Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Alpha Two Phase III testing has begun! During this phase, our realms will be open every day, and we'll only have downtime for updates and maintenance. We'll keep everyone up-to-date about downtimes in Discord.
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 Phase III testing has begun! During this phase, our realms will be open every day, and we'll only have downtime for updates and maintenance. We'll keep everyone up-to-date about downtimes in Discord.
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: Steven, Please Rethink “Not for Everyone”
MargaretKrohn wrote: »So let’s keep this conversation going:
What’s one feature or system you think could help bridge the gap between hardcore and casual players without compromising the game’s vision? (meaningful risk, no pay-to-win, and a player-driven world)
- Expansive, immersive questing. Something that if you log on for 30 minutes or an hour, you're able to have fun and rewarding experience while playing independently.
- Questing that is rewarding enough that it draws groups of players to go to other 3-star areas throughout the world. There was an estate area I tried to duo to complete a few quests; I looked for about an hour and a half for a group to come play in the area, and no one cared because it was considered a waste of time not to grind at HH or OAK.
- Quest Sharing/Group Questing would allow people (who may not be able to go all the way to Winstead) to pickup a quest enjoy going outside of one group-grind room to encourage exploring an entire area dedicated to group play.
- Crafting Accessibility I don't have specific recommendations on the solution, but after 30 hours of gathering as a noobie, I wasn't able to create a single piece of gear or potion or sell the gatherables for even 50 silver.
- Mob Training is another one that I don't have a specific resolution suggestion. It's really annoying/disheartening to take the time to find a group, travel to the location, have an absolute excellent team you're grinding with (finally!!), only for zergers to train mobs on you. Then after a few times, you flag for PvP and get corruption for killing them. And then you get trained again, die, and they loot all of your equipment.
- Caravans should buff the driver better. If I've spent 15 hours on gathering resources and paying money to get a caravan going, there's nothing I can do if someone 7 levels higher than me wants to take it. Or maybe make it a guild activity where money is split instead of an independent venture that encourage level 10 players to do as a noobie quest.
Thanks for keeping the convo going and for all y'all do!
I have to admit that I thought Steven's "not for you" comment was related to alpha testing or not liking PvP or not wanting immediate gratification for everything. I didn't know he actually said this game isn't for casual players. That's pretty disheartening.
Being a casual doesn’t mean avoiding PvP, shunning group play, or resenting the hardcore. Many of us admire dedication—we just want a game that welcomes all playstyles without forcing one path. Playing casually means that the 400 hours it took someone to level to 50 in 6 weeks may take me 600 hours and 6 months.
Re: It's been 2 years...
Welcome back! Totally get the feeling, two years is a long time, and it's easy to assume not much has changed when just skimming the surface.
But honestly, a lot has happened. Instead of going by scattered rumors or unofficial takes, I really recommend checking the official forums, the developer livestreams, and especially the community wiki (https://ashesofcreation.wiki) you'll see the progress is real. Systems like nodes, crafting, combat, world events, and UI have all undergone major changes and polish.
That said, it’s still in Alpha, and yes, there’s a road ahead, but for a project of this scale, that’s expected. Ashes is not a theme park MMO; it’s trying to build something ambitious and dynamic, and that takes time.
If you give it a deeper look, you might be surprised at how far it’s come.
But honestly, a lot has happened. Instead of going by scattered rumors or unofficial takes, I really recommend checking the official forums, the developer livestreams, and especially the community wiki (https://ashesofcreation.wiki) you'll see the progress is real. Systems like nodes, crafting, combat, world events, and UI have all undergone major changes and polish.
That said, it’s still in Alpha, and yes, there’s a road ahead, but for a project of this scale, that’s expected. Ashes is not a theme park MMO; it’s trying to build something ambitious and dynamic, and that takes time.
If you give it a deeper look, you might be surprised at how far it’s come.
REHOC
1
Rapid clicking causing UI window to shift up & to the left
If I'm at a vendor, and I want to buy something, if I click repeatedly to increase the amount I want to purchase, the vendor interface window suddenly shifts up and to the left.
Same thing in a crafting window. If I'm adding fuel from my inventory, if I click repeatedly quickly to add more of an item, the fuel window starts shifting up and to the left.
I've asked guildies, and they say they're seeing the same thing.
Same thing in a crafting window. If I'm adding fuel from my inventory, if I click repeatedly quickly to add more of an item, the fuel window starts shifting up and to the left.
I've asked guildies, and they say they're seeing the same thing.
Re: 📝 Dev Discussion #77 - Let’s Talk Quests! ❗
On a scale of 1–5, how would you rate the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? (1 = Very poor, 5 = Excellent)
1. At least of phase 2. Someone of it felt like a short cut to gear, by doing something completely trivial for the quests that were complete/working. Other than that the quests were too broken to really complete.
How would you describe the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? What’s working well, and what could be improved?
Many quests were broken, unable to turn or lacking direction. I don't need map markers but at least in the text explain to me clearly what I need to do, because I generally can't ask that NPC questions. Anything that drives we out of game to solve I normally don't enjoy.
Some item rewards are good, but sources of gear is planned to be abundant. I fear there's too many low level quest gear rewards for players, which drive players away from the early gear crafting. Why bother crafting a chest plate early game if I can just go pick up 5 boxes for that and more gear that's on par if not better than what I can craft. Minimize the quest gear rewards, rewards materials and glint and reputation (if that exists) mostly. I'll do any quest if the story is good though, even if there's no reward. Generally EXP rewards for quests shouldn't exist, quest hubs under value quests because their so watered down and boring. It's just a fast track to max level, if that's the preferred path to max level you want than increase the rewards, if not than decrease them. If you increase them you risk being much like all other post WoW MMOs. Make quest more than just a path to exp and gear.
In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system?
Very minimal gear rewards (not none) from quests. The value of quests should be as so.
1. Story: You do the quest because the story is good. (no negative)
2. Reputation: You build a repour with that NPC or Node. (no negative)
3. Monetary: You receive gold or materials. (devalues other gathering methods if to much/good)
4. Gear: You receive a piece of complete gear. (devalues other methods of gear if too good/often)
5. EXP: You receive some EXP. (devalues other level methods if too high)
You know you made a good quest if people do it even if the reward is low.
Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)?
Less than 25% I'm here for sure. I'd say 10%. This is EXP as a quest reward. I still get EXP while completing the quest though.
25–49%
50–74%
75% or more Please don't!
Why did you choose that percentage?
If you keep it low you drive people into other activities. You can still reward them, just not EXP.
A quest like got to X POI and Kill X number of Y enemies, already nets you with EXP, turn that in should net you rewards like materials, reputation ect. Not EXP. This reward of materials suppliments your crafting. Because we want crafters and gathers. So those who enjoy combat will still be able to focus combat mainly without being set back too much in crafting.
If gathering/crafting reward exp than those who wish to minimize their combat should still be leveling. Although not as fast, just as those in combat aren't getting as much materials as a gatherer, or crafting as much as someone focusing on that. But no chosen path is isolated, therefor encouraging people to craft, or gather, or quest, which is something that'd have avoided.
What helps you feel connected to a game world, and what could Ashes of Creation do to feel more immersive and dynamic?
1. Immersion. Don't make me exit the game to figure something out, if the game doesn't explain it well enough than people look it up. This should be minimal, I shouldn't have to look up on gpt/google, how to craft XYZ or where do I need to go for XYZ quest objectives. I should have access to that in game. I know some people like spread sheets and for making mass production you're going to need to do that offline planning. So don't remake excel in the game lol. Add a recipe book, index, ect, and clear quest instructions help with this.
2. Story telling. The game needs more lore than what we see now. It needs quests, chains, ect. They need to be compelling and well written. My character needs to be involved and attached to the world. It doesn't need to be the hero, but it needs to be "important". This is PvE focused, since we're talking about quests.
Extra quest ideas for some PvP quests:
Node quest: A quest that can be picked up from a shady person in town to kill people from another Node. Could be a precursor to a war or siege or whatever.
Node quest: to Harvest X number of Y materials from another Node. Steal their resources.
1. At least of phase 2. Someone of it felt like a short cut to gear, by doing something completely trivial for the quests that were complete/working. Other than that the quests were too broken to really complete.
How would you describe the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? What’s working well, and what could be improved?
Many quests were broken, unable to turn or lacking direction. I don't need map markers but at least in the text explain to me clearly what I need to do, because I generally can't ask that NPC questions. Anything that drives we out of game to solve I normally don't enjoy.
Some item rewards are good, but sources of gear is planned to be abundant. I fear there's too many low level quest gear rewards for players, which drive players away from the early gear crafting. Why bother crafting a chest plate early game if I can just go pick up 5 boxes for that and more gear that's on par if not better than what I can craft. Minimize the quest gear rewards, rewards materials and glint and reputation (if that exists) mostly. I'll do any quest if the story is good though, even if there's no reward. Generally EXP rewards for quests shouldn't exist, quest hubs under value quests because their so watered down and boring. It's just a fast track to max level, if that's the preferred path to max level you want than increase the rewards, if not than decrease them. If you increase them you risk being much like all other post WoW MMOs. Make quest more than just a path to exp and gear.
In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system?
Very minimal gear rewards (not none) from quests. The value of quests should be as so.
1. Story: You do the quest because the story is good. (no negative)
2. Reputation: You build a repour with that NPC or Node. (no negative)
3. Monetary: You receive gold or materials. (devalues other gathering methods if to much/good)
4. Gear: You receive a piece of complete gear. (devalues other methods of gear if too good/often)
5. EXP: You receive some EXP. (devalues other level methods if too high)
You know you made a good quest if people do it even if the reward is low.
Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)?
Less than 25% I'm here for sure. I'd say 10%. This is EXP as a quest reward. I still get EXP while completing the quest though.
25–49%
50–74%
75% or more Please don't!
Why did you choose that percentage?
If you keep it low you drive people into other activities. You can still reward them, just not EXP.
A quest like got to X POI and Kill X number of Y enemies, already nets you with EXP, turn that in should net you rewards like materials, reputation ect. Not EXP. This reward of materials suppliments your crafting. Because we want crafters and gathers. So those who enjoy combat will still be able to focus combat mainly without being set back too much in crafting.
If gathering/crafting reward exp than those who wish to minimize their combat should still be leveling. Although not as fast, just as those in combat aren't getting as much materials as a gatherer, or crafting as much as someone focusing on that. But no chosen path is isolated, therefor encouraging people to craft, or gather, or quest, which is something that'd have avoided.
What helps you feel connected to a game world, and what could Ashes of Creation do to feel more immersive and dynamic?
1. Immersion. Don't make me exit the game to figure something out, if the game doesn't explain it well enough than people look it up. This should be minimal, I shouldn't have to look up on gpt/google, how to craft XYZ or where do I need to go for XYZ quest objectives. I should have access to that in game. I know some people like spread sheets and for making mass production you're going to need to do that offline planning. So don't remake excel in the game lol. Add a recipe book, index, ect, and clear quest instructions help with this.
2. Story telling. The game needs more lore than what we see now. It needs quests, chains, ect. They need to be compelling and well written. My character needs to be involved and attached to the world. It doesn't need to be the hero, but it needs to be "important". This is PvE focused, since we're talking about quests.
Extra quest ideas for some PvP quests:
Node quest: A quest that can be picked up from a shady person in town to kill people from another Node. Could be a precursor to a war or siege or whatever.
Node quest: to Harvest X number of Y materials from another Node. Steal their resources.
Volgaris
1
Re: PvP arena in cities (like a colosseum)
That would be great
We know that Military nodes will have an Arena where it will be decided who will be de mayor, the military node has this nice option which gives a chance to a solo player to be mayor, since he needs no votes or gold
For sure Military nodes deserve this and maybe the other nodes could have a small arena or a fight pit, would be cool if you could walk around the city and around the colosseum while listenning the crowd and listenning trumpets (brass instruments)
To me, players should be stimulated into fighting since level 1 and they could do in arenas like that
I see as important people dying in pvp since the beginning, this will create a community with less whining, less snowflaking and less carebearing, this is the kind of thing that makes carebear toxicity go away
Carebears can ruin any game with their endless whining until the companies start pandering them, later on they complain the game is not fun anymore
Fixing people in the arena builds a better community
We know that Military nodes will have an Arena where it will be decided who will be de mayor, the military node has this nice option which gives a chance to a solo player to be mayor, since he needs no votes or gold
For sure Military nodes deserve this and maybe the other nodes could have a small arena or a fight pit, would be cool if you could walk around the city and around the colosseum while listenning the crowd and listenning trumpets (brass instruments)
To me, players should be stimulated into fighting since level 1 and they could do in arenas like that
I see as important people dying in pvp since the beginning, this will create a community with less whining, less snowflaking and less carebearing, this is the kind of thing that makes carebear toxicity go away
Carebears can ruin any game with their endless whining until the companies start pandering them, later on they complain the game is not fun anymore
Fixing people in the arena builds a better community
Re: Carcasses: Cooking vs Tanning
One of the ways Intrepid can solve the issue with market oversaturation of tamed animals is to allow cooking to butcher animals. The easy fix will be to enable tamed beasts to be butchered at the cooking station, where carcasses could be used in the tanning station. I agree that animal fat and bones must be added to drop tables for butchering, and meats must be added to tanning.
Re: Carcasses: Cooking vs Tanning
One cow's worth of meat makes 1 beefsteak sandwich, not hundreds like it really wood. More meat per carcass for 2x2 carcasses would be a good start.
But also... why not both? IRL we use the whole animal, we don't throw the meat away once it has been skinned, and both bones and fat generally come from a butcher.
But also... why not both? IRL we use the whole animal, we don't throw the meat away once it has been skinned, and both bones and fat generally come from a butcher.
Re: Game Balance
You will always be remembered, Jeff!SmileGurney wrote: »What, no! This is impossible...Intrepid said they hate mindless grind!
Ludullu
1
Re: Nvidia driver stability
Perhaps try one of the older drivers I mentioned, and see if that makes a difference? 
Nerror
1
Re: Steven, Please Rethink “Not for Everyone”
I expect announcement of the crafting complexity going away. They already realized that changing even the current suuuper basic recipes is a bigger undertaking than what they though it would be, so I fully expect the promised complexity to go away, cause balancing that would be impossible for them.Edit to add; anyone want to take bets on what Steven does a 180 degree flip on next?
I'd love to be proven wrong, but by the time we get to a point where proper full crafting cycles are being tested - there'll only be super hardcore pvpers in the testing and they couldn't care less about all of that shit, so we'll just get gear from mobs in pvp zones (pretty much already the case, if named mobs will exist in these "pop-up lawless zones") and crafting will never catch up to that progression so why even attempt making it complex and deep.
Nah, we're absolutely still gonna be around for those tests. Even if Intrepid doesn't manage to make it 'worth the time' for most players, I'll get giant piles of data.
Also the sensible thing to walk back would be stuff related to Node Management depth, because if the audience shifts towards PvP, and Steven actually enjoys that atmosphere more, there's no reason to spend the months of incentive-tweaking required to make a Node run like a real place, when they're just going to be Guild-dominated.
Azherae
2