Nodes and large scale game strategy

ArchivedUser

The preface for this thread is centered around the "Nodes pt 2" video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44HChA1Kkfk" target="_blank">Here</a>

Looking to gather community incite on game strategy involving node creation as well as what guilds would benefit from each individual node vs the entire community. What nodes should be built first? What type and location? Pros/Cons to each node and their ruling type + player involvement and decision making.

We don't yet have a map of the game besides snippets nor the specifics of resource allocation (how many upgraded nodes can be present) but with the lack of information, what are your ideas for "large picture" game strategy?

ArchivedUser

From what I have seen, the best strategy would be for an Alliance of large guilds to concentrate all efforts on a single node and build to metropolis as soon as possible. They will then reap the rewards first and suck up all the in-town housing. (If not enough housing, concentrate all efforts to build up 2 nodes to Metropolis as soon as possible.

I assume whoever gets the Metropolis level nodes first will have them for a long while as it will take massive effort to bring them down.

This could cause problems if quite a few large guilds coordinate in this fashion. Likewise, if these large organizations decide that one Metropolis is not enough, They can easily coordinate a super alliance and split the 5 metropolis holdings and mutually defend each other.

We could see a few Alliances run entire servers and if they mutually defend their holdings, well, no Metropolis for you.

Then they burn everyone else's towns down for fun.

I had heard guild sizes may go up to 300. I really don't think the number matters because if guild size is limited, guilds just make sub-guilds and coordinate over Discord anyway.

As "in town" player housing is limited in number and "appreciates" and gets bigger (and worth more money), you can bet this will be a popular strategy.

ArchivedUser

Really depends i gues if youre a guild that wants a node for thier selfs a militairy would be better.

But in general i think economic wil be better cause you can make some cash.

ArchivedUser

As much as I hate the picture painted...
@Barcellona
..has pretty much hit the nail on the head IMO

But fighting other guilds and players is one thing...
..you have the environment to fight off to.
So in effect it is 3 faction warfare.
You vs others vs game world.
The game world will want to take back any land you claim.
Competing players/groups will also want to take back any land you claim.

A wise group might actually want to wait for the world to launch a devastating attack...and then add to those numbers.
.
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_enemy_of_my_enemy_is_my_friend">The enemy of my enemy is my friend</a>

ArchivedUser

I wouldn't be surprised if the devs have designed a counter to the rush style tactic. I'm thinking that if you focus solely on gaining node levels as quickly as possible the world could trigger monsters/bosses that are beyond your level to deal with. Might be that a player base that takes the time to develop slowly and gain a more stable system of governance along with a better understanding of the game may have an advantage in the long run.

This is purely conjecture as we can't really know for sure until we get some hands on experience.

ArchivedUser

[quote quote=11550] What nodes should be built first? What type and location? Pros/Cons to each node and their ruling type + player involvement and decision making. [/quote]

I love speculating! I imagine that desirable node location will mimic the real world a good deal. I'm sure having an economic metro on the sea would be best for shipping industry (makes them more vulnerable to attack and gives less neighboring land). I imagine militaristic metros might benefit from something in the mountains that is more easily defensible (less able to access resources). Divine metros, since they are based on service, might be best located near as many terrains as possible to give access to as many monster/quest types as possible (less specific advantage). And scientific metros will probably want to be near the largest resource pools to gather raw materials (disadvantage may vary, but probably opens them to attack).

[quote quote=11550] We don’t yet have a map of the game besides snippets nor the specifics of resource allocation (how many upgraded nodes can be present) but with the lack of information, what are your ideas for “large picture” game strategy? [/quote]

Well, like everyone else, I'm hoping the rush strategy doesn't become the sole focus, though I think that's an impossible aspect to remove entirely (not should it be). I honestly think the #1 piece of strategy is going to be setting ALL specific goals before you load up the game. If your goal is to be a great warrior, awesome, then every choice you know you're going to make through the game should serve the goal of becoming a warrior. The #2 piece of strategy is going to be getting people to buy into your vision of #1 so that your efforts become group efforts, not solo efforts. Diversification is going to be huge. Groups who start the game with a full plan and a cohesive group who play constantly are going to be the ones building level 6 nodes. But you knew all this already! So let's speculate more.

We know the world will need to have elements of scarcity, because, well, it's a game with an economy. I imagine those with the most power initially will be the ones near the best/most natural resources. They'll see a quick jump in success. Taking from my previous thoughts, a military-minded person on a mountain top may have a tough time with diversity of resources at first, and thus, might fall behind in development at the outset. I imagine that as resource-rich areas begin needing some caravans, these populations who fell behind will likely finally be gaining some steam and able to conquer enemies. I think that will provide some natural balance in conflicts for the military minded. On the flip side, if a military group misplans and finds a very resource rich location that is vulnerble, they might find immense success early, but then fade later as they can't defend themselves as well.

I now realize I'm going on quite a bit, so I'll leave it there. Thoughts?

ArchivedUser

One thing that may be good about the rush tactic, is that even if guilds may use it, I doubt most guilds will go for zones closer to the main spawn point as at the beginning of the game everyone will be on more or less even footing level wise, the only difference is the planners probably already have a strategy to get their guilds to high enough level to start on building up one of the nodes. Since we do not have maps yet of the world, this is only a guess, but to me if a guild doesn't want to have to compete with everyone else, they will most likely have scouted good nodes and zones farther away from the main spawn points and focus early leveling there so by the time others come they will have control over their area and can monopolize resources for themselves. This is by the way based upon the portals the devs mentioned as how we may enter the world from, and considering finite resources the places closer to the spawn will be stripped of any value just by the amount of players, even if you have a 300 player guild the rush of launch will make it hard to grow in your immediate area because of all of the other players.
Now in regards to late game, the devs have said there will be different activities for different sizes of guilds, however, since crafting and trading seems to be an important factor in this game, even if a guild could control a node they would still have to rely on other nodes and players for resources that they lack and trading. And if the devs continue pushing community, it will be more like smaller guilds that will interact beneficially with the larger ones. Even in a large guild, having smaller guilds allied for resource gathering or caravan protection allows the larger guild to devote more members to PvE and PvP and crafting , while the smaller guilds grow and if allied with the larger guild, gain their protection if needed.