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
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Castle_nodes
The castles are controlled by the npcs only once, before they get taken over by players. After that there will be no mobs in the castles. There might be separate bosses during the siege, but that part of the design has been up in the air since Alpha1.
So 0% is the only correct answer.
There should be no categories of content that can only be access at Max Level.
I'm pretty sure I've told you that several times already so I don't understand why you keep returning to that.
There should be Bosses and Dungeons and Raids available in the game by Level 10 probably and certainly by Level 20. And Node Siege PvP and Caravan PvP available by Level 25.
And Castle Siege PvP should be available at least by Level 35.
There should be no categories of gameplay gated at Level 50/Max Level.
I thought you told me you understood that??
I'm pretty sure that Azherae and I have bonked you on the head before about your use of the reductio ad absurdum fallacy.
Mob Levels dynamically change as Nodes rise and fall, so it should be possible for the Events system to include Level 55 mobs attacking Castles once one or more Nodes reach Stage 6 Metro.
I have nothing against +LvL 50 Mobs. This happened in WoW, too. And it was cool, most of the time. Mobs a bit above Maxlevel. Sometimes they were even Elite Mobs, although not Worldbosses.
✓ Occasional Roleplayer
✓ Currently no guild !! (o_o)
Which expansion was that? And what was the category of content?
When the Level 35 NPCs are kicked out of the Castles, there would not be any Level 45+ players on the server yet. And there probably would not be any Stage 6 Metros.
And then the Castle content would be the player Guilds as they progress from Level 35 to Level 50.
It's not possible for that to be exploited by higher Levels.
The Level ranges of specific Nodes increase and decrease as Towns and Cities are built and destroyed.
I just went over this u cant just make a bunch of min guilds for it....like are we going to make arguments things are designed badly with 0 cost, and rule set for arguments?
That sounds like the biggest waste of time, assuming everything is designed badly.
Like as if there is no rule sets and it cost 0 so u make make a bunch of random 1 man sub guilds to dec. That is literally your argument lmfao.
I'm not convinced you read my post even twice tbh since I already addressed this back at the start.
ok thank you for your answers. ill try one more time. also, not bad game design btw, but I wont go into that. anyway...
whats the difference between having to level to 30 as opposed to 50? isn't the content at level 30 not available to you until you hit 30? can you do level 30 content at level 1?
your argument is that content should not be restricted by level, but somehow as long as that level isn't max level then it is okay to restrict the content by level...ok
also, level is just one aspect of progression. you could say well t6 gathering is restricted to max level gathering. that's poor design, I should be able to do max level gathering without getting to max level gathering. what?
the root of the "issue" is that content is restricted by progression. the only way you could solve that is by eliminating all progression. now, that's bad design.
the reason I keep asking you about this is because you seem to hate content at max level for no apparent reason other than personal feelings, when you have content restricted by progression everywhere. that progression could be getting to level 20, 30 or 40. it could be getting certain gear to be able to kill the mobs, it could be getting to a certain level of gathering, it could be that you cant simply access something until a node develops (node progression, but somehow you are ok with that and you say its cool because dynamic world).
in the end, all I'm seeing is inconsistency. "its ok for progression to block content, unless you need max level. every blockade is fine".
...
anyways imma drop it because we arent getting anywhere. i don't know how else I can make you see the contradictions in your logic.
but before that, even in dnd, I remember the first time I played, there was this ogre type of mob (forgot the name) that the dm kin of used as a boss. at level 1 it was soo difficult to kill, it took 3 of us to do it and we almost wiped...few levels later we foguth 3 of those at the same time, and we just obliterated them like nothing. if we had fought them at level 1, we would have faced certain death. why do I say this? because having access to all content without a certain level of progression is just an illusion. the content is there, but you cant complete it because you need to become stronger by leveling, gearing up, refining, etc. but somehow leveling, the process where you can get familiarized with your character and skills, try them against different enemies and allies, test things, not be overwhelmed by content and decisions, make friends and enemies along the way, etc, etc is somehow a useless time sink. ok...
edit: just because you or azheare say something, doesn't mean you are right ;3
Hell, put a storyline where monster coin sieges are a near-necessity for optimal progress. That'd be somewhat similar to sieges and could be done at pretty much any lvl of progress.
You can believe the Earth is flat if you wish.
And, at some point, that will mean it’s best for me to stop responding to your posts.
In Ashes, Caravans begin at Stage 3 Village.
Castles should begin right around that time.
That should also be around the same time that Secondary Archetypes begin.
RPGs are really not intended to have categories of content that are inaccessible until Max Level.
That bane of MMORPGs occurs because gamers were able to race to the end of content before devs could implement more.
Thus, gamers would hit Max Level in one month and be stuck there for a year or three until the devs could finish an expansion.
That is poor game design but limited by tech.
More, later.
I’ve got dance class.
Because i keep repeating and you keep ignoring clear points. You are relying on "They can make tons of guilds" I've outline multiple times in detail why that wont be the case.
If you had some honestly in the conversation you would have already acknowledged that. The points that are a minus to your argument you are just going to keep ignoring. Which sounds to me you aren't being genuine from the start.
Did not see any point in that where you acknowledged it wouldn't be much of a strong exploit to use. Based on varying methods they can use.
For me accepting some rules isn't the same as acknowledging that point is weaker. As you can have rules but still have a mind set that point is a major issue. Which is what I'm saying that is not a big deal as there will be ways to deal with it.
well, lots of people used to think the earth was flat. they were wrong.
lots of people nowadays think there 93457475 genders. they are wrong.
lots of people think communism is better than capitalism..they are wrong.
just because lots of people think something, doesn't mean they are right ;3
I keep replying to you mostly out of curiosity., although I've realized past 2-3 replies its pointless, we get stuck in circles. i just try to say the same thing in a different way to see if I can make you understand. its like a fun quest I decided to take xD
I don't have anything personally against you, I just like to point out inconsistencies ;3
oh I forgot, regarding time sinks
you like eq, but eq had huge time sinks for the sake of having time sinks...spend 1 minute fighting huge hp sponges, then rest for 5..lol corpse runs that got removed later. every 10 levels or so? a level that required waayy more exp for no reason...I've never seen you criticizing those time sinks.
but to be fair many games did stuff like that because of limited memory back then (but not all).
if the issue is that players can race to max level before new content is released, you can still have content that is intended to be done a tmax level...one thing has nothing to do with the other xDDD
also, many devs don't release all the content right away...they make it but don't release it, they wait and release it as an expansion later on. its the devs fault if they release everything on day one and players finish everything really quickly.
We get stuck in circles because you keep restating the same thing as if I haven’t already given you the answer.
Depraved: “Is the Earth flat?”
Dygz: “No.”
Depraved: “Do you think the Earth is flat?”
Dygz: “No.”
Depraved: “You realize some parts of the Earth are flat, right?”
Dygz: “Sure. Some parts of the Earh are flat.”
Depraved: “Then the Earth is flat, right?”
Dygz: “No.”
Depraved: “But if some parts of the Earth are flat, that means all of the Earth is flat, right?”
Dygz: “No.”
Depraved: “What percentage of the Earth do you think can be flat before all of the Earth is flat?”
There are no inconsistencies in my logic.
Castle Sieges should start around the same Level as Caravans and Node Sieges.
Rather than be gated as Max Level content.
wait what xD
so your logic is: some people say I'm wrong, therefore I'm wrong.
using your own logic, some people say you are wrong, therefore you are wrong. some people say I'm right, therefore I'm right.
dygz logic ;3
Find a quote of mine that states “I like EQ.”
I’m pretty sure you cannot find a quote where I say “I like EQ2”.
I haven’t played EQ in 20 years.
It’s probably been 10 years since I played EQ2.
You might be able to find some quotes in these Forums about why I preferred WoW over EQ2.
I usually talk about that more on The Ashen Forge podcast and in Discord, I think.
But you are unlikely to find me talking about those games much because I stopped playing them long ago.
I might jump into the EQ2 Origins Beta because Fantm loves that game and wants a group to play with.
But, I’m not expecting to enjoy it.
I don’t think I said something as simple as, “The issue is that players can race to max level before new content is released.”
The issue is that it encourages and normalizes racing to Max Level and supports the perception that Leveling is just a time-sink grind to reach the real game. Because the real game begins at Max Level.
And needlessly gates a category of gameplay that could and should start in the mid-Level range.
That is a ridiculously irrelevant observation.
I think you keep trolling just to see how absurd you can possibly be.
I’m placing you on Ignore.
1- I inferred you liked eq cuz of some things uve said, and eq devss, etc. i suppose I was wrong. that's on me.
2- not really. people who will want to rush to max level will do so, regardless, and people who don't want to, wont.
3- not really. many games do that. they make content that they don't release on day one and release later. or for example like throne and liberty and revelations online, the content is there but its inaccessible by players until global server progression. so you have mini end games over and over and over every few months. but I suppose you would be against that.
The initial taking over of a castle is not considered a siege. While they *may* have a part to play, there is no current reason to assume they would. Doing this is literally the entire point of castles.
Just a Suggestion ... ...
Why not being able to start Caravans around LvL 20 ?
Would also work nicely as first Form of PvP.
Then Node-Sieges could start around LvL 35 to LvL 40.
And then finally Castle Sieges could start around LvL 45.
Should be VERY HARD to start. With Mobs being in the Levels of 50 and above.
✓ Occasional Roleplayer
✓ Currently no guild !! (o_o)
I don't know what Level Adventurers are expected to be at that point.
I'm guessing Level 25. Because that's the half-way mark for both.
And, then, Steven says "Castles will initially be occupied by an NPC adversary. These are the primary antagonists in the storyline. Guilds have a period of time to level up in order to siege these castles."
I think adding 10 extra Levels still fits that concept without it being Max Level content.
So... I'm suggesting Level 35 - give or take 5 Levels.
Node Sieges would start earlier because Node Sieges start at Stage 3 Village.
Which, again, should be around Level 25.
"VERY HARD to start" could still be a thing at Level 35.
After that, it's going to be Guild v Guild, so VERY HARD will be relative at that point.
It's mostly moot because The Open Seas is already the dealbreaker for me, so I won't be participating in Sieges after launch regardless, but...
I backed the game for the Meaningful Conflict of Sieges and Caravans.
And Steven's obsession with Risk v Reward acts as anti-hype for me - I'm not a fan PvP motivated by Risk v Reward.
But also, I backed Ashes hoping that Nodes would put an end to the MMORPG design of having categories of gameplay that do not open until Max Level.
So, on several levels, Freeholds and Castles beginning around Level 50 would not be something I'm a fan of.
Which is OK.
It just makes it clearer that I'm not in the Target Audience for Steven's vision.
Oh I plan to! But what about gold you earn?
We won't drop our GOLD under any circumstance, right? Right?
as far as I know, you wont. so sell your glint too, don't hoard it ;3
tbh, this is fairly solid basic advice for everyone in Ashes.
Hoard gold - until you need to spend it. Don't hoard anything else.
I wholeheartedly disagree. I am sorry you are bummed about not liking the game.
I do not believe Steven has budged at all from his original vision. You may be understanding it better, for sure, and for that, I am disappointed with you.
There are plenty of other games for me to play.
You can believe that Steven has not budged from his original vision even when he states that he's implemented changes, like the Open Seas.
You can believe whatever you want.