Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
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Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
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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.
I [Gatherer] hate seeing you [Another Gatherer] anywhere near me
Piee
Member, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
tl;dr - Resources going away after the first person interacts with them means that I'd rather play a single player version of the game while gathering which is not good for a MULTIPLAYER game.
Apologies if this has been addressed before or on a dev stream. Searched the forums and didn't see anything relating to this issue.
I enjoy hitting rocks, whacking trees and picking berries. This is something I enjoy in nearly every MMO. Something I hate about AoC and some other games is when the node's resource is limited which makes the game more efficient to play as a single player adventure. For those that haven't tried it - mining, logging and herbalism resources disappear as soon as 1 person gathers it. Remember those times when you needed to kill a specific mob type for a quest but it was impossible to get kill credit. Remember all that time you wasted waiting for it to respawn for a hope at getting kill credit the next time. That sucks and so there is a system where you can all join a group and get kill credit together to progress your journey. Gathering doesn't have that.
So what are your options in AoC, as it is currently implemented, if someone comes to your gathering farming location:
All of these options besides PvP completely suck. Having your experience made worse simply by the presence of another player also trying to enjoy the game is not fun. Digital scarcity for low tier resources should not be the norm. There are many remedies for this which I don't really need to get into. The AoC team has great designers and they can come up with solutions to address my frustrations or can ask for suggestions if they want them. Today the best thing to do is to keep your mouth shut if you find a "rare" resource. Don't tell anyone or you might get targeted. Hope that nobody sees you gathering it.
Regarding PvPing for gathering resources: This is the only acceptable response for this sort of system. Although, not everyone wants to PvP all the time. I especially don't care for ganking or zerging world pvp. Love duels, love arenas, even enjoy some large scale instanced pvp modes sometimes. Playing a healer in world pvp as a solo player is rarely fun for me or my enemy. I also don't want to bother my friends or guildies to come protect me as I grind out gathering for hours.
A nice experience of a gathering system done right in respect to this issue is Pokemon GO. You'd be outside playing the game and random strangers will tell you about the rare Pokemon they found down the block or at the other end of the park and you'd go there to catch it. That is what I'd describe as a positive social gaming interaction.
Apologies if this has been addressed before or on a dev stream. Searched the forums and didn't see anything relating to this issue.
I enjoy hitting rocks, whacking trees and picking berries. This is something I enjoy in nearly every MMO. Something I hate about AoC and some other games is when the node's resource is limited which makes the game more efficient to play as a single player adventure. For those that haven't tried it - mining, logging and herbalism resources disappear as soon as 1 person gathers it. Remember those times when you needed to kill a specific mob type for a quest but it was impossible to get kill credit. Remember all that time you wasted waiting for it to respawn for a hope at getting kill credit the next time. That sucks and so there is a system where you can all join a group and get kill credit together to progress your journey. Gathering doesn't have that.
So what are your options in AoC, as it is currently implemented, if someone comes to your gathering farming location:
- Leave and find somewhere else to gather
- Share the limited resource and progress slower than you were previously
- PvP for the resource
- Grief the other person by dragging mobs over to them. Bodyblocking or anything else that will annoy them into potentially leaving.
All of these options besides PvP completely suck. Having your experience made worse simply by the presence of another player also trying to enjoy the game is not fun. Digital scarcity for low tier resources should not be the norm. There are many remedies for this which I don't really need to get into. The AoC team has great designers and they can come up with solutions to address my frustrations or can ask for suggestions if they want them. Today the best thing to do is to keep your mouth shut if you find a "rare" resource. Don't tell anyone or you might get targeted. Hope that nobody sees you gathering it.
Regarding PvPing for gathering resources: This is the only acceptable response for this sort of system. Although, not everyone wants to PvP all the time. I especially don't care for ganking or zerging world pvp. Love duels, love arenas, even enjoy some large scale instanced pvp modes sometimes. Playing a healer in world pvp as a solo player is rarely fun for me or my enemy. I also don't want to bother my friends or guildies to come protect me as I grind out gathering for hours.
A nice experience of a gathering system done right in respect to this issue is Pokemon GO. You'd be outside playing the game and random strangers will tell you about the rare Pokemon they found down the block or at the other end of the park and you'd go there to catch it. That is what I'd describe as a positive social gaming interaction.
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Comments
If resources were too easy to obtain, the game’s economy would suffer, turning the market into a “trash dump” with endless supplies of cheap materials. This setup would eliminate the need to trade, buy, or compete for resources. What I appreciate here is the return to an old-school, player-driven economy, reminiscent of the Runescape days but even more refined. As Steven Sharif has emphasized, “The best gear is crafted by players,” and that’s exactly the vision here—an immersive, competitive PvX environment designed for players who enjoy meaningful interaction and challenge.
In this system, resources aren’t just handed out for free. If you want something, you’ll have to earn it, buy it, or trade for it. There’s no “care bear” sharing when it comes to nodes. This approach adds value to every resource and makes each item in the market more meaningful, contributing to a robust and vibrant in-game economy.
I haven't had issues at all (on my server at least) in letting people know where I find resource nodes, or whether I found a higher grade material. I believe for the most part that comes from the community itself. If I help others discover where to find the things they need or want the less reason there is to be PKed while gathering that copper node.
On a side note, I also agree with Kalzannar. Resources shouldn't be thrown at us like candy. This is part of what makes node progression so special and unique. Not every node will be able to achieve max rank, and it should stay that way. In turn this becomes part of the vassaling system that Intrepid has designed.
All in all, leave resources the way it is with some minor tweaks here and there. Once people start getting their apprentice tools (Go Lyneth Joeva for realm 1st on an artisan building!) your lower level resources will become available more, as people will now have the ability to start farming the higher level stuff.
Also flagging up and attacking them always an option aswell
They do want conflict over resources from my understanding and i personaly wish they would regionalise them a bit more (more ore in x 1st node, more flower in 2nd node, more gems in 3rd node, more stone in 4th node and more Hunting animals in 5th node) This would help simulate end game to a degree in a small scale with caravans moving resources from the node that reosurce is common in to rare nodes to sell. (They need to fix the crate bug first though where materials are unusable when they are unboxed from a crate)
Would also allow you to target farm certain resource a little better too.
going the wow route and letting everyone hit a rock for a certain time limit just overpopulates the server with resources.
About the region-specific ressources, I think it's already implemented for higher-tier resources. Yesterday when strolling around in Halcyon I found a mineral called Halcyonite. Given the name, I assume it's a region-specific resource (and apparently there are already specific recipes for it ! https://ashescodex.com/db/item/Gear_Accessory_Earring_Halcyonite).
Another thought about regionalizing resources: they can of course vary the spawn probability of each resource across nodes, but I personnally think it would be much cooler and organic to let players create scarcity for a given resource within a node. Let's say node A is building a factory, which requires a lot of basalt. Citizens of that node will then gather all the basalt they can find in the node, which naturally creates temporary scarcity for that resource within the node and makes trading more valuable. This mechanism makes the world feel more dynamic, because the resources you find within a node will evolve depending on player activity.
Those who mention PvP being a solution seem to have not actually engaged with the PvP & Corruption system. Corruption is steep right now and it is a major risk to become corrupted. This would be fine in a lawless zone. Two noncombatant gatherers who meet in an area have no fun way to interact. Leave, become corrupted, or accept less resources. Or the worst option which is to skirt around the corruption system in order to remove the competition without flagging. This was happening to me yesterday even with so few players online.
If this is the way it must be then I guess the game is not for me. I do not enjoy fighting people who do not fight back. I do not enjoy ganking other players even if they do fight back. I do not enjoy harming another's progress for my own gain. Open World PvP where only one party signs up to the fight is bullying.
A mitigating factor to your concern could potentially be the sheer absolutely enormity of the landmass available. The continents will be around 480km/2, right? That's over twice the size of the entire WoW map. I bet you could go many places to exploit resources and not see a soul. The hard part might actually be getting back to a safe location with your haul...
this game may not be for you. the importance of gathering and leveling a node is high. Resources are precious and needs to be competative. you wanna afk on a tree and gather, maybe stardew or a private ark server or survival craft is for you, but not in Ashes. This isn't my little pony, pokemon - happy go lucky nice guy mmo. I will kill you on sight and take your shit, unless you got back up or can out pvp me and kill me. Welcome to PVX and semi loot drops. All your loot belongs to me.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. This isn’t to push anyone away, but rather to emphasize that conflict and rivalry have always been core elements of Ashes’ design. The game was built with this foundation in mind, as it strives to recreate a dynamic, ever-changing world shaped by its players. For some, that will mean cooperating and forging alliances; for others, it will mean engaging in fierce competition and even direct conflict. I’d like to point out that one of the core pillars of Ashes of Creation is a player-driven world where conflict, competition, and cooperation shape the experience. Resources and crafting opportunities will always drive demand, and because end-game crafting will require lower-tier resources, scarcity will remain a real factor. It means not every node will reach the highest levels, and some areas may even fall under the control of guilds or alliances that regulate access to their facilities and resources.
This game is intentionally designed to create high-stakes scenarios where tension, rivalry, and even betrayal can play out. These dynamics are built into Ashes, offering players a world where political alliances, territory control, and economic power struggles create a living, evolving environment. It's true that this isn’t a setting for everyone; Ashes leans into the realism of competitive elements where some will succeed by outmaneuvering others, and sometimes, that will involve clashes that impact each player's journey.
Quoting Steven Sharif on this design philosophy:
Q: When it comes to feedback, which systems in Ashes of Creation will never change?
A: "A game like Ashes is very direct about what it's trying to be. We are telling you what we're trying to build. Now, the results of building that we may not always hit the mark, and that's where we come back and we iterate on something and we take the player's feedback. But what we're trying to do will stay consistent, and that is really a dynamic world that is fraught with danger, both player and environment: and that's at the crux of what Ashes is. And on the dynamic world side, things that aren't going to change ever is that a lot of our systems are predicated on player activity; and those predicates are usually surfaced through the node system, are usually surfaced through the world spawn systems; and seeing a world that changes day to day is also the intent. So those are the things that really aren't going to change—the dynamism that we predicate world activity off of, as well as the player versus X approach.” – Steven Sharif
For those seeking a more collaborative environment, it might be worthwhile to see if, after launch, certain servers adopt a less confrontational culture, though it's essential to remember that this level of player freedom and potential for conflict is what many in the community are drawn to.
Ashes is shaping up to be a game where alliances will rise and fall, where kingdoms may secure vast control or face ruin, and where stories will be forged in both victory and defeat.
"unless you got back up or can out pvp me and kill me" Good. Then you will be leaving me alone since I will be able to out pvp you especially if you have corruption
I do really want a new mmo with good pvp! Arenas and other small scale ranked matches are my favorite.
And thanks for the info Kalnazzar! I will certainly continue testing this game and providing feedback as it develops. #1 concern today on my server is the low availability of copper which is a bottleneck for much of the gameplay. Expecting this will only get worse when more people are able to login unless the issues are raised. A more collaborative server sounds perfect for me if there is some form of instanced pvp across realms also available.
Keep metals rare. (Although they aren't as rare as you think they're just gobbled up by literally everyone and their mother whenever they are seen) And since few people reset the stone nodes.. they don't have a chance to spawn as often.
But it's the rarity that adds enjoyment, it's exciting to find some copper or zinc! If they were common.. the gatherer gameplay loop would just be watching television and clicking F. And the markets would be flooded. (Nobody needs a gatherer of they can easily get it themselves with minimal time investment)
This really should be shouted from the rooftops, from Halcyeon to Winstead, from Winstead to New Alea.
If you're looking for copper and you're not mining granite and basalt.... YOU ARE DOING EVERYONE A DISSERVICE. Mining nodes are just that. A node that can spawn any mineable resource. If you can mine it, mine it, even if you throw it away, just to get the chance that it is copper next spawn.
I hate I can't openly kill you little ants taking my copper. I am flagging and attacking but FML, currently it's brutal going red for your resource.
WHERE IS THE FRICTION/CONFLICT - I am mining for copper too but I am down to fight if we both ran to the same copper and you beat me to it. nah, I WANNA FIGHT. FIGHT ME!
Anytime I see a gathering in my section, I just wanna pvp them but i cant. they call my bluff cause it's not worth going red. ughhhhhhhhh
100% the area I've staked out to grind materials in has seen a marked increase in ore since I've taken up residence, still less common that granite.. but that's a good thing. As long as you farm the trash.. you'll find the treasure.
That's what makes gatherer mains matter. We spend the time so other people can focus on their professions more efficiently.