Right off the bat I want to say, I don’t expect Conan Exiles to implement this. I am writing it merely as an idea of something I wish to see one day from a game. My hope is that this idea will inspire the Conan devs and others as they move forward developing a game I love. Disclaimer over, let’s begin.
Building: The focus of this new PvP paradigm will be on sieging and capturing castles. Building under this new method will be fundamentally different. In order to build you must first place a structure called the heartstone. This will be room approximately 2x2 foundations wide and 2 walls high. At the center of this room will grow the heartstone of the castle: a gem that is procedurally generated and gets bigger as the castle grows. The heartstone channels a magic shield that protects the connecting structure from natural decay of the elements (sandstorm, etc.) as well as from attack, to a certain extent. Building can only be done by activating the heartstone. This is important because it requires that the heartstone always be accessible by the builder and thus by any attackers. Now any structure connected to the heartstone will be protected from decay so long as the heartstone is provided with fuel to power its protective magic. The bigger the structure the more fuel needed to power it, the cost will not be excessive, but it will discourage excessively large structures by default. All building pieces will be indestructible with a few exceptions; doorways, gates, crenelations and fences will all be vulnerable, though will have increased health over what they have now. This way a carefully planned base will force attackers through certain choke points that they must get through to reach the heartstone.
Objective: Here we reach the objective of the siege, the hearstone will be a trophy that an attacker may claim if they break through successfully. There will be three different modes that will determine the possibilities: Capture, Conquest, Construct.
Capture: In Capture (PvP), an attacker who reaches the heartstone may begin a conversion process in which they claim the castle as their own. This would involve a timer which may be interrupted by defenders. However, if the attackers are successful the castle will be theirs (chests will remain in the ownership of the defender and will need to be broken into/destroyed to loot). In this mode, there will be no limit to how much loot a player/clan may take from another player/clan. Another option would be to remove the heartstone, this will leave the castle open to decay and attack, walls and foundations will no longer be indestructible, so it will be possible to base wipe though awfully expensive. That is until the heartstone is rebuilt by defenders in which case magical defenses are back up.
Conquest: In the mode Conquest (PvE-C), claiming the castle will not be an option. The only option will be to capture the hearstone. There will also be a limit as to how much loot a clan can take within a 24 hour period from another clan. Finally, taking the heartstone will not make the rest of castle vulnerable to destruction just to decay. Base wiping will not be possible.
Construct: In the mode Construct (PvE), no building will be destructible. However, the heartstone will still require fuel to prevent decay. Hearstones will also be claimable trophies at the end of npc dungeons.
Fuel: The fuel may come from multiple sources. First, it may come from a soul harvesting instrument (much like the religious artifacts) used on the corpse of an npc, giving you a soulstone. This instrument may also be used on animals giving a beastone. Less effective fuel, but still worthwhile. Third, the instrument may be used on a boss providing a shadowstone. This is the most effective fuel but the costliest. Finally, regular crystal may be used though it is the least effective by far. There will be a limit to how much fuel may be placed in the hearstone’s inventory such that, one can never place more than two weeks’ worth of fuel at any given time (that would involve an inventory complete full of shadowstones). In this way you must continue to play the game to maintain your base, but with preparation you may take an extended vacation without worry. Once the fuel runs out, decay begins immediately and your base (depending on the mode) may be susceptible to attack. A tier one building will fully decay in one day, tier two – two days, tier three – three days.
Offline raid protection: When you go offline there will be a 1 hour timer that will activate. After 1 hour your base’s magically protection will extend to cover your doors at crenelations. Such that nothing can be destroyed. This protection while be visible to attackers as a magical force field (like a god bubble). The shield will remain active until you get back online or you hearstone runs out of fuel. This will prevent offline raiding but ensure the protection does not last forever.
There are many additional aspects I would like to see in a game which perhaps I will expand on later. But this lays a foundation for something that I think could be very fun in a survival game like Conan. Let me know what you all think, questions, criticism, or suggestions are welcome.