Fellowship of the Nodes

Sweatycup

Hello, been following development for awhile and had a idea from a old MMO i though i'd share that may make for interesting gameplay. I used to play Asherons Call way back in 1999 early 2000's and they had a party system called a fellowship. It is essentially a persistant party system that works while you are on and offline. To partake in said fellowship i thought it might be neat to base this around the Node systems as the nodes will spike activity around its center. Whoever is in control of said node (prolly level 4-5 node) can setup a fellowship of lets say 10-20 members and whenever people in that fellowship go out and make exp it is shared across the board. If you were offline and members of said fellowship are active gaining exp whatever you would have earned online will be distributed when you log back on, no more silly rested exp. Typically people would pay ingame items for a spot on the fellowship or just might be a friend or guild member. However dont expect to log off and back in and be max level, while it does help gain exp for people who may have a life, i know, sad.. it isnt going to essentially make you a god overnight or within a week. Its a facilitator to leveling not a end all be all system. I thought this might be a great addition and help people who may not have months to grind to help get friends on the same level. As well it adds a way to make money for some guilds if chosen for a timeslot or just a slot if your lucky to be part of said fellowship. I thought this might be a nice addition to AoC as the natural competitive nature of the game and the fact that this game seems to be heavily catered towards social gameplay. It might also helpp corrugate people back to nodes which adds even more competitiveness. However it does not need to be based off node control i guess just seemed like a good fit. There would still be a party system as most MMO's have however there would be a fellowship that can be managed by the fellowship leader and like i said you gain exp offline taking you just that much closer to your next level(s) depending on how much exp was made by said fellowship oflline. The fact you can earn exp/level offline is the main factor. I can not tell you how good it feels to log back on and gain a level and is very rewarding. Each fellowship leader usually have different requirements. Some are guild members only, some a re buy in's for said slot or timeslots. Sorry for the runoff but i re-typed this 3 times on the website and it kept freezing on page so kept having to re-type. Anyhow, let me know what you think.

daveywavey

I just don't like the idea of being able to progress in-game without actually being in-game.

They've said previously that they don't like the idea of AFK Levelling:
Here's a quote on the wiki from Jeff Bard RIP:
"AFK leveling
There will not be AFK leveling in Ashes of Creation.[30]

We want this game to be played. If there are things that you can do to not play the game and still progress, we've done something wrong.[30] – Jeffrey Bard"
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Leveling#AFK_leveling

daveywavey

tautau

A respectful but insistent 'thumbs down' to the OP's idea. I do not like the idea of gaining any experience while you are offline. I think you should earn your own experience in-game, otherwise there is no respect due to accomplishments.

Azherae

Ah, the terrible question of 'time vs money vs skill'.

Cause that's what this is in the end.

I'm not a person who fully objects to 'finding ways for players who can't play as much, to keep up', within reason. And games don't offer a lot of options for those players, because they always get abused. This is one of the least irritating, probably.

And even then I still can't say I'd support it.

Even 'hey can we literally donate some portion of the exp to our friend who is literally leveling with us right now so that they can catch up' would be abused in some way in any MMO. Best to leave it alone completely and see what players come up with on their own first, I think.

Ulfbrinter

Sweaty, I wouldn't worry about it so much if you focus your time on sieges. I think that's the silver bullet to these concerns: sieges.

Percimes

I don't like the idea. Aside from the "free" xp there are other ramifications they imply. Working off a death penalty through a fellowship? Working off corruption?

I give the OP +1 for the name of the thread though.

maouw

is there a way to help players be happy to progress at their own pace instead of trying to rat race to max level?

George_Black

maouw wrote: »

is there a way to help players be happy to progress at their own pace instead of trying to rat race to max level?

No gold trophies for everyone. And this comes from someone very competitive tjat doesnt have much time to be competitive anymore.

Yuyukoyay

Doing anything for the players who can't play as much is usually a mistake. MMO's naturally don't completely abandon these players if you leave them alone. Bigger groups pick them up to buffer their numbers in wars, use them as errand boys while not feeling like errand boys, Make newbie guilds with them, and other such healthy natural ways to keep them active in the community without feeling like they are that far behind. These players often never make it to end game. They usually quit when they make it to end game because they had their fun getting there. Casuals are not long term revenue in general.

Mistakes other MMO's have made are things like Daily Quests, Gear eliminations from most pvp events, Gear catchup systems implemented in the game for lesser geared players, and other artificial systems that slow the more invested players of the game down. Some limitations make sense like Weekly Raids, and Weekly hard mode dungeons. Having too many of them make your game worse though. I'm not talking like it's something people ever put up with either. People quit the games that do these things too often.

It's also why I think the family teleport system is a mistake. It's a solution for a type of player that doesn't exist. Let's keep it real. People are going to play this game with their friends from the very beginning of the game's lifespan. There is never going to be a time where anyone is far enough away from their friend where a teleport would be necessary.

This is assuming this is all they use the family system for. If they expand the system and let you enter events using the system then that would be pretty cool. So that it's more than a arbitrary list you add your wife, cousins, and friends to play with. Generally systems with no depth added for 1% of the player base are bad ideas.

maouw

George Black wrote: »

maouw wrote: »

is there a way to help players be happy to progress at their own pace instead of trying to rat race to max level?

No gold trophies for everyone. And this comes from someone very competitive tjat doesnt have much time to be competitive anymore.

I'm not at all suggesting trophies for everyone.
I'm asking for ways to encourage people to focus on things other than "race to max level".

George_Black

Find a guild that goes at the same pace as you, do similar lv pve content and face similar lv enemies.

Set realistic expectations. For example I know that I wont own a castle, nor do I care to join a guild with a thousand strangers, so for my competitive PvP I will aim to steal taxes from guild caravans, or steal raw materials from individual player caravans.

That way you enjoy your gameplay everyday even if you cant reach lv cap fast.


The only way to happiness is to know yourself.

McMackMuck

I'm likely to be casual player. I'm happy to find my place lower down the pecking order compared to those that can commit more time and effort.

I don't see the need for players that are championing a high (-ish) level node to share EXP gains, they will individually reach level 50 soon enough on their own merits. If I was a high achiever in a "fellowship of the node" I wouldn't want to be shackled to slackers just because they are mates. If I was the under-achiever in "a fellowship of the node" then I wouldn't want to feel like I was letting the team down with my lower level of commitment.

I appreciate the idea, and it's good to keep throwing ideas into the forums, but I don't see this one adding a benefit.

I feel like my guild would provide enough development support with hand-me-down gear and META advice, so long as I'm contributing what I can.

Sweatycup

Yes i originally was going to post this idea towards the ui guild feedback survey but didnt seem like a correct adjunction to attach it to. I figured it would get thumbs down by most just thought it might be a neat idea. Anyhow its good to hear everyones view to get more acquainted with the community.

Wyborn

I think players should have to be online and earning their own experience instead of paying others to do it for them. I wouldn't be surprised if people aren't already developing bot programs to sell from Alpha information. I'm sure there will be websites that will offer to play your toon to level up for a tidy sum as well. When I pay for a game, I want to play it and experience it in its entirety. The low level grind and the high level grind. Some of my fondest memories are escaping higher level players bent on my demise or causing them some mischief.