Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Comments
I forget to sleep when I really have fun with something as well :P Just not cause I want to rush but cause I just cant put the game down sometimes
If i get it right DeathsProxy plays the game on a competitive way from the beginning. If the game offers good pvp content and demanding raids and dungeons its a legitimate way to play but i personaly think you will always sacrifice a part of the roleplay experience for this. Like Ariatras said you cant replicate the feeling of the first time and if you do the first time relaxed and soak up everything you see you will feel a special from of closeness to the world. Just can recommend to try it ^^
This, however does not mean I have to do all this at a "snail pace".
I will both enjoy it all, and level up at a nice pace, and then when I am max level, I will continue to enjoy it.
Being max level, does not mean you stop enjoying environment. Quite the contrary, you can enjoy it even more, being able to travel to even more places where you couldn't travel before, being limited by your level.
When playing an rpg I follow the laws set forth by Skyrim, Dank Souls, and Tera, So I'm not sorry if casuals get butthurt when they get crushed but that is your fault not mine.
With Ashes I'm promising myself I won't do that. I want to immerse myself in the lore as much as possible. I want to understand the world and the characters in it.
I feel that one of the main reasons questing becomes boring is because I don't understand why I'm doing what I'm doing. When I blast through the content without reading anything I'm just following waypoints on the map and completing some random action when I get there it just feels repetitive and boring.
I'm hoping that, if I were to take my time and understand the story, questing will become enjoyable again and I'll feel like I'm actually *going on a quest* rather than just ticking boxes on a checklist.
This game is going to have consecuences. Rushing and taking your time have different sets of concecuences, the world will be full of opportunities, and if you fail to take the opportunity to participate on a world boss fight because you were looking at the sunset that's going to be on you if you feel like you missed out or not. For example one of my RP characters will never go near a World boss, he will be the first in line for the civilian evacuation of a node. So I wouldn't feel like I missed out on this scenario.
Annother example is: If you're too slow you will not find the physical home you want in the node you want to live in and will have to settle for a smaller home on the outskirts of the node or if you are late enough maybe even settle for an instanced apartment Or join an enemy node, help destroy the node and then work to rebuild it and this time place your home there.
the game world will be everchanging, and new opportunities will appear very frequently so you will Miss many opportunities, but there will be new stuff to do that you can participate in constantly.
On the flip side if you are exploring a cave because you decided to take it slow and not take that quest, you might be the first one to find something new. Also those of us that take our time are more likely to find hidden things, because those rushing, just ignore subtle hints and sprint passed the text and places without stopping to observe what that suspicious looking man is doing in the middle of nowhere.
Oh yeah, I totally get there will be a ton of different things that you miss out on one way or another. Mostly I just hope that if I take my time, there is a cap to get to. Games that have no level / gear cap (BDO is the only example I know of), and with more drastic the affects of a single level difference, the more impossible it is to ever catch up if you fall behind.
I spent a lot of time in that game doing economy life skill things... then when I wanted to get into combat it was impossible. I did so much grinding to get up to where the general community was, but when I got there the general community was already higher.
There will likely be many nodes capable of hitting level 3 coming and going. So obtaining a house inside a city would be some luck and some perseverance. Instanced housing in a fully developed node would be a rush if they were limited I guess.
I also don't see how taking your time or rushing puts you at a greater or lesser chance of experiencing a world boss. You are either close enough about when it starts or you're not.
I do agree with the suggestion that those who rush might be less likely to discover hidden secrets, but that depends on how they are rushing, imo.
I love exploring new worlds when MMOs first arrive, being deeply invested in the stories being told as well as making my own in the universe thats given to me but at the same time, i like being competitive, and being competitive means pushing it to the limit and being just as equipped as those who are also in the sphere of that concept. It truly depends on the alphas & betas. If i can get into the story during these phases and be drawn in then itll be a strong focus for me.
Given the scale of Ashes as well, I plan to at least get far enough to feel secure in my abilities to play, but I know myself well enough that fairly early on, I'll be off the beat path and try to run around in an area that could one shot me or try to Skyrim up some mountain and refuse to be told "You can't do this", with the attitude of "watch me." cause I want to see what is over a ridge and stare at the world from high above.
Its what I do. I explore and I hate it when games block me from taking the chances and life of my character in their hands, instead of keeping it in my own. Its the thrill of the unknown and the adventure of the danger that always keeps me going, and that-- is why I take forever in games, because I want to take it all in.
So I guess I'm in the rush camp but I'm usually playing with a static group of friends so we tend to do the main quest/dungeons/grinding on the way up.
Get to the max level and then start doing the exploring just because then we have all the options open to us and can actually get the most out of our time spent.
The fun of a MMORPG is I can be whoever I want. I don't have to save any princess or finding my daughter whom is chasing by an army. When I see a beautiful landcape I'll stop and sit down.
Game isn't a job, it's not real life either, the moment like that can be missed If you rush too fast.
The most fun time of a MMO is when it first released imo so I'll enjoy it as much as I can .