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.
I Have Several Questions Steve
Puck_Goodfellow
Member
These questions are framed as if asking Steve on an AMA.
--
Archetype Resources
Will some archetypes have different resources or will everyone only have one type of resource, such as mana?
--
Underwater Content
If we were allowed to build submarines in an underwater expansion would they be created under the Ship Building artisan class?
--
Enchanting
With how Enchanting has been stated to work, will it be possible to increase your over-enchanting chance with something like a Potion of Enchanting or something else along those lines?
--
Character Creator
How versatile will the character creator, especially with the Tulnar, be? Will I be able to create a six inch tall goblin/gremlin or will the minimum have to be a bit more? Say two or three feet. What can the maximum be?
--
Node Economy
When you purchase a house, apartment or other stuff within a node does that money get added to the node treasury to be managed by the mayor for node advancement or maintenance or is it just a money sink?
--
Number of High Level Nodes
What drove the decision to have such a limited number of the highest level nodes? Would you consider testing twice the amount in alpha/beta to see if it works better?
--
Mounted Combat
Are there any plans for mounted combat other than the royal mounts? Maybe at least for some kind of arena combat and/or castle sieges if it’s too hard to balance in the open world.
--
Bosses
Regarding bosses so huge you’re only as big as one of their toenails. Will there be a different engagement process for the truly huge bosses in the world? Would you basically need siege weapons to deal with them? A siege boss if you will.
--
Art Style
What made you decide to do a more realistic style of MMO such as Black Desert Online or Elder Scrolls Online rather than something more stylistic such as World of Warcraft or Wildstar? There are pros and cons to both so what was the deciding factor?
--
Engineering Artisan Class
Are there plans to create an “Engineering” artisan class or would you incorporate what might be created with such a class into the current crafting classes? For example, if you decided to add the potion launcher into the game it could be created by the Weapon Smithing artisan class.
--
Titles
How does the title system work? From my understanding they are earned through achievements. You’ve mentioned that some rare and/or exclusive titles give buffs and/or benefits to the player.
Are the titles that buff limited or can some be obtained by everyone? An example could be “The Beast Slayer” title which could be obtained by anyone after killing 100 of 10 types of beast monsters and if equipped lets you do 10% more damage to beast type monsters.
--
Secondary Archetypes
What is the cost of changing your secondary archetype? Will it be costly every time you decide to switch it or will you be able to do a one-time cost that lets you switch between the secondary classes you’ve unlocked after paying the cost each time, or at least with a limited amount of them?
I would prefer the latter as that would allow you to switch specs easier after paying the cost for it so you can respec for different situations, but it’s your game so I’m curious on which one you do and why. I did hear you want it to be easy to respec so I'm guessing it's the latter but I would like clarification.
--
Landmass
If you decide to make the current landmass a globe what would your plans be for future landmass expansion(s)? You would have three options: up, down and/or sideways. For example: Overrealm (floating islands and/or continents), Under-Underrealm (hellish demon realm from digging too deep and too greedily) and/or Outrealm (travel to new worlds through divine gate(s) WoW Outland style).
--
Death Animation
Right now monsters just poof away after dying and being looted. Will there be an animation added?
For example, they could burn away into smoke as the Corruption overtakes their bodies. That way you have a lore explanation for why monster and player bodies don't stick around. Plus it would be less jarring. Or you could just do the simple way of the corpse fading away.
--
Monster Certificates
What happens to certificates dropped by monsters after you’ve sold them to an NPC?
For example, what happens to the 100 wolf pelts after I sell them to the hunter NPC for 10 gold?
Is it used to progress the node? Does the NPC then have a shop where people can buy the pelts for their crafting? Would the NPCs put certificates in a node caravan or do something else with them?
I'm curious since looking on the wiki you’ve said said on a livestream,
"A wolf is not going to be carrying a sack of gold. It may instead drop 'pelts' that can be traded for gold."
If we're going for more a little more realism will the NPC actually do something with them that makes the economy more dynamic?
I’m sure you can have basic goods NPCs will auto-generate to sell, such as basic tools, but with NPCs actually reselling what they buy from players, or at least a percentage such as 70%, instead of poofing it away like most games. It would certainly make the game more interesting if it’s done right.
It might at least add goods, for those with the Thieves’ Guild, to steal.
--
Religion System
Would the Religion System allow me to play as Druid or a Demon Summoner?
In your first AMA you said,
"The top tier achievement within religions is going to be gaining access to unique augments that can be stacked on top of your secondary archetype augments."
For example, with the nature religion you would get nature based augments so if say you were a mage archetype you could augment your abilities to be like a nature based mage which is certainly a type of druid.
With the demonic religion you would get demonic based augments so if say you had a summoner archetype you could augment your summons to be demonic and thus a demon summoner.
It would be awesome if, rather than an archetype or a class, Druidism would be a culture that could be incorporated into any class if so desired through the Religion System.
P.S. What sparked this speculation was what Jahlon from Paradox Gaming Network keeps saying about Druids in that they are much more than the D&D and WoW interpretation of a nature mage but instead more of a culture.
--
Summoner
Given that the Summoning archetype is probably the hardest archetype to implement into any game how much bigger is its iteration and testing roadmap compared to the other archetypes?
Might we be presented with some of the iterations and ideas that only the devs will test before it hits alpha so we can give our feedback on it?
Only about a third of games I’ve played with a summoner archetype has given me the fun I expect out of it where you get to actually battle through your summons. MMORPGs even less so with the few good examples being Final Fantasy 11 Summoner and Guild Wars 1 Necromancer.
I look forward to seeing this game develop as I plan to start my first character with a Summoner primary archetype as it’s my favorite, which can be frustrating since it hard to get right. I’ll be sure to give lots of feedback if I’m in the alpha2 or beta.
P.S. Why only up to 3 summons for a Summoner? Will it be possible to summon temporary minions that go beyond the 3 summons?
P.P.S. Could you tell of some of the planned utility skills for the Summoner? The only things I can think of relate to summoning party members or placing recall points which seems to go against your idea of limited fast travel. A scouting summon and/or being able to switch places with a summon is all I can think of after that.
--
Future Archetypes
I’ve heard on good authority that originally Ashes of Creation had twelve planned archetypes and that the last four are now planned for later expansions.
The only two I can think of would be the Tinker archetype and the Shapeshifter archetype. A Tinker/Tinker=Engineer and perhaps a Shapeshifter/Shapeshifter=Changeling. Have I guessed right?
Are monster coins a way for you to test shapeshifting so you can implement a Shapeshifting archetype later down the line in a post-launch expansion?
I’m certainly curious what the other two are. The only other two I can think fits the Ashes of Creation archetype system is the Psychic/Psion and the Blue Mage/Mimic archetype. Would love it if you’d be willing to share.
On that note, do you plan to add some or all of the four previously planned archetypes that were cut from launch due to scope creep in a later expansion? I personally would like the Shapeshifter and Tinker archetype.
--
Archetype Resources
Will some archetypes have different resources or will everyone only have one type of resource, such as mana?
--
Underwater Content
If we were allowed to build submarines in an underwater expansion would they be created under the Ship Building artisan class?
--
Enchanting
With how Enchanting has been stated to work, will it be possible to increase your over-enchanting chance with something like a Potion of Enchanting or something else along those lines?
--
Character Creator
How versatile will the character creator, especially with the Tulnar, be? Will I be able to create a six inch tall goblin/gremlin or will the minimum have to be a bit more? Say two or three feet. What can the maximum be?
--
Node Economy
When you purchase a house, apartment or other stuff within a node does that money get added to the node treasury to be managed by the mayor for node advancement or maintenance or is it just a money sink?
--
Number of High Level Nodes
What drove the decision to have such a limited number of the highest level nodes? Would you consider testing twice the amount in alpha/beta to see if it works better?
--
Mounted Combat
Are there any plans for mounted combat other than the royal mounts? Maybe at least for some kind of arena combat and/or castle sieges if it’s too hard to balance in the open world.
--
Bosses
Regarding bosses so huge you’re only as big as one of their toenails. Will there be a different engagement process for the truly huge bosses in the world? Would you basically need siege weapons to deal with them? A siege boss if you will.
--
Art Style
What made you decide to do a more realistic style of MMO such as Black Desert Online or Elder Scrolls Online rather than something more stylistic such as World of Warcraft or Wildstar? There are pros and cons to both so what was the deciding factor?
--
Engineering Artisan Class
Are there plans to create an “Engineering” artisan class or would you incorporate what might be created with such a class into the current crafting classes? For example, if you decided to add the potion launcher into the game it could be created by the Weapon Smithing artisan class.
--
Titles
How does the title system work? From my understanding they are earned through achievements. You’ve mentioned that some rare and/or exclusive titles give buffs and/or benefits to the player.
Are the titles that buff limited or can some be obtained by everyone? An example could be “The Beast Slayer” title which could be obtained by anyone after killing 100 of 10 types of beast monsters and if equipped lets you do 10% more damage to beast type monsters.
--
Secondary Archetypes
What is the cost of changing your secondary archetype? Will it be costly every time you decide to switch it or will you be able to do a one-time cost that lets you switch between the secondary classes you’ve unlocked after paying the cost each time, or at least with a limited amount of them?
I would prefer the latter as that would allow you to switch specs easier after paying the cost for it so you can respec for different situations, but it’s your game so I’m curious on which one you do and why. I did hear you want it to be easy to respec so I'm guessing it's the latter but I would like clarification.
--
Landmass
If you decide to make the current landmass a globe what would your plans be for future landmass expansion(s)? You would have three options: up, down and/or sideways. For example: Overrealm (floating islands and/or continents), Under-Underrealm (hellish demon realm from digging too deep and too greedily) and/or Outrealm (travel to new worlds through divine gate(s) WoW Outland style).
--
Death Animation
Right now monsters just poof away after dying and being looted. Will there be an animation added?
For example, they could burn away into smoke as the Corruption overtakes their bodies. That way you have a lore explanation for why monster and player bodies don't stick around. Plus it would be less jarring. Or you could just do the simple way of the corpse fading away.
--
Monster Certificates
What happens to certificates dropped by monsters after you’ve sold them to an NPC?
For example, what happens to the 100 wolf pelts after I sell them to the hunter NPC for 10 gold?
Is it used to progress the node? Does the NPC then have a shop where people can buy the pelts for their crafting? Would the NPCs put certificates in a node caravan or do something else with them?
I'm curious since looking on the wiki you’ve said said on a livestream,
"A wolf is not going to be carrying a sack of gold. It may instead drop 'pelts' that can be traded for gold."
If we're going for more a little more realism will the NPC actually do something with them that makes the economy more dynamic?
I’m sure you can have basic goods NPCs will auto-generate to sell, such as basic tools, but with NPCs actually reselling what they buy from players, or at least a percentage such as 70%, instead of poofing it away like most games. It would certainly make the game more interesting if it’s done right.
It might at least add goods, for those with the Thieves’ Guild, to steal.
--
Religion System
Would the Religion System allow me to play as Druid or a Demon Summoner?
In your first AMA you said,
"The top tier achievement within religions is going to be gaining access to unique augments that can be stacked on top of your secondary archetype augments."
For example, with the nature religion you would get nature based augments so if say you were a mage archetype you could augment your abilities to be like a nature based mage which is certainly a type of druid.
With the demonic religion you would get demonic based augments so if say you had a summoner archetype you could augment your summons to be demonic and thus a demon summoner.
It would be awesome if, rather than an archetype or a class, Druidism would be a culture that could be incorporated into any class if so desired through the Religion System.
P.S. What sparked this speculation was what Jahlon from Paradox Gaming Network keeps saying about Druids in that they are much more than the D&D and WoW interpretation of a nature mage but instead more of a culture.
--
Summoner
Given that the Summoning archetype is probably the hardest archetype to implement into any game how much bigger is its iteration and testing roadmap compared to the other archetypes?
Might we be presented with some of the iterations and ideas that only the devs will test before it hits alpha so we can give our feedback on it?
Only about a third of games I’ve played with a summoner archetype has given me the fun I expect out of it where you get to actually battle through your summons. MMORPGs even less so with the few good examples being Final Fantasy 11 Summoner and Guild Wars 1 Necromancer.
I look forward to seeing this game develop as I plan to start my first character with a Summoner primary archetype as it’s my favorite, which can be frustrating since it hard to get right. I’ll be sure to give lots of feedback if I’m in the alpha2 or beta.
P.S. Why only up to 3 summons for a Summoner? Will it be possible to summon temporary minions that go beyond the 3 summons?
P.P.S. Could you tell of some of the planned utility skills for the Summoner? The only things I can think of relate to summoning party members or placing recall points which seems to go against your idea of limited fast travel. A scouting summon and/or being able to switch places with a summon is all I can think of after that.
--
Future Archetypes
I’ve heard on good authority that originally Ashes of Creation had twelve planned archetypes and that the last four are now planned for later expansions.
The only two I can think of would be the Tinker archetype and the Shapeshifter archetype. A Tinker/Tinker=Engineer and perhaps a Shapeshifter/Shapeshifter=Changeling. Have I guessed right?
Are monster coins a way for you to test shapeshifting so you can implement a Shapeshifting archetype later down the line in a post-launch expansion?
I’m certainly curious what the other two are. The only other two I can think fits the Ashes of Creation archetype system is the Psychic/Psion and the Blue Mage/Mimic archetype. Would love it if you’d be willing to share.
On that note, do you plan to add some or all of the four previously planned archetypes that were cut from launch due to scope creep in a later expansion? I personally would like the Shapeshifter and Tinker archetype.
2
Comments
For underwater building subs would be cool. I hope a race of Tulnar has underwater breathing.
For character creation 6 inches O_O? Dear god lol. That'd be awesome and unique for playable MMORPG character but highly don't think so. Even 2-3 feet is probably going to be too small but would be cool. Hoping we can create a 10 foot monster too.
I'd like to play as some tiny 6 inch humanoid amphibian Tulnar tank if we could.
I hope we have battle mounts outside of the flying mounts that'd be awesome.
I'm almost certain we won't get underwater subs but I can dream.
Six inches is merely to illustrate my point of wondering the scope of it. We most likely won't get it. Although it would be hilarious to play a melee build with a six inch tall gnome hacking with a giant halberd.
I'm sure mounted combat in duel arenas, where it's easier to balance, could at least be viable in the future. For the open world it's dubious as it's too much of an advantage for those who are using it.
I can't believe that sub thing took off, muhahaha