Trade Pack Runs and a few other random queries

ArticulateDesign

Hi folks,

I made a post regarding trade packs last year sometime that now appears to be archived and unable to be replied to. I've copied most of it and pasted below as I was curious if the stance has changed somewhat

I just wanted to drop a line and a question regarding trade runs. I stumbled upon this game mechanic for the first time in Archeage and have never found something so rewarding and relaxing. I loved the option of the safe home route for lesser reward and the more risky cross continent deliveries.

I've been hunting for a similar game that will look to incorporate this level of farming and trade transport. As a predominantly solo player, I was wondering if the devs still have/still have plans to include this? I've read a few articles on trade runs in AOC from 2017'ish, however anything in 2019 has made it sound like the games moving away from what I was looking for, to a larger caravan / guild escort type trade run?

I would thoroughly appreciate any responses on this as I was really looking forward to blazing the trail to riches again

A few side notes! I wondered if it's worth picking up a founders pack now? The descriptions seemed to reference Beta 1 and Beta 2, could anybody please advise on where we are with the timeline now? Is the game still in Alpha or are we actually in beta now? Is there any possibility of levelling by logging / mining etc? Or are these seen as purely secondary to the main levelling of the game?

Forgive my ignorance

Bricktop

Beta 1 and 2 are probably a year away at the VERY least. Alpha 1 is about to start in November I believe, and I would guess Alpha 2 will be 7-9 months from then.

Noaani

In regards to caravans, while there are similarities to the Archeage system, it is over all very different.

In Archeage, you make a pack, take it to a far away NPC and they give you money for it.

In Ashes, the caravan mechanic literally is about moving large amounts of resources around the game world. You don't get paid automatically for this, all you are doing is taking a resource from one node where it is in abundance and moving it to one where it is not. The profit you get from that is purely on the increase in the price you cal sell it for in the new location - which means when you have moved materials to that location you still need to actually sell them to another player, or use them yourself in order to realize any profit from the whole thing.

Also, Ashes won't have actual safe zones, so there won't be any equivalent of safe zone trade runs. This is something I'd like to see them implement in to the game, but I am unsure how.

arsnn

Im with you.
I feel like Arche Age‘s tradepack system was both more sandboxi and more immersive.
Guilds would run massive trade armadas with hundreds of packs and many different vehicles to faciltate it, but solo runs were also entirely possible as well.
Also the simple fact that you would have to create trade packs at a station and load the object onto ships,tractors or on your back where it would physically persist as an object was much more immersive than the loot piñata caravan.
Ultimately both those systems want to achieve risk vs reward but the incentives are different. In ashes its more about arbitrage of goods rather than an immediate reward in exchange for a trade pack like in AA.

Gruntag

Here are some good resources of information on the caravan systems (trade runs) for AoC:

https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Caravans

https://www.ashes101.com/caravans


Keep in mind that the game is in pre alpha (Alpha QA). Alpha1 is to begin this fall (most likely late fall it is sounding like)