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.

Solo experience, character creation and progression?What about Goldsellers?!?

Hi everybody,

the topics i want to start here is yet to be clarified to me and might decide if I am going to play a subscription based game or not.

One is about Soloplayers and if it can be of any advantage to not join a Guild or pick a side.
What if I want to play this game by myself or even with a bunch of people as pure adventurers?
Can I just wander around this player driven world and take part in events without being actual part of the players creating the node?
<em>My dream is to be part of an ever changing world without responsibilities, and allways be able to just decide on the moment if I want to continue my adventure and travel to another place, or even live in Solitude.</em>

That brings me to the next point:
<em>What about level restrictions? Will the combat system allow me theoretically to take on every creature, be it a player or just a bear or a dragon crossing my way? (I'm thinking of fighting BAMs in Tera being 5lvl below them)</em>
I don't say I want the difficulty adjusted like they did in TESO, but im thinking about<strong> a combat system, in which my reflexes and my practice pays off</strong>. I want to be able to dodge and hide without being a rogue or a thief class. For example hiding in a brush or using dirt to camouflage. Maybe even with skill-level in it by actually using it. I like the progression system of TES where <strong>the usage defines your skill-level.</strong> I'm not talking about a stealthed two handed swordmage for the one-hit, but imagine this:
I picked the mage class as my primary role so i dont have in-build stealth mechanics for an assassination, but when an enemy approaches, who I can't defeat, I just duck behind the next big rock or underneath a bridge and am less likely to be seen. If I succed I level the talent of hiding. Because this is no combat skill I can't get invisible but I am raising the talent to avoid combat I don't want.
Unless I pick an assassin class as secondary archtype I can't use this to assasinate someone. But for example when I want to set up an ambush for a caravan we can all hide in brushes or behind trees so we increase the succesion rate, even tho we are all different classes. It would also be nice to craft tools to blend in with nature like putting leaves or moss together as a blanket. Of course there have to be countermeasures

Speaking of crafting:
Will there be restrictions to crafting like in WoW or can everybody learn eventually everything? Will it be recipe-based or what will it be like? Maybe destroying a drop of lesser quality to learn the basics for it and then doing it over and over again, raising my skill in doing so and adding new stats and effects by mixing in other recipes, until I mastered this kind of crafted material? This way <em>every crafted item has the potential to be unique.</em>
I don't know if this is even possible tbh o.O
I mean the information of every crafted Item needs to be saved somehow .... graphically and statistically...

Same could be true to the next topic:
How will my character progress?
As a mage I can mainly focus on fire spells and unlock new effects on those the more I use them. If I want to learn an other spell I would either have to get a mentor (a player or NPC) or learn it by myself, which is harder of course.
Maybe with minigames or quests referring to that spell, like "find the tome of firestorm near XY and solve the riddle in it to learn the spell".
Will I be able to mix my class-based combat skills(e.g. Mage teleportation and Rogue's thro dagger )?
Maybe even with <em>the opportunity to create my own skills</em> with different lore based restrictions (physics for example), so the spell can't be absolutely overpowered.
An other thing I absolutely love is <strong>a huge talent tree (think of "Path of Exile").</strong>
<a href="http://webcdn.pathofexile.com/public/PassiveSkillTree.0.10.0.jpg" target="_blank">Talent Tree Path of Exile</a>

Will the <strong>character creation be on the level of Black Desert</strong> or Bless Online? Or would you rather aim for an even more unique experience? It shouldn't be less beautiful in my opinion.
<a href="http://cdn.mmohuts.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/BlessCharacterCreation.jpg" target="_blank">Bless Character Creation Tool</a>
<a href="http://mmo-play.com/images/editorial/love-black-desert-character-creator/black-desert-02.jpg" target="_blank">Black Desert Example</a>

<strong><em>And my last but one of the most important topics is Goldsellers...
We all hate them and they are like Mosquitos: Annyoing AF!
They destroy the communication and economics and automatically give the game some sort of P2W.
How are you going to fight them? Will there be an economic system like in Black desert, so "farm bots" can't ... well just can not?
Will there be a world or region chat? What is your answer to those parasites?</em></strong>

Comments

  • I can only repeat what was said by the creative director. There will be a place for all kinds of people, from solo to small groups and guilds to big guilds. How that will happen remains to be seen. They want everyone to have an impact.

    Combat remains to be seen mostly, we got some first looks for the direction, which you can watch on their youtube channel, but it doesn't tell tooo much yet.

    Crafting seems to be a huge topic, I recommend listening to the Q&A Steven (creative director) held on discord or reading the transcripted version in the discord, it gives a good first insight what you can expect.


    Character creation aims at black desert level, is what we have been told so far.

    Gold selleers are delt with in the Q&A too, you really might want to check it out. Lots of valuable first look information you cna lean on.
  • I understand, but it's not what I meant.
    I might be able to play with a nice solo experience, but I'm talking about wandering and venturing around before I reached level cap.
    Can I progress in solitude?

    That there will be crafting I know, but how does its system work? Will it be recipe based like in WoW?
    I was not talking about the housing but about tools to do stuff in the wild, like setting up an ambush with placeable traps and hiding tools or even digging a whole in the road.

    Maybe I posted this in the wrong section. I was hoping to get some information from a staffmember who actually knows something :)
    No offense intended Grisu, thanks anyways.
  • Emphazis on <em><strong>discord</strong>,</em> not the blogpost here in the forum that's not what I talked about, Steven held another Q&A with everyone who wanted to ask a question on discord directly.

    That's the best you can hope for, they don't have the teamsize to rerepeat everything all the time, no offense, but there are like 15 topics on "when is alpha/is this game out yet" just an example.

    I guided you to what we know so far and what the devs were willing to share at this point.
  • Good point.... but<strong> <em>"when is alpha" or "is it out yet" are FAQs.</em></strong> No need for the devs to answer that :)
    well then I just have to get as many people as possible to answer to this post, so the devs are more likely to take a look...
    Either way:

    <strong><em>Character progression, immersion, graphics, level system, innovation in questing and combat are the most important selling points a game can have.</em></strong>



    Thanks again for your time and thoughts, and the much appreciated bumb.
    Anything you want me to take a look at?
  • Some of the things you mentioned I think will have to be restricted being a multiplayer game. Where as a single player rpg you can get away with having complete specialties such as mages focusing purely in fire it can he come a balancing nightmare when you have 64 classes, increased to 512 through races. Adding specialities into the mix creates thousands of things to balance.

    I would certainly like to see a basic hide function but to take to too far for all classes once again creates balancing issues.

    I do think a solo player can have an impact on this game though. Since all actions with a nodes ZOI contribute to the node you could potentially hermit yourself somewhere and contribute to your surroundings with zero other interaction. And that is one of the coolest parts; it's not just the big guilds that shape the world, it's guilds big and small, crafting guilds, pvp focused players, and the person playing solo.

    As far as gold sellers, you'll never get rid of them, BUT locking the game behind a sub makes it far less prominent which is another giant plus to the sub model.

    There was a lot of topics in your post so as I have more time I'll try to share my opinions on them when I can :)
  • By no means do I know everything about this game but from what I've read you can play solo but you won't be able to enjoy all the content as much of it is centered around group play

    100% guessing here but I highly doubt you'll be able to solo high level mobs no matter what your skill is, generally that's the case with games that focus on group content using the holly trinity system

    The other questions I haven't seen enough information to even attempt to coment on

    I have a idea on how to prevent gold spam but I doubt it'll be a popular one. I'd use a similar method black desert is using by banning player to player trade........but unlike black desert I'd allow one specific type of player to player trade and that would be between guild members. I would require players to be in the guild for a minimum of 2 weeks before allowing trade though to prevent gold sellers from guild hopping in order to get around the trade rules.
  • Soloing should be a very limited experience. For example you should not be able to solo that world dragon that the developers talk about in their 1 video. You should not be able to solo dungeons. You should be able to solo most quest, or gather for crafting but you will risk getting PKed by players for your resources if you are solo, you should be able to craft solo. You should be able to also explore the world solo but again if you are alone you could get PKed.

    I feel that reliance on other players on this game needs to be very important but not to the point of the days of FFXI when you couldnt level past level 10 without being in a group. However you shouldn't be able to do everything in the game Solo. An MMORPG Should put you in a situation where you need to work with other people to achieve your goals. When MMORPGs use to push you to group with people MMORPGs were very successful and made friendships for life happen. This is not the case today with MMORPGs and why people no longer stick with MMORPGs.

    Again I am not saying things need to be forced grouping but you should have a limited experience solo and should WANT to make friends even if its only a handful of friends. It should make you want to hang with people and help each other out.
  • Also Here is a Quote from you smee86 "My dream is to be part of an ever changing world without responsibilities, and allways be able to just decide on the moment if I want to continue my adventure and travel to another place, or even live in Solitude."

    No I doubt this game will give you that dream of being able to change the world without responsibilities. It will take time to build up nodes and you will see groups of players work together to build a node. They will put houses down there which will be at risk of being destroyed during a siege. If you want no responsibilities you will keep losing your houses because you are not helping people defend your node. You also will not be able to ever do world bosses because you cannot solo them.

    You could technically just run around killing stuff aimlessly. But you will not get the full experience of the game because its not designed like minecraft.
  • [quote quote=6351]512 through races. Adding specialities into the mix creates thousands of things to balance.[/quote]
    depends on the number of abilities per race/class/class combination... with a rather less complicated magic resistance or armor system and an action combat system the balancing would more happen automatically through sheer skill on the player. u could simply add an algorithm to automatically adjust the casting time or travel speed of the projektile or cc duration to the overall effectiveness of a skill.
    e.g. a giant fireball which could oneshot a tank would take a long time to cast and travel slower so its easier to dodge. at the same time a rogue's stun out of the stealth that lasts pretty long would deal simply no damage. and depending on tenacity a 5 seconds stun could become a 2,5seconds stun without damage.
    so the balancing would be pretty easy with such an algorithm in the spellcrafting script. (Magic DMG up = CAST TIME and TRAVEL TIME up; Physical CC up = DMG down; etc.)

    [quote quote=6351]a basic hide functionfor all classes once again creates balancing issues.[/quote]
    While in HIDE function u can't move or it breaks the HIDE...
    not being a rogue class in first archtype doesnt give stealth. not being rogue in second archtype makes your HIDE less effective especially against other players. then bring in the level difference and the balancing is done.

    About the answers to my solo dream:
    i don't mean to solo a world boss or a dungeon and i'm not planning on leaving my hutt in the wild for destruction or whatsoever.
    if the node or the zone around it gets attacked, i would rush to defend it if i liked the place. but if i didnt i would just roam to the next woods. if i need to get a dungeon done i would jopin a group with all the responsibilities that come with it, but i would not want to be forced to jopin a guild and live in a big citiy because i can't get my character progressed alone. i don't aim to change the world on my own i just want to enjoy whats coming up :)
    live (play) freely with the possibility to just turn my back on the zone im getting tired of XD

    the thing with the goldsellers is that they are everywhere....
    anyone played Eve Online? I didn't and I hope its a good one without spammers.
    A little bird told me the economy system could resemble the Eve's.


    THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR THOUGHTS!
    I hope more answer are following up. Maybe the devs could get a spare minute to comment on that topic?
  • Uh and maybe i will join a guild and enjoy the group experience... i just wanted to know if it is possible and enjoyable
    :)
  • I think it's important for solo players to feel like they can contribute in some meaningful way, and it seems like the node system is setup to allow for that. Just by naturally interacting with the world...either by killing mobs, mining, gathering herbs, fishing, or doing whatever you add to the growth of a node. So you can absolutely go off and do your own thing. But obviously some things will require grouping. This is an mmo, after all, so I would assume a majority of players interested in the game desire to actually play with other people. A mistake I've seen in a lot of mmos is trying to make the game too single-player focus.

    There's a difference between giving solo players things to do and ways in which to advance their character and contribute to the world vs. focusing on only being alone and making other players more a hindrance than a help. Not to mention mmos that create the entire story and lore experience around your lone character, completely ignoring the hundreds and thousands of other players in the world (see: WoW). That's just laughably absurd.

    As far as gold sellers...well, they wouldn't exist if there wasn't a demand for their services. So let's all now agree and pledge never to buy gold. Bam, we've eliminated gold sellers. Well done.
  • DUDE! @Drokk
    u are so telling the truth! thats one of the reasons i quit WoW....
    and the goldseller problem:
    If it were so simple there would be no war on this planet :)
    u just have to not give them a plattform .... so create an economic system that doesnt allow abusing it... just dont make items that matter to the gameplay tradeable.... if there is an item that gives a real powerspike it should be given as a reward for a really hard riddle or dungeon or raid.... and it should then be accountbound.... maybe add a profession that can unbind the item when high enough so u can actually profit from it but then goldsellers would be forced to work hard for it....
    im not a developer, but there must be a way to just give them no plattform
  • [quote quote=6419]I think it’s important for solo players to feel like they can contribute in some meaningful way, and it seems like the node system is setup to allow for that. Just by naturally interacting with the world…either by killing mobs, mining, gathering herbs, fishing, or doing whatever you add to the growth of a node. So you can absolutely go off and do your own thing. But obviously some things will require grouping. This is an mmo, after all, so I would assume a majority of players interested in the game desire to actually play with other people. A mistake I’ve seen in a lot of mmos is trying to make the game too single-player focus.

    There’s a difference between giving solo players things to do and ways in which to advance their character and contribute to the world vs. focusing on only being alone and making other players more a hindrance than a help. Not to mention mmos that create the entire story and lore experience around your lone character, completely ignoring the hundreds and thousands of other players in the world (see: WoW). That’s just laughably absurd.

    As far as gold sellers…well, they wouldn’t exist if there wasn’t a demand for their services. So let’s all now agree and pledge never to buy gold. Bam, we’ve eliminated gold sellers. Well done.

    [/quote]

    Right on target here. Its important for solo players to play the game but they shouldnt get the full experience because they dont want to group up with people to do group content. That is what kills me about today's MMORPG players today. They play MMORPGs to not play with people. Sigh I dont get it, when I want to play a solo game I play Neverwinter Nights 2 by myself.
  • well its one thing to ignore group based content, which is just ... go play skyrim or sth, or to play the game as a solo player andgroup up with foreigners to progress through hardcore content like raids and sieges.... maybe as a sellsword or a passing adventurer rushing to the rescue of some besieged castle.
    i like the heroic part of being a loner XD (anime fan :) )

    <strong><em>And again, thanks for your opinion.
    keep up the interest maybe the devs take a look at my topic if we get enouogh attention. Can only imrpove the outcome of the development</em></strong> :)
  • [quote quote=6442]well its one thing to ignore group based content, which is just … go play skyrim or sth, or to play the game as a solo player andgroup up with foreigners to progress through hardcore content like raids and sieges…. maybe as a sellsword or a passing adventurer rushing to the rescue of some besieged castle.
    i like the heroic part of being a loner XD (anime fan <img alt="?" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.2.1/svg/1f642.svg" /> )

    <strong><em>And again, thanks for your opinion.
    keep up the interest maybe the devs take a look at my topic if we get enouogh attention. Can only imrpove the outcome of the development</em></strong> <img alt="?" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.2.1/svg/1f642.svg" />

    [/quote]

    Sounds like you just want to do what you want to do and not asking for group content to be completely soloable which is what happens more often than not in MMORPGs now a days. Thats fine you want to join random groups to do group content cool no problem with that.
  • yeah but i still wanna live independantly and roam the lands for treasure and adventure XD
  • yeah maybe you are looking for something like a line up system where you can register for a certain dungeon with random people and as soon as you guys are full you get ported there
    you would like something like this?
  • [quote quote=6460]yeah maybe you are looking for something like a line up system where you can register for a certain dungeon with random people and as soon as you guys are full you get ported there
    you would like something like this?

    [/quote]

    If there is anything like WOW's LFD or FFXIVs Duty Finder I will fight against that. If you want to take on Dungeons You should be making friends and looking for a group yourself. Not having these tools do it for you and teleport you to the dungeon. Now a Party Finder Browser that allows people to list their party and list that they are looking to find a party is a great tool. You still are required to communicate with people and you are likely to make friends because without an automated system you may not always find a party in the party browser. LFD and Duty finder tools turn the community into a pile of shit and make the games no more than a treadmill. If Ashes adds a tool like this I might as well stay in FFXIV because Ashes will be nothing more than FFXIV will be except with a node warfare system.
  • [quote quote=6445]yeah but i still wanna live independantly and roam the lands for treasure and adventure XD

    [/quote]

    Cool play style and one that should be a valid play style.
  • [quote quote=6516]Cool play style and one that should be a valid play style.[/quote]
    Thanks! I think u might have understood it :)



    [quote quote=6460]yeah maybe you are looking for something like a line up system where you can register for a certain dungeon with random people and as soon as you guys are full you get ported there
    you would like something like this?[/quote]
    NO! I dont want LFG or stuff like that I want it to happen because the situation leads to it ^^
    Like in real life where things have consequences and sometimes ends up in teamwork even tho the intentions are completely different... one might need to end a dungeon for a quest another might wanna explore the cave so he can plan stuff or create quests etc.

    And again THANKS for the opinions! Keep on!
  • [quote quote=6592]<blockquote>
    <div class="d4p-bbt-quote-title"><a href="https://www.ashesofcreation.com/forums/topic/solo-experience-character-creation-and-progressionwhat-about-goldsellers/page/2/#post-6516" rel="nofollow">Helzbelz wrote:</a></div>
    Cool play style and one that should be a valid play style.
    </blockquote>
    Thanks! I think u might have understood it <img alt="?" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.2.1/svg/1f642.svg" />

    <blockquote>
    <div class="d4p-bbt-quote-title"><a href="https://www.ashesofcreation.com/forums/topic/solo-experience-character-creation-and-progressionwhat-about-goldsellers/page/2/#post-6460" rel="nofollow">MrRosaPony wrote:</a></div>
    yeah maybe you are looking for something like a line up system where you can register for a certain dungeon with random people and as soon as you guys are full you get ported there
    you would like something like this?
    </blockquote>
    NO! I dont want LFG or stuff like that I want it to happen because the situation leads to it ^^
    Like in real life where things have consequences and sometimes ends up in teamwork even tho the intentions are completely different… one might need to end a dungeon for a quest another might wanna explore the cave so he can plan stuff or create quests etc.

    And again THANKS for the opinions! Keep on!

    [/quote]

    I agree with you on the no automated grouping systems. I dont mind group browsers but no automated tools it kills any MMORPG.
Sign In or Register to comment.