Questions About Freedom of Progression, Nodes, Gathering, and Playing Solo

Hey everyone, how’s it going?

I’ve been following Ashes of Creation for a while now with a lot of interest, but I haven’t played it yet. With the expectation of jumping in on May 1st, I wanted to bring some questions here and hear from more experienced players. I’ve watched a bunch of videos and read several tutorials, but I still feel a bit in the dark about something that’s very important to me: how free the game really is.

I’m the kind of player who likes to do things at my own pace — explore, grind, level up slowly, focus on gathering and crafting — without being forced into a fixed quest line or predefined goals. I’m not a big fan of the “hand-holding” style some MMOs have. What I’m hoping for is that Ashes allows for a more open and flexible experience, where I can progress organically, even if it’s a bit slower or more unconventional.

I understand that the Node system is one of the game’s core mechanics, and I find it very interesting. But I still wonder whether I’ll be required to become a citizen of a node just to not miss out on important content. I like the idea of being free to move around, explore the map, and interact with different nodes without being tied down to a specific location. I’d like to know if that’s actually viable in practice or if it ends up limiting access to certain regions, dungeons, or events.

Another thing that caught my attention is the gathering and crafting system. I’m more interested in specializing in just one path, like herbalism, and maybe something like alchemy or potion-making. My concern is that the game might push players to diversify their professions in order to progress, instead of allowing them to focus deeply on one. I like the idea of picking a specific path and slowly growing in it, rather than constantly switching professions just to unlock stuff.

One of my main concerns is whether, by choosing this more solitary and free style of play — no guild, no fixed party, focused on grind, gathering, and exploration — I’ll eventually hit a wall. I don’t want to find out later that, because I didn’t participate in wars or events from a certain node, I’ll be permanently locked out of some dungeons or systems in the game. I understand that choices come with consequences, and I think that’s healthy in an MMORPG, but I’d love to understand the actual limits of that design.

All in all, my goal is to really immerse myself in this world slowly, enjoying every detail, every landscape, and every system. But I also want the peace of mind of knowing I won’t be forced down a rigid path just to “keep up.” If anyone who’s played previous tests or closely follows the game’s development can share how Intrepid is handling this design philosophy, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks a lot for your time. Hopefully, I’ll see you all in Verra soon! 😄

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Comments

Ludullu

If you're a guildless solo player, I'd say, you can forget about "keeping up". You'll never keep up with someone who has the support of a whole group of players that are all working towards a shared goal.

Now, this doesn't mean that you can't enjoy the game for what it is. You can still do quests, farm mobs, gather whatever you want, go wherever you want, etc. Even with the game's design revolving mostly around guilds, there's still a ton of pugs just doing random content and even catching some boss spawns. Though this might change slightly once we hit a more release-like stage in the game's development.

Right now there's pretty much 0 direction. 0 blocks on content from your node citizenship (or lack there of), well, outside of node wars and freeholds of course. And 0 things to do outside of mob grind, fairly basic artisanry and pvping (at the very least as compared to what's promised on release).

The game will definitely be harder for you, but not impossible.

Azherae

I'll go further based on recent stuff, and honestly I don't like to say it because it is effectively 'asserting that Intrepid will not do what they claim' which is, honestly, at least rude to them, but...

There's no chance that you'll be able to enjoy the world in the way you are thinking of while still feeling immersed.

But it's not that you would hit an insurmountable wall, it's that you'd hit a sheer cliff face and it would then come down to how good you are at 'rock-climbing' (or how fun you find that to be).

All you need is a guild with similar goals though, and maybe a stronger patron-guild to protect yours when things get rough, to get some 'handholds'. If you are the type who loves to really grind and doesn't care about keeping up except to have access to that grind, you are 100% fine I think, and Ashes will be a good fit for you, but if you're asking this question, I kinda feel my first answer is more accurate.

Vyllz

Hello Pplmfxy, from everything we’ve seen so far, the game doesn’t follow a linear questline or force players down a specific path. There’s no classic "main story" like in theme park MMOs. You can absolutely take your time, focus on gathering, crafting, exploring, and just exist in the world at your own pace. The Node system helps with that too, since the world grows and changes based on what players do, not on a fixed script.

You won’t be forced to become a citizen of a node to enjoy the game. Sure, being a citizen gives you certain perks like owning a home or being part of that node’s government, but you can still travel freely, trade, explore, and even participate in content tied to other nodes. Some events or dungeons might be available only when certain nodes develop, but that’s more about player-driven world progression than locking people out permanently.

On the crafting and gathering side, you’ll be happy to hear that specialization is actually encouraged. You don’t have to do everything. You can go deep into something like herbalism or alchemy, and there’s a whole artisan progression designed around mastery. The idea is that players rely on each other and trade, instead of everyone doing all professions themselves.

As for playing solo, yep, that’s possible too. You might miss out on certain big social systems like wars or node politics, but there’s still a lot of space for someone who wants to grind, explore, and craft on their own. You won’t be blocked from progressing, and the game seems to respect different playstyles, even if you’re more of a lone wanderer.

So yeah, from what we know so far, it sounds like Ashes is building the kind of world you’re hoping for. Looking forward to seeing you out there in Verra, I’ll probably be off mining somewhere while everyone else is fighting over a node.

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