Lone wolf (or smaller guilds) in node system

ArchivedUser

Thanks for the blog post on Nodes! Good read.
I like the idea and will be interesting to see how it develops.
One quick question, how will "lone wolf" or "small guild" (<10) players interact or survive in this system? Are those type of players going to be limited and forced to join or team with larger guilds in order to progress their nodes? Or will they be able to build some sort of stronger NPC defense system?

I'm not against joining a larger guild, but in general I'd say I prefer a smaller closer-knit group. Just curious to see if that will be a detriment in this system.

ArchivedUser

I think having your own node would be hard with a small guild/lone wolf, but nowhere does it state that you cant just play around a larger city. So you could just find a big city and play around within it, I guess. You just won't have that much of an influence, kinda like in real life I guess :)

ArchivedUser

Yeah, im hoping I can be part of a big guild since I believe you could be in a disadvantage if you're not in a guild with 30+ players.

At least thats what I think..

Cheers!

ArchivedUser

Keep in mind that there will always be areas between the "power nodes" controlled by the large guilds. A small town or tavern and stable with a few farms and perhaps a smith where small groups can subsist. They may not have the advantages of the "power nodes" but they could offer other benefits. We will of course have to wait to see how this might play out but I see some potential in being flexible in my commitments.

ArchivedUser

[quote quote=1319]Keep in mind that there will always be areas between the “power nodes” controlled by the large guilds. A small town or tavern and stable with a few farms and perhaps a smith where small groups can subsist. They may not have the advantages of the “power nodes” but they could offer other benefits. We will of course have to wait to see how this might play out but I see some potential in being flexible in my commitments.

[/quote]
Agreed, and it seems that theres also the possibility of having completely different crafting ingredients, recipes, items etc. from node to node. Making even small nodes valuable or maybe even a necessity :)

ArchivedUser

[quote quote=1279]Thanks for the blog post on Nodes! Good read.
I like the idea and will be interesting to see how it develops.
One quick question, how will “lone wolf” or “small guild” (<10) players interact or survive in this system? Are those type of players going to be limited and forced to join or team with larger guilds in order to progress their nodes? Or will they be able to build some sort of stronger NPC defense system?

I’m not against joining a larger guild, but in general I’d say I prefer a smaller closer-knit group. Just curious to see if that will be a detriment in this system.

[/quote]

Smaller guilds have their strengths and weaknesses. I have experienced many games where the world events tend to cater to larger guilds. That will not be the case in Ashes. We are designing our mechanics to involve ALL players from the server. And it tends to be the case, that a majority of those players exist in smaller more tight-knit communities. The events and node mechanics in Ashes will thrive from the activity of those smaller guilds or guildless players working in cooperation to create the world around them.

In short, our mechanics focus on bringing ALL players into the equation, whether they belong to a guild or not.

ArchivedUser

Thanks Steven, that sounds great man!

ArchivedUser

@Steven
A virtual pat on the the back. Inclusive.....at last.

ArchivedUser

I think the smaller guilds should ally with Larger guilds. For all of my MMORPG career, (I started playing UO in 1998 been playing MMOS since and have played countless MMORPGS) I have either run or been an officer in a smaller guild. They are great groups and focus on personal frienships. I can tell you during my SWG My guild was around 10 people and we had a Commando team that was allied with 18 other guilds on wanderhome. We always got to see and do content that took larger guilds to do and see. I can tell you we took down countless Player Run Bases. It was great. We didnt have to be in one of the larger guilds because we had our own guild and allied with others and had our own player run city.

You can have Smaller guilds in these nodes and you would just want to look for a guild like Grievance who is the guild I am in now and have been for a year now. Its a larger guild which I never use to like but it feels like home because it is a mature group of people and I can move to other games with the same group and without starting over.

ArchivedUser

Wow, glad to hear about being included at all sizes. Man I can't wait to see more!

ArchivedUser

I'm happy to see the smaller guild support also.

I've always disliked large guilds as they lose most of the "personal" touch that you would come to expect by joining a guild. Alternatively the super small guilds just seem too insular. So I guess you could say I'm a mid sized guild type of person. With that said the fact they are thinking about features that help small guilds inevitably means these same features will help mid sized guilds also.

ArchivedUser

[quote quote=1354]<blockquote>
<div class="d4p-bbt-quote-title"><a href="https://www.ashesofcreation.com/forums/topic/lone-wolf-or-smaller-guilds-in-node-system/#post-1279" rel="nofollow">Grizzly wrote:</a></div>
Thanks for the blog post on Nodes! Good read.
I like the idea and will be interesting to see how it develops.
One quick question, how will “lone wolf” or “small guild” (<10) players interact or survive in this system? Are those type of players going to be limited and forced to join or team with larger guilds in order to progress their nodes? Or will they be able to build some sort of stronger NPC defense system?

I’m not against joining a larger guild, but in general I’d say I prefer a smaller closer-knit group. Just curious to see if that will be a detriment in this system.

</blockquote>
Smaller guilds have their strengths and weaknesses. I have experienced many games where the world events tend to cater to larger guilds. That will not be the case in Ashes. We are designing our mechanics to involve ALL players from the server. And it tends to be the case, that a majority of those players exist in smaller more tight-knit communities. The events and node mechanics in Ashes will thrive from the activity of those smaller guilds or guildless players working in cooperation to create the world around them.

In short, our mechanics focus on bringing ALL players into the equation, whether they belong to a guild or not.

[/quote]

Ok, stop building my hopes up! You guys are saying all the right things. :)

I have always found myself in smaller guilds, the fact that AoC is thinking about this stuff ahead of time is really encouraging! :)

ArchivedUser

[quote quote=1354]<blockquote>
<div class="d4p-bbt-quote-title"><a href="https://www.ashesofcreation.com/forums/topic/lone-wolf-or-smaller-guilds-in-node-system/#post-1279" rel="nofollow">Grizzly wrote:</a></div>
Thanks for the blog post on Nodes! Good read.
I like the idea and will be interesting to see how it develops.
One quick question, how will “lone wolf” or “small guild” (<10) players interact or survive in this system? Are those type of players going to be limited and forced to join or team with larger guilds in order to progress their nodes? Or will they be able to build some sort of stronger NPC defense system?

I’m not against joining a larger guild, but in general I’d say I prefer a smaller closer-knit group. Just curious to see if that will be a detriment in this system.

</blockquote>
Smaller guilds have their strengths and weaknesses. I have experienced many games where the world events tend to cater to larger guilds. That will not be the case in Ashes. We are designing our mechanics to involve ALL players from the server. And it tends to be the case, that a majority of those players exist in smaller more tight-knit communities. The events and node mechanics in Ashes will thrive from the activity of those smaller guilds or guildless players working in cooperation to create the world around them.

In short, our mechanics focus on bringing ALL players into the equation, whether they belong to a guild or not.

[/quote]


That's good to hear, Steven.

ArchivedUser

We can always have hope (the inclusion part) I would love to see it come to be GL to you.

ArchivedUser

Honestly this game doesn't sound like it's solo friendly, unless you plan on being a tailor in a city without being that "adventurer" which is not entirely bad at all. I personally think that joining a guild or small organization for people who don't like much social interaction would be wise, especially if you need the help. I am Guild Master of Nexus, and we treat our members with as much love as we can muster. 

ArchivedUser

If players can set up in the wilderness, will they be able to trade with Nodes?

ArchivedUser

As someone who has always been in a smaller guild as well, I can say that we've often had a lot of luck working in a kind of "alliance of small guilds" that can come together for larger tasks while still retaining our own unique guild identities. 
Ashes of Creation may be a game where this approach works out quite well, but time will tell. 

ArchivedUser

Alfonzo said:

If players can set up in the wilderness, will they be able to trade with Nodes?

"Setting up in the wilderness" will still be contributing to Node progression.
You can trade with anyone interested in trading with you.

ArchivedUser

I think the key here is the expectations of the players need to be appropriate.  If a small guild of 10 players expect that they can build and maintain a metropolis level node, I think that expectation needs to get crushed without remorse.  On the other hand, if those 10 players believe they can build and maintain a small village, I think that might be reasonable.

The location of that village could also be important.  A small village near a thriving metropolis might be of little value, but that same village in a remote location might have greater value.  Lots of this depends on the world that's created.

So long as Intrepid sets and manages the expectations of all players correctly, everyone will be as happy as possible.  

ArchivedUser

I would imagine you can have a small guild community with maybe a few freeholds close together. It will probably be in a larger nodes zone of influence so you are contributing to node regardless of your guilds size. If you small guild goes out and explores and finds a cave and you start killing the monsters in that cave you are sill contributing to the node. And I am sure you can form temporary alliances with bigger guilds if you are having issues with a larger guild.

ArchivedUser

GMSteven said:

[quote quote=1279]Thanks for the blog post on Nodes! Good read.
I like the idea and will be interesting to see how it develops.
One quick question, how will “lone wolf” or “small guild” (<10) players interact or survive in this system? Are those type of players going to be limited and forced to join or team with larger guilds in order to progress their nodes? Or will they be able to build some sort of stronger NPC defense system?

I’m not against joining a larger guild, but in general I’d say I prefer a smaller closer-knit group. Just curious to see if that will be a detriment in this system.

[/quote]

Smaller guilds have their strengths and weaknesses. I have experienced many games where the world events tend to cater to larger guilds. That will not be the case in Ashes. We are designing our mechanics to involve ALL players from the server. And it tends to be the case, that a majority of those players exist in smaller more tight-knit communities. The events and node mechanics in Ashes will thrive from the activity of those smaller guilds or guildless players working in cooperation to create the world around them.

In short, our mechanics focus on bringing ALL players into the equation, whether they belong to a guild or not.

That is heartwarming to hear and thank you for posting.  It means a lot to hear from those who are in the game development process. 

@GMSteven - one follow-up question...  What will keep a larger guild from attacking the small guild in their little area in the world (village, small node) until the larger guild can completely take it over and all of the resources the small guild has amassed there?