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.
Comments
you surely can technically try to do a legendary world boss in AoC being in a worse or small guild - doesn't mean you won't get steamrolled by the better guild because you 100% will
that's not speculation that's how it is, there are different types of content for different groups and types of players
legendary stuff, best raids, world bosses, freeholds, flying mounts, castles, T4 and T4 ranks in professions, best pvp season rewards, augments from highest rank in religion/social organization, access to relics, mayorship, the list goes on and on
those are all top tier content for the 10% most dedicated players and the best guilds, this was always the case ever since AoC was made by Steven, a guild leader that came from L2 and AA
you can either accept that or keep spamming your frustration in the forums for the next 20 years instead of moving on to another game you will enjoy
Oh I do understand that. It's just that you're saying how certain content will be limited to only the top guilds. If that really is the case, then it's dogshit design, simple as that.
So it's just like the freehold system. You technically could get one, but you really won't get one.
Again, limiting so much stuff away from regular players, to only the top guild sweatlords, isn't a good design. It's the freeholds, world bosses, top tier processing and crafting, then it's going to end up being the open-world dungeons as well, etc. etc. the list goes on (everything else you mentioned). So what is actually left for a normal player to do and achieve in this game? Is their only goal just to populate the world, so your big guild doesn't feel alone on the server? Is their only purpose to just be cannon fodder for you?
That's where the "game is not for everyone" comes in.
If you want a game where you can do all the content and have access to the best rewards as a normal player AoC is 100% not for you, it's so simple yet so complicated for people that are attracted/invested in the game to accept
you as a normal player, or a player that refuses to be in a guild, or even a solo player:
can still do all the leveling take part in world events with narrative system, do arenas, pay people to help you with caravans and merchants ships, or be a caravan bandit or defender yourself be a bounty hunter, level all the gathering professions including taming, mining, herbalism etc you can be a trader focusing on economics, be a mercenary, own a house or apartment and decorate it, be a citizen, participate in node sieges, node wars, etc
again, the point is: different stuff to do for different types of people
Yea well, not good game design for you, unfortunately you are not the one in charge, and from my perspective, it's refreshing to finally see a game that has content for people like me that want to no-life a game
there are enough games in the market and games announced that will make most casuals/solos happy
those are not for me tho, but I don't go on their forums ask for changes or to say their design is bad just because I'm not the target audience
Let's say you are right. And lets say you are able to communicate this clearly and end up filling a Server with 100% sweatlords, because most of the other players went to, say Palia or Palia 2.
And, over time, as the server settles in 10% (or maybe 20% due to shakeups) of them actually are able to enjoy the full game.
Do you honestly believe that the losing 90-80%, or at least the losing bottom half of those players will remain on that server for long? Do you really believe that players that are that dedicated and competitive will remain in such a no-win situation for long?
"And, over time, as the server settles in 10% (or maybe 20% due to shakeups) of them actually are able to enjoy the full game." Hyperbole and unsupported. This is your opinion of course, but its not fact.
"Let's say you are right. And lets say you are able to communicate this clearly and end up filling a Server with 100% sweatlords, because most of the other players went to, say Palia or Palia 2. " Fearmongering and doomsaying, again its your opinion and not fact.
Again, these are made-up scenarios by people frustrated with the design no point in engaging
As someone pointed out in another thread:
There are casual players even in EVO Online, there were casual players in L2, AA - and every other game that was not catered to casual players
There will be casuals, solos, and plenty of "normal players" in AoC that enjoy meaningful content and are OK with no participation rewards, and limited content.
If you are a casual/solo player and are unhappy because you want a freehold, a castle, mayorship, you simply need to either move on and go play something else or just accept that you do not represent all the other solo/casual players and the game won't change to cater to you
In my defense it was @Liniker that said for casuals to go to Palia, and I did base it on his % on how many the endgame content was for. And yes, I am twisting it REALLY hard.
There will most definitely be those players. Whether there will be plenty of them probably depends on how you view plenty. As one of those casual players in EVE online, I would argue that at this point in time, EVE is fairly subtle about it's limitations on ordinary players, which I believe is part of the reason they are as successful as they are.
I'm not asking for them to make a game where I can achieve all of that as a normal player. Realistically without great dedication, numbers, and organization you can't do all of that (which means you need a big guild, that is managed well).
But what I am wondering, is whether there's really anything of value I can access as a regular player? I could ignore 8 out of 10 things, because I'm being realistic about not being able to achieve it all, but can I at least focus on those other 2 with my smaller guild? Apparently not, since everything is only accessible to top guilds.
The only reason you are in favor of all of this, and why you don't think it's a dogshit design, is because you are the leader of a large guild, that will inevitably be able to achieve those things. You've never put yourself in shoes of a regular player, who isn't a part of a top guild (let alone not being its leader). You don't care about any regular player, because of you are being selfish in a way. You only care about your own experience. You will own the best mount, you will have the best gear, or what not.
If let's say 35% of active players could achieve the same stuff, owning all of that stuff just wouldn't feel as good to you, because it wouldn't feel as valuable.
Again, I'm not against there being content aimed only at the top guilds, what I am against, is so many things being that way...too many at this point that it feels like there's nothing left for regular players to achieve.
And I'm not arguing from a casual/solo perspective. Even a let's say 50 man guild, just wouldn't be achieve that stuff, besides getting a freehold and getting someone to top tier processing/crafting.
Right, I understand that. He meant in the sense that instead of trying to change a games core value theyt might be better off there instead of wasting their time. People should read what the game is about before becomeing invested in it emotionally or financially.
i have to afk 90% of the time tho T_T
casual time, hardcore challenge ;3
now imagine someone who sits at home doing nothing playing 15 hours a day...that person is putting time and effort in the game, time he could be spending doing something else. so if he gets to the top, he earned it. he sacrificed somethign else to get there and then people come here and cry and complain and want that person to not be rewarded because its elitist or whatever bs. they dont wanna put time in the game and achieve the same thing as someone who does.
aa closed but l2 didnt 8D
Truly spoken by an individual who knows nothing about the game, and why it failed.
As for casuals, given what AoC is, grouping up is almost mandatory if you want to get what you want out of the game. That may also include forming guilds as companies or mercenaries that sell their services to other guilds. Establishing “market days” would be a way for a node to engage with casuals as it establishes clear expectations of when and where for the casual player to plan around. A similar approach could be done with Free Holds and access to processing. Other side of the coin is it also provides time to go to other nodes to gather research, explore, do trade missions, obtain valuable certificates, etc. Bottom line: I think Intrepid is expecting the players to invent and organize these social systems/interactions rather than build something that spoon feeds its players.
Alpha 2 will help determine which parts or AoC are completely broken, which just need modification and which work. That’s why results from Alpha 2 play are much more valuable than forum opinions, mine included.
truly spoken by an individual who cant read.
Am I meant to know that you're being sarcastic? Because a lot of people actually say stuff like that, while being 100% serious.
Okay and what's the point of saying that? How is it relevant to anything?
I really can't tell when you are trolling, and when you are just being stupid for no reason.
wrong, I played Mortal Online 2 as a solo player, I made some friends in-game and was been part of a small mercenary guild but ended up leaving - I played AA with a small group of friends, I played Dark age of Camelot solo for a long time
and in all of those games I couldn't do all the content, I wasn't able to achieve things I'd like I never got to own a house in MO2 because the day I finally farmed the gold and got the deed - I was murdered when I was out to place my deed and the house was stolen
Still, I wasn't crying in their forums saying those games would fail and they need to make changes to appeal to casuals and solos just because the games were made around guilds/tryhards and I wasn't in the mood to play like that,
as simple as that,
I don't think it's a dogshit design because it is not a dogshit design - you have a dogshit opinion on a design that many players, including casuals enjoy, and that's about it.
See, that was an assumption on my part, and if what you're saying is true, then it was wrong of me to assume that.
However, my opinion isn't dogshit, I just think you're failing to understand my perspective and what my core concerns are, and I'm definitely not alone in sharing this, or a similar opinion.
If I pay however much $ per month to play the game, I expect to at least have a chance to experience most of it. That doesn't mean I want everything handed to me, a participation trophy if you will. I do want it to be difficult to obtain certain stuff, it can take a long, long time, or it can be really challenging. What I do need however, is the game to allow me to do that. I don't want the game to limit my access to achieving something, based off of whether I'm a part of a top guild or not.
Time factor, skill, dedication, etc. can all be limiting factors, and I have no problem with that, I do however have a problem with guilds being a limiting factor.
I have control over my time, I could just play the game more (in theory).
I have control over my skill in a way (because I can keep working to become better).
I have control over my dedication to the game (I can choose to be really hardcore if I want to, or I can just be laid back and just play the game casually).
I DO NOT have control over whether I'm a part of a top end zerg guild or not.
I'm not crying on forums, I'm just expressing my opinions on a game still in development. A game that could still change in their implementation of various systems. If I'm crying on forums, then you're just crying about me crying on forums I guess.
same point and relevance of you saying you could do all that in AA, a completely different game, with different design, etc. just because it was possible or good in one game, doesn't mean its a good fit for another game
But have you even read the post I was replying to?
If they keep bringing up Archeage constantly, saying Ashes will be similar in some regards, and if you haven't played/liked those games, you won't like Ashes, I'm also going to bring up Archeage.
If it's not a good example of what Ashes will be like, then they should stop mentioning Archeage, and I won't have to reply to those comments.
These people are moving the goalposts so much that they may as well put wheels on them. Just in case anybody is missing the point: nobody is asking to be able to level everything on one character. We just feel that all players should have access to all artisan skills.
For most gamers "crafting" refers to any in game profession or artisan skill. Even players that choose gathering skills will often be put under the umbrella of "crafters".
I believe you're missing the point of what people are asking for. I agree that someone being able to level all professions/artisan skills on one character is bad. I strongly dislike that in FFXiv. The thing is, nobody is asking for that here. I think we can all agree that the current design of 2 maxed skills and they have to be in the same tree is good design.
What people ARE asking for is to let people pick whichever two they want and have a realistic chance of being able to max them out. As it currently stands anything in the processing tree is out of touch for the majority of the player base. That includes MMO staples like cooking and alchemy along with the shiny new animal husbandry that so many are excited about.
I think people are confusing "access to all but maintaining the 2 max" with "access to all at the same time".
ok i understand now. i played aa and i liked it. i played l2 too for a long time. aoc is 80-90% l2
If he wanted people to do it, he would design a UI for it.
People like to say I'm butthurt about the Open Seas.
I'm not at all - it's a ruleset I don't play - and helped firmly place Ashes in the category of MMORPGs I have no interest in playing, like EvE and ArcheAge.
Which doesn't mean I will never, ever, ever...under no circumstances set foot on Verra after launch.
I expect to pop in sometimes to socialize, attend parties and events... but it will be more of a cosplay thing than pursuing any of the progression paths.
If Fantmx asked me to milk some of the cows on his Freehold or harvest some hay - I might do that for 20 or 30 minutes, but...
I expect my 8-hour play sessions will be in Palia.
And I'm more likely to spend 20 or 30 minutes on Fantm's Palia farm than I am on Fantm's Ashes farm.
I think Fantm was OK with AA.
Why?
How can you be so conditioned in doing what's scripted, and actually LIKE those types of mmos?
Anything is possible in mmos with Gold as the suprime currency. Anything is possible when /trade between players is allowed.
Scripted gameplay prohibits player agency and player driven content.
Freehold usage (via systems such as guild or family) multiply those how might benefit placing the numbers at 60-80%.
Freehold services usage may be available for all players.
Sounds like all bases are considered.. just a matter of if primary ownership and where the rewards from, crops, sales and wares goes
The issue is not that I wont be able to make everything, If Im a farmer I don't mind I can't make boats...but at least since I decided I want to be farmer I want to be able to plant every seed, not only T3 and lower seeds...