Can we get Nexus back to combat the ever prominent bandwagons, please? I enjoy the cabal/dynamic of Nexus for much more than just the above, but it really does 'check' power swings that make the game incredibly unenjoyable for the side that dares oppose the side that's in power at the time.

Let's give these powerhouses something to do besides 6v1 their only enemy, huh?

The cabal design seems pretty terrible. Empire needs numbers to be enjoyable, 60+ player count. Tribunal needs lots of players so there are always people in cities. Scion and Entropy seem like a time sink to get a character going in those. Battle, outlander and fortress seem like cabals with pretty clear missions, reasonable induction processes, and workable with the player count. But those three have little inherent reason for conflict.

I'd say there needs to be a simple evil cabal, or maybe a chaotic neutral/evil cabal. When I get the time I'm going to start a chaotic neutral/evil cabal hell bent on pillaging and plundering the lands...the BANDIT cabal!! yar!!

I played Nexuns, and the problem I saw was there never needed to be more than 1 or 2 Nexuns to swing the balance, but there would be hero mobs. At that point Nexus became the imbalance.

I disagree, I think the design worked, but there would need to be some adjustments to the cabal function in the current environment.
The idea of there being member limits is a good one. (5 mages/5 melee/ 5 priest)

Some other ideas:
Nexus is strictly limited in what they do to correct imbalance. Retrieve cabal items, and hunt alone those who hold power in the balance. Except villagers, they are always fair game, that's just fun for everyone on both sides.

No bandwagoning with those of the less in power cabal. Nexus members can only trust cabal members, none others. (to address the 2 imp +5 nexus death squad and though I think it is bull, the betrayal arguments people love to make)

There would need to be a shift in how retrievals work though, where Nexus raiding the empire outer sends back the Orb, but only when darkness tips. So they can only retrieve items of those out of power, and only on their own.

Nexus has limited abilities to hold cabal items. maybe a time limit or based on balance, though returning items could probably cause a shift.

Nexus does tend to cause an over correction to the underpowered side when the tipping is slight (if there is at least 2 nexus people on). When one side is overpowered, nexus is more of an evening out and functions as I believe is intended.

And remove the bond, but maybe beef up vanguard as more than just dam redux. Like it gives one other effect, maybe haste, controlled translucence. OR let them dump things into it to get added effects, but at a cost. Like if you want haste, max hp goes down 100 for the duration. IF you want stoneskin, it goes down 200 etc.

I don't know, smarter people than me could probably come up with a good system to make vanguard better in place of the bond.

I think Nexus is good, and somewhat necessary. Problem is it does tend to help evils more, cause evils will raid/hunt nexus, but goods usually won't.

The need to correct the balance points to a problem when one cabal holds sway. While there is almost always a problem here, Nexus isn't necessarily the right solution, just one possible solution. The underlying problem could be the multiplying affect of taking a cabal item and having numbers on gameplay balance.

An alternative solution might be to give EVERY cabal an ability like vanguard that doesn't require holding their cabal item. So the one or two fighting the gang of six has an ability to stay and fight.

Another solution might be a general nerfing of all skills/spells/supps & powers for members of cabals as proportion of players in that cabal increase. For example, you have 6 members, next cabal only has 2, everything you do drops a level or two, and your offensive melee takes a hit.

I think either of these create some real incentive to log in when you are the underdog.

-30 dam roll as punishment for being online at the same time as other people please.

Nexus will always be a pipe dream and not a realistic thing in the CF world without a massive overhaul. I don't mean specifically because they were always betraying everybody else when the scales tipped whatever direction depending on who decided to login at that time, but I mean because they were often the overwhelming power in the lands themselves but they don't count their own oppression on the other forces as being something that ruins balance.

Now if we could make it so Nexus started killing other Nexus, or just committing suicide whenever they started to make an overwhelming impact on the balance, then I would get behind that.

It doesn't count your pk range, it counts the whole pk range.

You have 4 heroes online, you are 40lvl.

5 Heroes raids the cabal.

Then, 7 nexuns + 2 players from opposite cabal come to gank you down on reraid.

I don’t see why Nexus couldn’t exist in today’s CF as a sort of niche cabal. Hell, it’s damn near automated. Monthly auto leader elections and the whole cabal and space already exists. Does it really require much imm oversight? You could just let any staff member bring the smack down if a member is aiding the side in power too much.

Entropy kind of exists on the fringes. Why not Nexus?

It doesn’t seem like you’d need to remove a cabal to bring it back. It can’t hurt to have a few Nexuns running about mixing everything up.

The only thing is I could see maybe some people worried Battle would suddenly have too many enemies but as a guy who loves Battle I say bring them on. If it truly is a big concern then make Nexus less about magic and more about true balance. Basically, the neo-nexuns want a perfectly balanced veil versus a thin one and remove them as an enemy from the Tablet. So, only way they cross paths with Battle is when there’s a #### ton of Villagers logged in and the veil gets super thick.

I dunno. Seems fun and simple.

A few people complained about the balance shifting and getting betrayed by the Nexus groupmates, but that has never been my experience.

The problem, as I remember it, was a time period when at the hero level there were one or two squires, a warden, one imperial and five Nexus. The balance tipped toward the light, and so for a month there was this sick gank squad working with imperials almost exclusively.

I've played a few nexans myself, and my biggest complaints were 1) no bondmates, and 2) everything balanced.

But probably because I was playing battle and too busy whipping Nexus ass.

However, I did play a bit of Nexus and I do recall gauge being just a bit off. There were times when gauge would say things were balanced but it was pretty easy to see from the who list Imperials were in power.

Also, gauge was slow. There shouldn't have been lag associated with the command, but, oh well.

to just say 'hey, nexus shouldn't be buds with anyone that isn't in the cabal or herald'.

i love nexus and i always tried my best to NOT have 'friends' in other cabals.

nt