pressure to join?

No, it would be mandatory. Just read some of the threafs about people complaining that rng is unfair or that they want pity mechanics to get the affixes they want on higher lp slams (aka, crafting legendaries) or that DoTs are OP.

The entire gameplay loop in an arpg is about acquiring more power & your vision of guilds is dripping with it.

Because it’s online & has factions & one of them has “guild” in the name?

Ok, you know that bit I mentioned about the devs wanting players to be able to access all content without not being in a party? How would that work with guild-specific maps/monos/whatever? Do you think that players would ne totally fine with not being able to access them because they aren’t in a clan?

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I am very aware of how ARPG gameplay loops work and the acquiring of more power being one of the main things that drives players to keep playing. Furthermore, I literally laid out the groundwork for an entire Guild system, exclusive for LE, and the fact you suggest that even maybe I don’t have a clue about gaming/ARPGs? is low-key an insult, with all due respect.

I am also very aware the systems in the OP I proposed for LE are not all typical to an ARPG. Then again, why should they all be typical? No innovation = hardly any improvements that results in a stagnant game behind in the times! Sure, I could have very easily proposed a more traditional Guild system, but the devs at EHG are capable of so much more! Way more.

And I was being nice when pointing out the ‘keyword search’ functionality within a browser since it seems you only skimmed through the OP. Excuse me. It was not an insult towards you!

Anyway, look… the above quoted from you would be true if not for the fact I very specifically said, “Further, items/gear you get from Conclave Monoliths will not be usable in regular Monoliths and will not be tradeable! HOWEVER, items/gear you get from regular Monoliths CAN BE used in CMs and are tradeable! Very important to make this clear!”

What that means, to be clearer, is whatever drops you acquire from doing CMs is actually not going to negatively affect the original gameplay loop of LE when running ‘regular’ Monoliths. It will also not negatively affect the economy.

You seem to be taking the general Conclave/guild system I proposed as if it’s going to be the ultimate end-game on top of the already-existing end-game and that is just not the case!

No, instead, running Conclave Monoliths will be an additional/optional way players can do end-game content yet in a more group-focused way! Period. It’s not about ‘lying to myself’; it’s exactly the way it is the way I proposed it for a ‘balanced’ Monolith system between running regular Monos and running CMs (if you join(ed) a Conclave to run them).

And as far players go feeling ‘left out’, again, will not be the result of the Conclave/guild system I proposed itself but a direct result of a players’ own personal choice to not join a Conclave! At that point, that’s on the player! Players who want to solo? stick to running regular Monos like we do now. Players who want to group up? Join a Conclave! Drops you receive from CMs will not affect regular Monos, and because of that, there is NO gameplay advantage in regular Monos if CM-specific gear does not work whenever you run them.

I apologize for not being clear enough between the OP and my other response to you.

With all the above stated in mind, I will get back to you later on in response to all your other counterpoints (I’m very tired and it’s 4:30 a.m. for me). I spent a great deal of time carefully replying to your initial concerns, and then I updated the OP accordingly, etc.

You know, it’s easier to destroy than it is the create… so instead of going the easy way and tearing the entire concept apart, I would like to know what you would add/do better, or come up with a better Guild system than what I propose. Honestly, I would love to hear it (no sarcasm, just being for real).

Have a good night/day. I’ll be back to repond to your other points.

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If that’s the case then how can you say that clans that give player power wouldn’t be mandatory? That’s why it feels like you don’t understand arpg players.

What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

I quite agree & as I said, they were thematically pleasing, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, having player power or cosmetics gated behind a mechanic gives rise to a psychological pressure for players to interact with that mechanic even if they don’t enjoy it.

No, you were being patronising. I didn’t appreciate it.

Which would keep the gear out of the trading economy, yes, but it feels a bit weird to have gear that you’ve earned but not being able to use it (outside of the CM content) & there are a few threads about people being pissed about not being able to use CoF/MG aligned gear when they leave that faction so people would be pissed about not being able to use the CM aligned gear in normal content.

No, I’m taking it as an adjacent/parallel activity.

It won’t be optional though, is the point I’m trying to make, because the guild offers player power.

I never said players would feel left out, I said they would feel required to join a guild because it gives them universal power without any downside (other than being required to be in a guild). Why are flavour of the month builds so popular? Because people feel compelled to use them because they are powerful, players have a “choice not to use them”.

Yes, it’s on the player to turn down free power. Good luck with that.

Yes, and don’t get any of the juicy crafting or damage/survivability buffs that guilds can offer! Be actively worse on every single build regardless of what that build is purely because you aren’t in a guild. Want to push corruption? You could go higher if you were in a guild. Want to get on to the leaderboards? You could go higher if you were in a guild. Like that exclusive MTX that you get from a guild activity? Sorry.

Get free power! Have an easier life crafting or whatever power buffs the PvP side gives!

That’s totally fair & not everyone updates the original post after feedback.

Absolutely it is. If one doesn’t want to punish sp players by not letting them have the crafting/power buffs that could get then the guilds can’t offer them unless they are available through some other route. Maybe it could be an NPC faction that offers the same kind of thing on a rotating basis but with a player guild you get to choose the focus as you said. That way everyone can avail themselves of the same buffs/mtx/qol/whatever so being in a player-run guild has no advantage overall unless you have a distinct preference for a type of activity. You could even have guilds be the way you introduce PvP into LE, especially if you can only wear the CM-sourced gear during PvP, that way it puts everyone on a more level pkaying field.

Like I said, I like the idea in principle, just not the added power that’s only available to people in the guild.

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Honestly it seems like u want a reason to group up.

Tbh grouping ul should be cuz a player wants to not because a guild offers benefits nor ahould grouping up give more xp loot ect.

If u need a reason to group up other than cuz u want to. Do u really even want to group up tbh not really.

I agree with what @Llama8 is saying

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