Also, playing solo doesn't mean playing w/o a guild. I usually play solo, but I also make a guild quite often. I still play solo, but I now have access to some help if I ever need it. And others in the guild (also solo players usually) do too.
It's all about the approach to the game and to your place in it.
People in this situation are the most common group that my guild has failed to recruit once we hae identified them as a potential.
As such, I have to assume it is not at all an uncommon way to play MMO's in general.
Like OP is saying, freeholds are an important achievement. My problem with freeholds is the bidding system though, because it's a very mediocre system for a pvp centric game. Yes it promotes competitiveness, but it feels like a very unfulfilling risk vs. reward type of competitiveness. They could really polish the system up to be far more risk vs. reward.
For instance, keep the bidding system, but force the top 10 bidders to have a last man standing type duel to win the freehold, people in the same guild/alliance cannot participate in the same last man standing either. Losers lose all the gold they used to bid as well. That's what I'd like to see.
So, I agree with OP, they should be family locked. This would allow more competition and push guilds further out into other regions of the game as well. If they want to control freeholds, they need to really fight to control them.
MMO's are not *not* built for solo players either.
They are generally just built for people. Sometime these people will solo, sometimes they will group, sometimes they will raid.
A good MMO will give players something of value to do in each aspect. The assumption shouldn't be that a player will only solo, but the assumption also shouldn't be that a player will never solo.
Why on earth are you assuming casuals aren't in guilds? That makes no sense.
While I am all for limiting the power of the large guilds who already have a lot of advantages in the game, they are comprised of families too. This won't stop them from wanting or getting freeholds.
Steven did talk about, guilds leveling up and unlocking things. Some could be the ability to have more members, while smaller guilds can focus on other perks https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Guilds
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FantmxMember, Phoenix Initiative, Royalty, Kickstarter, Alpha One
For what it's worth half my time in EQ was soloing. Quad kiting with a druid was a learned skill that payed off dearly. I also did a lot of PLing other characters of mine on a second machine. Now not every class could solo and the rest of my time were in groups and raids but EQ was as old school as they come and I was pretty self sufficient.
Was I raiding Plane of Time? Hell no, but I was having a good time nonetheless.
You can also play tabletop D&D solo, to a limited extent, but is the game built for that? that's the thing,
now, I'm not saying there shouldn't be any tabletop RPGs designed for solo - with MMORPGs there are plenty of games that are made that way, and that's great for people that like that - but the point is Ashes isn't, which is awesome for players that enjoy group-based games, and not so awesome for players that want to solo
EQ was designed for that. A lot of people talk about Ashes going back to old school mmorpg roots. Well, EQ was old school and so was UO and both were designed to allow and encourage solo play.
My main point being Ashes is not returning to the old school ways. It is redefining the modern mmorpg.
These are some weird arguments. Could you solo most the time is older mmorpgs, yes but there was some content that was meant for groups on that journey to max level. Than when you are max level what is the content ratio to do from solo - group. If most end game content is just dungeons and such and a group is required that pretty much means group play is mandatory for progression.
Some modern mmorpgs have been changing that, BDO you can solo all progression but the progression is brain dead pve that is 0 challenge. The only real end game content really is sieges and node wars which is mandatory for a group else you aren't doing anything.
So these questions around AoC as to can you solo or how much content, i feel it needs to be made clear is what are you trying to solo. What is your purpose for doing solo content, how far do you expect to get with solo content?
Are you talking about only leveling, are you talking about end game content you can solo, are you talking a bout getting competitive gear from solo content???
Just saying solo isn't good enough there needs to be more direct information shared else people are guessing and assuming too much.
DygzMember, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
edited July 2023
Yeah... EQ seemed to be included in "old school", with so many EQ devs on the Ashes team.
But, 5+ years later... we begin to learn that EQ players are not really in the intended Target Audience.
What is a megaguild?
Can the entire server be a megaguild?
A mega guild has a leadership of 10-20 actual guildmembers and the rest of perhsps 500-1000 members dont know each other, or respond to requests for help. They dont even reply to questions.
The leadership uses these members to fill roles in raids "looking for 1 tank NOW". They dont even call peoples names, the members are just tools that they rotate for their purposes.
It's just safety in large numbers and the false promise of progression, but only the core members trully progress and the rest get hand-down items instead of actual help with their builds.
Let me add that due to the large number of them, in pvp the megaguilds dont play the game.
There is no strategy. There is no thought.
They just stack on the crown, they follow the leader and just spam aoe.
They stack together and they heal in AoE and spam dmg and cc in aoe. They dont need to aim, they dont need to take out critical enemies or protect their supports.
Just a blob of mindless, aimless AoE spammers.
No elegant strategies. No precis coordination. Just brute numbers. I can see how frustrating it sounds for those expecting battles to go according to their rules/preferences. Still a valid approach though.
No elegant strategies. No precis coordination. Just brute numbers. I can see how frustrating it sounds for those expecting battles to go according to their rules/preferences. Still a valid approach though.
The purpose of the topic is to empower gameplay in a while that the ugliness AND strength that megaguilds bring in mmos, is less desirable/achievable by default, thus leading to a better mmo experience in:
Combat
Economy
Raiding
Society
For those that want:
Good combat gameplay
Competitive market access
Social aspect of the game (as opposed to just serve as a raid filler)
Which is every mmo player that doesnt want to mindlessly spam AoE for the zergleader or face the zergblob.
For whom?
For those that take pride in their guild, pride in their friends skill, pride in the bonds of their guild.
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DygzMember, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
For those that want:
Good combat gameplay
Competitive market access
Social aspect of the game (as opposed to just serve as a raid filler)
Which is every mmo player that doesnt want to mindlessly spam AoE for the zergleader or face the zergblob.
For whom?
For those that take pride in their guild, pride in their friends skill, pride in the bonds of their guild.
Megaguilders have made their choices, decided what they thought served them best for combat, have a "fair" access to the market and to socialize. As disgusting as you may find their approach, it's still a valid one. What is important is that their approach is not the only valid one to get some success in the game.
Let me add that due to the large number of them, in pvp the megaguilds dont play the game.
There is no strategy. There is no thought.
They just stack on the crown, they follow the leader and just spam aoe.
They stack together and they heal in AoE and spam dmg and cc in aoe. They dont need to aim, they dont need to take out critical enemies or protect their supports.
Just a blob of mindless, aimless AoE spammers.
I remember seeing a trailer of Throne and Liberty where players were fighting 1vs1 during a siege. Felt very unnatural.
But in AoC they might have no choice but to be skilled. I assume there is a limit how many can join to defend or attack a caravan. The skill in those fights might determine the fate of their nodes.
Later during siege, the number of participants is also limited and if they had no resources to build their defenses, they'll lose.
Megaguilders may make a different choice and NOT join a megaguild if FHs arent accessible to guild members but only family members.
If you are in a family you cannot join a guild too?
A mega guild may have 1-10 people that own a FH. That means 8-80 people will use FHs if permissions are capped at family members only. There rest 1000 wont get it.
I wrote all that alrdy.
If you own a freehold you should be allowed have access to whoever you want to access it. Family, guild, public, individuals, and or guilds. You should be able to black list too.
If some mega guild hoards all the land and denies processing and crafting to the larger community, people can just move to a different node that doesn't. Every crafter/processor/gatherer your node looses will be a net negative.
If you own a freehold you should be allowed have access to whoever you want to access it. Family, guild, public, individuals, and or guilds. You should be able to black list too.
If some mega guild hoards all the land and denies processing and crafting to the larger community, people can just move to a different node that doesn't. Every crafter/processor/gatherer your node looses will be a net negative.
Try to see the problem with what you wrote. Come back tomorrow.
The only issue I see would be that there is no point in getting a freehold if I can just use one for free. Even still it will just cause people to not play if they don't have access to them.
Comments
Solo means that you are not formally joined in a group/party while out adventuring.
Solo does not mean you never or rarely interact with other players.
People in this situation are the most common group that my guild has failed to recruit once we hae identified them as a potential.
As such, I have to assume it is not at all an uncommon way to play MMO's in general.
For instance, keep the bidding system, but force the top 10 bidders to have a last man standing type duel to win the freehold, people in the same guild/alliance cannot participate in the same last man standing either. Losers lose all the gold they used to bid as well. That's what I'd like to see.
So, I agree with OP, they should be family locked. This would allow more competition and push guilds further out into other regions of the game as well. If they want to control freeholds, they need to really fight to control them.
MMO's are not *not* built for solo players either.
They are generally just built for people. Sometime these people will solo, sometimes they will group, sometimes they will raid.
A good MMO will give players something of value to do in each aspect. The assumption shouldn't be that a player will only solo, but the assumption also shouldn't be that a player will never solo.
Steven did talk about, guilds leveling up and unlocking things. Some could be the ability to have more members, while smaller guilds can focus on other perks
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Guilds
EQ was designed for that. A lot of people talk about Ashes going back to old school mmorpg roots. Well, EQ was old school and so was UO and both were designed to allow and encourage solo play.
My main point being Ashes is not returning to the old school ways. It is redefining the modern mmorpg.
Some modern mmorpgs have been changing that, BDO you can solo all progression but the progression is brain dead pve that is 0 challenge. The only real end game content really is sieges and node wars which is mandatory for a group else you aren't doing anything.
So these questions around AoC as to can you solo or how much content, i feel it needs to be made clear is what are you trying to solo. What is your purpose for doing solo content, how far do you expect to get with solo content?
Are you talking about only leveling, are you talking about end game content you can solo, are you talking a bout getting competitive gear from solo content???
Just saying solo isn't good enough there needs to be more direct information shared else people are guessing and assuming too much.
But, 5+ years later... we begin to learn that EQ players are not really in the intended Target Audience.
What is a megaguild?
Can the entire server be a megaguild?
A mega guild has a leadership of 10-20 actual guildmembers and the rest of perhsps 500-1000 members dont know each other, or respond to requests for help. They dont even reply to questions.
The leadership uses these members to fill roles in raids "looking for 1 tank NOW". They dont even call peoples names, the members are just tools that they rotate for their purposes.
It's just safety in large numbers and the false promise of progression, but only the core members trully progress and the rest get hand-down items instead of actual help with their builds.
There is no strategy. There is no thought.
They just stack on the crown, they follow the leader and just spam aoe.
They stack together and they heal in AoE and spam dmg and cc in aoe. They dont need to aim, they dont need to take out critical enemies or protect their supports.
Just a blob of mindless, aimless AoE spammers.
Steven will be assimilated.
No elegant strategies. No precis coordination. Just brute numbers. I can see how frustrating it sounds for those expecting battles to go according to their rules/preferences. Still a valid approach though.
The purpose of the topic is to empower gameplay in a while that the ugliness AND strength that megaguilds bring in mmos, is less desirable/achievable by default, thus leading to a better mmo experience in:
Combat
Economy
Raiding
Society
For those that want:
Good combat gameplay
Competitive market access
Social aspect of the game (as opposed to just serve as a raid filler)
Which is every mmo player that doesnt want to mindlessly spam AoE for the zergleader or face the zergblob.
For whom?
For those that take pride in their guild, pride in their friends skill, pride in the bonds of their guild.
Megaguilders have made their choices, decided what they thought served them best for combat, have a "fair" access to the market and to socialize. As disgusting as you may find their approach, it's still a valid one. What is important is that their approach is not the only valid one to get some success in the game.
I remember seeing a trailer of Throne and Liberty where players were fighting 1vs1 during a siege. Felt very unnatural.
But in AoC they might have no choice but to be skilled. I assume there is a limit how many can join to defend or attack a caravan. The skill in those fights might determine the fate of their nodes.
Later during siege, the number of participants is also limited and if they had no resources to build their defenses, they'll lose.
oh crap we might be back on topic now. Hope I dont jinx it.
If you are in a family you cannot join a guild too?
A mega guild may have 1-10 people that own a FH. That means 8-80 people will use FHs if permissions are capped at family members only. There rest 1000 wont get it.
I wrote all that alrdy.
If FHs are capped at family members only, it will be a direct nerf to zergguilds and an indirect buff to 80-100 member guilds.
This would also match the spirit of the game.
If some mega guild hoards all the land and denies processing and crafting to the larger community, people can just move to a different node that doesn't. Every crafter/processor/gatherer your node looses will be a net negative.
Try to see the problem with what you wrote. Come back tomorrow.