The Loop
The stages that repeat in every session.
reviewed 8 August 2026
What it is
The loop is ESVA's unit of play: encounter → combat → defeat → loot → containment. Collection, band and incursion rest on it.
How I do it
Before you startApparatus equipped and a party with a standing esva No apparatus, no containment; no standing esva, no combat.required
One turn of the loop, stage by stage:
- EncounterYou enter the quadrant and a wild esva appears. The quadrant defines class and band.in gameMap → Quadrant
- CombatYour active esva uses its 4 moves on its own. In manual mode you step in with the keys.in gameQuadrant → Combat
- DefeatThe wild esva falls and becomes containable. That is the window in which the apparatus works.
- LootWhat the defeated esva leaves goes to the pack and already counts in the next encounter.
- ContainmentUse the apparatus on the defeated esva. Once contained, it enters the Register and goes to the collection.in gameCombat → Apparatus
In development
What is missing: Containment values and the loot content per quadrant are not published.
What already holds: The order of the stages is fixed and holds in every quadrant.
What I get — and what it costs
What I get
Collection entryEach containment becomes a Register entry and an esva usable in the party.Only a defeated esva can be contained, and only with the apparatus equipped.
What it costs
Defeating is not containingA combat won without containment yields loot and experience, but no Register entry.The attempt can failContainment is not guaranteed. Failing costs the encounter's window and what was spent up to that point.