Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
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.
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.
Return PvP to the tropics islands
goodsolonius
Member, Alpha Two
It's actually bizarre that this change was made - tropics islands being a hotspot for named mob competition was 90% of the reason to visit the tropics. There's no reason any of these should be considered safe zone, and the ZoI should be limited only to the island the node is on
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Comments
the right decisions and the good decisions are not always the same thing
I actually think this could turn out to be one of the best design choices, if they decide to introduce specific lawless zones on release with increased experience gain and better resources.
On top of that, adding resource caravan routes from these zones would bring even more content – both for solo gatherers who enjoy risk and for organized player groups. But it must be careful balancing to make rewards feel worth the risk.
This would perfectly align with the game’s core risk vs reward philosophy: the higher the risk, the greater the reward.
Of course, having the lawless open sea is nice on paper…
But what is the real motivation to sail there besides moving caravans? Especially when, as it stands now, the system feels more like a placeholder (only gets gold for delivery) with no real economic impact.
If you think adding of lawless zones with higher xp and resource rewards is wrong, please add disadvantages of it and why you think such lawless zones might not fit well with the Ashes design if it is based on risk vs reward.
We are interested in your opinion. There are obviously a lot of advantages of such zones.
It doesn't fit well because that is not the intention of the game.
The focus of PvP in Ashes is about larger scale warfare. It's node vs node or guild vs guild. That is why the focus intent of PvP is content like sieges and wars.
Sure, they aren't implemented properly (at all, really) on alpha, but that has literally always been the intended focus of PvP for this game.
Even the intent for lawless zones in the live game is for larger scale, as lawless zones are confined to the ocean. Since it takes multiple players to operate a single ship, that means lawless zones in the live game will be similarly large scale conflict.
Adding small scale PvP with an overland lawless zone detracts from all of that. It takes away from what the games core is supposed to be.
That is why not adding it now is the right decision, even if Adding it would make the alpha in its current state play better.
Intrepids decision making process is made with both eyes looking at the end result, not looking at immediate improvements to the alpha environment.
Thank you for your response!
I completely agree that large-scale PvP like sieges and wars should remain the core and ultimate endgame of Ashes.
However, I believe it’s equally important to provide horizontal PvP content that allows players to engage outside of organized large-scale events. Not every player is always part of a guild, and even guild members need something meaningful to do between wars, especially if it complements the risk vs reward and philosophy and PvX style.
I don’t think adding overland lawless zones would shift the focus away from large-scale PvP.
On the contrary, it could complement it by offering additional layers of engagement while players wait for sieges or prepare for bigger conflicts.
Ashes is designed as a living sandbox world, and in a sandbox, players should have the freedom to find conflict and risk vs reward opportunities at different scales—not just during pre-scheduled massive events or gvg wars.
After all, guild wars and sieges won’t be happening 24/7, but the world keeps moving.
Small-scale PvP zones could fill that downtime and keep players engaged, giving both solo players and small groups a reason to log in and play if PvP is their main motivation even when large-scale content is not happening.
In the long run, that kind of ongoing engagement could actually strengthen the PvP ecosystem, encouraging more players to eventually participate in the larger wars.
Would you agree that balancing both large and small-scale PvP could lead to a more active and alive world overall?