Steven… please read this.
I would like to start a discussion with you and all other interested testers about the Corruption System and how it could be improved.
First, I want to emphasize that this is not a PvE vs. PvP thread, and I do not intend to go into every detail of existing game loops. Instead, I want to propose an adjustment to the Corruption System that, in my opinion, should be implement in due time and that would create a more constructive and sound approach to dealing with corruption.
To begin, I want to restate that I believe the existing game loops like node development, professions, and the crate and caravan systems could work very well together. They have the potential to elegantly bring players with different interests into a shared gameplay experience.
However, one issue that I encounter frequently in-game and that is increasingly echoed by friends, guild members, and content creators is that the current Corruption System does not provide the intended deterrence against griefing in the open world.
The Core Problem
The core issue is that the fairly severe consequences of corruption are too easy to bypass. The most common methods are:
1) Disposable characters
Groups ambush gatherers or mule runners to steal materials or crates. Often, a single disposable character is enough to kill the mule or land the killing blow. This isolates the corruption on one character while protecting the main group from any consequences.
If the victim fights back, the situation often gets worse, because doing so flags them for PvP, further benefiting the attackers.
2) Gear protection
One of the most intimidating consequences of corruption is the chance to drop equipped gear. In practice, this is often bypassed because guild members standing by to immediately loot and secure the dropped items. As a result, there is no real loss and therefore no real deterrence.
3) Corruption removal
Combined with point 2, corrupt characters are often killed intentionally by their own group to quickly remove corruption. Logging out or switching characters is another easy way to avoid the short-term consequences of being corrupted.
Resulting Imbalance
This creates a severe imbalance in the risk-vs-reward calculation.
Attackers can reduce their risk almost to zero while still receiving full rewards, often by ambushing players shortly before delivery points such as crate turn-ins.
Defenders, on the other hand, risk 100% of their invested gold and time, with rewards only if everything goes perfectly. The supposed “choice” of whether to defend yourself or not in an emerging PvP encounter is currently little more than an illusion.
Proposed Improvements
Now that the status quo is clear, what could a revised system do better? I would focus on the three tactics above that undermine the current Corruption System. I do not want to make the system harsher, but rather more secure and more constructive.
Point 1: Account-wide consequences
The Corruption System should have account-wide effects. Ashes already applies systems like citizenship on an account-wide basis, so this is clearly possible. Doing the same for corruption would greatly reduce the effectiveness of disposable characters.
As an alternative (and more extreme option), an account could be locked to the corrupted character until corruption is removed. I consider this a very strong restriction on player autonomy, but I wanted to mention it for completeness.
Point 2: Get rid of the global corruption status
(Thank you @Bobsyns for this idea)
Determine the status of corruption based upon personal encounters rather than determining it globally for everybody. This should include the killing of mounts and mules. At this point corruption becomes a personal status towards a smaller group of players.
Point 3: Move away from gear loss
In my view, losing equipped gear is too harsh a punishment. While I believe Ashes will eventually need true item sinks, the Corruption System should not be responsible for that.
Instead of heavy punishment, I propose a system that rehabilitates corrupted players in a constructive way. This leads directly to the next point.
Point 4: Rehabilitation instead of death
Corruption should be reduced through constructive gameplay with a rehabilitation focus, rather than through death or experience gain. This would require some additional and more severe adaptations in order to create benefitial game loops. The idea is to implement something similar to a crime score or criminal record (fully compatible with the Blight system).
Introducing Kill-Titles
We will keep the globally shared player statuses as
- Non-combatant (white) and
- Combatant (purple).
The system is then expanded by individually determined kill-titles.
- Entitles Players (blue) are characters and accounts that got killed or had their mount/mule killed as non-combatants. Blue players gain a kill-title towards their killer that can increase in severity with further kills.
- Corrupt Players (red) only count as corrupt towards players and owners of mounts/mules they killed earlier.
- The original holder of a kill-title will automatically and temporarily pass the right to kill a red player onto their current group, raid and guild.
- Red players do not pass on their red status.
How do I clear Kill-Titles?
Corrupted accounts clear their kill-titles by collecting Letters of Pardon, a new temporary currency that expires after a short time and therefore cannot be stockpiled.
Letters of Pardon can be earned by:
- Actively escorting caravans as a defender (rewards only when caravan gets turned in and scaled by distance traveled and time spent near the caravan)
- Transporting a new type of crate designed specifically for atonement gameplay
Letters of Pardon must be turned in at a Sheriff who should be available in towns and from the start in sancuaries like Lionhold. Letters of Pardon can be used to reduce or delete kill-titles that Entitled Players may hold against them. Players can see via a menu who holds a kill-title against them and which tier or severity this kill-title has.
Introducing Bounty-hunters
Law-abiding players could purchase a new scroll called “Writ of Arrest” from a Scribe for a specific region. Depending on the scroll’s quality, using it would allow bounty hunters to see any red player on the map in the redion. Bounty-hunters would then basically count as Entitled Players (blue), but without passing the blue status onto their group, raid or guild.
This system would integrate naturally with the planned Military Node Pathfinding ability, allowing certain citizens to function as bounty hunters even without the scroll.
Final Thoughts
It is important that the new Corruption Status does not completely shut down gameplay for corrupted accounts, like the current red-status often does for the affected character. Instead, corrupted players can choose:
- To continue playing freely away from players that have a kill-title towards them, or
- To actively work on reducing their kill-titles
Likewise, lawful players can decide whether they want to hunt red players or tolerate them in their region.
Thank you all for taking the time to read this. I hope I was able to clearly convey my thoughts, and I would greatly appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism.
