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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.
Casual friendly
Hello everyone,
Only just discovered Ashes and it looks extremely interesting to say the least. As a busy adult, family/work etc, will this game cater to players like myself. I'm about as casual a player as you could find but love immersive dynamic worlds to explore and grow in. I really want to start getting invested in following the development of the game, and with realistic expectations, get hyped. I've not been able to figure out as of yet, if Ashes is the game I've been waiting for but it does look/sound amazing. So what's everyone's feelings on whether or not the game might be good for a casual type player like myself.
Thanks.
p.s
Just wanted to clarify , by casual I didn't mean easy :) I like a good challenge. I meant more time wise. Will the game allow me to just jump in when I have the time and just pick up where I left off.
Only just discovered Ashes and it looks extremely interesting to say the least. As a busy adult, family/work etc, will this game cater to players like myself. I'm about as casual a player as you could find but love immersive dynamic worlds to explore and grow in. I really want to start getting invested in following the development of the game, and with realistic expectations, get hyped. I've not been able to figure out as of yet, if Ashes is the game I've been waiting for but it does look/sound amazing. So what's everyone's feelings on whether or not the game might be good for a casual type player like myself.
Thanks.
p.s
Just wanted to clarify , by casual I didn't mean easy :) I like a good challenge. I meant more time wise. Will the game allow me to just jump in when I have the time and just pick up where I left off.
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Comments
Crafting is going to be such a huge part of the gearing progression in game that you'll be able to do what you want with your biggest hurdle being finding friends who can craft you gear, or get enough enough money to purchase it.
Obviously there will probably be a bit of a gap between someone who can no-life a game some one who can only play a couple hours a week, but the fact that everything you do benefits a node, even your couple hours a week is contributing to the world as a whole. You may lose out on some of the more in demand features such as open world housing or noninstanced metropolis housing, but those things should be expected. I guess we can't really assume too much here, as we learn more maybe we will see something that makes it no so great for casuals, but everything I'm seeing now I would say points to casuals certainly having an enjoyable place in this new world.
Yes It's a wee bit early to know how It'll all play out but I'm extremely hopeful. As you mentioned the crafting looks like it'll be a big part of Ashes and that would be something I would get into big time :)
From everything I've read and seen so far from Intrepid, I've got a good feeling about the game even at such an early stage.
Thanks again .
I totally agree with HumblePuffin. One of the big idea's is is that you will always make progress, not only through dungeons or fighting monsters, but also through crafting etc. as a casual gamer you should be fine either way. you will not get 'useless' after a time, because a part of all the experience you gain will go to the node that you and your guild are working on. so nonetheless if you play 2 hours a day or 6 hours, the game will always stay interesting. Your guild will keep working on that main goal, and you can help out whenever you can/feel like doing so.
So yes, I would say it's a game for casual gamers, as long as you're part of a guild. Solo gameplay could possibly feel a little bit more 'effortless', because if you're a weaponsmith for example, you'd have to keep improving your crafstmanship. To do that, it takes up time, and there is where the "casual gamer" gets into a disadvantage. Not a lot, but still. Luckily you can get different artisan classes like gathering and processing, these classes don't get influenced by the amount you play, if you would compare it to other players with the same artisan class level and time they spent on getting that, you would see that these classes stay on the same height in a certain way. I hope you understand what I mean with this.
If you have any other questions, you could also ask them on discord to the other community members.
Here's the link for the discord server: [url=https://discordapp.com/invite/ashesofcreation] Discord link[/url]
I'm sure I'll have many questions going forward, hopefully becoming a regular contributor.
I joined the Discord server you listed, just have to work out all the ins and outs of using it :D
I’m sure I’ll have many questions going forward, hopefully becoming a regular contributor.
I joined the Discord server you listed, just have to work out all the ins and outs of using it <img alt="????" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.2.1/svg/1f600.svg" />
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<sips from his tea>
No worries, if there's anything else you can always ask me in the discord, My name is "Brolorz" on the Discord server.
FFXI was considered "hardcore" by the community. I never played it "hardcore" and I never needed to do so as long a you can accept that you won't reach a goal or max level in 3 weeks time. I enjoyed that game very much and eventually reached and achieved about everything there's to achieve in that game all though it took me 5 years to do so. I never cared about that though and those 5 years of "journey" to max level and goals was the best journey I ever experienced in any MMORPG.
FFXI was considered “hardcore” by the community. I never played it “hardcore” and I never needed to do so as long a you can accept that you won’t reach a goal or max level in 3 weeks time. I enjoyed that game very much and eventually reached and achieved about everything there’s to achieve in that game all though it took me 5 years to do so. I never cared about that though and those 5 years of “journey” to max level and goals was the best journey I ever experienced in any MMORPG.
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Hi Marique,
That's exactly how I've played every mmo I've ever tried. It would take me a very long time to get to level (if ever) It was always about the journey. It even took me years to get one character in wow to max level, now that's slow lol It doesn't help that I love to explore, chat and spend obscene amounts of time gathering and crafting :) In the end It all comes down to enjoying your time in the world that's been built for you and the fact that Ashes world will change over time just makes it even better.
This is coming from someone who has 3 kids, a Wife, works 50 hours a week and plays MMORPGs anywhere from 4 to 10 hours a week. I do not want a Casual Friendly game where I am bored out of my fucking skull in 3 months and have to wait another 6 months for content.
Leveling should take 200+ hours to level and should take me about 20 weeks at 10 hours a week to level
Dungeons should take 60 to 120 minutes to complete - Not the 20 minutes Queue and repeat shit that happens today. Yes a Save point in these longer dungeons is acceptable But they should not be "CASUAL FRIENDLY"
Making the best gear should take your social skills to collect the materials to make the gear, not like today's crafting systems which you are gated by how often you can craft the item because the crafting system is Casual Friendly.
There should be no Automated Group finder tools to make finding a Casual Friendly affair
No Ashes should not be casual friendly. You should just accept that players that have more time on their hands will do a lot more in game than you. You also need to accept there will be only so much you get to in the game so fast and content will be much slow for you to get into. I will be accepting the same thing but it is what is best for any MMORPG right now. The formula of CASUAL FRIENDLY has failed MMORPGs and is exactly why people are bored after a few weeks of playing.
The thing is will you with a casual schedule be able to play. YEP. Will you be at the same pace in MMORPGs as you are today? NOPE. You will need to accept a long term view of MMORPGs vs what MMORPGs have come to today.
What makes an MMO "casual-friendly", IMO, is to what extent those kind of guilds' actions will have on the rest of the server. In ones like BDO, even a massive, pvp-oriented guild that enjoys zerging (but is made up of casual players) will usually get *owned* by those elite ones. That in itself isn't a bad thing, as zerging and PK'ing are on the same level to me. However, when time put into the game = power (controlling the economy/nodes, having the most rare, powerful gear, etc) it can become a big problem because even the semi-hardcore players - the ones who can't play all day but are *good players that know their class* do what they can with the time they have (run a few dungeons with their guilds for 1-2 pieces of good/decent gear a week) - can't put up a fight vs the no-lifers. Let alone a run-of-the-mill casual: someone who wants to join a fun, social guilds...run through a dungeon occasionally, maybe jump in a pvp situation occasionally and contribute more than raising the other players kill counts.
Some may say all of this is based off of PVP, but (if I'm not incorrect), devs have said that there won't be a way to *completely* remove yourself from PVP. Therefore, the level of casual-friendliness is going to be determined by PVP. Crafting (pve) will require moving caravans, gearing/grinding (pve) will always run the risk of PKs. If the nodes and castle ownership are like BDO, those will also affect players (I literally started looking at this game a few hours ago, forgive me if I'm not an expert yet on everything and am wrong about this.).
So basically, even if someone is playing the game just for RP, or crafting, or the social aspect, the way that the game handles the open-world pvp, gear gap, and economy is going to play a major role in whether or not it turns out to be casual-friendly. And I don't think that can easily be determined until alpha/beta, though the lack of p2w is definitely a positive.
I dont think players with endless hours will overpower everyone like they do in BDO. BDO there is a soft level cap which means players with more time will end up being very powerful and casual players will never have a chance. In Ashes There is a hard cap and that is it. Yes players with more time will likely be more skilled than people who play less but level and epic gear should not be a problem. I am already fighting again having any Epic gear, yes having tiers of gear but having gear fairly easy to obtain and decay will give players with a casual schedule a better chance at PVP and the game in general. What will happen in this setup is skilled players should mostly beat unskilled weak players.
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If Ashes takes anything away from SWG with the way Gear was as well as hard level caps there will be no power creep because a returning player after some gold farming or farming of any kind can catch up to gear because gear will not be the main focus of the game. As well as a hard level cap and player's skill comes greatly into play as well as class strengths and weaknesses. If a highly skilled player exploits your weakness you should get owned. It should be more about skill than the treadmill of today's MMORPGS. This will make people with less time able to be effective in the game as long as they dont think casual friendly is click a button wait for queue to pop. That is what should not be in the game. If they need gear they should make friends with a few crafters and help out the crafters as they can.