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
I believe Ashes will be most enjoyable if you choose to work with its design rather than against it.
Embrace the 'X.'
This is my personal feedback, shared to help the game thrive in its niche.
And then, after Jeffrey Bard left and after 2021, aspects of the game design changed significantly.
I don't think that I would equate soloing with Casual.
You mention Ranger and Summoner, but the OP is talking about Gathering and Crafting.
Because anyone you are dating at launch will become your X
PvE focused: WoW / FFXIV / Lineage II
Sandbox: Ultima Online / Darkfall / Mortal Online
Big Influence: SNES Fighting games / Starcraft / Diablo II / Smite
Many other commenters missed this point about time spent vs value received. I think the idea "was" that the 70 hour gatherer/crafter at level 10 could craft a bow that could make them as powerful as the pure level 25 character or something. Which is why all the legendaries were crazy AF. The player base didnt really know that until legendaries started to get crafted. With the recent nerfs I don't know if that's still the case.
As the node systems develop I think there may be a different story than what you are thinking here. Alot of the node power will come from gatherers. When it comes to node sieges and whatnot, or the destruction of a node, it was said to take as many resources to destroy the node as it took to create it. So, not just a PVP fight but also a resource fight.
It may take them some time to get that balance right, but I think the intent is that gatherer mains who will be leveling slower than others (because of time spent), will still be greatly contributing to the overall power of their node and ability to withstand destruction.
This statement confuses me a bit as this IS a PVX game so if you remove the PVE mindset of having a PVE only guild and balance your guild with a makeup of builders and PVPr's (does not have to be a huge guild), you would be playing a PVX game as a PVX guild with a PVX mindset.
The suggestion that you would be slaves to PVPr's by adding them to your guild demonstrates a very clear bias as you would be building and gathering anyway in your PVE guild so why not add players that focus on PVP and work as a group?
You would not be 'slaves' by doing this, you would be supporting players in your guild that will then support you by having your back and protecting your buildings while you do what you like doing in games?
You describe a negative parasitic atmosphere by mixing PVE and PVP players and I see it as a commensal or symbiotic relationship.
It'll be important for these players to support their node.
The risk of loss and necessity of 'belonging' to a node will foster community.
Why does it confuse you?
Once leveled to the cap, Ashes can be played as a PvP game. You can profit from PvP and use that profit to purchase gear. No one can force PvE on to you - you can even have an entire guild or alliance of players that are all playing this way.
You can not do this with PvE. Others can always force you in to Pvap - whether that is via open world PvP, wars sieges or caravans. Once you have leveled, PvE becomes totally optional.
Since 95% of MMORPG play time is at the level cap, that means that PvE matters for 10% of the game (allowing for a longer leveling process than most). For the remaining 90%, you can play as PvE+PvP (often referred to as PvX), or as PvP. You can not play that remaining 90% of the game as PvE.
People that make the argument of Ashes being a PvX game and so you need a PvX mindset are simply uninformed.