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
Change also comes with in-game Seasons and Events.
Change also comes with whatever IS calls their seasonal updates - every 3-4 months.
For the most part, PvPers are not punished with corruption unless they are running around ganking people. (and they have the choice not to do that) Corrupting pkers that choose to do so, is not the same as making it easier to siege a node because they have done a good job protecting it.
This would be true if it wasn't for the fact that by a stage 6 node simply existing, it halts other nodes progression. Simply being max level makes it a hostile entity to any node under its influence in terms of progression
Those emotionally bound to their node but not to the nation have integration problems.
You want to grow old in your native node?
Nothing stopping vassals from making connections with other Metros and Guilds and working with them to initate a Siege against the parent Metro.
Indeed, and if this still doesn't work, my suggestion would be a sort of way to level the playing if that node wasn't able to ever be dealt with or a very long period of time.
More variables than just that honestly.
Node type
Biome
Coastal or inland
Player relations
Guild relations
Resources
Dungeons
Raids
Loot
Etc.
Citizens are free to leave and find another Metro if they wish.
But, if the Server wants that Metro to be razed, the other 4 Metros can band together during a Siege and raze that one Metro.
For instance, pulling an idea from Dave Georgeson from a number of years ago, once a metro has been stable for x period of time - say 2 months - a questline is triggered. That questline could be a staged event leading to the possible waking of a dragon that would lay siege to the node.
That siege could dramatically alter the node - not just by razing the metro - but change the biome completely from a riverlands paradise to a bubbling magma field where a dragon holds claim.
Now you have a player population displaced and pissed, vassal nodes that have some new found freedom, an epic open world raid boss, and a uniquely changed world that will be different than any other server.
Assuming the other metros aren't allied. And this doesn't weaken metros, it simply allows sieges to happen at lower costs. It also doesn't increase the rate of sieges more than the cooldown already limits siege declarations. I am not sitting here saying it would constantly be a problem, it's just for IF it occurred. Ideally, a server will indeed band together to take a node down, this idea is for if that still doesn't work.
I don't hate this
Well, it’s a starting point.
Good point but if they manage to overthrow their superior node and become themselves a node 6, they'll not support the OP.
I don't know, I feel like it'd just be a necessary check and balance for extreme cases. I doubt it'd often be a common issue, but it'd be a real concern on any server with mega guilds.
I know. If each level 6 node will survive 2+ years, even when players try to siege it, something is wrong.
How will this dynamic be tested during Alpha 2? They have to avoid wiping the servers...
Exactly, this isn't me trying to constantly flip metros, literally 6 months of constant wins is a LONG streak
Edit: Jesus, if you can only siege a metro 3 times in a 6 month period, that's horrible.
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Castle_sieges
The risk vs reward of node sieges should be balanced to make players feel the risk and attack only if they accept the consequences of not wining.
And a siege should act as a resource and gold sink on both sides.
How many metros do we expect to exist on a map at any moment?
Traveling on the map will not be hard and vassals will go often to the nearest metro to access whatever content exists there.
Sure, I think typically the siege should be costly, but if I have to wait 2 months before looking forward to defending my node again, that's terrible design.
I think most people are not going to want to put there homes on the line more often than that. There will plenty of other pvp battles to fight. If there is no stability, it would just be a pvp game, and not pvx.
Youre maintaining a stable PvE centric home by fighting for it through PvP. Sounds very PvX to me. If I am time gated to play certain content by 2 months, that's a problem.
So after all the work, time, resources, defending a node to the point it reaches lvl 6, what is the appropriate amount of time to give residents of that node to relax and work on other aspects of the game?
I'd say 3 weeks to a month tops as far as a stage 6 siege cooldown goes. For how many people would potentially be working on said node, that's a ton of time to build up a stockpile for either defenders or attackers imo.
What kinda time frame would you give stages 3-5? would it even be worth buying an in-node house if you could loose it every few weeks at lvl 6?