Ideas for better Conclave integration.

[Charlemane]

Argument for change:

The current PvP system feels disconnected and has little to nothing to do with the main game. You can play nearly the entirety of warframe without ever batting an eye at it, and there is no real benefit for participating aside from mods you can't use in PvE, and player cosmetics that I've never seen anyone wear. Granted, the fact that you don't have to play it is by design, and there would probably be a royal S#&$storm if it became a gate for progression.

However, this is not to say that it is bad. I've actually had a lot of fun playing the PvP aspect of it, despite the lack of incentive. Maybe this comes from being at the maximum rank with nothing else to do other than walk in circles in my orbiter or decorate my 100 room solo dojo (or walking in circles in said dojo), but it's a refreshing change of pace for me. So there, I've said it. I actually like conclave. Wow. Or at least I like it when I'm not waiting five minutes for someone to actually play it. I think there is a lot of unexplored potential there, but that's a different conversation. Rather, I'd just like to open discussion on what might be some better ways to encourage more people to try the mode out and or make it part of their regular play time. So here's what I am proposing:

If you want to get more people playing Conclave, especially in the mid to late game, tie Conclave to a resource that you can use to augment the existing game loop.

No gates, no mandatory requirements, just a fun little modifier that may add some perks and/or make a few lives easier. 

Change in detail:

Let's say we take an already established, lore friendly resource that is collected during Conclave but really, only symbolically, 'Oro'. In PvP matches you collect Oro as your scorecard. Generally speaking, the more Oro you collect, the more skilled you are either actually playing Conclave, or at least at using whatever meta-cheese weapon currently works best for the mode (or you are just very good at swooping in and stealing it). First part of this change, give that Oro to the player who collects it.

1. Oro resource:

Instead of just being some lore based mcguffin, make it tangible. Track it, give it an achievement, whatever, but add it as a collectible, spendable resource, and one that is relatively easy to get even if you don't have a high degree of skill. Give away bucketloads of the stuff. Did they complete a match? Awesome. Give 'em some Oro. Did they not do so well? Give 'em some Oro anyway, but a minimum amount so that they can still progress toward better mods/cosmetics. Did they finish first? or were they avatars or death and destruction? Give 'em a lot more Oro. Did they not move at all during the match with no inputs whatsoever? Give 'em nothing because they're probably afk farming. Point is, this resource should be easy to acquire, and moreso if you try harder to acquire it. It need not only be for deathmatch either. Did your team win? Super. Winning Side gets more Oro over the base minimum, plus rewards for assists and kills. Reward accuracy, reward lethality. Reward a lot of S#&$.

So great, lots of a useless resource. Now let's do something with it.

2. Spend Oro to augment pve missions.

In the spirit of the conclave, a Tenno should challenge themselves to achieve newer and greater heights. A type of mission modifier already exists for arbitration modes and the new disruption mode, so this would be in a similar vein, but it would have to be something that players want. For this I want to break down a player's wants into two categories, conveniences, and challenges.

A convenience improves QoL for a player by giving them something that they would not otherwise  have through a different mechanic.

A challenge mixes up usual gameplay for something more difficult, the carrot being the player gets a more desireable reward, or a boon.

Here are a few examples that I would personally love to see.

Conveniences: (all conveniences require you to spend Oro)
Reduced mission timers - Spend Oro to progressively turn that survival timer from 5 minutes to 4, 3, or even 2.5 minutes instead of the default timer.
Extra garrison - Increase the number of enemy spawns or their spawn rate by 1.5X, 1.75X, or 2X- Great for farming resources.
Rotation skip - Start a reward rotation at ABC, BC, or even C.
Void instability - Void fissues start appear during the mission, allowing you to earn void traces passively.
Advertising - Higher chance of invasion by marks.

Challenges: (challenges grant boons, which I'll outline after this.) Challenges are free.
Hard targets - increase enemy levels by 25, 50, 100.
Elite training - increase enemy accuracy by 100, 150, 200%
Ohgodno - more nullifiers
The floor is lava - Take nonlethal health damage while grounded
Nightmare - Add any of the nightmare mode modifiers.

Boons: boons are locked behind challenges.
Decreased Oro cost for conveniences
Higher level item drops such as more meso, neo, or axi relics.
Rare enemies spawn more often.

The new game loop:
Players can opt out of Conclave with no ill effects.
Players that opt into Conclave earn Oro
Earn more Oro for doing well or playing better in Conclave.
Oro can be spent to make life (easier) / (harder but more rewarding).
Balance boons/conveniences to consume Oro faster than it is generated (much like void traces).
 

Justification:
This approach encourages use of Conclave matches without mandating it; provides tangible, desirable benefit to the player often in the form of saved time; and does not step on existing boosts available for platinum (e.g. resource boosters are even more beneficial with more, higher level enemies).

Your thoughts and your own ideas are welcome.

[(XBOX)Zweimander]

Most the community does not want to play conclave because it is bad and their was enough of a fuss when even a simple augment became avaliable in PvE. Connecting the two is an awful idea and should not be considered. stuff like rotation skips if at all available should be through the actual PvE content itself and not through the broken nearly unplayable mess that the PvP in this game is. Now if they did this but also gave PvE players who avoid the conclave like the plague a different mission type to do all the same things then I would agree however. Locking such great things behind a rarely played game mode with no support and has been all but abandoned is not a good idea and anyone with common sense would know that.

As for a PvEvP sort of game mode I would suggest something like gambit from destiny where you fight waves of enemies and do various objectives to race to the finish and during each event a player can attack the other team and try to disrupt them or make them fail all together. Best of both worlds and it would give a fair amount of PvE and PvP so neither side would be upset by it all that much. Your free to think that people would not be upset, and actually go play conclave to get these nice things however people like me would just complain until DE gave in and got rid of is or expanded the resource to other game modes in PvE. Nobody wants to play PvP in this game unless your part of the less then 1% that enjoys it and wants it to improve (Which is never will because it is not profitable.). And if it never improves gameplay wise which like I said it likely never will already it will only lead to frustration and hate towards DE so lets just not...

[K4RN4]

1 hour ago, Charlemane said:

Players can opt out of Conclave with no ill effects

 

1 hour ago, Charlemane said:

2. Spend Oro to augment pve missions.
[...]
Conveniences: (all conveniences require you to spend Oro)
Reduced mission timers - Spend Oro to progressively turn that survival timer from 5 minutes to 4, 3, or even 2.5 minutes instead of the default timer.
Extra garrison - Increase the number of enemy spawns or their spawn rate by 1.5X, 1.75X, or 2X- Great for farming resources.
Rotation skip - Start a reward rotation at ABC, BC, or even C.
Void instability - Void fissues start appear during the mission, allowing you to earn void traces passively.
Advertising - Higher chance of invasion by marks.

Not getting boons is an ill effect.

[(XBOX)Zweimander]

5 minutes ago, K4RN4 said:

 

Not getting boons is an ill effect.

Indeed it is and it would still remain pretty much exclusively to the few people that play conclave becaause sane people would still avoid it and do the normal stuff. It would in no way help PvE players get into conclave, it would only make them hate it more because PvE rewards are locked behind stuff the 1% plays and no one new wants to get involved in. PvP players would not even utilize it all that much if that is what brings them to the game either so it would be an all around waste of time developing the system. Now using Vitus essense to get the kinds of perks they suggest would be a much better idea and get people into Arbitration's even more so then they do already, All around a good thing instead of this not so well thought out idea by OP.

[Heirodula]

The problem with pvp, as it stands, is that it's too hardcore. the current mobility system is really fast relative to ttk, making combat more frustrating than satisfying. I would recommend either lowering the ttk, keeping the current mobility system. or keeping the ttk, and adding stamina. the current weapon selection may be too diverse to properly balance, either make certain weapon classes share stats or limit the selection. perhaps DE should remove unlockable conclave mods and have frame and weapon specific augments. the map selection is bland, not enough open spaces, too much symmetry, and most importantly awkward spawn locations.

[Heirodula]

7 minutes ago, KillerTurtle15 said:

The problem with pvp, as it stands, is that it's too hardcore. the current mobility system is really fast relative to ttk, making combat more frustrating than satisfying. I would recommend either lowering the ttk, keeping the current mobility system. or keeping the ttk, and adding stamina. the current weapon selection may be too diverse to properly balance, either make certain weapon classes share stats or limit the selection. perhaps DE should remove unlockable conclave mods and have frame and weapon specific augments. the map selection is bland, not enough open spaces, too much symmetry, and most importantly awkward spawn locations.

as far as rewards go, I see no issue with having boosters or augments for normal pve game play, as long as they're completely passive when it comes to pvp performance. regardless of skill, unless the player is deliberately afk or team killing, the rewards should stay the same as far as practical rewards go. the only items that should be locked behind ranks should be purely cosmetic. with the exception of a few conclave specific weapons (side grades).

Edited June 28, 2019 by KillerTurtle15