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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
My first marriage didnt work out so well.....and i lost 1/2 of everything including my house, 1/2 my retirement savings and she even got the damn dog....lol...ugghhh
Why the heck would i want that in my game too
How about a one night stand, netflix(or what ever the ashes equivalent of Netflix is)and chill, no commitment kinda system. You know.. you meet at the Tavern.. make small talk.. run around a bit and kill things , make some dinner together... watch the submarine races....and go your separate ways and i get to keep my gold and my Pet..
So i can assume you're okay with maybe a "family" system (similar to AA). Regarding the "no bonuses...benefits mean players marry for benefits." Why would this be a concern of yours? I mean any organization brings "benefits" usually a "group" can get more done then a single player. Ex. wouldn't you say that people join guilds because they give benefits? Some of those guild benefits directly relate to xp-gens/stat modifiers/ect in other games. So why shouldn't there a modilar, albeit small, benefit for those who choose to get married to each other, or those who decided to create a family (clan for you east MMO's). I mean if i'm not mistaken the studio has stressed that they want players to actually play together and cooperate with one other in order to achieve
1) Do you believe no guild benefits should be given other than what the management provides (DKP/Paying members).
2) Do you believe that only XP bonuses should be excluded from the benefits a guild can provide?
3) Do you believe that in general there should be no xp modifiers in the game? (including profession xp seeing as i presume that would be different then combat xp (think artisan crafting vs character level))?
4) Please expand further if you have anything else to add to the follow questions and their resultant answers.
*PS. previous statement didn't only include xp modifers but also stat bonus and ect...(expand upon) can i assume those shouldn't be provided under your statement also?
Why would you need modifiers to a marriage?
Wouldn't the marriage be a statement of love, or possible eternal friendship?
If there are bonuses associated with being married, why would you and your buddy not just "marry" each other and move on?
Who cares if you adventure with another character you chose to call family?
If you and your* buddy decide marriage is weird, why not call yourselves brothers for the same benefit?
What part about claiming a familial or marriage bond is the part that grants the bonus? Are the gods just happier in general for peeps with family or that are married and they think those individuals deserve a bonus that others do not?
I don't think being in a guild should give you bonuses, you should join a guild for companionship and to adventure with like minded individuals. If you only join a guild for bonuses I would say, imo, you are doing it wrong.
I believe in general there should be no xp modifiers in the game. Why does everyone want a hand out in MMO's?
I am 100% backing my original statement,
"I don't think there should be bonuses to stats/xp-gen/fast-travel/etc. just because two players marry their toons. Adding benefits mean players marry for benefits.
Other than the "no benefits" thing, I think this should be an option."
As far as why it is a concern of mine, this thread was started so everyone could voice their opinions on the subject, and I voiced mine. It would concern me if everyone joined a guild and then everyone in the guild paired off to get married so* they can have bonuses. Because, imo, that's lame.
Post Script (not really)
Please explain to me why two, or more players, need benefits because they like to play with each other?
*Grammar/Spelling Edits
And as to your #1. I have never thought DKP as a positive thing in a guild. It only leads to drama and favoritism. And if you think I am going to be paying you to be in your guild, well I guess there are still rubes out there ready for plucking.
I am definitely a fan of marrying people if someone can tie me down!
Like if you target another character of the opposite gender you get "Slept on Couch-Stamina -10%" and "-100% on Free Time"
Or when the marriage breaks up they get half your items.
Regarding your last stament regarding your buddy and you getting "married" for the benefits. Sure I see no problem with that. Just know that divorce has it's pitfalls too
Yes. Literally that. In plenty of religions (which we know there will be quite a few in AoC), there are lines regarding procreation and how God(s) smile kindly on those who have families and close familial ties.
1. The opinion that guild bonuses (benefits) detract from players who seek guilds for companionship/adventure as their primary focus.
A. I simply, fundamentally disagree w/ this sentiment. I don't believe that having benefits "detracts" from a player.
2. That guild bonuses (benefits) are an inherently negative idea, and bring no positive aspects to a game.
A. Again i disagree, benefits can bring alot of positive to a game. If we make the assumptions that not all "benefits" are accessible to all guilds. (I.E guild can choose a path of "benefits" tailored to their specific interest). Then we would have a very diverse and dynamic guild population in game. Some guilds would focus on economical gains (either through commerce or investment banking), there would be guilds that focus on being mercs (small-medium pvp guilds). There would be massive "zerg" guilds (those who seek to have the most members possible). There will be specific raiding guilds or maybe even specific life-skilling(crafting, ect..) guilds. This diverse biome of guilds would create an interesting (and in this case dynamic/interesting is a good thing) guilds diplomacy and interactions.
3. That those who join a guild for another reason then companionship/adventure are playing a game "wrong".
A. This statement made me tilt my head. How can someone being playing the game "wrong" as long as their enjoying themselves and not breaking ToS? That's seems a bit narrow. People have varying reasons to do anything, and that includes joining a guild to dismiss all of them and label them as wrong as long as they don't fit into "companionship/adventure" just seems...well wrong lol.
I'm curious are you also against guilds getting benefits from owning a one of the five guild castles in game? I mean the guild (and presumably the members) get benefits by owning such a castle. Is that against your belief also?
I believe in general there should be no xp modifiers in the game. Why does everyone want a hand out in MMO's?
Well first that seems like a slippery slope argument. Secondly i'm not even sure where to begin trying to approach your statement. I could start with the idea that marriages themselves are quite expensive (pay alot of ingame currency in order to have the ceremony (think AoW)) and that should alleviate your concerns that everyone would get married. Another idea is that people get the same benefits form marriage as they do for creating a "family" then would that alleviate your concerns? Another statement could be that people who choose a specific religion in-game get certain benefits/modifiers, would you be concerned that everyone in your guild would end up being zealot dwarfs under the same premise? Also doesn't the same thing sort of happen regarding a node, i mean you join a guild but then your guild mates all want to join a specific node so that you guys can all get the same sort of benefits from a particular node, would that be a concern of yours?
All in all I quite enjoy this conversation it really brings into light some concerns that I wouldn't have thought of.
I just don't think Ashes has to fall in line and do what all other MMO's are doing. I can understand giving bonuses to guilds doing guild content, taking castles and such, but bonuses for adventuring together does not, nor has it ever, made sense to me.
I think it does encourage grouping, but I think content and content difficulty should do that. Players should group together because they have reasons outside of modifiers.
For me there is no reason to make being married beneficial, the players should choose marriage for RP or IRL reasons. Guilds should be able to form a solid community in and around itself and offer guild members friends/regulars/mates to do content with.
Adding bonuses, for me, has always been a cheap way of saying "we don't know how to encourage players to engage with each other, so lets pay them off to do it."
*Also I can see where you are coming from, and your last sentence basically sums it up perfect (your position on why its a bad/boring system).
You bring up a lot of valid concerns. If one of the guild "leveling" paths allows the guild to grant benefits to it's members, I think that is awesome. That is also going to be the most likely guild I join, as opposed to one that follows the path of huge rosters. Does that mean I think they are necessary, no. Just that it's awesome IS has chosen to be that dynamic with their guild structure.
As for marriage/familial bond benefits, I see no point. You are simple giving two, or more, players benefits for playing together. Which is something they would, apparently, be more inclined to do anyways. I just don't see why a group of friends, or RL family members, should be rewarded for doing something they are already going to do. I hope marriages will be a thing, and I think players should be able to choose the amount they spend on them. That said, if your example becomes the reality and there are 1 or more bonuses to marriage, it should have a cost and it should be "locked" so that the players can't un-marry. Otherwise [enter a slippery slope type argument]...
Like USE mentioned, hopefully one of the religions offers you the chance to marry multiple players. Why not.
When I mentioned earlier about voicing my opinion I was trying to indicate that, originally, I wasn't thinking of why it would actually concern me. Just that I wanted to share my opinion. Re-reading that I do sound kind of dickish, not my goal. Nor do I believe you were trying to indicate I could/should not be allowed to.
I also don't think giving benefits to players that choose a bond, any, is a negative thing. Just a pointless one. Hence my statement, "If you only join a guild for bonuses I would say, imo, you are doing it wrong." I don't believe you would be playing the game incorrectly, just that your motives, again imo, aren't genuine. Then you're just min/maxing and I don't consider that a valid play type for RPG's. [It might be, I just don't think it is.]
I 100% believe that guilds, nodes, and other things will grant a variety of stat/xp bonuses. I just don't think that it's necessary.
I would hope that Ashes offers many other, imo better, reasons to join guilds, choose specific religions, and nodes. If the benefits are just a secondary flavor to something the game encourages you to do naturally, it would be a win for me.
Oh, I do believe that guilds should have benefits from winning and maintaining castles. I just think those benefits should only affect the defense and offense of that structure. Not grant some sort of blanket xp/stat modifier as long as they can keep it.
However, there would be a payment requirement for creating and absolving a marriage.
Couple mounts and pets are kind of a thing that I've seen too, though no really special abilities added, just cosmetic stuff.
Having it in the system would be nice from a role playing/immersion aspect. Keeping away from too many special features/bonuses would hopefully keep some sort of balance between couples and singles to keep a nice mix within each community.
It's like a little thing, that just adds a little something extra to what a player would expect to see in a world, but definitely not a main feature.
Maybe even something as simple as allowing a married couple to place freehold land closer together than people that are not married.