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Alpha Two testing is currently taking place five days each week. More information about Phase II and Phase III testing schedule can be found here
If you have Alpha Two, you can download the game launcher here, and we encourage you to join us on our Official Discord Server for the most up to date testing news.
Fast travel
SOVERElGN
Member, Alpha Two
So I understand fast travel is not good for a game it removes the point on mounts and runs PVP Zerg ''gathering''
that being said I can't stand talking all across the map from point A to point b
[how to fix the problem with fast travel]
my idea was to allow fast travel to town nodes but have a system in place from point A 'the player' to where he wants to go ''point B'' the system counts the time it would take to get from point A to point b and then add time-based on the mount/foot travel time and put that as a Cooldown. This would allow fast travel but nerf it to the point of how much we can do it.
we also still have the choice to travel on mount and it would not kill the concept of getting better mounts.
Have node not able to fast travel when a node war is in place
that being said I can't stand talking all across the map from point A to point b
[how to fix the problem with fast travel]
my idea was to allow fast travel to town nodes but have a system in place from point A 'the player' to where he wants to go ''point B'' the system counts the time it would take to get from point A to point b and then add time-based on the mount/foot travel time and put that as a Cooldown. This would allow fast travel but nerf it to the point of how much we can do it.
we also still have the choice to travel on mount and it would not kill the concept of getting better mounts.
Have node not able to fast travel when a node war is in place
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Comments
They have already commented that at some point there will be a taxi service and thats plenty. Or if an academic node levels up, there will be some sort of fast travel between nodes in its area of influence.
Let's stop caualizing games. It hinders immersion.
So dont like it dont use it there is problem ? or game must e only like you want ?
The game is built around trade, exploration, and immersion. Allowing fast travel would ruin many of these essential features.
Steven and the developers have repeatedly confirmed in the dev blogs that fast travel will not be part of Verra, and that’s a very good thing.
You want teleportation? Well, scientific cities will be connected to each other. For everything else, you have your mounts and your feet.
Because we know you, the ones who complain about the lack of fast travel because you only have two hours to play. Then, you’ll whine because you have to walk to the instances, you’ll be tired of looking for a group for a dungeon, and then you’ll ask for an automated group finder. And once that’s in place, you won’t even bother saying hello when joining your instance groups. If something goes wrong, it’s always the tank’s or the healer’s fault, a little taunt, and you leave.
Yes, I admit it, I’m salty against this mentality that always wants to simplify everything in the game.
The studio’s stance is clear, and I really hope they never listen to you.
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Fast_travel
This was never going to be an instant gratification game, stop trying to make it one.
This makes no sense.
Adding it doesn't remove anything. If you want to spend an hour running from one location to another, you still can. If you want to use the argument of "I would walk if I have to, but would use fast travel if it is available", then you should reconsider. You are literally saying you want to a part of the game.left jn thst you would happily bypass for more enjoyable content if you had the option to do so.
It doesn't lower the chances of PvP, as it isn't taking players out of the game world - it is just moving then to a different part of the game world. If anything, it should mean there is more PvP because the population would be generally more concentrated than spread out. Rather than running around the open world looking for players traveling, you just go to the areas they want to be in and PvP there.
The only (and I do mean only) valid reason to not want fast travel is to prevent players massing in one location quickly - and so any fast travel suggestion that avoids this is 100% valid.
Alright, let me break down my arguments.
First, let’s consider the game’s universe. The game is designed to be largely sedentary, where the main objective is to develop a node, level it up, and establish a vassal network with lower-level nodes. This should naturally encourage citizens of these nodes to commit to increasing their influence and protecting themselves from other powerful regions.
Why would fast travel be detrimental and play directly into the hands of zerg guilds?
Let’s start with the obvious: caravans.
Imagine you’re part of a medium-sized guild, transporting goods or running a trade caravan to a neighboring node. In the current system, a zerg guild would have to be nearby to launch a massive attack. But with a fast travel system, one player can just sound the alarm, and within two minutes, you’ll have 400 people on you, leaving you no time to respond or organize a countermeasure.
The same problem applies to naval systems.
Example Scenario
You defeat a world boss, and fortune smiles upon you a valuable relic drops. But guess what? A zerg guild spots you, and within two minutes, 300 players arrive to steal it from you. These are people who, under normal circumstances, would’ve needed 40 minutes to reach you. But thanks to fast travel, they’re on you almost instantly, with zero effort.
If you played at the beginning of Alpha 2, you’ve seen how this plays out on a smaller map. All the routes were camped, caravans were destroyed on sight, and what I call "server killers" were running rampant. They weren’t interested in testing or providing feedback; they were just hell-bent on destroying every caravan for fun.
As a result, many guilds left the game, and ironically, the same zerg guilds later complained that there was nothing left to do. Of course, because they drove away three-quarters of the server’s population.
Moving on...
If a world boss spawns near your node, a normal guild or alliance would have a fair shot at engaging it. But with your proposed system, zerg guilds can rush any boss on the map with ease.
Now, consider the regions and their unique resources. This design encourages transportation of goods via caravans, enhancing the node’s progress and missions. With the old system, there was a real incentive to load your mule with resources and transport them from one region to another.
But with fast travel? Any player can just teleport wherever they want, whenever they want, making this unique gameplay feature useless.
The people who understand the negative consequences of fast travel don’t want it. The developers don’t want it. And frankly, the only ones who could possibly benefit from such a system are the large zerg guilds who would be able to mass-move wherever they please, with no penalties.
What’s the point of choosing and belonging to a node for resources if, with just a click, you can instantly be wherever you want to gather?
So, where’s the real inconsistency?
You can prefer a game where zergs rule the world, where a small minority of players can wreak havoc across two entire continents.
Or, you can support the game developers who have already anticipated these issues and are working to address these recurring problems.
In any case, you will have fast mounts, public transportation systems, and teleportation between scientific nodes and their vassals.
No need for anything else to maintain balance for everyone.
To wrap this up,
Ashes of Creation was designed with a clear, well-thought-out vision. The developers have said it, repeated it, and written it down for everyone to see (I'll share the link) — they don’t want fast travel. And it’s not just for one reason, but for many reasons I’ve already mentioned, and plenty of others.
But despite all that, there are still players who want everything right away. They’re willing to make the game feel dull just to be able to click on a point on the map and teleport instantly, even if it means throwing away six important features of the game.
But a real RPG is so much more than that. It’s about running into people on the road, stopping at an inn to chat, stumbling upon a group doing RP. It’s those random encounters that breathe life into the world and make the experience so much richer.
But no, some people would rather rush through everything like they do in real life, never taking the time to actually enjoy the journey. Traveling around, watching nodes grow and evolve, witnessing changes, living that constant exploration... That’s what makes the world feel alive.
I genuinely hope the developers have the financial means to see their vision through. Because a world that keeps evolving, that truly feels alive, perfectly matches their idea of travel based on exploration rather than just a magical click on the map.
The main objective of Ashes is to build character/player power, like every other MMORPG ever.
Building nodes is one aspect of that, arguably not even the primary aspect.
When you look at the game from this perspective, the inconsistencies jump out at you like an over eager teenager working in a haunted house. It also becomes obvious why the game should have some form of fast travel.
The other thing to keep in mind is that there are ways to add fast travel that do not facilitate zerg guilds. As such, the argument of zergs and such that you made is an argument for what form fast travel should take, as opposed to an argument as to whether it should be present or not.
And that's not to say people who don't like fast travel are wrong not to like it. There are mechanics that become pointless when allowing people to port everywhere at will. Why have split marketplaces when you can simply blink between them and trade? Why have an intricate mount system if moving from each PoI can be done by pressing 'M' and clicking on it?
Either way, it's a moot point because:
1. Fast travel will be in the game, it will just be very limited.
2. Teleportation will be a very real thing lore-wise, so it isn't even a question of lore-breaking nonsense.
3. Steven, and Intrepid, are constantly shifting direction on how much or little a system's impact has, will have, or should have on the game (case in point, the PvP penalty system).
Also, you have to remember, we're currently dealing with a small percentage of the map. What currently can take 2 hours to cross on-foot is nothing compared to the final scheme of the game.
Ultimately, what we don't want is for Ashes to fall apart. Outside of those of us who wanted to spend time in a testing sandbox, because we enjoy playing it, there needs to be a broad appeal. There are a lot of players who will join this game looking for a more traditional MMO zero fast travel, only LFG chat, and a Global chat to basically pay a subscription to be in a gigantic, troll-filled chatroom; there are a great many more who will want to see some level of modern QoL in the game. Intrepid knows this. They're not dummies. Plus most of those people are forever stuck on WoW, so you can't rely on that.
Intrepid will need to take their time and move through iterations slowly. And they will.
And don't worry about funding. If this game fails, it won't be there weren't enough funds dumped into it. It will be because not enough people are playing it to make it sustainable post-launch. With the way they're willing to adapt, I don't think Intrepid will let that happen.
Then we hope that they will bankrupt soon. It sounds like you only pay money, and only your opinion is important there.
It's not about bypassing it for more enjoyable content. If one player is riding for 10mins, and another is teleporting, then that player has 10mins more time for character progression. The player that doesn't use it is on the back foot, and at risk of getting left behind.
A player that wants to be relevant at end-game will need to teleport, too, in order to not get overtaken. It'll turn into a necessity, despite their feelings on fast travel.
So, your argument is that we should have no fast travel because it means things take longer and are less fun?
Don't get me wrong, I fully understand the arguments that are being made for no fast travel - they are just really bad arguments to make, as they all boil down to "I want the game to be less fun".
Yes, any player that opts to progress slowly will, well, progress slowly. Where within that is the reason to purposefully make the game less fun and more tedious?
Not everyone has time to run haur from one node to another.... it`s stupid and autistic if devs totaly dont lisen people they will make game for self and autistic kids only and can play this trash 30 people total before will fucked to pay for servers.[/quote]
You know, there's a recently released game called TL where you can teleport wherever you want with an amazing animation. So, why not go play there?
Developers have to make choices, and a unique game that appeals to 6 billion people simply doesn't exist and has never existed.
Here, you come barging in with your big boots, with no other argument than, "I don't want to waste 10 minutes of my life, change your game because you made it for autistic people."
Honestly, if I were a developer, you'd get banned from both the forum and the game right away for your utter lack of respect and consideration for other users and those with disabilities.
So, here you are, representing the kind of people who've been ruining games for years by making everything bland and uninspired. You have dozens of games that suit your taste, where you click a button to form a group, or click a spot on the map to be instantly transported there. And when you encounter the slightest difficulty, you don’t even bother to say hello to the group because it's a waste of time for you, but you throw an insult instead. In short, your behavior here is a perfect example of that.
Ashes of Creation is about bringing MMORPGs back to their roots — a time you probably never experienced. That’s why we are here. And believe me, this community is far larger than your fast-food MMOs that you defend so much but don’t even play.
Take a look at the WoW Classic and Retail servers and see which ones are thriving.
I won’t respond any further to your rudeness and self-centeredness.
You know, there's a recently released game called TL where you can teleport wherever you want with an amazing animation. So, why not go play there?
Developers have to make choices, and a unique game that appeals to 6 billion people simply doesn't exist and has never existed.
Here, you come barging in with your big boots, with no other argument than, "I don't want to waste 10 minutes of my life, change your game because you made it for autistic people."
Honestly, if I were a developer, you'd get banned from both the forum and the game right away for your utter lack of respect and consideration for other users and those with disabilities.
So, here you are, representing the kind of people who've been ruining games for years by making everything bland and uninspired. You have dozens of games that suit your taste, where you click a button to form a group, or click a spot on the map to be instantly transported there. And when you encounter the slightest difficulty, you don’t even bother to say hello to the group because it's a waste of time for you, but you throw an insult instead. In short, your behavior here is a perfect example of that.
Ashes of Creation is about bringing MMORPGs back to their roots — a time you probably never experienced. That’s why we are here. And believe me, this community is far larger than your fast-food MMOs that you defend so much but don’t even play.
Take a look at the WoW Classic and Retail servers and see which ones are thriving.
I won’t respond any further to your rudeness and self-centeredness.
[/quote]
You know, there's a recently released game called TL where you can teleport wherever you want with an amazing animation. So, why not go play there?
Serios again who da fuck you are that must care only your opinion you pay more money for game or how it`s works. Maby they make this game only for you ? You have harder rpg games you dont want go play ?
Don't make the mistake of assuming people here are asking for WoW classic levels of convenience, let alone WoW retail.
Rather than it being a case of less convenience being better, WoW classic is doing so well because it strikes a nice balance. Retail is too far in one direction, and Ashes is far too far in the other.
It literally wouldn't ruin the persistence of the world.
The two have nothing to do with each other.
Great writeup, but don't get your hopes up. People like OP aren't interested in changing their opinion.
Is this what people are really asking for with fast travel? I guess I did not understand. I don't think I have ever played a game where this was possible.
I am just a solo player who never gets invested in the game, though I feel it is above average in most of the things it does because I always feel separated from everything. I can never really seem to get anywhere or do much with my time other than find a place to grind mobs, which gets boring. Some random encounters with players who might be where I am at the moment, but I know we will all move on, and when they are at some node or some other spot, I won't see them again because, well, it takes too much time to get anywhere. I don't want instant travel anywhere. But a port to my emberstone on a cooldown, which would let me strategically base myself somewhere, would help. That public transportation talked about would be great. Anything other than the feeling of "Why bother" and ignoring global chat. I thought, "I know what I will do, I will hunt a mount and go try my hand at the crafting system." So I spent my time running around finding some wolf or bear or something to tame, then to spend the little silver I had to get caravan mules. Over and Over. Defeating really. That was just for 10% faster or 5. I don't know. The game is not for you they say. I guess not, though I want it to be. I paid for this and would pay. I can't even res at my body or port back to my ash pile. I mean, why not? I already lost those mats and take a death penalty. Time penalty on top of it. It makes me never want to pvp. I like to pvp. I don't mind getting killed. Corruption doesn't even scare me as much as the overall time lost.
I thought they wanted it to be about risk versus reward? What reward is there? I take no risks and still get punished because of the mob aggro and the leash range. I would like to play a risky class. I would like to play rogue and be risky. Maybe I will get to. I stopped playing my cleric because I was just logging to mob grind till bored and logging back out because of these reasons. It boggles my mind that the game world already feels too big to get around in a reasonable amount of time, and it is only a fraction of what it is supposed to be.
Oh, you don't want the Zerg guilds to dominate!!! They already do, from what I understand. Maybe it has changed a bit. I will have to see. If I am not in one, though why should I bother to join a node, then ride for the time it takes to get to some POI to grind with a pug and then ride back to that node?
I know I am ranting. I apologize. I really want to love this game. But things like this guy said
"You defeat a world boss, and fortune smiles upon you a valuable relic drops. But guess what? A zerg guild spots you, and within two minutes, 300 players arrive to steal it from you. These are people who, under normal circumstances, would’ve needed 40 minutes to reach you. But thanks to fast travel, they’re on you almost instantly, with zero effort.
If you played at the beginning of Alpha 2, you’ve seen how this plays out on a smaller map. All the routes were camped, caravans were destroyed on sight, and what I call "server killers" were running rampant. They weren’t interested in testing or providing feedback; they were just hell-bent on destroying every caravan for fun.
As a result, many guilds left the game, and ironically, the same zerg guilds later complained that there was nothing left to do. Of course, because they drove away three-quarters of the server’s population."
It sort of proves the point. Those guilds were already doing it without any sort of travel system. I don't want instant travel to anywhere, but just look at the logical disconnect in this argument. Why is it that only the Zerg guild can fast-travel to you, but you can NOT fast-travel away from them? You lose your shinies because they are gonna get you... Just proves that people will think how they want to think and never take another perspective.
All I am saying is that if there are going to be this many systems with built in time sinks and all the punishments at least help me get around in your world.
Back when zerg guilds were dominating, they had at least one player permanently logged in each city. To put things in context, there was only one available region at the time, with just five villages — the area was fully covered. As soon as a caravan left, the information would spread, and minutes later the zerg would show up in force, giving players no chance to defend themselves.
But that's not the context of the final map, which will feature two full continents and multiple nodes. If you allow these guilds to travel quickly, they'll dominate the server by sheer numbers, shutting down all trade and world boss activities for smaller groups. That means 5 to 6 major game features could end up being completely irrelevant.
Future updates will also include small caves for mining rare resources, along with special events. If you let zerg guilds teleport or arrive instantly, they’ll wipe everything clean and claim it all for themselves. Once again, the travel system needs to be designed specifically to make things harder for zergs.
Did you play Throne and Liberty? Same thing happened there an event would spawn, and the zerg guilds would arrive within a minute. I call them "locust guilds", in reference to the plagues of Egypt: they show up, destroy a server, and then the devs even let them transfer to new servers to start the cycle again.
That’s why Ashes of Creation, a beautiful project with a dynamic and evolving world, needs to protect its ecosystem. As I mentioned earlier, there will be public transportation, faster mounts, and a family regrouping system to help with travel without giving an unfair advantage to zergs.
Travelling in the game is AWESOME. It's dangerous (not just potential players, but mobs too), rewarding, beautiful, exciting, and DOESN'T TAKE AN HOUR FROM ONE NODE TO ANOTHER.
The chance of stumbling onto content in your travels is also good, if you're on the lookout.
I did a check-up on all the Markets on my server, and it took me less than an hour to run the course of Riverlands and what nodes are in the Desert.
One node to another is closer to somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes, depending on landscape and running for your life.
What they absolutely need to do imo is that when a node levels up woodshop, it levels up lumberjacking, lumber milling and carpentry for example. No more of this it levels one thing up shit, I can't stand that and that is something that is a pain in the ass for travel. You could just have the need for double up professions in different biomes where, for example, an apprentice woodshop in the desert is needed to process all the apprentice trees from the desert. So there is a different reason to travel, but also allows people to stay in one place if they want to make certain things with the wood from the biome. This can be the same for mining and other things. They could also make it where armor smithing and weapon smithing metalworking is different than metalworking for jewelry. For example, metalworking for people who chose jewelry only can make tin, bronze, copper ingots not mixed ingots like bronze and brass etc. And then just make armor and weapon smithing need mixed ingots and jewelry need pure ingots. This also allows for balance and still reason to traverse the map.
Also, hopefully mounts can go up to %300+ and traveling will be less of a burden. It would also be less of a burden too if they had auto path running like they did in BDO. These are all QoL things that need to be in the game that don't rely on us just lazily adding fast travel. And make this only in non-lawless zone areas. but in lawless zones you have to move where you want with no auto pathing./
There are ways around making traveling less cumbersome and not rely on fast traveling which, I promise you, will be abused for things other than the "80% of players who don't have time to walk everywhere".
Remove the family summon and remove the respawn on a home point.
Other than that, faster travel is enough, like flight paths and public transportation with caravans and ships from node to node.
Dude, if you don’t have time to play the game, play a quick match of Call of Duty or FIFA. It’s what the developers want, and I hope they won’t listen to that kind of request. This generation that wants everything immediately without doing anything really tires me out.
Go to T&L for that.
So no. Fast travel must not be in the game.