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: Suggestion: Permaflagging yourself as combattant for X hours for better loot/XP/luck/quantity
This is my thoughts.
The game has lost any sense of identity it had, it has lost any nuance that could attract people that aren't just murderhobos, so why not go full steam ahead in that direction?
Noaani
2
Re: Tanking has no incentives, only detriments to the player
This very much sums up how every single player who tried the tank in my community felt. On point, OP.
Dezemi
1
Re: Tanking has no incentives, only detriments to the player
One idea is to have the 25% material deletion and equipment damage only happen the moment you actually return to an emberspring, that way if the party can resurrect and save the situation no one actually loses anything.
So much yes. Having had 3-4 deaths in quick succession but getting ressed by the healer and the rest of the group surviving just meant I came away with a huge money debt as a Tank.
Imposing the material deletion on return to Emberspring would feel a lot better in all aspects.
Re: Invite streamers into functional freehold.
The only streamers I care about are Steven and Margaret.
Re: ⛰ June 2025 Development Update Livestream Discussion Thread ⚒
Most wanted：Can you do a good job of optimizing the game so that my computer fans have time to rest Don't make so many bells and whistles, and optimize the game better than anything else
Re: Node buff ui on large map
Appreciate both perspectives here! being that there is a tradeoff between convenience and preserving the value of regional knowledge.
Looking forward to seeing more discussion here!
- Do you think having buffs visible on the map would make gameplay feel smoother, or would it diminish strategic depth?
- Do you think there could be a middle ground, and if so, how so?
Looking forward to seeing more discussion here!
Vaknar
1
Re: So how many still excited?
As someone who hasn't paid into testing and was very actively following at some point - i've definitely toned down massively my interactions with the game and the community.
I used to watch every stream, write in the monthly feedback thread, chat in discord a bit and comment on some forum threads. I also used to stalk the LinkedIn to try and piece together new employments - it was pretty obsessive in hindsight lol.
Now though I probably just check in on a stream every few months if the topic sounds interesting, although the long format mostly discussion style streams of recent months has been less interesting for me and previous streams didn't catch me much either.
It's probably been a long ol' time since I posted here though I do lurk occasionally - and I don't provide feedback anymore.
It kind of feels like most of the things that need feedback can only really be provided by the testers now since we're not getting videos of new features where an -only viewer- can really provide as much, like in the earlier "new feature" streams.
--
Excitement - i'd say it's definitely dulled down a lot. I'm definitely not dooming over the game, but I definitely couldn't even predict when this game will hit Beta/release with the current release cadence. There's definitely a lot of content that is wanted for the testers to feel sated with gameplay experience as it is.
I believe p3 of Alpha 2 ought to have more content - but I believe the idea was that once the baseline tools etc. development are in place, we should see development ramp up. I don't know how that'll actually look in practice - but I wish Intrepid all the best and hope they do make a good game - but they are missing out on some easy wins and definitely make some bad testing/design choices. Such as:
1. The testing environment dying while the crafting issues existed.
2. Paid for costumes being locked to one of your active characters. If you can just unequip it and re-equip it between logon (is this only done in cities/accommodation you own) - if people have paid for a skin, do you really need to restrict it in that way? They'll never be logged on at the same time. I'm not sure this was always communicated or if I personally missed it.
3. Not allowing some testing cases where you could i.e. level up characters to facilitate testing certain elements quicker.
Again, wish them all the best but I hope they can minimise the L's and maximise the W's.
I used to watch every stream, write in the monthly feedback thread, chat in discord a bit and comment on some forum threads. I also used to stalk the LinkedIn to try and piece together new employments - it was pretty obsessive in hindsight lol.
Now though I probably just check in on a stream every few months if the topic sounds interesting, although the long format mostly discussion style streams of recent months has been less interesting for me and previous streams didn't catch me much either.
It's probably been a long ol' time since I posted here though I do lurk occasionally - and I don't provide feedback anymore.
It kind of feels like most of the things that need feedback can only really be provided by the testers now since we're not getting videos of new features where an -only viewer- can really provide as much, like in the earlier "new feature" streams.
--
Excitement - i'd say it's definitely dulled down a lot. I'm definitely not dooming over the game, but I definitely couldn't even predict when this game will hit Beta/release with the current release cadence. There's definitely a lot of content that is wanted for the testers to feel sated with gameplay experience as it is.
I believe p3 of Alpha 2 ought to have more content - but I believe the idea was that once the baseline tools etc. development are in place, we should see development ramp up. I don't know how that'll actually look in practice - but I wish Intrepid all the best and hope they do make a good game - but they are missing out on some easy wins and definitely make some bad testing/design choices. Such as:
1. The testing environment dying while the crafting issues existed.
2. Paid for costumes being locked to one of your active characters. If you can just unequip it and re-equip it between logon (is this only done in cities/accommodation you own) - if people have paid for a skin, do you really need to restrict it in that way? They'll never be logged on at the same time. I'm not sure this was always communicated or if I personally missed it.
3. Not allowing some testing cases where you could i.e. level up characters to facilitate testing certain elements quicker.
Again, wish them all the best but I hope they can minimise the L's and maximise the W's.
AidanKD
1
Re: When a boss defeats the players
Players in freeform MMOs are generally allowed to attempt nearly any boss regardless of progression. They don't have to prove that they're good at the game in any meaningful way, in order to try something difficult.
Since you can never know, this doesn't work, no matter how cool it is.
Since you can never know, this doesn't work, no matter how cool it is.
Azherae
1
Re: So how many still excited?
I'm still holding off judgment until we see how everything fits together, especially when it comes to player-driven content. What really has me wondering, though, is how the average player is supposed to carve out space in a world without safe zones. With Ashes of Creation removing the usual safety nets, it feels like there might be less room for casual players to get involved without constantly being on edge.
When I talk about the lack of safe zones, I’m referring to things like destructible nodes, freeholds, and the risk of material loss. In most MMOs, the average player finds comfort in hoarding and building something permanent, but Ashes of Creation doesn’t allow for that kind of security.
So it makes me wonder: if everything feels temporary, like a sandcastle that can be wiped away at any moment, how will players find a sense of belonging or attachment in the world?
It’s hard for me to feel confident about AoC’s success when I start thinking about this.
When I talk about the lack of safe zones, I’m referring to things like destructible nodes, freeholds, and the risk of material loss. In most MMOs, the average player finds comfort in hoarding and building something permanent, but Ashes of Creation doesn’t allow for that kind of security.
So it makes me wonder: if everything feels temporary, like a sandcastle that can be wiped away at any moment, how will players find a sense of belonging or attachment in the world?
It’s hard for me to feel confident about AoC’s success when I start thinking about this.
