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.
Make Raiding Special Again (Babbling Ideas)
ArchivedUser
Guest
I don't think there has ever been a raid across all MMOs that have really given the "OMG" effect from pure mechanics and environment. Looking back at WoW the big cool raids are only cool because of the lore behind the character players are downing and yet lack in anything truely innovating mechanic wise (yes yes old engine blah blah).
I think you guys truly have the design and imagination to change raiding for the better. I want to see a group of 5+ (dunno raid numbers) grown men and woman absolutely crap themselves in a dark shadowy cave barely lit, not knowing what to expect then BOOM this huge roar and huge boss just starts on you.
Having walk into a room and have the boss sat there in front of you watching you sharpen your blades and buff up really takes the excitement away. It needs to be spontaneous. Have the boss spawn from different areas of a room or area etc. upon different runs.
It would be cool to be walking along a frozen lake and the raid has to separate or it'll crack and you fall through = death. Imagine the environment around that lake, nothing but frozen waste, everything dead and being silent, only the wind blowing snow along the frozen floor can be heard and as you place a foot down this deafening crack just makes your heart pause and in a second the boss will erupt from beneath you smashing through the ice throwing you back and taking everyone by surprise (Noise meter or something you have to keep under a certain limit).
Think Zelda bosses the sick intros that had you on the edge of your seat you know something was coming as you walk around the empty area and WHAM boss baby. Even Dark Souls.
Boss Mechanics wise ust don't fall into the usual of re-using and mix matching boss mechanics over and over players will pick up on that in a heart beat.
We all believe in you!
Shout off below what you think could change Raiding as a whole for the better
I think you guys truly have the design and imagination to change raiding for the better. I want to see a group of 5+ (dunno raid numbers) grown men and woman absolutely crap themselves in a dark shadowy cave barely lit, not knowing what to expect then BOOM this huge roar and huge boss just starts on you.
Having walk into a room and have the boss sat there in front of you watching you sharpen your blades and buff up really takes the excitement away. It needs to be spontaneous. Have the boss spawn from different areas of a room or area etc. upon different runs.
It would be cool to be walking along a frozen lake and the raid has to separate or it'll crack and you fall through = death. Imagine the environment around that lake, nothing but frozen waste, everything dead and being silent, only the wind blowing snow along the frozen floor can be heard and as you place a foot down this deafening crack just makes your heart pause and in a second the boss will erupt from beneath you smashing through the ice throwing you back and taking everyone by surprise (Noise meter or something you have to keep under a certain limit).
Think Zelda bosses the sick intros that had you on the edge of your seat you know something was coming as you walk around the empty area and WHAM boss baby. Even Dark Souls.
Boss Mechanics wise ust don't fall into the usual of re-using and mix matching boss mechanics over and over players will pick up on that in a heart beat.
We all believe in you!
Shout off below what you think could change Raiding as a whole for the better
0
Comments
In a typical game teams are isolated and have little to no impact on each others future.
Where there is any interplay, it has nearly always been competitive rather than collaborative.
Ashes opens up a whole new meaning to the term Raids. Where mutiple teams of different sizes and playstyles can be given a node quest that must be run in parallel in a lock and key system that can happen at different sides of the map. But instead of doing this to advance personal progress or even team progress...you are instead advancing node progress.
Raids....pfft....I laugh at such things in comparison to what ashes enables. I am waiting for Intrepid to redefine the term EPIC ADVENTURE!
The game started off ok - though not great - and went downhill from there. Another game released at about the same time, EQ2, started off also ok, but drasticaaly improved year upon year. It helped that the combat mechanics in EQ2 are far more complex than WoW, allowing for more diversity, but the design of the encounters was also far superior.
EQ2's Theer is a raid mob every developer that is designing a raid boss should be aware of - especially the four rune version.
If the PvE raiding portion of this game takes queues from EQ2 more than WoW, I for one will be happy here.
A labyrinth raid: As the name suggests, a complex labyrinth thats extremely difficult to complete because no one has a map. (also make a few dozen variations of the labyrinth. don't want any hardcore gamers figuring the map out and posting it online. Reall just takes away from the adventure). And heres the cool thing. No group of monsters in the raid. Just occasional boss level minotaurs are encountered at dead ends. Treasure chests with rare gear can be found or treasure chests with a monster inside. And the main difficulty factor will be puzzles and traps. No straight running around in the labyrinth. You run out recklessly you die PERIOD. Tons of traps that require careful maneuvering or dodging. And at the very center of the maze is... NO FINAL BOSS!!! Yeah at the center will be a group of 20 AI controlled players. Same classes as we've been given to play as. Of course there will be variety of classes and they can change since theres 64 of them. And the 20 AI controlled players will use their abilities in the best possible sequence for best synergy. This sequence will be decided by devs but the pattern will always be the same to compliment each others abilities so defeating them is extremely difficult but not impossible if you counter the pattern. The only advantage actual players get is the fact that 40 man raids are supposed to be a thing. So 40 players fighting 20 AI controlled players with the best ability sequence. Of courses actual players will be weakened by everything in the maze if they can't find the center fast enough and run into too many traps.
And Most of dungeons will be placed in open world without closed instantions. What will be interesting. When you fighting with boss someone gank you.
I am sure they will do something awesome if we are talking about showing boss in dungeon.
I love raiding and agree with the OP that it would be great to see something awesome and new. I'm a huge fan of mechanics that make you think and plan to win the fight, not just throw 40 people at a boss and pound it into the ground.
I've seen raids in other game that split the party and make them complete separate but linked things in order to progress and its an interesting way to go and definitely makes more interesting.
The open world stuff will take care of itself with emergent stories from nodes rising an and falling, but make sure you craft a decent tale into the instanced stuff.