Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Alpha Two Realms are now unlocked for Phase II testing!
For our initial launch, testing will begin on Friday, December 20, 2024, at 10 AM Pacific and continue uninterrupted until Monday, January 6, 2025, at 10 AM Pacific. After January 6th, we’ll transition to a schedule of five-day-per-week access for the remainder of Phase II.
You can download the game launcher here and we encourage you to join us on our for the most up to date testing news.
Alpha Two Realms are now unlocked for Phase II testing!
For our initial launch, testing will begin on Friday, December 20, 2024, at 10 AM Pacific and continue uninterrupted until Monday, January 6, 2025, at 10 AM Pacific. After January 6th, we’ll transition to a schedule of five-day-per-week access for the remainder of Phase II.
You can download the game launcher here and we encourage you to join us on our for the most up to date testing news.
Comments
I just want to weigh in as a pvp'er myself. While i enjoy all aspects of the game(crafting,pve,pvp,etc) i love a fight and a challenge. I actually have played one of the most toxic pvp mmo's to date in my opinion being the original darkfall. I loved that game and no i was not a newbie ganker (which 90% of the base was). Yes i remember my first two weeks trying to learn to play and my first day a ganker came with his clan and one shotted me and took everything i just got. Honestly yes these players are the reason darkfall fell apart after that adding the fact that the dev team really didn't keep their end of the bargain to. Did i quit cause i got ganked pretty much everyday starting? Nope. i found a small clan and left the newb area as i realized that people camped it. I got stronger and better at the game and wound up leading a clan that held land for a long time with just 30 of us then we merged into what would wind up being one of the final big power blocs of the game black.
So for what it's worth darkfall's player base killed the game newbie camping cause hey it's a pvp game so get good mindset which meant no new players coming in and old ones leaving cause there is no more challenge as the numbers died off so did the vets.But there was really nothing else in the game but pvp(no joke). At least here the devs actually have played games understand what the players are looking for and most importantly actually care and with being a private company they can do whats right and not do what can we profit off of. So with the system they have now i think it will be a good balance. I hope there is no way to cheese the system. Cause while darkfall had the same kind of flagging(no stat loss like this one and everyone was lootable) but red flagging was kinda a joke as it only stopped you going into npc cities as they are not needed if you have/know clans you can use their stuff.
Here is the one reason i think this will not be an endless gankbox. There is more goals then just killing everyone you see. There are cities to build up crafting is more then just just get a couple things learn every craft and fight. you can't be every skill in the game. granted there are a lot of pvp goals as well but as for meaning less ganking i don't see it being a huge issue in this game. Granted i could be wrong but considering the corruption being what it is as long as it's well done i think the amount of grieving pvp will be low. now caravan raiding and holding a node and such on the other hand? I advise making friends or joining a clan that has pvpers in it or you most likely will have a bad time.
TL;DR You have to remember pve WILL drive this game without people hunting,gathering, and crafting nothing will grow nodes will not happen and most importantly to the pvp crowd gear will not be made. So we really do have a good balance here unlike darkfall. In fact with out pve and non combat roles in this gamer you will easily miss out on as it looks 70% of the game.
https://aocwiki.net/PvP
Joking aside we all knew what Ashes was when we backed the game, please don’t let the 1% change your concept of risk vs reward pvp !!! @GMSteven
The Devs have already said that their aim is to create a niche game so nothing that's said will change the design of the game in any drastic way.
What can and will change through testing is degrees, for example; what gets dropped and by whom, how much gets dropped, corruption gained, stats dropped per level of corruption.
But note that I said through testing, people moaning for a different game won't get it. All this thread accomplishes is keeping the bitching and trolling to this thread.
When it becomes time to test OWPvP and corruption I'm sure other threads will be created and this one will be forgotten but in the meantime let's get this to 2000 posts.
But why shouldn’t there be some risk if I choose to venture out into the wild to look for those rare materials that could possibly make me a lot of money or a powerful item ? You wouldn’t expect to waltz through a raid and just loot the boss chest without and any fight so the open world should be the same to some degree.
I class my self as a PVPer not a PKer. So if I see a dude really going at his wood or chipping away at that ore I’m not gonna bother him unless he bothers me first. I know a lot of people who have this outlook. Yes from games like BDO, ESO, AoConan, GW2. All these had or have a strong roaming pvp community, people looking for MEANINGFUL fights not a free kill then stat reductions from said kill !!
It's totally about MMOs making big promises of "controlled gank boxes", over and over, but never being able to deliver on that. Partly because that is a very player to player subjective definition and because humans will constantly find ways around restrictions.
Promises for "balanced" random PVP have been seen over and over but can never satisfy enough players to keep the game strong. All you can do is look at the next set of assurances and hope that developers can deliver...
Totally agree and I'm not one advocating for no random PVP. I like the sense of risk involved. I like there to be places I might go to explore/gather/etc... where there is danger beyond NPC mobs.
I am just hopefully pointing out that the PVP Averse portion of the MMORPG market have heard all of this before and no amount of logical points about balancing during Alpha stages will convince most of them to assume otherwise than a result that is sub par of their expectations.
It really can't when for some, getting ganked once is too much, getting ganked 1 time a day is too much and so on.
Point being that unless OUR attitudes change about what is acceptable PVP (all around) there will never be a really successful sandbox or "sandbox elements" game that is really a AAA performer.
And it's fine for goal posts to move.
We just need to check back in and be sure we both understand where the new perimeters are.
I agree, discouraged is not the same thing as restricted.
Which is precisely why RPers typically want separate servers designated for RPers.
And also why RPers are concerned about how the Ashes devs plan to support RPers in the game.
I don't know that anyone has asked for PvP combat to be totally removed from the game.
News flash, the amount of games with these kind of PvP mechanics are nigh non-existant, which is WHY ashes is so popular.
Thing is: free open world PVP games, that have sandbox elements (player crafted items primarily) usually fail. The same old story. Wolves eat the sheep until they are extinct. Then wolves turn on wolves and wolves start leaving. Then servers start dying, and so on it goes.
I read that AoC will have gear drops from mobs so that may not apply as seriously as other games, we'll see.
If I take your meaning of "Free PVP" wrong then plz forgive.
Some people have advocated strongly for separate servers - which is highly, highly, highly unlikely to happen.
Every playstyle here is being selfish - we all want to be able to enjoy this game.
What most people are here for is the Node system and how that has the great potential to end endgame and instead endlessly build up and tear down cities in order to continually churn out new and different content.
So, no, we can't just go a play another game like that because they don't exist yet.
In wow you cannot talk or trade with the horde or attack the alliance if ur alliance, for example.
And, again, most people are not here because they are waiting for a free-for-all PvP combat game. That's not what Ashes is.
Most people are here for the Node system.
Which includes PvX to drive world changes.
From what I've seen you can fight anywhere besides places like cities and starter zones, the PK system seems to suggest it's like that old game I was talking about, infact It sounds directly inspired from it, with even the same terminology.
It is possible to fight other players pretty much anywhere, but it is not free-for-all.
There are penalties for killing non-combatants. And there are restrictions against attacking groups of players you are aligned with - for instance, during a siege, it is impossible to attack fellow citizens of your home Node.
So.. again, it's not a free-you-can-do-anything game.
The Node system is PvX:
PvE to build and progress and PvP to capture or delevel.
Even defense is both PvE and PvP.
"Full PvP" has never been a thing for Ashes.
What you were hyped about and what you "remember" are subjective.
I guess you can share the quote and source of whatever you think it was that announced "full PvP".
If you are tired of the people here sharing their views and desires, you can always go find your own safe space that isn't so tiresome.
I play RPGs for the story and character acting; not for the challenge and thrills of combat.
Your post reminds me of a person from the Revival forums who was all, "Of course, imbecile! The whole point of Player v Player is to ruin your opponents' day and make them feel bad!"
I'm not really interested in competing against other players. I'm interested in coordinating and cooperating with other players even to tell a story about epic conflict between our characters - like I used to do in table-top D&D.
So, if I've got other stuff I'm trying to accomplish before I log out tonight, I'm happy to schedule hours of "PvP combat" tomorrow night.
You know... basic, good ole sportsmanship.
But, since most PvPers aren't into that, I typically prefer to play on PvE-only servers.
(But, again, we'll have to see if Corruption is truly a sufficient deterrent for the kind of encounters with PvPers that I abhor.)
Edit: I decided to rewrite my response. You came across as hostile but, even so, I don't have to respond any way but my own. Sounds like you are worried that AoC will turn out differently than they have described it because of something someone may post here. It won't. It'll be much like they are saying it will. You have nothing to feel threatened by from this thread.
Discussing things is interesting though, so I would like to ask that you don't try and shut down other posters (including myself). We just enjoy talking about things and exchanging insights.
Look at 2 versions of "Darkfall" for upcoming PVP oriented games with less restrictions.
I'll be waiting to try this game. It looks like it will be great if all goals are met!
Good Luck!
Given that alpha and beta will be a time in which people like myself will be going on murder rampages to test out and improve the corruption system, I foresee a very short AoC 'career' for you. Best of luck in Eve Online.
The extremes of both camps are so inflexible in attitude.
sigh...
ganking wont be worth it in this game.
That's what alts are for.
Also, there is no P2W so players will have to earn what they get, having the chance to drop an item knowing you might not be able to get another one would also be a deterrent.
I know there will be those that PvP and PK for thrills and do nothing else, as likely there will be PvE players that gather/craft/farm/MOB-hunt and do no (if possible) PvP.
I highly suggest playing the game before jumping on the "PvE Servers" or "Remove Corruption" bandwagons.
I mean, it might not be that bad.
This whole discussion reminds me of twinks in WoW. For years they argued that if there were "twink only BG's" they would love that because no one enjoys being a twink and fighting non-twinks. So finally Blizz gave it to them, regular BG's became fun again, and Twinks completely died, because as we knew all along, people that twink are cowards...once the playing field was lvl, they left. You can 100% bet the same will happen in this game, but since it's open world, they will never have a reason to quit. Thousands of players will leave this game because of gankers making logging in not fun, and that is not an over estimate. It's happened before this game, it will happen to this game, and it will happen after this game. Players and game designers alike just never seem to fathom how far many players are willing to go to gank!