I know what I am suggesting in this post requires careful consideration but I think it would enhance the experience a lot and making the world more alive and diverse.
The outskirt faction camps I feel are good as they are right now. But the faction bases…
As the bases are behaving now they are more or less the same. At least I feel that. They act the same. Diffent skins but same behavior. The actual game experience is that it takes a little longer time to raid due to different stats and equipment for the faction.
Dogs of the desert, Darfari cannibals and the Black hand have too easy faction bases in my opinion. I am currently soloing those bases at lvl 45 with light armour, the basic one. It is very predictable and does not require much skill imop.
Yes, yes, it is by design but with the size of the map and how the game has evolved it is time the faction bases are more equal. They do not need to have the exact same challange level but much more equal than now and preferably harder as well. Not by adding a ton of hp and damage to the npc but harder in behavior. Makes it more interesting.
Summary
One thing that would help is an alert system. During the Early access NPC could alert other NPC from far away. This has been changed in the live version. For the bases I think that alert range should be reinserted and each faction have a defence style fitting for that faction.
For example, the Darfari Cannibals may swarm the attackers in order to give the priest time to summon a demon. Their only goal is to slow down the players (leg shot) and then retreat to a better location in order to shoot the players from above while the players are fighting the summoned demon. Or that the priest summons a magical darkness that does not affect the Darfari. So, even if the Darfari stats per se has not changed now the actual base would be much harder and the players need to coordinate their attack. Also, which priest that is the actual summoning priest may be random.
NPC in Black Ship could sound the alarm. The ship bell. If that alarm is activated they drop what they are doing and run to their battle station. The Black Ship is very coordinated if the alarm goes off. You need to sneak in and disable the alarm or rush in quickly - because the guard is not going to stop you, the guard is going to ring the bell. If not succeded everyone on the ship is alerted. The bridges will be swarmed and a rain of arrows will fall over the players on the bridge. Or that they can trigger traps near the bridges. Ka-boom. Making the player struggle for each meter. Bring a shield.
Hyenas in the Den, for example, should try to call in other hyenas. For each new hyena that enters the fight the call they make the howl travel further, attracting more hyenas that will enter the fight and making the howl travel even further…etc. A pack of Hyenas will try to surround the enemy, single out one target and attacking from all sides using stamina drain attacks combined with strong attacks. One enemy at the time. Dont be the weak party member.
The Heir of the North have berserkers. Make them go berskerk, ignoring staggering, bleed or other effects while berserking and give them with quick, that is also strong, attacks. They. Just. Keep. Going. Forward.
Have the frost giants throw snow, stagger the player, slowing the player. Slowed by snow the giant’s axe has a chance of hitting its mark. Yes. It is a snow boll. A big frikking snow ball.
There are plenty of outskirt camps for Black hand and Darfari so worker thralls can be collected anyway. In the north or Sepermura there is not that hard to get thralls anyway at lvl 40.
Making the faction base behave according to the lore and make them more equal in challange level I believe would enhance the game a lot.
