This thread has been inspired by the similar thread in German forums started by Chanchey. Although various ideas related to outpost upgrades keep popping up through years, since the moment outposts were introduced.
1) Guild teleport
Members of the guild can buy special pacts allowing them to teleport directly to the OP. Not much use for this thingy though, could be used for easier access to hunting or digging spots. Also could be useful for specific "surprise!" tactic in battles, when a group of guild members teleport stright in the middle, bringing some mess in enemy lines. Also i think it won't be reasonable to use entire construction site just for an altar, but rather make it as upgrade of the outpost hall.
2) Barracks
Adds more squads of npc guards, quantity of squads and npc may vary depending on the level of building. More important, it allows to hire various types of NPC trainers, used to improve stats of NPC. Guild hire a trainer (only one at time), Master Artillerist or Master of Sorcery for example, pick up a training task from the list of tasks ("Train for damage", "Train for HP", "Train for range") and pay money. Training starts and goes on for different periods of time. For instance, Training for damage 1 cost 10 millions, continue for 7 days and gives additional 50 points of NPC damage; Training 2 costs 20 millions, lasts for 14 days, gives 75 points of damage etc, with the longest training tasks taking up literally months to be done.
Sure thing, removing the Barracks or losing an OP would cancel any training. I'm not sure if the progress in training must be kept or not; and if guild rebuild Barracks should it start again from scratch or from the point it has been interrupted at.
3) Hall of Diplomacy
Allows to hire a Diplomat NPC, giving access to negotiation tasks. One can select a negotiation with certain race or tribe from all over of Atys. Same way like NPC training - pay money for task and wait until it's done. (Maybe add a chance of failure here, as communication with different people could be complicated). Rewards would be fame, racial points and access to some secret rites offered by races and tribes, that can't be unlocked without assistance of Diplomat.
4) Refinery
Use large amounts of low grade mats to refine them into higher grade ones, but in much smaller quantity. Like 1000 pieces of choice mat can be refined into 10 pieces of excellent mat or 1 piece of supreme. I guess harvesting all these cheap mats would take roughly equal time compared to the time wasted on camping excels and supremes. To prevent exploiting via buying mats from market, add harvesting tasks, so only mats gathered for them would apply in refining process.
To make it more challenging, add a chance of failure with some amount of mats getting lost if refining task has failed. Also some dapper investment would be logical. To make it more funny and challenging for other guilds, if the OP gets captured, new owners recieve all mats stored in refinery at the moment of the takeover as refinery would get locked up making impossible to remove mats from it until attack is over (Finally! PvP loot! Hahaha!).
5) Research Hall
Allows to hire two NPC's - Master Researcher and Material Expert. Researcher offers list of researching tasks aimed for improvement of material stats. Like "Durability research", "Lightness research", "Damage research" etc. Same way, like with previously mentioned kinds of tasks, researching ones would require money and time in order to be accomplished. Also Researcher would ask for different materials from animals and harvesting being handed to him, explaining it like he needs those mats for researching experiments. The result of each successful task is Improvement Plan, appearing in form of a scroll handed to GL or any HO of the guild that owns the OP.
Now it would be time for Material Expert to work. Guild may hire different experts (only one at time though), like Oil Expert or Amber Expert. Give him proper Improvement plan (i.e. Amber specialist can't accept Damage improvement plan) and money, put mats you desire to be improved into Research Hall and start Imrpoving task. Failed task result in partial loss of materials, successful task result in number of mats being improved. War declaration doesn't interrupt any tasks but locks up the hall with all mats stored inside, that can be looted by the guild that has captured OP.
1) Guild teleport
Members of the guild can buy special pacts allowing them to teleport directly to the OP. Not much use for this thingy though, could be used for easier access to hunting or digging spots. Also could be useful for specific "surprise!" tactic in battles, when a group of guild members teleport stright in the middle, bringing some mess in enemy lines. Also i think it won't be reasonable to use entire construction site just for an altar, but rather make it as upgrade of the outpost hall.
2) Barracks
Adds more squads of npc guards, quantity of squads and npc may vary depending on the level of building. More important, it allows to hire various types of NPC trainers, used to improve stats of NPC. Guild hire a trainer (only one at time), Master Artillerist or Master of Sorcery for example, pick up a training task from the list of tasks ("Train for damage", "Train for HP", "Train for range") and pay money. Training starts and goes on for different periods of time. For instance, Training for damage 1 cost 10 millions, continue for 7 days and gives additional 50 points of NPC damage; Training 2 costs 20 millions, lasts for 14 days, gives 75 points of damage etc, with the longest training tasks taking up literally months to be done.
Sure thing, removing the Barracks or losing an OP would cancel any training. I'm not sure if the progress in training must be kept or not; and if guild rebuild Barracks should it start again from scratch or from the point it has been interrupted at.
3) Hall of Diplomacy
Allows to hire a Diplomat NPC, giving access to negotiation tasks. One can select a negotiation with certain race or tribe from all over of Atys. Same way like NPC training - pay money for task and wait until it's done. (Maybe add a chance of failure here, as communication with different people could be complicated). Rewards would be fame, racial points and access to some secret rites offered by races and tribes, that can't be unlocked without assistance of Diplomat.
4) Refinery
Use large amounts of low grade mats to refine them into higher grade ones, but in much smaller quantity. Like 1000 pieces of choice mat can be refined into 10 pieces of excellent mat or 1 piece of supreme. I guess harvesting all these cheap mats would take roughly equal time compared to the time wasted on camping excels and supremes. To prevent exploiting via buying mats from market, add harvesting tasks, so only mats gathered for them would apply in refining process.
To make it more challenging, add a chance of failure with some amount of mats getting lost if refining task has failed. Also some dapper investment would be logical. To make it more funny and challenging for other guilds, if the OP gets captured, new owners recieve all mats stored in refinery at the moment of the takeover as refinery would get locked up making impossible to remove mats from it until attack is over (Finally! PvP loot! Hahaha!).
5) Research Hall
Allows to hire two NPC's - Master Researcher and Material Expert. Researcher offers list of researching tasks aimed for improvement of material stats. Like "Durability research", "Lightness research", "Damage research" etc. Same way, like with previously mentioned kinds of tasks, researching ones would require money and time in order to be accomplished. Also Researcher would ask for different materials from animals and harvesting being handed to him, explaining it like he needs those mats for researching experiments. The result of each successful task is Improvement Plan, appearing in form of a scroll handed to GL or any HO of the guild that owns the OP.
Now it would be time for Material Expert to work. Guild may hire different experts (only one at time though), like Oil Expert or Amber Expert. Give him proper Improvement plan (i.e. Amber specialist can't accept Damage improvement plan) and money, put mats you desire to be improved into Research Hall and start Imrpoving task. Failed task result in partial loss of materials, successful task result in number of mats being improved. War declaration doesn't interrupt any tasks but locks up the hall with all mats stored inside, that can be looted by the guild that has captured OP.