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.
Esport. Node seiges. Perk drafting. Arena…
Balin
Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
In regard to the esport discussion. I posted most there. But for more to see and Comment. I let my idea flow. I funnelled out toward ideas perks and buffs in game. Basically my mind is just wandering. Anyway, as follows…
Node seiges.
I think node seiges would be esport worthy. Especially the bigger ones.
Maybe you don’t want to host a none real node seige. Because it would kind of be out of context.
The upside would be that with more data on it the mechanic and objectives of the node sieges could be more developed.
One could imagine a node wanting to practice defending their node.
So the Mayor could host some form of training seige. Could be different goal of such a training seige. And seige vehicles and building damage could apply even if you training.
The mayor could be alowed to call it off if practice damage becomes too large. Would be a fun way to do it more often and get mechanical experience on how to defend.
Imagine having a metropolis. Would be nice to be able to practice defending. But not a no cost. And you could be attacked for real if you do it in a bad time.
What am I getting at? Node seige for Esport. To improve and develop and make the seige game more fun. Also more of it would incentivise more development on it. Adding fun quirks, secrets and so on.
Maybe weather dependent conditions like; it’s been raining so the wet ground slows you down.
During a high level node siege a class using a utility skill notice that a part of the wall is weaker. Maybe even a hole can be opened using a special seige item. Defenders could on their side maybe do some utility searching themselves and take countermeasures.
It’s summer and the sun is at its peak so everything flammable is more susceptible to catch fire. All kind of fun stuff.
And even if the conditions are there. To some extent I think it should be a little random if it is so or not.
In an esport scene some of these things don’t always would have to be present. Could be random and some form of a draft or like a Warhammer point system for things to add to your benefit.
The benefits could be chosen in a draft form.
One side begins to buy a benefit. Then the other. Then the guild who’s spent the least points would be the ones to pick next until all points are spent.
I mean this perk/point/warhammer draft system could work for arena too. Like imagine 3vs3 arena.
Overall all gear is equalised. But you get a pool of points for that arena battle to add special buffs and whatever you can imagine buying for the points.
Maybe a potion for the healer.
Maybe make someone get a temporary perk. Known or unknown to the opposing side how you spend the points.
Maybe you can pay extra for them to be hidden.
Could be different rules for different arenas. Like the card game in Final fantasy 8.
The amount of points could warry ( but should be the same for both teams obviously) Maybe available perks depend on the environment. Recent caravans. Weather. Nearby buildings. Story arcs. You could have so much fun with this.
I think randomness and orderly chaos makes esport fun to watch stuff.
Just letting the ideas flow.
In the real game. These things could be quest related. Like there is a daily quest to inspect the wall and do maintenance. If not done enough, during a seige the town could have weaknesses.
And on the other hand. Attackers could infiltrate and do quests to add weakness for a coming seige.
And then maybe there is like simple guard quests where you just patrol to spot people trying to weaken your defenses.
Low reward, something to do while idling in town. Waiting for someone so and so.
It’s a city dynamic in itself.
On the perk/point draft idea:
If someone pay to hide a perk. If you get too anxious maybe you can pay more then they payed to hide it to have it revealed.
You could have negative perks to
buy to add to an opponent if that class or player is a big threat to your comp.
All perks from our history of RPG could be explored in this format and potentially be added to other parts of the game.
One reward for pvp could be to get a buff, potion or whatever you could buy for the point to be used for a limited time and uses outside the arena.
For the combat/ gladiator nodes.
A big part of the quests in the node could be to have certain perk being available for purchase for a certain time. To be bought for points in an arena match. People could scout what perks people gave available by looking at the quests they do. In a competitive RPG sense. Maybe someone scouts for them.
Maybe in a pvp tournament you could chose to activate them or not or save them for the next match. Still, in a bracket, all players should have had an equal amount at each level. Thematically, saving perks would be the idea of saving you strength for the big fight. Or to just make it one step deeper into the bracket.
About perks in general. Buffs and perks in general I think is intresting to at least play with as an idea.
Several things come to mind.
Pokémon like: you walk through grass. Imagine it being like certain things that can happen when you walk through grass. Maybe your durability on you shoes is gone so you step on a bee (😂) or find some item dropped in it appears.
What does this have to do with buffs? Just that when you are in certain conditions you get a status or buff as long as those conditions are present. Some good some bad. Maybe some have low % of wacky beneficial or not so beneficial thing happening. By itself or in combination with others.
Like it rains, you get a “wet” buff that lasts for a while after it stops.
You fish and catch a big one. You get some kind of success buff. Or you get nothing but become tranquil.
Could be a fun way to hide secrets in the game.
Continuing, what if you can get a buff for doing quests. It last for a period of time. If you repeat it before it expires you extend the one you have with more time then initially. In the long run it becomes easier to maintain. Like practicing a skill…
Repeated enough you could get proficiency in that type of buff allowing it to last longer or get stronger. All in all enhancing the Rpg element of the game.
Besides, imagine going out to gather or hunt. What preparatory buffs could one imagine be thematically viable. Sharpening your weapons or tools. Having your armour checked. Eat a meal. Drink some.
And then maybe just let developers come up with fun relatively harmless events that occur with the right combinations.
And if you know that some combinations have a chance of something happening. Like being drunk could give your character a chance of falling if walking on rocky road.
Maybe you can cleanse those buffs in some way.
Ok, I think I’m far out there. The ideas are kind of silly but that’s the point. Some silly randomness. Maybe all that can be removed in some way for those that don’t like it.
I have no clear concept. It’s just ideas that might be fun to explore. And I’ve certainly derailed from where I started.
Hope you enjoyed reading this.
What do you think. Got anything to add? Comments? Sound fun? Purely horrific?
Anyway,
Thanks for reading
Node seiges.
I think node seiges would be esport worthy. Especially the bigger ones.
Maybe you don’t want to host a none real node seige. Because it would kind of be out of context.
The upside would be that with more data on it the mechanic and objectives of the node sieges could be more developed.
One could imagine a node wanting to practice defending their node.
So the Mayor could host some form of training seige. Could be different goal of such a training seige. And seige vehicles and building damage could apply even if you training.
The mayor could be alowed to call it off if practice damage becomes too large. Would be a fun way to do it more often and get mechanical experience on how to defend.
Imagine having a metropolis. Would be nice to be able to practice defending. But not a no cost. And you could be attacked for real if you do it in a bad time.
What am I getting at? Node seige for Esport. To improve and develop and make the seige game more fun. Also more of it would incentivise more development on it. Adding fun quirks, secrets and so on.
Maybe weather dependent conditions like; it’s been raining so the wet ground slows you down.
During a high level node siege a class using a utility skill notice that a part of the wall is weaker. Maybe even a hole can be opened using a special seige item. Defenders could on their side maybe do some utility searching themselves and take countermeasures.
It’s summer and the sun is at its peak so everything flammable is more susceptible to catch fire. All kind of fun stuff.
And even if the conditions are there. To some extent I think it should be a little random if it is so or not.
In an esport scene some of these things don’t always would have to be present. Could be random and some form of a draft or like a Warhammer point system for things to add to your benefit.
The benefits could be chosen in a draft form.
One side begins to buy a benefit. Then the other. Then the guild who’s spent the least points would be the ones to pick next until all points are spent.
I mean this perk/point/warhammer draft system could work for arena too. Like imagine 3vs3 arena.
Overall all gear is equalised. But you get a pool of points for that arena battle to add special buffs and whatever you can imagine buying for the points.
Maybe a potion for the healer.
Maybe make someone get a temporary perk. Known or unknown to the opposing side how you spend the points.
Maybe you can pay extra for them to be hidden.
Could be different rules for different arenas. Like the card game in Final fantasy 8.
The amount of points could warry ( but should be the same for both teams obviously) Maybe available perks depend on the environment. Recent caravans. Weather. Nearby buildings. Story arcs. You could have so much fun with this.
I think randomness and orderly chaos makes esport fun to watch stuff.
Just letting the ideas flow.
In the real game. These things could be quest related. Like there is a daily quest to inspect the wall and do maintenance. If not done enough, during a seige the town could have weaknesses.
And on the other hand. Attackers could infiltrate and do quests to add weakness for a coming seige.
And then maybe there is like simple guard quests where you just patrol to spot people trying to weaken your defenses.
Low reward, something to do while idling in town. Waiting for someone so and so.
It’s a city dynamic in itself.
On the perk/point draft idea:
If someone pay to hide a perk. If you get too anxious maybe you can pay more then they payed to hide it to have it revealed.
You could have negative perks to
buy to add to an opponent if that class or player is a big threat to your comp.
All perks from our history of RPG could be explored in this format and potentially be added to other parts of the game.
One reward for pvp could be to get a buff, potion or whatever you could buy for the point to be used for a limited time and uses outside the arena.
For the combat/ gladiator nodes.
A big part of the quests in the node could be to have certain perk being available for purchase for a certain time. To be bought for points in an arena match. People could scout what perks people gave available by looking at the quests they do. In a competitive RPG sense. Maybe someone scouts for them.
Maybe in a pvp tournament you could chose to activate them or not or save them for the next match. Still, in a bracket, all players should have had an equal amount at each level. Thematically, saving perks would be the idea of saving you strength for the big fight. Or to just make it one step deeper into the bracket.
About perks in general. Buffs and perks in general I think is intresting to at least play with as an idea.
Several things come to mind.
Pokémon like: you walk through grass. Imagine it being like certain things that can happen when you walk through grass. Maybe your durability on you shoes is gone so you step on a bee (😂) or find some item dropped in it appears.
What does this have to do with buffs? Just that when you are in certain conditions you get a status or buff as long as those conditions are present. Some good some bad. Maybe some have low % of wacky beneficial or not so beneficial thing happening. By itself or in combination with others.
Like it rains, you get a “wet” buff that lasts for a while after it stops.
You fish and catch a big one. You get some kind of success buff. Or you get nothing but become tranquil.
Could be a fun way to hide secrets in the game.
Continuing, what if you can get a buff for doing quests. It last for a period of time. If you repeat it before it expires you extend the one you have with more time then initially. In the long run it becomes easier to maintain. Like practicing a skill…
Repeated enough you could get proficiency in that type of buff allowing it to last longer or get stronger. All in all enhancing the Rpg element of the game.
Besides, imagine going out to gather or hunt. What preparatory buffs could one imagine be thematically viable. Sharpening your weapons or tools. Having your armour checked. Eat a meal. Drink some.
And then maybe just let developers come up with fun relatively harmless events that occur with the right combinations.
And if you know that some combinations have a chance of something happening. Like being drunk could give your character a chance of falling if walking on rocky road.
Maybe you can cleanse those buffs in some way.
Ok, I think I’m far out there. The ideas are kind of silly but that’s the point. Some silly randomness. Maybe all that can be removed in some way for those that don’t like it.
I have no clear concept. It’s just ideas that might be fun to explore. And I’ve certainly derailed from where I started.
Hope you enjoyed reading this.
What do you think. Got anything to add? Comments? Sound fun? Purely horrific?
Anyway,
Thanks for reading
1
Comments
E-sports is a once a year held tournament to get people to watch a high skill competitive aspect of the game and get more of the public involved, it also has nothing to do with the actual game
For people who have competed
It was a 3v3 Arena tourney where you could make upto 3 max levelled characters with full gear taking place outside of the standard end-of-arena-season tournament on a special event realm where all PvE content was disabled.
Most of your ideas do sound fun, however for an E-Sports event where real prize money is involved, it needs to be a set fair setting with a team basis (so again 3v3 just works and is by far the most competitive and easy to follow, especially for mmo’s as proven on WoW)
Wars and sieges wouldn’t work for E-Sports but definitely for streamers. Just think not so much for an annual tournament where teams will need to train for it, hence why small scale brackets instanced PvP with no outside influence works
Ive also already set up a thread in regards to the Arena & battlegrounds specifically if you want to chime in
https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/58885/the-arena-thread#latest
Here’s one from Wikipedia.
Esport sports (/ˈiːspɔːrts/), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams.
I guess everyone sees it a bit differently.
Thanks for reading Pyro and thanks for sharing your view. Glad you liked some of the ideas. 🙏
Cadac: Hm, ye naval esport would be cool.
Could be like treasure hunting. Guilds like method racing to find a hidden treasure 😂.
Though if they streamed it everyone would know the clues🤔.
Hm, you could have hidden naval nodes that triggered based on the activity there. Like a volcano erupts and a new island is formed becoming a control points to fight over. Pirates could then hide in the islands and still have some kind of home.
And perhaps other events at sea very profitable but triggering people’s greed and will to fight for it.
What could such an event be? It would need to be somewhat apparent from afar and somewhat rare. Could be as easy as rich fishing spots with seagulls being the indicator seen from afar. There could be different types of birds to indicate a certain blend of fish so people with knowledge could have an idea just how valuable it could be.
Or things drifting on the surface. Would be fun if valuable relative hard spotted things could be found on the sea so you always have a reason to look around.
Thanks for mentioning Naval and reading Cadac 🙏
Liniker: I can see the your point that guilds might want to keep their strategies secret. I think it’s good we express our ideas and I can respect your opinion. Still, I think sieges could be competitive and fun to watch for those willing to do it. Options are good I suppose.
I think it’s good if every part of the game have impact on the other part. However, tightly or loosely connected things are there should be value to be gained in what you like doin that could in someway translate gains in the world at large.
I think powerful temporary to weaker but long lasting none class related buffs could be a way for players to differentiate themselves from their class piers. Maybe, you are a mage but have deep proficiency with physical buffs making somewhat of a melee mage. ( As from various fantasy settings)
And the ability to invest to maintain such buffs could serve as a way to grow beyond level. Much like paragon point in various games.
Maybe such proficiency wouldn’t be permanent but your highest proficiency level could make it that much easier to get there again. A bit like in real life. But maybe that’s too much realism.
Anyways, thanks for stating your opinion so clearly Liniker so the game becomes enjoyable for everyone. 🙏
Lastly, wouldn’t it be cool with some form of profession competition. Maybe hard to form an esport around but, yeah. Some creative way to compete in professions in game?
Yet again. Thanks for reading.
May the ashes rise
And make us wise
So we can learn and understand
What the path, of us demand
May our trials make us strong
To face the foe we meet
And cherish the bound
Made with the people we greet.
For the path is long
And the end is not set
Let us live in faith
Without any fret
Long be the days, and the night likewise so,
Goodbye for now, cuz now I must go.