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: Drop the node guards, but fix the problem.
I completely agree - griefers will always find a way to harass and exploit. Why stop exploiting when some of these same people keep getting a slap on the wrist and go back to toxic gameplay time and time again? I say give them the big prize of "fuck around and find out" lol letting these people stay long term without actual punishment only damages the health of a game short and long term imo.
WuqingYe
1
Re: Make Levels Great Again!
How bad would hard ceilings on waterfall stats be for Ashes?The entire point of the design of Ashes is to force character growth into the player-social space. You can't just 'oppose your enemies for the sake of it' if Levels are too important because losing will setback your leveling. But you can do it by being socially adept enough to be chosen by the elite to receive power.
Let's say that at max lvl a char can have 50 value of each stat, 25 of them coming from pure lvls and 25 coming from any other source, but you can never go above 50. So before you reach lvl50 you could still get your stats to 50 value, but you'd be sacrificing a gear-based direct stat (like CW or evasion or whatever) increase by doing that.
Minmaxers will still have room to grow, because they can increase stats directly (or attempt full 50 stats, if Intrepid are willing to allow that), but the overall ceiling of waterfall stats would be equalized for all.
Feels like balancing both pve and pvp would be easier that way. And gear variety would matter more too, cause now crafting dials could go from "all waterfall stats" to "none waterfall, just direct stat" and you could mix and match all kinds of shit in the search of "optimal" power.
Not a thing I could even have a real personal opinion on given what we have now.
But as usual, you are roughly describing the outcome that TL achieves with the way their waterfall stats work. Currently, Throne and Liberty has a more robust foundation for things like Social Orgs and stat blocks than Ashes does, and some of it is already implemented.
E.g. 'if your Guild holds this Boonstone, you get +2 DEX, which might allow you to hit a stat tier for DEX'.
If that doesn't make sense just ignore it, treat it as just another situation where the two games are night and day and once again your instinctive solution is to go toward the Dark Side.
They have cookies.
But I don't think I understand Intrepid's goals enough to say, I can only give my data from watching players and their psychology, and the thing about TL is that, well... people don't really 'complain' about base systems as much. I see that as a good sign, but I can see how people might see it as a bad one.
In TL you distribute your own stats though, and the Devs don't 'tell you how to do that' other than the 'after putting 20 points into STR it cost 2 Level-Points to get another point of STR'. You pick your own style and make it work with your gear choices. Since Ashes doesn't let you do this, it would come down to numbers and formulae again.
Plus, we already have issues with Ashes' waterfall stat choices. Anything I imagine is just gonna be 'but TL's is good, use something like that'. I literally won't be able to imagine 'which specific worse version they could use' (in terms of equations).
Azherae
1
Re: Undead and Zombies! (latest Sept. update video )
And half of them revive after you've downed them the first time.
Re: Make Levels Great Again!
How bad would hard ceilings on waterfall stats be for Ashes?The entire point of the design of Ashes is to force character growth into the player-social space. You can't just 'oppose your enemies for the sake of it' if Levels are too important because losing will setback your leveling. But you can do it by being socially adept enough to be chosen by the elite to receive power.
Let's say that at max lvl a char can have 50 value of each stat, 25 of them coming from pure lvls and 25 coming from any other source, but you can never go above 50. So before you reach lvl50 you could still get your stats to 50 value, but you'd be sacrificing a gear-based direct stat (like CW or evasion or whatever) increase by doing that.
Minmaxers will still have room to grow, because they can increase stats directly (or attempt full 50 stats, if Intrepid are willing to allow that), but the overall ceiling of waterfall stats would be equalized for all.
Feels like balancing both pve and pvp would be easier that way. And gear variety would matter more too, cause now crafting dials could go from "all waterfall stats" to "none waterfall, just direct stat" and you could mix and match all kinds of shit in the search of "optimal" power.
Ludullu
3
Re: Make Levels Great Again!
Ok, having re-read my response I realize that I massively failed to convey what I actually mean to you @Xeeg. The consequence of trying to keep things short when I shouldn't.
Throne and Liberty makes Level matter because it doesn't have:
Social Organization Power
Node Loyalty Power
Economic Knowledge/Control/Specialization Power (only kicking in now sorta)
Unrestricted Player-to-Player Trading.
I will at least skip the essay about how, if those things are coming, they will integrate well because the current benefits offered by Levels are diminished as Levels go higher, as is the case in most older MMOs (each new stat point is, percentage wise, less meaningful than any stat point before it). Mainly because Ashes will be the same.
But since Ashes intends for all those things to be available as meaningful power sources fairly early (unless this too has changed in which case ugh), and has less specialization until considerably further into the Leveling curve, there is no equivalent Level Based way to satisfy the ego of the average player.
If Intrepid says 'Gear will be 40-50% of a player's power', then it's not like the other 50% will be 'level'. Each of the other things mentioned will matter too.
But in AoC, half of those will be expressed through Gear. The difference is that in TL, your gear caps out in its ability to gain more power or suppress your enemies much faster. The salt-mine only opens basically on Castle Siege day when people are reminded just how much more powerful the winners are. The rest of the time, it's not as important that the gear is suppressing you because your growth can't be disrupted and forced into the player-social space.
The entire point of the design of Ashes is to force character growth into the player-social space. You can't just 'oppose your enemies for the sake of it' if Levels are too important because losing will setback your leveling. But you can do it by being socially adept enough to be chosen by the elite to receive power.
Unfortunately for any player who can't play constantly, who needs to devote time to being powerful, the elite will not take the same action. Tossing some leftover gear to a random who makes you smile is easy. Making 2 hours to take them to a good Exp spot is not.
Throne and Liberty makes Level matter because it doesn't have:
Social Organization Power
Node Loyalty Power
Economic Knowledge/Control/Specialization Power (only kicking in now sorta)
Unrestricted Player-to-Player Trading.
I will at least skip the essay about how, if those things are coming, they will integrate well because the current benefits offered by Levels are diminished as Levels go higher, as is the case in most older MMOs (each new stat point is, percentage wise, less meaningful than any stat point before it). Mainly because Ashes will be the same.
But since Ashes intends for all those things to be available as meaningful power sources fairly early (unless this too has changed in which case ugh), and has less specialization until considerably further into the Leveling curve, there is no equivalent Level Based way to satisfy the ego of the average player.
If Intrepid says 'Gear will be 40-50% of a player's power', then it's not like the other 50% will be 'level'. Each of the other things mentioned will matter too.
But in AoC, half of those will be expressed through Gear. The difference is that in TL, your gear caps out in its ability to gain more power or suppress your enemies much faster. The salt-mine only opens basically on Castle Siege day when people are reminded just how much more powerful the winners are. The rest of the time, it's not as important that the gear is suppressing you because your growth can't be disrupted and forced into the player-social space.
The entire point of the design of Ashes is to force character growth into the player-social space. You can't just 'oppose your enemies for the sake of it' if Levels are too important because losing will setback your leveling. But you can do it by being socially adept enough to be chosen by the elite to receive power.
Unfortunately for any player who can't play constantly, who needs to devote time to being powerful, the elite will not take the same action. Tossing some leftover gear to a random who makes you smile is easy. Making 2 hours to take them to a good Exp spot is not.
Azherae
1
Re: Transmog totally ruins immersion
Transmog is a total crap ruining immersion but I prefer the game generates cash with transmog than pay to win shits.
Myosotys
2
Re: Drop the node guards, but fix the problem.
I completely agree - griefers will always find a way to harass and exploit. Why stop exploiting when some of these same people keep getting a slap on the wrist and go back to toxic gameplay time and time again? I say give them the big prize of "fuck around and find out" lol letting these people stay long term without actual punishment only damages the health of a game short and long term imo.
Yeah, Ashes is already building something of a reputation for a toxic player-base, and it's not even nearing Launch.
Re: Auto Target after Skill use
I did not even think about this since too much TL made me forget that Ashes doesn't work like this but I too, need this if possible.
Azherae
1
Auto Target after Skill use
Hello People o/
After playing Alpha 2 for a while, I just have a small suggestion for the combat:
If you press a skill, it should target the nearest enemy, even if the skill is on cooldown.
If the skill is on cooldown, it should still target the enemy but instead start with auto attacks.
I don't know if you guys feel the same, but I think this would make the combat feel much smoother. I know this behavior from other games, and it felt really good when pressing a skill would automatically target an enemy. If the skill was on cooldown, it would still target an enemy and use auto attacks (if auto attack was turned on).
Maybe it should be an option: "Target Enemy when a Skill is Pressed.
After playing Alpha 2 for a while, I just have a small suggestion for the combat:
If you press a skill, it should target the nearest enemy, even if the skill is on cooldown.
If the skill is on cooldown, it should still target the enemy but instead start with auto attacks.
I don't know if you guys feel the same, but I think this would make the combat feel much smoother. I know this behavior from other games, and it felt really good when pressing a skill would automatically target an enemy. If the skill was on cooldown, it would still target an enemy and use auto attacks (if auto attack was turned on).
Maybe it should be an option: "Target Enemy when a Skill is Pressed.
SCHINKEN
1
Re: Dev Discussion #75 - Node Siege System
1st of April Siege - Lotharia EU Winstead Defender
As a Bard on the Lotharia Winstead Defender team, I felt like I had very little to contribute. Players were dying so fast that I couldn't even cast an ability in time to try to prevent that. There was no real "time to kill", and people were just dropping instantly.
The fight was over too quickly to make use of control point respawn camps.
On a positive note, having the final capture point at the marketplace instead of the hill is a good improvement for this node layout.
However, the Gate fell so quickly it felt like it was made of wet paper.
Overall, I felt like my actions had minimal impact on the siege's outcome.
2nd of April Siege - Lotharia EU Miraleth Attacker
The recent Siege highlighted how critical active and experienced shot-callers are for successful coordination. Without them, things can quickly fall apart. Relying solely on voice chat isn't always practical or reliable in large-scale battles, so players need better communication tools.
A potential solution is a map-drawing feature for players in charge, similar to what was implemented in Savage: The Battle for Newerth. In that game, commanders could freely draw on the map, and those markings would appear on other players' maps, providing visual cues for key locations, such as:
This system not only made it possible to quickly and simply communicate with a large number of players in real time, but it was also extremely easy to understand and an effective form of communication without needing voice chat at all. However, if combined with voice communication, this would greatly enhance the experience for everyone involved. Getting an audio-visual explanation is much better than just having half of it, or if you're not even in a voice chat, since you wouldn't know what's going on.
While it was technically possible to misuse those free-draw features to draw inappropriate things, in practice, players who abused it were quickly dealt with by effective and active moderation and the community.
I think that adding such, or very similar, tools is absolutely essential for Sieges and other large-scale content to provide a positive long-term experience. It would allow for greatly improved coordination, and as a huge bonus, it would also make it easier to communicate with people who may have difficulty hearing or speaking in voice chat.
As a Bard on the Lotharia Winstead Defender team, I felt like I had very little to contribute. Players were dying so fast that I couldn't even cast an ability in time to try to prevent that. There was no real "time to kill", and people were just dropping instantly.
The fight was over too quickly to make use of control point respawn camps.
On a positive note, having the final capture point at the marketplace instead of the hill is a good improvement for this node layout.
However, the Gate fell so quickly it felt like it was made of wet paper.
Overall, I felt like my actions had minimal impact on the siege's outcome.
2nd of April Siege - Lotharia EU Miraleth Attacker
The recent Siege highlighted how critical active and experienced shot-callers are for successful coordination. Without them, things can quickly fall apart. Relying solely on voice chat isn't always practical or reliable in large-scale battles, so players need better communication tools.
A potential solution is a map-drawing feature for players in charge, similar to what was implemented in Savage: The Battle for Newerth. In that game, commanders could freely draw on the map, and those markings would appear on other players' maps, providing visual cues for key locations, such as:
- Defend this area with blue walls
- Attack this way with red arrows
- Safe route with green lines
This system not only made it possible to quickly and simply communicate with a large number of players in real time, but it was also extremely easy to understand and an effective form of communication without needing voice chat at all. However, if combined with voice communication, this would greatly enhance the experience for everyone involved. Getting an audio-visual explanation is much better than just having half of it, or if you're not even in a voice chat, since you wouldn't know what's going on.
While it was technically possible to misuse those free-draw features to draw inappropriate things, in practice, players who abused it were quickly dealt with by effective and active moderation and the community.
I think that adding such, or very similar, tools is absolutely essential for Sieges and other large-scale content to provide a positive long-term experience. It would allow for greatly improved coordination, and as a huge bonus, it would also make it easier to communicate with people who may have difficulty hearing or speaking in voice chat.
Teyloune
2