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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.
Taming system, mounts and housing combined? Hit me up if I'm way off with this.
Nitpick
Member
Greetings, fellow adventurers.
So, I was thinking. Everyone is talking about the professions and what will be the most efficient one. Everyone is talking about the mounts and how rare will it actually be to have a mount. There is supposed to be a quest line for each specific mount, if I am not mistaking. Now this brought up an idea in my head. I don't know if Intrepid is going to approach this as any other game, or if they are going to get creative in this area aswell. Just hear me out.
What if the mount would not just "appear" and "dissapear" on your order (skill/item use), but would actually "exist" in the world, with it's own HP? It would have to be fed, you'd have to keep the mounts in your own stables and if you decide to take them on a journey, they would always be "existing" near you. It would take many risks, because they could be killed by other players, die in dungeons and if you decide to keep it in front of the dungeon, waiting for you, it could get stolen or killed.
The reason why I think this would be amazing (and sadly difficult to make it happen) is because of the Taming artisanship. Just as a player can make a "pub" or a "restaurant" out of his own house, the tamer would be able to not only tame pets/mounts, but keep them in his stables (that would be able to house only a limited amount of pets/mounts, for obvious reasons), as well as breed them and give them specific bonuses by doing so. Like, any player would be able to get a "basic" kind of mount, like your standard horse we've seen in the gameplay footages (or racial mounts), but only a master tamer/breeder would be able to get you an amazingly rare mount/pet. The better the tamer/breeder, the better the bonus it will give the mount/pet (like +5 movement speed at start, master in this "craft" would give +50. Just an example). Also, they mentioned flying mounts being present from the dropped eggs from epic world bosses or something like that. Imagine being able to give those eggs to master breeders (for a price of course) to get the maximum duration for the life of the dragon (or any other beast that hatches). This would further deepen the economy , make mounts more rare and precious, would further deepen the importance of distance, because of the risk traveling on mount would carry, and help make this choice of artisanship all the more worth it.
Also, since stables can only hold so many beasts/pets/mounts at once, people would only be able to have only about 5-15 at once. Which means they would have to restock quite often, if they make a good business, if the demand will be appropriate, which it should be. Or people could decide to have this as their side business, while holding "illegal" pet battles in certain nodes, which would make the demand for amazing pets even more present. There is just so much that could happen on it's own in the environment! I can't wait to see how it'll work!
Probably the biggest reason for sharing such a daring idea is the "high risk - high reward" system they are trying to pull out. I think that this goes hand in hand with that way more, than the usual, common, system... that every other mmo is using. You know... Less time for traveling x Risk of losing your fairly expensive way of traveling. Giving Rogues more chances to shine with their swift movements (stealing is amazing, especially if stealth would be present outside of combat aswell). It would just feel so much more natural for the environment that we are expecting to see in the game. Of course, this is just my own personal opinion.
If it was possible, without crashing the servers, would you agree that this would be interesting?
Edit: I just thought it would be amazing if they expand the idea in a manner similiar to:
(Gathering) Tamer: Tames beasts for breeders. The higher the proficiency, the higher level mobs you can tame. If you master this, you can tame any beast mob in the world without conditions (I suppose taming will have some) and give bonuses to tamed beasts. Also, you can sell (for an INSANE price, of course :P ) your dropped world boss eggs to other players (only possible with Mastery in Taming) so that they can be the owners of said eggs, later on, beasts.
(Processing) Breeder: Breeds pets from the tamed beasts. The higher the proficiency, the more you can breed at the same time and the higher the bonus you can give to it's stats (HP, speed, ability to survive without food, etc.). If you master this, you can mix different beasts to make unique pets to be trained by trainers. Also, you can breed epic world boss eggs looted by other players for them and further upgrade their lifetime. (Players will be able to do this themselves, but not so effectively)
(Crafting) Trainer: Trains bred pets to become mounts. The higher the proficiency, the better stats will the mount receive. (HP, speed, deeper bond with future owner, etc.) If you master this, you can train bred epic world boss egg beasts for other players, to become mounts and further upgrade their lifetime. (Players will be able to do this themselves, but not so effectively)
So, I was thinking. Everyone is talking about the professions and what will be the most efficient one. Everyone is talking about the mounts and how rare will it actually be to have a mount. There is supposed to be a quest line for each specific mount, if I am not mistaking. Now this brought up an idea in my head. I don't know if Intrepid is going to approach this as any other game, or if they are going to get creative in this area aswell. Just hear me out.
What if the mount would not just "appear" and "dissapear" on your order (skill/item use), but would actually "exist" in the world, with it's own HP? It would have to be fed, you'd have to keep the mounts in your own stables and if you decide to take them on a journey, they would always be "existing" near you. It would take many risks, because they could be killed by other players, die in dungeons and if you decide to keep it in front of the dungeon, waiting for you, it could get stolen or killed.
The reason why I think this would be amazing (and sadly difficult to make it happen) is because of the Taming artisanship. Just as a player can make a "pub" or a "restaurant" out of his own house, the tamer would be able to not only tame pets/mounts, but keep them in his stables (that would be able to house only a limited amount of pets/mounts, for obvious reasons), as well as breed them and give them specific bonuses by doing so. Like, any player would be able to get a "basic" kind of mount, like your standard horse we've seen in the gameplay footages (or racial mounts), but only a master tamer/breeder would be able to get you an amazingly rare mount/pet. The better the tamer/breeder, the better the bonus it will give the mount/pet (like +5 movement speed at start, master in this "craft" would give +50. Just an example). Also, they mentioned flying mounts being present from the dropped eggs from epic world bosses or something like that. Imagine being able to give those eggs to master breeders (for a price of course) to get the maximum duration for the life of the dragon (or any other beast that hatches). This would further deepen the economy , make mounts more rare and precious, would further deepen the importance of distance, because of the risk traveling on mount would carry, and help make this choice of artisanship all the more worth it.
Also, since stables can only hold so many beasts/pets/mounts at once, people would only be able to have only about 5-15 at once. Which means they would have to restock quite often, if they make a good business, if the demand will be appropriate, which it should be. Or people could decide to have this as their side business, while holding "illegal" pet battles in certain nodes, which would make the demand for amazing pets even more present. There is just so much that could happen on it's own in the environment! I can't wait to see how it'll work!
Probably the biggest reason for sharing such a daring idea is the "high risk - high reward" system they are trying to pull out. I think that this goes hand in hand with that way more, than the usual, common, system... that every other mmo is using. You know... Less time for traveling x Risk of losing your fairly expensive way of traveling. Giving Rogues more chances to shine with their swift movements (stealing is amazing, especially if stealth would be present outside of combat aswell). It would just feel so much more natural for the environment that we are expecting to see in the game. Of course, this is just my own personal opinion.
If it was possible, without crashing the servers, would you agree that this would be interesting?
Edit: I just thought it would be amazing if they expand the idea in a manner similiar to:
(Gathering) Tamer: Tames beasts for breeders. The higher the proficiency, the higher level mobs you can tame. If you master this, you can tame any beast mob in the world without conditions (I suppose taming will have some) and give bonuses to tamed beasts. Also, you can sell (for an INSANE price, of course :P ) your dropped world boss eggs to other players (only possible with Mastery in Taming) so that they can be the owners of said eggs, later on, beasts.
(Processing) Breeder: Breeds pets from the tamed beasts. The higher the proficiency, the more you can breed at the same time and the higher the bonus you can give to it's stats (HP, speed, ability to survive without food, etc.). If you master this, you can mix different beasts to make unique pets to be trained by trainers. Also, you can breed epic world boss eggs looted by other players for them and further upgrade their lifetime. (Players will be able to do this themselves, but not so effectively)
(Crafting) Trainer: Trains bred pets to become mounts. The higher the proficiency, the better stats will the mount receive. (HP, speed, deeper bond with future owner, etc.) If you master this, you can train bred epic world boss egg beasts for other players, to become mounts and further upgrade their lifetime. (Players will be able to do this themselves, but not so effectively)
3
Comments
Aiming to be realistic only benefits the game until you get to a point that it just gets tedious, and I think this is a ways over that line.
Could do something similar to the Witcher 3. Whistle for your mount and it appears from behind a tree lol. Would be cool
Guess it wouldn't work with multiple eyes on you lol
No, I do not feel like that would be cool. That is basically... no, ABSOLUTELY the same thing as in any other game. You just "summon" a mount with a "whistle". Nothing special about that, in any way...
Not sure if serious or because name
Not at all. You can still take it with you, it should be able to defend itself to a certain point. If it dies, than you didn't protect it well. You can push to a certain area, than leave someone with all the mounts in a specific place. Or you can assign a smaller group (if you have larger party) to guard the entrance (so no one can disrupt your dungeon run) and you can also leave the mounts behind with them. I can even see people making it their business, guarding mounts in front of dungeons for players, parties or even whole guilds.
Plus, there is the option of teleporting to close people to you. If it's a raid, one person can "sacrifice" a basic mount to get there, than everybody gets summoned. If it's a solo kind of dungeon, I see no problem in going with your mount...?
I am absolutely serious. In WoW, for example, there is even the whistle icon for pets/mounts, if I remember correctly xD The only difference is, that there is no whistle sound and you get mounted instantly. Without the animation of mount coming from behind. Everything else, still the same. Nothing extraordinary about that, in my opinion.
Different doesn't always equal better tbh
I feel like it does, in this case. I get that it's a fantasy world (you will be able to ride overgrown feline monsters, lizards and even more crazy beasts), I just don't like the idea of mounts being a "collectible" kind of thing. You have a mount for the traveling, not showing your 9999 mounts, existing in a different dimension or whatever, off in Asmongold mount-off or whatever. I'd prefer to have one, maybe two - three different mounts, for different purposes. Basilisk for dungeons, because it could protect itself better, the feline one for quick traveling from point A to point B and... idk, bear for transfering goods because it has most endurance? You get my point? If mounts have different pros and cons, so much more is possible with them. :c
Of course, I am not forcing my ideas on anyone, I am just trying to explain, in detail, what is my point with the whole thing.
A few corrections from the op. I don't believe it is pets that will be rare, but specifically flying mounts. I also understand that dragons will not be tameable, and that probably means that eggs from world bosses will be outside the means for animal husbanders to use. I just feel that would make animal husbandry too powerful.
For the profession of animal husbandry I think we can look back to SWG's bio-engineers and creature handlers. In SWG a CH tamed infant creatures and trained them up as pets. The BE could take dna of creatures to create new and more powerful pets for the CH to use.
The AH profession, in my mind, will be all about taming and breeding creatures to create better mounts. Hopefully that can include pets, whether that be for companions or merely cosmetic animals in houses or for social reasons.
I also envisage AH having a role in providing for caravans and maybe sieges. Caravans will need pack animals that are either sturdy enough to carry more or can even defend themselves, i.e. warhorses. And how about the ability to tame and breed animals such as wolves to be used in sieges or as protection for caravans?
As for stables, and the storage of mounts/pets, well I see this as another area similar to calling mounts. Stables could be buildings in settlements or freeholds with a certain amount of storage space for animals. Excess animals could be sold or even, and this an idea I really like, released to be tameable by th. e next AH that comes along. Imagine coming to an area to find that an enhanced and released animal has improved the wild herd.
We know so little about AH as yet however, that I feel the best way to be is to compare to the MMO that had the best taming and breeding system to date. SWG. The game has been mentioned before now, and I think there is former SWG talent in the Intrepid team.
I have no experience with SWG but it doesn't sound that amazing, sadly... T_T
damn, I cant even quote
AH does not involve taming, only taking care of already tamed animals. The results of breeding can be mounts, pets, or livestock. At least that's what the wiki says.
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Animal_husbandry
Well, no, but naturally I think AHers will pick up taming as a gathering skill. From the way I understand it you can be both.
SWG was the most complete experience offered in an MMO to date, at least from my opinion. Nothing since has come close to the complexity of the social systems in SWG.
Also, from the day's of the kickstarter, SWG has been mentioned numerous times. It has often been thought that SWG holds a great deal of inspiration for Ashes.
Perhaps you are reading about the NGE update for SWG that changed the game so radically that it drove so much of the population away and pretty much killed the game. Before that it was an incredible game, and well worth trying to emulate.
Now I realise what you were trying to do in replying to my post. It got lost in my quote. Who ever said you would have 999 animals kicking around and that you'd need a buyer in double quick time?
I'm talking about selling single mounts in the same way you would sell a sword or a suit of mail.
Also, the way BE worked did not see you create dozens of animals at once. It was a complicated process that valued experimentation and took time. Hopefully with AH we will have to wait to see animals breed and for the offspring to grow before rewards are reaped.
AH is said to be a profession that rewards experimentation, not the mass production of dozens of the same item to gain xp.
Thia is something I am hoping for in all the professions. Hopefully Intrepid can find some way to take away the staleness of mass producing single items to level up, and instead reward patience in creating single items over stages.
You really think twiddling your thumbs for literal hours babysitting mounts while waiting for your friends to finish their dungeon is engaging gameplay?
Gonna be a big no thank you from me, man.
It wouldn't be for free, of course. If you need cash, badly, you offer your services and that's it. It's just another easy option to make money. Plus, it is highly possible that the dungeon would attract multiple people, that can pay you as well, to protect their mounts. Or you have to protect them against them. One vs X type of scenario. I don't really see the thumb twiddling, since there will be 10 000 on each server and every dungeon will attract AT LEAST 2 different parties + solo players. That's almost a given. Just connecting dots, nothing more. :O
At the end of the day its a game. And people will not be on this 24/7 and will not be able to trust players to sit there and guard on their off hours all the time as this game already requires signifigant interaction in other areas of the game to progress and get achievements, items, and resources
While your suggestion is more of a roleplaying idea that would only create a dozen ways to grief, and more inconviences for the individual players.
I'm all for looking at new ideas but this one doesn't serve a purpose, and is far more of a hindrance to a players time and efforts than it would serve for rp purposes.
I get where you're coming from. If stables at "home" would work as a safezone, the only risk present would be unmounting while mount is outside, being used.
Also, "A griefer or bad faith player is a player in a multiplayer video game who deliberately irritates and harasses other players within the game (trolling), using aspects of the game in unintended ways."
This wouldn't actually be seen as "griefing", because it IS the intended way. If someone wants to spend his time killing mounts (which would make him fall in the corruption ladder, as mount could be seen as a non-combatant by default setting), than let him. Sooner or later, he will be flagged and bounty hunters will arive. The corruption system is a pretty good counter for this behaviour and can be easily implemented on mounts aswell. Of course, the whole thing is made up in my head, but if they somehow made it exist in the game, this would be a decent solution, don't you think? Also, mount is not just gonna stand there and watch it self being killed. Keep all this in mind. And I, for one, would love to guard different mounts in front of dungeons, for a decent cash, from time to time. I could sell someone else's property, if a rare mount comes by, or stand true to my word and be known as an epic mount-guard! Whatever I'd feel like!
Now... I have to say something and I don't mean it offensively, just objectively stating something I feel like... People in the MMO community are just so much used to the cookie-cutter experience from all the MMO's on the market, that they cannot think about making things differently. Like this case^^ Again, no offense. The game itself ALREADY holds a solution to what I brought up, and you, so used to playing basic mmo's (just guessing) scratched it off immediatly, thinking that it would be impossible (aside from the fact, that it practically is impossible, because of how big of an impact that would have on the servers and the size of gamefiles, I'm guessing... xD)..
Makes me sad a bit, but happy at the same time. Because I, non-corrupted by "WoW-ism", am here to save you all by opening your eyes!
You're just adding a feature that will only cause headaches for a feeling you'd get for the first 5 minutes of, "oh wow, the horse is a tangeable NPC.". Soon it will be "Cool my horse can die." And "cool I have to walk home because someone killed my mount," to "cool I have to walk everywhere because my mount costs me money and risking it's death only puts me in more debt," to "what was the point in having horses killable again?"
Let's be honest, you just have a horse killing fantasy and are secretly trying to get Intrepid to fulfill that fantasy.
I'd google it/read up, this sounds almost mirrored to what the OP is suggesting. Not to be a broken record about what game did what first - but if you're talking about one of the most comprehensive pet systems that was implemented extremely well, it'd be UO.
Not all mounts are horses. And no, I do not have any fantasies. Again, if the mount is part of the corruption system, being non-combatant by default, players would think twice about killing the mount. Getting rid of stealing the mount, however, would prove difficult. That would be the biggest problem, I'd say.
To my knowledge they've said that you can kill a mount, preventing it from being summoned for a period of time, which is the best solution in terms of realism vs. the game.
In terms of being able to have a bond/connection with your animal companions, like much else in the game, we can only assume that the more you invest into this system, the more you will benefit from it, much like anything else.
I'm sure that they'll cook up a system that will satisfy many people, and if it doesn't, then they'll surely listen to the feedback the community has to give, and make the necessary changes. Have a little faith!
100x better than in any latest games.
I'll find one I like and use that one. Any more after that is a bonus.
U.S. East
Of course it makes sense to suggest it. Steven himself said, that they value every kind of idea, and any constructive criticism. That's why they're so active with the community and that's why there won't be any NDA for pre-alpha, alpha and beta testers.
Of course this system will 99,9% be unheard of, but it would make me happy even if they only read this and take a little hint from it. I don't think mounts should be portraied as "collectibles" to gather in the "end game" of an MMO. And I don't like the idea of basic mounts like horses being summoned and "un-summoned" like they're some kind of interdimensional beings, wtf. That's my point in a nutshell. (Although very simplified)
Even better. I usually carry 4 horses, 5 basilisks and 1 winged cat-dog-zombie chimera when I go stroll on the street... but sometimes I find empty space in my backpack only for the chimera...
But seriously... I hope they won't do this. I know I may be one of the few (or the only one) concerned about these things, because most ppl are used to this from cookie cutter MMO's... But all the little details are what made me leave the genre for 10 years. This feels like it could be... different. Not better, every MMO out there is a very good game in it's own way... I just don't like "the way" itself. AoC is my last hope for a comeback... I've even said to myself that I would uninstall all the games on my laptop, if AoC won't meet up with my high expectations and leave gaming behind. Not the genre, gaming itself. 'Cuz games are sheit. Sorry, but they are. Every last one of them. In every game is a mechanic that could be 120% times better, devs know it, but (won't/are not able to) change it. I'm just done, lol. xD
So... yeah. Last hope.^^ x)