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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.
Grinding
Garrtok
Member, Alpha Two
Hi,
Of course I know that this is an alpha, that nothing is final, that theyre still working on pretty much everything, but I guess the alpha should give us a propper idea what the game is or at least wants to be. Because of that I want to talk about grinding.
I know for some people grinding is peak gameplay and that some people here really like to sh*t on people that are just not hardcore and progress oriented enough to farm hours and hours and that there is also some form of gatekeeping around it.
But right now you become like level 5ish, and after that you have two options: you grind mobs over and over again, or you grind resources.
You grind one spot, to be able to get to the next higher grind spot and at some point you're done and max level, and you did several hundred hours the exact same thing without any meaningful gameplay, nothing beyond pressing a few buttons.
I really enjoy the world, the combat, the crafting, the complexity of all mechanics and I know that grinding in some form makes total sense. Some achievements should be locked behind time, also the design choice of relatively long leveling is fine, but I disagree with this dull and repetitive approach in almost everything right now.
What is you guys opinion on that?
Of course I know that this is an alpha, that nothing is final, that theyre still working on pretty much everything, but I guess the alpha should give us a propper idea what the game is or at least wants to be. Because of that I want to talk about grinding.
I know for some people grinding is peak gameplay and that some people here really like to sh*t on people that are just not hardcore and progress oriented enough to farm hours and hours and that there is also some form of gatekeeping around it.
But right now you become like level 5ish, and after that you have two options: you grind mobs over and over again, or you grind resources.
You grind one spot, to be able to get to the next higher grind spot and at some point you're done and max level, and you did several hundred hours the exact same thing without any meaningful gameplay, nothing beyond pressing a few buttons.
I really enjoy the world, the combat, the crafting, the complexity of all mechanics and I know that grinding in some form makes total sense. Some achievements should be locked behind time, also the design choice of relatively long leveling is fine, but I disagree with this dull and repetitive approach in almost everything right now.
What is you guys opinion on that?
1
Comments
They made it pretty clear that all the systems are not in, and this isn't a game, it's a testing and concept proofing environment, otherwise this would be labeled "beta".
Eventually there will be actual quests, Story Arc quests, more events, all the economic and political warfare of the nodes. The cat and mouse of industry players and those who want to steal from them, etc. I think there is a lot there that is promised, and I think so far Intrepid has delivered exceptionally on pretty much everything they've said they wanted to achieve so far.
Phase 1 is the worst it's ever going to be, and as each phase progresses, it will be easier to see and appreciate as a game and not a testing environment. Phase 2 will have story arcs, dynamic dungeons, dynamic events, and a lot more content in general.
Check the link below for the roadmap. Perhaps phase 1 isn't for your tastes and you can try Phase 2 or 3. tbh, I wouldn't exactly call Phase 1 a picnic.
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Alpha-2
I guess the basic intend of progression should be visible. I don't think that they want to change the current behavior drastically.
Iam criticising the current experience.
I see. My 2 cents is I would say be patient. This phase one, which is going to end around December, is mostly to test stability. A lot of the progression systems are bare bones currently. Alpha by definition does not contain all features. I believe there will be more than enough time to course correct, as this current Alpha 2 stage will likely last at least 18 months, perhaps more. I think things will shape up as time goes on, and we can give our feedback along the way.
While I understand your concerns, and they are valid feelings to have, I think everything you mention is coming in one shape or another starting in December. By May of next year, granted no delays, I think we may be seeing more of the full experience as intended.
I belive they intend to buff it they have said it all should be viable ways to level your character.
But I belive mobs will always be fastest.
But all other leveling paths must be buffed or we just have a boring time in the end.
If completing a quest gives you 200-5k XP and killing one elite mob gives you 1.5k grinding is the far more effective method
mobs should be faster cause you need to put together a party and all that to do it efficency however the other tasks are realy bad atm this also allows avenues for solo players or ways to gain decent XP while waiting fopr party slots to open up instead of twiddling your thumbs pretty much shouting LFG on chat
I want EQ level pacing. It felt amazing and an accomplishment when you reach the next level.
To give comparison:
Assuming a 4hr hours of play every night (maybe skipping a night here and there):
1-10 A couple days, at most (12-16 hours)
11-20 A week (28 hours)
21-30 Two weeks (56 hours)
31-40 Two to three weeks (84 hours)
41-50 A month (112 hours)
51 - 12 hrs
52 - 13 hrs
53 - 14 hrs
54 - 15 hrs
55 - 16 hrs
56 - 20 hrs
57 - 24 hrs
58 - 29 hrs
59 - 35 hrs
60 - 40 hrs
that is an estimated 510-514 hours.
Not everyone made it to 60 and that is okay. Casually playing would be 6 months, 20 hours or 4 hrs for 5 days.
Hell, it was common for some people make it to 60 in a year and never felt bad. because the content was extremely hard and rewarding. There was that Social aspect that just made it fun. Shooting the shit with people while hoping for a pixel to drop or progressing your level slowly but surely. This is the epitome and peak example of the Tortoise and the Hare. Stop betting on the hare and give the tortoise a chance.
====================
(meanwhile in 6 days, I made it to 22 in Ashes, putting in ~35 hours of active in-game time.
Slowing the pace of the game and having content every 5 level bracket is better than racing asap to the top.
That feeling of being level 30, and it might take you 3 levels, 5 days to grind and get that 1 item in Guk feels amazing and rewarding. Also knowing that item is probably gonna be with you for a long time. Unlike Classic Wow, you're upgrading gear every 2 days or less.
AoC should be like One Piece - Maybe The Real Treasure Was the Friends We Made Along the Way and you only gain this with a slower pace MMORPG. Let's stop feeding and catering to the TikTok, ADHD player base.
let's make MMORPG great again. Slower pace = more bonding with our group in-game or discord = fond memories down the road.
But the topic is not, that leveling is being slow or not, it's about the way of leveling and the leveling experience is boring if the only way is grinding
Yes yes like stated in my initial post I do understand that this is an alpha. So let the gate keeping be and stuff like "you just don't understand" if the only feedback we should give is about stability, they can close 90% of the threads here.
1. You said yourself, it's Alpha. Bare minimum is done, loads and loads of changes are coming. There is a roadmap to see what those things are ( https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Alpha-2 ). Those things are the things you want in your initial post, so there is no problem. They come December '24 and May '25.
2. Many others, myself included, do not think grinding is peak gameplay. We just understand the situation. The situation is that this is what we're given at this time, because the other stuff isn't ready yet. What we have is what Intrepid has ready for us to see. Everything else isn't ready, or the tech isn't there yet to support everything you want, like quests & "meaningful gameplay" (which itself is silly, because they will be wiping many times going forward, meaning and progress at this time is an illusion)
3. My opinion is you should perhaps provide some constructive feedback or solutions, instead of just complaining, or arguing with others who are attempting to explain to you why things are how they are at the current time, or better yet, not make a post about something that isn't a problem because List Item 1. and because the vision isn't and never will be just a grind fest, as you so poetically proposed in your OP
4. This weird narrative in your post is not reality. Nobody is gatekeeping, nobody wants to only kill mobs for hundreds of hours with no other content. But this client is at a stage where everything won't and can't be in. You do understand it won't be like this the entire time, yeah?
You keep saying you understand this is an Alpha, but it seems you don't really understand what that means? I don't think anyone here, especially not Nova_terra, is gatekeeping you. Again, the reasons why things are how they are at this specific moment in time was carefully and clearly explained by Nove_terra, but you argue. It will come in time, it can't right this instant. The things you want don't exist, but they will, eventually. If you don't like the current state, come back in December or May, otherwise if you want to give feedback try to be more constructive, or maybe listen to the realities of what others are trying to tell you.
I'm not sure what gatekeeping is happening here? You literally said "the leveling experience is boring if the only way is grinding". That's not much of a dissertation on MMO experiences as it relates to leveling. I was simply stating that the things you are discussing are extremely valid criticism but not really productive. They have a well laid out roadmap of the phases and what they are hoping to achieve and part of phase 2/3 is adding in variation to what is going on with nodes and how to add more experiences outside of mob grinding. Which leads me to what I said which is that they stated that phase 1 is a server function test first and foremost and that doesn't really cross streams with "mob grinding is boring, so we need more stuff".
It sounds like you're asking for gathering, hunting, and crafting XP to be heavily boosted so that leveling can be done effectively through solo activities. While I understand the desire for solo-friendly options, increasing these XP gains by such a large margin would actually shift the game towards a solo-focused style, which isn’t the core of Ashes of Creation. The game has always emphasized group-oriented gameplay and player-driven interactions as a defining feature.
If XP gains from crafting and gathering alone were boosted too high, players could level quickly and mostly through solo content, which would make group play and cooperative engagement feel less essential. Instead, a balanced approach where crafting and gathering offer meaningful rewards but still encourage players to participate in group content might be more in line with the game's vision, preserving the sense of a player-driven world where cooperation and alliances are key.
Ashes isn’t aiming to be a solo-centric game, so keeping these activities balanced with the game’s social focus is important for maintaining that immersive experience.
Lineage is 20 years old. If I want to play an asia grinder I can also do that since 20 years now. The aim should be to offer good gameplay. Dull grinding is not good gameplay
once commision/quests/crafting/gathering yield somewhat decent XP it will assist in the grind since you can do these tasks solo and feel you are still making progress it shouldnt be as fast but it should be noticable which is isnt atm. They are aware of the pretty bad Xp rates here however so ill give them time to fix this of course
but tbh commision need to be like 3x the XP, Gathering needs to be 5-10x the XP and quests need to be like 5-10x the xp aswell it seems i havant done much questing so this is just a shot in the dark atm looking at the couple of quest i have actually done.
these avenues of character progression need to be atleast 50% the effiency compared to a solid group imo so twice as long to gain XP at max compared to farming in a solid group
too bad the past 7 years Steven has been talking about wanting to go back to old MMO STANDARDS, so this game isn't for you. EQ isn't an asian / eastern game either and is much more brutal than any eastern asian grind.
the good gameplay is actually from slowing the pace down. People are looking to race but this is more about climbing Mt. Everest. Not everyone reaches the summit, let alone to the top. The game is focus on creating content in every aspect of the leveling, creating dopamines through long term achievement. Getting those super 1-2% rare drop after grinding the same mob for few days. Steven has been vocal about this vision.
perhaps this game isn't for you then. you didn't do you're due diligence on what this game is truly about.
You see this it what I mean. "oh you dont like something? Wrong game for you"
Okay, let's just close the forum, if any criticism of feedback leads to that.
You are talking about slowing things down, but it's not about that in that thread. I didn't mention, that it's taking too kich time, iam talking about classic grinding being boring if there is no real alternative
This guy is just a troll. He doesn't listen to anything anyone says and just repeats the same ole tripe. I'm not gonna feed him anymore, don't waste your time either.
I strongly agree with your suggestion. Currently we have around 200-250 hours planned to get to max level. It's decent, but leveling can be made slower, more rewarding. As you said, the more difficult a task is, the more rewarding overcoming it can become, up to a point.
I never understood the point in rushing to max level in a day or two in most MMOs. You don't even know how to play the game properly yet you're max level already lol.
This is not a good idea at all. I hope Ashes does not make the game slower. It is slow enough. You all need to remember that there needs to be a population of players to keep the game alive. If they make leveling even slower. This game will die sooner rather than later. Let’s focus on making the planned 200+ hours engaging and fun enough. That’s already a tall order. Making the game slower will only make this task way harder. Longer isn’t always better. It’s about the quality of the experience not the length of the experience.
there is nothing wrong making things HARDER. It is exciting when overcoming it. rewarding when overcoming it.
For most people, most people not got to see End game in EQ. But the gameplay from 1-59 was intense, hard and fun. More importantly, memorable. Same for Lineage, Star Wars. It's content was everything from 1-59, not just end game loop.
Yoiu can slow the game down and make it high quality content for those stages.