I just did GPQ for the first time, and I think that revamping the rewards for the bonus stage would be great. Maybe make GPQ harder to reflect an improvement in rewards? I just think that GPQ is mostly dead because people don't have any motivation to do it, and offering better rewards would strengthen the bond between guild members and would just boost morale altogether
Such a dynamic cosmetic should honestly be RP not something you can pick up for free all day at gpq As for guild points, they should only really have value in the guild, maybe they can teleport guildies instantly to excavation site during a gpq alert (but take you back to wherever you can from if you portal out), unlock an option to drive to excavation site with the perion taxi for like 100k mesos, or unlock unique gpq items in the unused set-up tab in cash shop, gpq related cosmetics and equips, pets, mounts Or guild points can unlock new emblem options, or guild smegas that display your emblem and guild name for guilds to recruit (and save some characters in a smega) Only way to make guild points competitive is if they reset like every month or so Also if we see a harder ergoth, please make arch mages mandatory. Make res unusable, all mobs holy immune (also immune to roar/seagull bomb/HH/shout) and have ergoth spawn waves of elderwraiths like zak mobs that have to be cleared to deal damage to him, something so arches are included/needed in the fight. More bosses like this please (such as shao, which is being reconsidered)
Kinda going off what @Cooler said, I like the idea of there being an additional "hard mode" of sorts for gpq, that could be used to implement potentially better loot. How I think it could work is, all the map and puzzle sections would be the same, but with the following differences: Significantly reduced timer (Something like 30min) Unique set of items from bonus room Triple points earned when complete Ergoth and his statues have higher HP, do more damage, and have additional attacks All Mobs have higher HP and do more damage (except for the slimes in the noob room) Only 1 hard mode attempt per day per guild Guild must have at least 20k points to attempt hard mode A maximum of 7 people can join instead of the max of 30(?) Now, I know the 7 person maximum for hardmode might seem like it shouldn't be a thing for GPQ, because after all, GPQ is supposed to be a large, inclusive guild activity, right? While I do agree with that sentiment, you also have to consider the fact that being able to bring a bunch of extra attackers and mules would make killing ergoth really easy, which defeats the purpose of making a harder version the first place. I think it would be best to balance HM Ergoth's HP based on a single 6 person party, with the 7th slot being there to compensate needing a level 30 or lower character. So let's say it takes on average, about 10-12 minutes to reach Ergoth, with our 30 minute time limit in place, that'll give us around 18-20 minutes to kill Ergoth. So as far as how much HP Ergoth should have, a 6 man party with decent levels and attacking gear should just be able to take down Ergoth while using apples with the remaining time left. Also, due to the limited party size and how Ergoth's fight works, it would encourage a bit more thought as far as what classes should be brought, since Ergoth summons statues in front of him it makes it impossible for range classes to hit him until they are destroyed, so having a full NL+se party wouldn't be optimal here. I like the idea of making an arch mage useful in the actual fight too, although idk if it'd be possible to make the mobs specifically immune to all those skills you mentioned. Maybe what could be done instead is make the little ghost and gargoyle fuckers he spawns have extremely high wep. def or permanent wep. cancel, so only magic can do damage to them, as well as give them holy immunity. Honestly, I don't see a need to prevent res from being used, at least based on my suggestions. Since you need a mage to even complete gpq in the first place, I'd think people would just stick to having the arch mage to help clear mobs, and forgo a bishop just to have another attacker. Besides, dying is a slap on the wrist in gpq and you can just return to the boss if you do die. Also since I don't think HM ergoth should give a whole lot of exp anyways, HS wouldn't be super useful either. EDIT: The only thing attack the might need to be restricted is Meso explosion, because if you had a bunch shads that drop a bunch of mesos prior to summoning Ergoth, that could kinda break the fight too, but idk maybe not, it's hard to say for sure without testing it As for drops, since you'd only be allowed 1 run per day for Hardmode, you could get away with adding some decently valuable things to the drops. I don't think Chaos or White scrolls should be part of the drops, but maybe some lesser scrolls (think wep/mag shield scrolls, 30% glove scrolls, etc.), some unique att potions, etcs, and basically a lot of what Cooler said in his first post here. Basically, make the drops good enough where it's worth it running, but also the drops aren't super op either. Lastly, you could also add a "Super Ergoth's Bane" medal that you get for killing HM Ergoth 10 times that could either give more HP, or it also gives a little bit of stats in addition to the standard 500 hp. TLR keep gpq the same as it is, but add a hardmode gpq with different drops and stuff
I did mention making ergoth and his mobs meso explosion immune, because we used to bomb him when we were noobs, as well as a super ergoth bane medal (mine was 888hp with high w/m def, called stone maiden). Making the mobs like dunas space ship, locking out all dmg to ergoth would mean you'd need arches, and I like the idea of no holy spells working at all in there, like he's just that wicked, or at least making him and all mobs holy immune and res not usable, but all other bs buffs are fine. Bs can go anywhere any time, give arches some love/use But honestly more than a hard mode, a randomizer factor would be better, so runs aren't so scientific/calculated and same each time, that way gp isn't so easy to mass, and that way the bonus room isn't as accessible
Just want to reiterate, this is a bad system and it will give no new guilds any incentive to participate, and the top guilds will just stay in top. The only way to make gp fair is if it resets each month, and has no competitive edge for players, otherwise it will create a toxic guild culture that only rewards and reinforces the current top and most active guilds. And that sounds fair at first, but it quickly won't be, and nobody will try to compete. GP rewards should just stay in the guild and be noncompetitive. They could unlock new guild emblem options ability to teleport to guild hq or GPQ at a meso cost guild hq salon guild calendar (for events, boss runs, zak jq, omok tournament, watch parties, vote reminder etc) Automated msg alert in chatbox, captains only allow guilds who have earned enough to access a special guild hq merchant or special cs tab for access. sells: unique nx cosmetics, GPQthemed guild smegas that display your guild logo when recruiting or representing can buy you more time in bonus can buy you more exp from ergoth unique chairs, mounts, pets, nx weapons, armor, effects permanent protector rock earrings for 50m, untradeable, protector rock scrolls for 100m guild buffs. Very small buffs if you're in a party with guildies (+speed/avoid) emblems of your guild by your name in ally chat better guild bulletin board GUI/window everyone can pay 10m to skip stage 1 of GPQ. -10 minutes from timer and no gp earned custom guild map (and bgm) portal in lounge, 500m, from guild hq (press lounge and enter the guild portal to go straight to your customized guild hideout!) custom ally map (and bgm) portal in lounge, 1b, all guilds must earn x points, permanent until any disbanding, bought from guild hq. etc etc. if gp is competitive and doesn't reset, it just reinforces toxic guild island culture, and favors existing, large guilds, and incentivises no new guilds, (especially if it doesn't reset), just super guilds absorbing everyone. boo to that.
I love GPQ as much as yall do and I do agree that GPQ rewards are less-incentive, especially since Auf drops ass30 now I am not sure about changing the GPQ mechanic tho. I very much appreciate the original design
I do like the spooky goonies vibe of it too. It can all stay the same, I think me and a few others are suggesting a pirate pq sort of trigger that allows for an optional harder boss, if you want. Besides that I think some randomization would be fun. Slightly different maps, requirements, stages out of order. Sounds crazy but I think it's an interesting direction to take some pqs, not just GPQ. Sometimes the drone of the sameness/expectation is a turnoff, but especially if guild points become a competitive thing, then definitely some dynamic staging/randomizations would make the competition more interesting and less scientific
Ergoth (normal or hard) or GPQ bonus dropping invisible guild logo nx, invisible medal nx, and invisible pet bubble nx would attract ppl Or ergoth/bonus drops a coupon that unlocks them in cs or from an npc, such as dark lord or one of the other thief chiefs, to sell them to you, but they only last two weeks (mEsO SiNk)
Gpq should give PQ tokens from Cody. Personally, I find GPQ the most annoying and difficult PQ in the game. I MIGHT consider doing it if it gave 5 tokens per completion. But it literally makes me want to die so I probably still won't. Then over time, add more rewards from PQ tokens so it's actually rewarding and not just cosmetics. #killhpwash/leechmeta
reiterating some concepts to be more contemporary: tokens for sure. single run token reward, along with bonus chests dropping additional tokens. but since GPQ can be run without limit, capping daily token amount from a GPQ run (but not chests since they're random anyway) should be a limiter, especially if token rewards themselves are revamped. token reward amount should be based off how fast you can complete the pq, that way active parties w/o mules/duals etc get more tokens many many new ergoth/bonus reward ideas have been suggested, as well as token trade-in rewards, i hope staff are interested or inspired by them on GP (guild points): offering more rewards for guilds through GP would be nice, besides the ranking stone. but rewards shouldn't effect actual gameplay (such as powerful rings/medals). if rewards do effect gameplay, then GP would need to refresh every month or so, to make the competition fair, since max guild capacity has increased a ton, and it would be very easy for current guilds to dominate, giving no new guilds a chance. this is also why i suggest randomizing the stages, mirroring rooms, or randomizing their order, so it's not a speedrunning exercise, and gives everyone the same challenge no matter how well you know the pq. additionally, outside of gpq, +1 GP award for each guild member in the same major boss expedition/lhc/pq would also be a nice little perk. not a major reward, but would still reward guild teamwork outside GPQ. GP rewards: unlockable guild emblems and colors/bg guild emblem smegas gpq themed nx/cosmetics/chairs rare/rotating nx a guild hideout/clubhouse portal in the lounge. takes you to your guild's chosen custom background+bgm map an alliance hideout/clubhouse portal in the lounge. takes you to your alliance's decided custom background+bgm map yea the "hard ergoth" suggestion is a big ask, but it's just because everyone's chars eventually get super strong, and a good challenge is always more fun with guildies than the easy ergoth battle and predictable pq sequence. also yes to dropping the countdown to finally enter the pq. just make it a signup like zak/ht. a payment option to skip the statue gate stage (like in ninja castle) would be amazing, i just really hate it, its really long and awkward and punishing if you fuck it up, which its really easy to, and it has really bad platforms. it can be very frustrating and kill all run momentum, even if it goes well, because everyone has to sit quietly and wait. or an option to sacrifice GP to skip it. or a one time use item found occasionally in the bonus room can be dropped at the door to skip it. or just change it to be like a sequence room, everyone finds the sequence by standing on the plats randomizing portals, reversing rooms etc would keep it from being predictable and boring for hardcore runners, but also keep it a fair challenge for all guilds to compete. this doesn't sound like a reward perse, but its a qol improvement for sure, and an interesting concept for all PQs to consider. randomization/RNG is a simple, easy way to keep stave burnout/boredom and keeps content fresh without changing much
