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.
The One Node to rule them all!
akabear
Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
What if there was a possibility within the game mechanics such that should a variety of onerous conditions be met and maintained by the citizens of a zone and perhaps even include conditions met with their relationships with other nodes that said node might just unlock a "dark node". Limited to one per server and time constrained.
A dark node being a node that had rewards and risk that came with being a full pvp zone, and chaotic evil zone!
Just a what if!
A dark node being a node that had rewards and risk that came with being a full pvp zone, and chaotic evil zone!
Just a what if!
8
Comments
If you somehow make rules to prevent infighting, then it is like a normal node being at war with every other node on the map all the time. It is in both cases an imbalance.
( Your mind is trying to get out of the box
Like "Mortium" (Landscape) in V Rising ?
Constant Battles and Strife for Power ? ^.^
Such a thing is kinda happening on the open Sea's already ... ... ;->
✓ Occasional Roleplayer
✓ Guild is " Balderag's Garde " for now. (German)
To quote the dark knight movie "Oh, and you know the thing about chaos, it’s fair!"
in a world of PvX, if a full PvP area is added, one could ask for a full PvE area too.
But placing nodes or freeholds into those areas is not a good idea.
Ashes is PvX, so players and mobs make up the risk (and rewards) for making your way into the world. Creating segmented zones will erode this entire concept - turning Ashes into another wow clone.
As long as the corrupted node could be destroyed it would be fine, basically just make the specific set of circumstances difficult to achieve, hard to make, harder than normal to destroy as well.
You could make it so that while the corrupted node is max level no other node in the game can progress, but they can all still be destroyed, then add in monster coin events on all remaining nodes until the corrupted node is destroyed
Probably the best way to approach it would be to have the dark node slowly destroy the surrounding nodes - resource drain, increase corruption reach, and node level degradation - then tie pvp objectives to closing the dark node (or keeping it open if it supports an enemy node’s objectives).
I'd prefer if it was community driven pirate/bandit nodes where all of the PvPers that go around causing mayhem have their own spot on the map causing trouble. It could still be around as any regular node with the government system but, the players make the node and the culture of it. Being purple is a badge of honor in that area.
Similar to the old jumpgate neutral stations that housed numerous pirates with bounties. The community was super hostile towards anyone looking like a bounty hunter or a do gooder.
I think you have coined where I guess I was coming from and then an extension of this;
Dynamic Zone Changes Based on Node Status when reaching number one status of its given typology.
War and Conflict:
When a node reaches the maximum number of alliances/nodes/guilds at war or pvps or pks.. the zone's atmosphere changes. Visuals could include a sky tinged with red, similar to the corrupted zones in New World, symbolizing the heightened tension and conflict.
Maybe a pvp zone too.. but may not need.
Economic Vibrancy:
If a node becomes the number one economic hub, visual indicators could reflect its wealth. For example, luxurious buildings, bustling marketplaces, and decorative elements like gold trim on structures, signaling prosperity to players.
Scientific Nodes:
When a scientific node reaches its peak, the zone could showcase advanced technology. Features might include futuristic architecture, enhanced lighting, and unique structures like observatories or research labs.
Maybe unlock new / rare resouces.
Religious Nodes:
A thriving religious node might transform the zone with spiritual imagery. This could involve grand temples, holy light effects, and serene music, creating a sacred and tranquil environment.
Cultural Influence:
If a node becomes a cultural epicenter, the zone could be adorned with art, music, and festivals. Players might see murals, hear unique soundtracks, and encounter NPCs performing traditional dances or music.
Environmental Impact:
Nodes that focus on nature and the environment could have lush, vibrant landscapes when thriving. This might include more abundant wildlife, richer vegetation, and visually appealing natural phenomena like auroras or enhanced weather effects.
Maybe a pve only zone, but maybe not.
The idea was aim to reward and unlock change and experience by visually reflecting the status and influence of various node types in Ashes of Creation, adding depth, variance and dynamic elements to the game world.
Assuming this PvP zone would allow everyone to fight each-other, initially the ZoI would be unstable because players would send resources into the sink faster than other normal ZoIs. It would put the node at disadvantage compared to the other nodes.
But eventually the better PvP guilds could reach an agreement to attack only intruders. Then the node would be like a normal node but were you can prevent others to come to harvest your resources. It could potentially be more efficient if they harvest efficiently.
If this node would have vassals, then it's ZoI would be larger and with better resource drops.
Players in this node could also go outside and pillage resources from others, kill their gatherers and return corrupted into their home area where they are protected by allies against whoever dares to come and hunt them, while they remove the corruption.
Being a PvP zone, guards in the node would probably not attack corrupted players. Otherwise their only purpose would be to prevent players to use storage, crafting benches and whatever things the node offers, which would make no sense from lore point of view and would be just an annoyance.
If this node would be a metropolis, it would be like 20% of players would be at war against the rest of the map (if the map is full). They could still have agreements (made outside of the game) to prevent all others join forces. The map could look like a PvP continent vs a PvX continent, with a PvP ocean in-between.
The corruption mechanic exists to prevent the chaos which would happen in the PvP zone if they attack each-other.
The node leveling with vassals assigned by the game (not by players) prevents well defined permanent factions.
The PvE zone would exclude itself from the PvX environment of the game and would need a different approach to keep players happy there and to function as a PvE game, while still being able to trade with the rest of the map. Resource scarcity would be more pronounced as you could not declare any wars. Caravans would be boring, maybe attacked only by NPCs... I would move all stories and quests into that region.
Chances are none of these will happen.
96% of the times when Steven mentions Risk, he talks about PvP.
I would rather have "Evil PvP" equated with Red and Corruption - so a Red Node rather than a "dark" Node.
But, then that has implications about rewarding Corruption.
Seems like you're really asking for the possibility of a Purple, Free-For-All, Corruption-Free PvP Metro.
Which would be OK with me now that Ashes has the Open Seas.
Moar PvP!!
*RAWR*
I think You might be hyped for the incoming Presentation in One to Two Days.
✓ Occasional Roleplayer
✓ Guild is " Balderag's Garde " for now. (German)
I think my own outlook has evolved as the conversation progressed.
Going back to my earlier post with more fleshed out ideas for multiple nodes
Specifically for the pvp node; I think it would be good to have "tells" or "ambience" for a node that is heavily pvp orientated so those passing by or entering gain an awareness in advance.