Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Alpha Two testing is currently taking place five days each week. More information about Phase II and Phase III testing schedule can be found here
If you have Alpha Two, you can download the game launcher here, and we encourage you to join us on our Official Discord Server for the most up to date testing news.
Alpha Two testing is currently taking place five days each week. More information about Phase II and Phase III testing schedule can be found here
If you have Alpha Two, you can download the game launcher here, and we encourage you to join us on our Official Discord Server for the most up to date testing news.
Best Of
Re: Simple Macros
In EQ we had macros that you could take a skill/spell and combine it with a chat function like
/cast "Mez"
/group "%t is being mezed"
%t with add the name of the mob you just mezed.
Or
/cast "Res"
/group %t is being resed, this will take 18 seconds to complete, hold on
It would make the macro cast the spell and communicate what was happening with one button press. For me as a Bard, when I am using the Mana saga I would like to let people know I have used it and any damage they do will rep them allot of mana regen. Right now their is no way to do that but type it out every time. Food for though. What do you think?
Maybe I am not familiar with the game/use case of this, but it sounds like a shitty workaround for a game design issue. Why should you have to type out anything that the other players SHOULD see animation wise or sound effect wise? This is a new game in development, if there are bad designs or issues you need to really think hard on what needs to be fixed and what are the available options to fix it.
ESO had addons where people could make their own UI elements or chat popups. Inevitably it just became a way for the devs to avoid making common sense QoL changes or designs since the players would code and pick up the slack. EVERY addon that exists in eso is to make up for a lacking core function or bad QoL design that wasn't fixed by the devs.
Just for a simple example lets say there is a stun that people cant see the telegraph. Well maybe the generic dps skills or spam skills have too overdone animations and clutter the screen. Instead of making a chat bubble workaround, the core game design should be addressed such that the stun has a crazy easy to see animation and the spammable skills can't clutter combat.
The problem with what you are saying is - the more people that are present, the harder it is to see anything in regards to telegraphed abilities and such. When you consider how many more abilities a player in Ashes will have over a player in ESO, this just compounds it. Then you add in how many abilities will exist in each game, and the notion of knowing what each abilities telegraph looks like in itself starts to come under question
If you have a raid of 40 players going up against another raid of 40 players, you are already out of luck in terms of seeing telegraphed abilities.
Then there is the notion that this isn't in itself a fix to the situation - it absolutely is. Telegraphs and animations work in some situations, but not all. If developers give players the tools, players can then sort out a solution that works for their individual situation. This is far better than developers implementing one method that works for some people and claiming that is the solution.
Give players tools to create solutions, rather than trying to give solutions.

1
Leveling early on feels too slow
I started playing AOC this weekend, and the initial experience was fantastic. As a Fighter, the first five levels were well-paced and engaging, with plenty of groups to join and new skills to unlock. The combat felt great, and my abilities were coming together nicely.
However, hitting level 8 felt like running into a wall. Early levels took about an hour each, which was rewarding, but now I have to kill 147 elites just to gain one level. With quests feeling almost nonexistent, the grind is excessive and discouraging. It would make more sense for the heavier grind to come later when more abilities are unlocked.
I understand the game is in early alpha, but it seems the developers would want players to experience more of the combat system without needing to invest 200+ hours.
Is this really how to game should feel?
However, hitting level 8 felt like running into a wall. Early levels took about an hour each, which was rewarding, but now I have to kill 147 elites just to gain one level. With quests feeling almost nonexistent, the grind is excessive and discouraging. It would make more sense for the heavier grind to come later when more abilities are unlocked.
I understand the game is in early alpha, but it seems the developers would want players to experience more of the combat system without needing to invest 200+ hours.
Is this really how to game should feel?
1
Alpha Two Update Notes - Thursday, February 13, 2025
Glorious Guild Leaders, we want your feedback! On Friday, February 14 we plan to email guild leaders a survey regarding Guild Progression. This survey will ask questions about the progression of Guild Experience, choices in the Guild Skill Tree, and how you manage guild ranks. Please collect your thoughts on these topics over this five day test.
These are the update notes for changes that went to Alpha Two realms on Thursday, February 13, 2025
As a reminder, if you come across bugs during Alpha Two testing, please report them to us in-game using /bug
GUILDS
CHARACTER, ARCHETYPES, & COMBAT
CLERIC
FIGHTER
CARAVANS
ARTISANSHIP & ECONOMY
ENEMIES & NPCS
EVENTS, QUESTS & COMMISSIONS
VISUALS
AUDIO
GENERAL
These are the update notes for changes that went to Alpha Two realms on Thursday, February 13, 2025
As a reminder, if you come across bugs during Alpha Two testing, please report them to us in-game using /bug
GUILDS
- Improved descriptions, icons, and features for Guild Commodities, Skill Trees, and Experience
- Added additional events to Guild Wars
CHARACTER, ARCHETYPES, & COMBAT
- Enchantment visual effects now apply to all weapon types
- Fixed a bug causing the Wand's Deadly Extended Finisher to deal excessive damage
- Improved animations for character abilities when they enter your view
CLERIC
- Divine Power passive should no longer be removed when unlearning the Divine Infusion ability
FIGHTER
- Fixed incorrect Skill Point costs and requirements for forms in the Skill Tree
- Wallop Momentum cost has been reduced from 40% to 25%
- Fixed an issue where the animation for Wallop was locked for than intended
CARAVANS
- When unpacking Caravan Cargo that you do not own, a portion of the Glint will be lost and Glint will be marked as stolen
- Fixed a bug preventing players from removing Cargo from Caravans after delivery to a Node
- Added safeguards to prevent Caravans from getting stuck in deep water
ARTISANSHIP & ECONOMY
- Added new gatherable poppy variants
- Introduced additional crafting recipes in the Sandsquall Desert
- Added coal to stone gatherable drop tables
- Added new trainable beasts for a particular named NPC's reward table
- Added scorpion venom glands to scorpion Skinning rewards
- Added seeds to farming vendors
- Tier 2 cooking vendors now offer spice rub
- Adjusted respawn rates for huntable Bullwogs
- Adjusted Animal Husbandry training recipes to reflect intended training times
- Updated certification level checks for Sandsquall Desert gatherables
- Fixed a bug causing many gatherables to be invisible
- Fixed a bug causing some gatherables and foliage to spawn under the ground
- Fixed a bug preventing poppies from being gatherable year-round
- Fixed a bug preventing interaction with certain trees
- Fixed a bug causing non-tree Freehold gatherables to have longer than intended maturity times
- Fixed a bug where novice scrolls sometimes failed to trigger effects when consumed
- Fixed a bug that made some trees unable to be interacted with
- Fixed various recipes requiring incorrect ingredients
- Adjusted rarity classifications for several mounts
ENEMIES & NPCS
- Guards should not longer aggro characters that die in the Sandsquall Desert and resurrect in New Aela
- Increased and adjusted population in Snakebite Stash, Befallen Forge, Northwest Azmaran, Aithanahr, Southwest Sandsquall Desert, Prismarium, Daragal Underground, and Vault of the Emigrant
- Adjusted behavior for Undead Dünir Tanks, Goblins, Bellowsmashers, Hippos, and Crocodiles
- Firebrand should no longer become bugged from being interacted with after crossing server boundaries
- Fixed an issue where Risen Minotaur Berserkers could become unresponsive under certain conditions
- Updated animations for numerous enemy NPCs
- Improved visual effects for Sandsquall Desert NPCs
- Adjusted respawn rates for some Minotaurs
EVENTS, QUESTS & COMMISSIONS
- Added an option to use raid frames instead of party frames in a party
- Reduced the extreme outline for chat messages
- Added visual indicators for storage tabs that you can’t add or remove items from
- Adjusted Caravan Events and Wars to use distinct colors
- Updated map icons for Territory Wars
- Improved visuals for Skill Tree menus
- Citizen tabs in storage will now be collapsed if the player is not a citizen
- Fixed incorrect archetype names for Fighter, Mage, and Bard in the Guild Interface
- Fixed a crash caused by the "MORE INFO" button in the Building Management menu
- Fixed incorrect display of the defender icon in certain situations
- Fixed an issue causing the Event Tracker to sometimes clear itself
- Materials will now deposit into the second Node Storage slot when right-clicking
- The Fast Crafting menu can now display multiple results
- The storage clerk interface now populates the Crate area with all previously visited nodes
- Updated icons for Sandsquall Desert items
- Updated interfaces and icons for the Skill Tree, Deconstruction window, Professions on the minimap, guild progression, tutorial reminders, artisanship inventory, node menu, nearby nodes, placement controls, citizenship dues, node relationship menu, siege declaration match, and recipes
- Caravan Component replacements now trigger a proper warning message
VISUALS
- Updated lighting for Prismarium, Vault of the Emigrant, Scarabsong Hollow, and Lost Hero's Sepulcher pocket dungeons
- Improved environmental visuals for better loading at a distance
- Adjusted collision for various environmental objects
- Fixed a visual bug affecting palm trees at a distance in the Sandsquall Desert
- Fixed floating objects in and around Samia's Hope
- Resolved multiple causes of sudden brightness increases
- Fixed typos and refined text for certain quests and events
- Improved gem translucency
- Updated visuals for some Node buildings
- Updated the environment in the Sandsquall Desert
AUDIO
- Continued work-in-progress audio updates for the Sandsquall Desert
- Fixed a bug causing foliage audio to rarely play
- Updated sound effects for Sandsquall Desert NPCs
GENERAL
- Fixed a bug preventing Treasure Maps from appearing in the journal or world map when right-clicked
- Fixed a bug causing issues with Treasure Mounds after logging in and out
- Fixed a bug preventing players from removing Cargo from Caravans after delivery to a Node
- Added safeguards to prevent Caravans from getting stuck in deep water
- Fixed multiple client crashes
- Fixed multiple server crashes
- Resolved a server crash caused by foliage
- Further removed lingering Christmas-themed content from Verra

7
Re: Mouse Cursor Updates
I seem to recall them saying they wanted options for the cursor. But I wouldn't expect them this early on.
Re: Not enough Willow / Braidwood
First Problem: Respawn timers are too predictable so if you find a good tree, you are either going to return to it the precise moment it respawns, tell a friend to gather it at the time, or park and alt there and just continuously farm it until it resets daily.
Easy Fix: Randomize respawn time and locations.
Second Problem: The Willow/Braidwood sometimes will respawn in the same area rather than at the exact same spot. Frequently the respawn for willows will be in a rock or a cliff that you cannot interact with at all. This means that spawn will sit there until reset and not generate more.
Easy Fix: Fix the many bug reports for ungatherable spawns.
Third Problem: Willow is absolutely a gating resource. Which is fine but it's needed for far too many crafting recipes and also needed for many building upgrades in large quantities. Fixing the two problems above will help but unless you have access to freeholds, generating enough Willow for some of these building upgrades takes far too long compared to other required resources.
Easy Fix: Keep Wilow as a gating resource for crafting but reduce the amount needed in building upgrades so it's available for artisans.
Easy Fix: Randomize respawn time and locations.
Second Problem: The Willow/Braidwood sometimes will respawn in the same area rather than at the exact same spot. Frequently the respawn for willows will be in a rock or a cliff that you cannot interact with at all. This means that spawn will sit there until reset and not generate more.
Easy Fix: Fix the many bug reports for ungatherable spawns.
Third Problem: Willow is absolutely a gating resource. Which is fine but it's needed for far too many crafting recipes and also needed for many building upgrades in large quantities. Fixing the two problems above will help but unless you have access to freeholds, generating enough Willow for some of these building upgrades takes far too long compared to other required resources.
Easy Fix: Keep Wilow as a gating resource for crafting but reduce the amount needed in building upgrades so it's available for artisans.
2
Re: Why The Game Needs Fast Travel
Heck no to fast travel! Zerg guilds will already destroy this game with the current mechanics. At least now Polar/Enveus have to ride across the map to have their 10:1 "war". There's nothing but the mild inconvenience of time to prevent this.
1
Re: Why The Game Needs Fast Travel
Fast travel shrinks the world and is a tool for attacking other players with zergs. Zergs don't need any more help...
There will be "science node teleports", "flight paths", "airships", and "fam summoning". I think this will be enough. It's a 15/20 minute to travel from west to east on the current map. Once the map is complete it could be a hour or more if done on a basic mount only. But with all the options it will probably be more than enough, too much I think. Traveling across the world should be something that can be done on a whim. It should be something you plan and logistically think about. Once travel becomes trivialized the world shrinks to loading screens and POIs. The game isn't met to be solo'd, it's met for guilds, guilds should be planning events and organizing people to meet their goals.
Probably the biggest reason you won't see any type of teleport fast travel outside the family summoning and science nodes is Intrepid put a lot of work into mounts. Teleport fast travel will devalue these mounts more than deepseek tanked nvidea stock.
There will be "science node teleports", "flight paths", "airships", and "fam summoning". I think this will be enough. It's a 15/20 minute to travel from west to east on the current map. Once the map is complete it could be a hour or more if done on a basic mount only. But with all the options it will probably be more than enough, too much I think. Traveling across the world should be something that can be done on a whim. It should be something you plan and logistically think about. Once travel becomes trivialized the world shrinks to loading screens and POIs. The game isn't met to be solo'd, it's met for guilds, guilds should be planning events and organizing people to meet their goals.
Probably the biggest reason you won't see any type of teleport fast travel outside the family summoning and science nodes is Intrepid put a lot of work into mounts. Teleport fast travel will devalue these mounts more than deepseek tanked nvidea stock.
1
Re: Music Mastery: Counterpoint was broken with phase 2 release- when are we going to get it back?
reserved

1
Re: Ashes "Gathering" that will kill Alpha
My concern is that they came up with this node spawning in the first place. It's the absolute worse I've ever seen. I've been looking for a Willow for the passed 3 hours, and have yet to see one. It boggles the mind that someone over there was like "Yes this is perfect. Working as intended"
1
Re: Why The Game Needs Fast Travel
I don't know. "Fast Travel" always seems like it guts the tone of the story for me. People popping in and out of areas and crowding around the NPCs needed for questing, having 50 people pop in and kill a mob for a guildmate that you also need or just to strip the crafting resources is really more than a tiny bit annoying. I feel like it's one of those 1,000 tiny cuts that games die by.

3