Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Alpha Two Realms are now unlocked for Phase II testing!
For our initial launch, testing will begin on Friday, December 20, 2024, at 10 AM Pacific and continue uninterrupted until Monday, January 6, 2025, at 10 AM Pacific. After January 6th, we’ll transition to a schedule of five-day-per-week access for the remainder of Phase II.
You can download the game launcher here and we encourage you to join us on our for the most up to date testing news.
Alpha Two Realms are now unlocked for Phase II testing!
For our initial launch, testing will begin on Friday, December 20, 2024, at 10 AM Pacific and continue uninterrupted until Monday, January 6, 2025, at 10 AM Pacific. After January 6th, we’ll transition to a schedule of five-day-per-week access for the remainder of Phase II.
You can download the game launcher here and we encourage you to join us on our for the most up to date testing news.
Comments
I agree if you don't like a game with a focus on guilds and social elements don't play ~~
Sarcasm off.
Its simply about managing expectations, if you don't want to do any kind of group content and guilds you will have less content for you. Forcing single player elements on having things scale to a solo experience or enjoying perks from guilds without having a big reason for it isn't going to make the game better, it take away from the content.
I think you're missing the intent
Because some people love MMOs but their life doesn't allow for the regularity that some guilds want from members.
I want to be social and play when I can, but I'm not reliable to always be there for the group...
Personally I'd love to see some sort of system for this, either as a merc guild. Or through job boards in nodes.
Solo play is not synonymus with singe-player - especially not in Ashes - since everything we do in the game contributes to Node progression.
What I don't understand is coming to a game that doesn't appeal to your playstyle and instead of trying to adapt to its gameplay, you instead ask the whole damn game to change to your preference. I find that quite selfish.
I'm really not missing any intent. There's just some things you can't engage in given your life style, or the choices you've made for your life.
I'll never be a deep sea welder. I've made choices that would no longer allow me to have the time or physical ability to be welding deep at sea.
Now, do I just accept this and move on with my life, and try other activities that I do have the lifestyle for? Or do I demand they make deep sea welding more accessible to me by bringing it to the surface, sticking it on dry land, and alter it from welding to sanding?
Why having a system for Mercing is bad for a mmorpg.
1. Mercing is already a thing within a mmorpg without needing it, you form alliances, you talk to people, make deals if you need to do such, talk to other guilds and groups.
2. Having a Merc system is a casual element that simply allows people to be solo while at times gaining the perks of a guild. Having more incentive for people to stay as solo and not join guilds does not help the overall social economy
3. It doesn't tie any risk or responsibility to the players as they jump into pvp attacking places and people without having consequences for themselves (ie if you are part of a siege or pvp someone, people often remembers your guild)
4. System toxic people often use because they cause issues for other people and can't stay in a guild.
5. Rather then pushing people to form guilds and getting into a good one (hopefully at some point) it further pushes them to stay solo and not interact with people. This also can be harmful to smaller guilds having a harder time to recruit more people with a large pool preferring to stay solo rather then experience a more fitting guild.
6. Solo players don't add as much interesting content as guilds and would reduce the amount of meaningful guilds, the drama, fun times, and good content that comes with it all.
7. Guilds can try to use the merc system to destroy guilds for their own benefit and get additional rewards. It can be used in a good amount of ways (in a bad sense)
Mmorpg with millions of players, and out of every single person and group I can't work any single one so ima just play solo.
-___-
I play MMOs to explore and see different things. So something that allows me to go to a different continent and sell my services as a body guard or something while I'm there sounds like it belongs in the game.
But maybe there will be a way to run a world wide guild or something? so if the game doesn't have the function, someone can make a guild to fill in the missing spot.
There's a whole stand-up routine somewhere in the wings there...
You can only be a citizen of one node....
And nothing is stopping you from travelling wherever you want in the world, how does that have anything to do with being tied down to a location. You can literarily message whoever you want and get them to give you gold and protect them. You can make mercenary / adventuring guild and do that very thing. It doesn't need a weird system so anyone can merc and and not have a reason to be in a actual guild.
I know you can only be a citizen in one node, but just staying there to only support that node sounds like it would get boring to me personally... So I want to go do other events around the world.
Just because I can travel everywhere doesn't mean I'll have a group to do content with all around the world. Hence where that adventurers guild function would be cool. I've been hired 100 times to guard a caravan with a 90% success rate so I'm a gold rank adventurer with the guild. And when I'm in a foreign node(not my home node) I can still get in with groups looking for members to assist.
The OP was asking for thoughts on a system for something like that
I think it would be cool and have a place in the world
You are making weird points to try and push your reason so people can avoid being in guilds that make 0 sense. You can travel wherever you want...do quest wherever you want...people and guilds will be down to work anywhere and explore new places...You can help people wherever you find people.
If I joined a guild and went to the opposite side of the map I can't do stuff with my guild... Because they won't have a presence in that area... I wanna do some runs in the local dungeon.
Ok so do I just stand in town square and /yell?
Or maybe at the local tavern there is a job board where a group is looking for a healer posted a want add... That's still adding a system for building groups.
What's wrong with a system that works hand in hand with that to show credentials that you would be a good hire? That could be the mercenary ladder system... Sounds good to me
Easy enough to find and join a casual guild where you aren't required to participate in stuff.
Advertise your mercenary interest in Taverns.
Or at least it definitely came off like that to me.
I personally avoid guilds in MMO's as they're the most obnoxious part of them, I'll usually join, reap the rewards and leave when I see the right opportunity, maybe this would suit your playstyle? It's basically mercenary work.
As a solo player myself, I'll try to be as honest as I can: if you try to play AoC as a solo player, you won't be irrelevant, but you'll miss on a lot, if not most, of the content. If you play the game with a small group of friends, i.e. a small guild with less than 15 members, you should be fine as long as you try not to fight the bigger groups.
I'm not a fan of zergs, but I don't believe the game will enable small guilds to do top tier PvE content, simply because of how "forced PvP" (PKing) will probably work (something similar to L2), where numbers will usually matter more than skill/gear, and also because there will be 40 man raids.
I do hope, however, that the game will enable smaller guilds to achieve big goals and have fun due to good game design, a very big changing map, procedural/random world events and some artificial incentives (guild perks, etc) for smaller guilds.
Just join a more relaxed guild, they will be perfectly fine with you not constantly socializing/playing with them, most likely due to the fact that everyone else in the guild is in the same boots as you. There are multiple guilds like this recruiting on the Ashes of Creation discord.
People acting like this is some sort of an issue, when it's not. Just don't join a hardcore guild and you will be fine. In a hardcore guild you'd have duties to perform, but in a relaxed guild you can pretty much just chill and join activities whenever you want (and whenever there are people online to play of course).
100% agree. I hate it how people from other MMOs come here and demand changes in this game. I'm shocked by the level of narcissism and selfishness.
This is not goblin slayer lmao. And yes that is exactly what you do, you go to the zone or dungeon and see the people and groups around and jump in one.
Im tired of the hand held bullcrap auto que and 0 reason to be social in a mmorpg. Like you 100% give me the vibe you want to join a group say nothing do content and leave. Which i doubt anyone would have someone like that as a body guard to begin with.
If you honestly hate staying in a spot or with a guild just leave the guild move places and join another guild. But i can promise you there are amazing experiences you are missing out on looking at people like Ai then actually trying to form some kind of bond.
And, might be something that's already possible... or close enough to it.
He didn't say anything about being completely solo. He also didn't say anything about getting all the same achievements as guilds would - which is impossible since small guilds cannot get all of the perks of a small guild and a large guild cannot get all of the perks of a small guild.
There is a progession path that tracks wins for defending and/or attacking Caravans.
So, some of what he asked for is aready in the design:
"I've been hired 100 times to guard a caravan with a 90% success rate so I'm a gold rank adventurer with the guild. And when I'm in a foreign node (not my home node) I can still get in with groups looking for members to assist."
You don't have to be part of a guild to participate significantly to a Caravan defense or attack.
You don't have to be part of a guild to participate significantly to a Node Siege defense or attack.
You do have to be part of a guild to participate in Castle Siege defense or attack.
Ashes plans to deter zergs. And Steven plans to design such that large group combat is not mindless.
I don't know that derp or SirChancelot said anything about being a top player.
derp says he wants to be relevant - which is not synonymus with being a "top player".
SirChancelot mentions being recognized for having a 90% win rate for Caravans - which is possible in the current design.
In order to get great gear to be a great merc you'd probably need to be in a guild already. If by some chance you're are a pro at artisanal stuff and market gameplay, you might be able to buy some stuff, but I highly doubt that you'll be able to buy high lvl gear anywhere near the first several months of the game because guilds would be equipping their own people.
And even in a lot of artisan professions, I'd assume you'd need some support structure at higher lvls because you'll come across pvp competition or resource scarcity because some of the resources will be controlled by guilds (maybe not completely, but we'll have to see the design first to know for sure).
And if I was a top lvl guild, I wouldn't use a rando off the street in some important pvp event or a raid. And in order to become a trust-worthy merc, you'd either have to be in a merc guild that has built up its rep or you'd have to intermingle with a ton of guilds and their members, in order to build your own solo reputation. But at that point you're just "doing what the guild tells you" all the time, so I feel like that would kinda defeat the point of this thread.
The caravans would probably be the easiest way to earn good rep, but you'd most likely have to have friends to increase your chances of success. And we still don't know how Intrepid will prevent some exploits of that system, so there might be some problems for a solo player there too.
Even as a citizen of a Node, we aren't stuck only doing things in that Node.
Our home Node will send us on quests and tasks around the world.
So, even though SirChancelot thinks he might get bored sticking with one Node, that is probably not true.
Especially due to how a Node can change due to a new Mayor, a new Monarch and/or a new dominant race.
(Racial progression might send us across the map as well.)
And, just because you are a citizen of one Node does not mean you cannot gain a good rep in a Node (or several Nodes) across the map - even without joining a guild.
You've said this in a few threads and the only thing I've seen about it is that Steven believes travel time will dissuade zergs, which it won't. They'll just choose their targets more cautiously. Zergs will always be a thing unless the game mechanically limits them, such as with siege instancing.
Stevens plan is to deter zergs. How successful the devs will be with implementing Steven's design goals is still unknown.
Just because Steven has only mentioned Elemental, Teleport, Life and Death as augment schools does not mean those are the only augment schools in the game design.
STEVEN:"When we're designing encounters that involve these raid bosses and dungeon bosses, is that there are specific mechanics that will be required for players to learn and react to, from both a skill standpoint and a knowledge standpoint, that are going to be required to complete the boss and cannot be zergged through.
And you could bring as large a zerg as you want, if their not aware of certain mechanics or they do not react to them apporpriately, they're going to get wiped."
JEFFEREY:"Mmmmn hmmmmn."
STEVEN:"We wanna make sure that our content has meaning in the sense of exploration and discovery for exactly what this boss is all about, what type of skills this boss has, and how that relates to our raid composition and our tactics and strategies in that fight. And it's not just going to be something like, 'Let's just rally everyone and zerg it down!'
That's not experiencing content. That's just bulldozing through it."
I enjoy too being a loner and getting lost in the world, but we can't deny that guilds are a big part of the game. For me I want a chill guild of cool people to try and beat as many challenges we can, but I don't expect to be on the top 10 most efficient guilds.
I can think of three big reasons why solo players like MMOs. For one, the world feels more alive when there are real players nearby doing their own thing. Second, it's achievement. MMOs have meaningful progression that (ideally) cannot be cheated, cannot be erased, and can be appreciated by others. That means the progress one makes in an MMO is perceived as more rewarding. Finally, live service games are frequently updated. That means investing time in an MMO will provide far more content than a single-player RPG.
That being said, I think solo players in AoC shouldn't have as easy of a time as people in guilds. Playing with a guild requires time and monetary commitments with the payoff of comradery. Why should groups be less efficient than single players?