Mercenary - Ronin Play Style

Durdel

My question is quite simple: With the benefits of joining a node, most will do so. However, is there any provision for players who don't want to participate in any form of politics (i.e. no citizenship, guild, etc)?

CaptnChuck

Nope. Its meant to be a social game. Solo players will be able to play the game, but you won't be able to isolate yourself and experience the game completely.

Leroher

Durdel wrote: »

My question is quite simple: With the benefits of joining a node, most will do so. However, is there any provision for players who don't want to participate in any form of politics (i.e. no citizenship, guild, etc)?

You could be a Ronin who "left his master (guild) and wandered until reaching the other part of the world" to start a new life as a weaponsmith, but then trouble (monsters, PvP) still found you so you have to defend your home (node).

Damokles

You could always leave node citizenships and tell people that you are up for hire if you are good enough.
Remember: server transfers are not planned to beavailable for some time. That means, that you have the ability to build a server reputation, where you can get recognized by others as being a very good PvP player or PvE raid legend.

BobzUrUncle

Not being a citizen is a thing. You won't get the benefits of the nodes, but you are completely able to play a wave man.

Tyrantor

Not being a citizen of any node would essentially allow you to participate in any siege(s) on a server - so while you may not benefit from things a node can offer you could benefit from guild(s) or groups requesting additional people for both defensive or offensive node sieges.

It seems unlikely that would get you much in terms of gold, however maybe they're willing to barter some items or other services for yours.

Same with potential Caravan defense/attack should you focus your time around a certain area and people know you.

I was able to play similar roles in shadowbane and it's not my current intent with AoC I can see how there would be more opportunity here since the economic system is going to be localized and the item/crafting system will be player driven more than guild controlled.

Durdel

Tyrantor wrote: »

Not being a citizen of any node would essentially allow you to participate in any siege(s) on a server - so while you may not benefit from things a node can offer you could benefit from guild(s) or groups requesting additional people for both defensive or offensive node sieges.

Same with potential Caravan defense/attack should you focus your time around a certain area and people know you.

Thanks for this and everyone else who replied. After playing these games for so long, the politic is what drives me out of the game. Instead, roaming from battle to battle in a pure pvp environment would allow me a fun challenge and the rewards can be negotiated if I am valuable. No trophies. Risk vs Reward.

CaptnChuck

@Durdel

Then why not join a PvP guild? Don't participate in the politics. Don't ask any questions. Just kill the opposition.

If you want to live a solitary, mercenary kind of playstyle, you're going to be restricted to crafting pretty much. Both PvP and PvE require social interaction. Steven wants social interaction to be a big part of this game.

Leroher

CaptnChuck wrote: »

@Durdel

Then why not join a PvP guild? Don't participate in the politics. Don't ask any questions. Just kill the opposition.

If you want to live a solitary, mercenary kind of playstyle, you're going to be restricted to crafting pretty much. Both PvP and PvE require social interaction. Steven wants social interaction to be a big part of this game.

I think he also wants not to be linked to a single node, so even if that could work, he should be in a guild with a lot of people like him who enjoy roaming.

CaptnChuck

Leroher wrote: »

CaptnChuck wrote: »

@Durdel

Then why not join a PvP guild? Don't participate in the politics. Don't ask any questions. Just kill the opposition.

If you want to live a solitary, mercenary kind of playstyle, you're going to be restricted to crafting pretty much. Both PvP and PvE require social interaction. Steven wants social interaction to be a big part of this game.

I think he also wants not to be linked to a single node, so even if that could work, he should be in a guild with a lot of people like him who enjoy roaming.

Yea but you don't HAVE to be part of a node. Is it beneficial? Yes. But its not a necessity.

Guild progression occurs through participation in different systems.[2]

Quests.[2][17]
Nodes.[2]
Social organizations.[2]
Crafting certain items.[17]
Events.[17]

So you don't have to participate in nodes. You can contribute to your guild by doing quests, by crafting, and by participating in events. So I highly recommend joining mercenary guilds or other PvP guilds.

Leroher

CaptnChuck wrote: »

Leroher wrote: »

CaptnChuck wrote: »

@Durdel

Then why not join a PvP guild? Don't participate in the politics. Don't ask any questions. Just kill the opposition.

If you want to live a solitary, mercenary kind of playstyle, you're going to be restricted to crafting pretty much. Both PvP and PvE require social interaction. Steven wants social interaction to be a big part of this game.

I think he also wants not to be linked to a single node, so even if that could work, he should be in a guild with a lot of people like him who enjoy roaming.

Yea but you don't HAVE to be part of a node. Is it beneficial? Yes. But its not a necessity.

Guild progression occurs through participation in different systems.[2]

Quests.[2][17]
Nodes.[2]
Social organizations.[2]
Crafting certain items.[17]
Events.[17]

So you don't have to participate in nodes. You can contribute to your guild by doing quests, by crafting, and by participating in events. So I highly recommend joining mercenary guilds or other PvP guilds.

Then that's ok, the only problem is the lack of node buffs or the like. For example, I'm 90% sure I will end in a military node, and the bounty hunter system is one of the baits for me.

Warth

Leroher wrote: »

CaptnChuck wrote: »

Leroher wrote: »

CaptnChuck wrote: »

@Durdel

Then why not join a PvP guild? Don't participate in the politics. Don't ask any questions. Just kill the opposition.

If you want to live a solitary, mercenary kind of playstyle, you're going to be restricted to crafting pretty much. Both PvP and PvE require social interaction. Steven wants social interaction to be a big part of this game.

I think he also wants not to be linked to a single node, so even if that could work, he should be in a guild with a lot of people like him who enjoy roaming.

Yea but you don't HAVE to be part of a node. Is it beneficial? Yes. But its not a necessity.

Guild progression occurs through participation in different systems.[2]

Quests.[2][17]
Nodes.[2]
Social organizations.[2]
Crafting certain items.[17]
Events.[17]

So you don't have to participate in nodes. You can contribute to your guild by doing quests, by crafting, and by participating in events. So I highly recommend joining mercenary guilds or other PvP guilds.

Then that's ok, the only problem is the lack of node buffs or the like. For example, I'm 90% sure I will end in a military node, and the bounty hunter system is one of the baits for me.

you can be in a military node, that doesn't mean you have to interact with it. Just enjoy the perks, pay your taxes snd stay a citizen on paper only

Leroher

Warth wrote: »

Leroher wrote: »

CaptnChuck wrote: »

Leroher wrote: »

CaptnChuck wrote: »

@Durdel

Then why not join a PvP guild? Don't participate in the politics. Don't ask any questions. Just kill the opposition.

If you want to live a solitary, mercenary kind of playstyle, you're going to be restricted to crafting pretty much. Both PvP and PvE require social interaction. Steven wants social interaction to be a big part of this game.

I think he also wants not to be linked to a single node, so even if that could work, he should be in a guild with a lot of people like him who enjoy roaming.

Yea but you don't HAVE to be part of a node. Is it beneficial? Yes. But its not a necessity.

Guild progression occurs through participation in different systems.[2]

Quests.[2][17]
Nodes.[2]
Social organizations.[2]
Crafting certain items.[17]
Events.[17]

So you don't have to participate in nodes. You can contribute to your guild by doing quests, by crafting, and by participating in events. So I highly recommend joining mercenary guilds or other PvP guilds.

Then that's ok, the only problem is the lack of node buffs or the like. For example, I'm 90% sure I will end in a military node, and the bounty hunter system is one of the baits for me.

you can be in a military node, that doesn't mean you have to interact with it. Just enjoy the perks, pay your taxes snd stay a citizen on paper only

Yup, that's something I will do tbh, at least with an alt.

Atama

Have Sword - Will Travel

apmax

If you don't want to settle down in a city, don't. You will not gain the benefits that can be gained from doing so.

Kesarakk

Simple Answer: No.

Long Answer: The sad thing is that newer MMOs have focused heavily on solo gameplay. WoW used to be super centric to communities banding together to fight objectives, but now you can pretty much play the entire game solo and only grouping with others to do dungeons, raids, and PVP and half the time it feels like you're playing with bots anyways.
What Steven and Intrepid Studios is trying to do is go back to how MMOs first got their fame. Anyone who has been playing MMOs longer than five minutes can tell you their best times in the genre were always because of the people they played with, not the content.
I can understand how difficult grouping up, or meeting new people can be. However, if you want to thrive in Ashes and enjoy the game to its fullest potential, then you will have to be involved in these things you wish to avoid to some degree.

Leroher

kesarakk wrote: »

Simple Answer: No.

Long Answer: The sad thing is that newer MMOs have focused heavily on solo gameplay. WoW used to be super centric to communities banding together to fight objectives, but now you can pretty much play the entire game solo and only grouping with others to do dungeons, raids, and PVP and half the time it feels like you're playing with bots anyways.
What Steven and Intrepid Studios is trying to do is go back to how MMOs first got their fame. Anyone who has been playing MMOs longer than five minutes can tell you their best times in the genre were always because of the people they played with, not the content.
I can understand how difficult grouping up, or meeting new people can be. However, if you want to thrive in Ashes and enjoy the game to its fullest potential, then you will have to be involved in these things you wish to avoid to some degree.

That's exactly why I stopped playing MMOs, I felt like it was a bad solo RPG who happened to be online. (At least when I played solo cuz my friends stopped playing MMOs for other reasons).