Node System, Leveling, Crafting, Loot Drops. The Core of this game. (Critical!!!)

Issue: We have level 25s before we have any station to tier 3. Everyone is just grinding mobs for Loot as that is faster then getting a crafting station up. No balance at all between econ leveling and character leveling.

Back Ground After many conversations. Reading so many of these feedback and forums. Listening to Intrepid from the first dev talk and live stream etc. Intrepid needs to add this to actually see the playthrough of economy, level progression and its core game loop. If it true as Steven said. Risk VS Reward. Having people contest for resources, grind spots. world boss etc. If it is true this is a player-driven world. Then the Loop needs to be in place and for that loop There are 3 ways I saw people comment for that to happen.

Core Game play Loop:
1. Kill mobs to get mats.,
2. Craft necessary things to fight higher mobs.,
3. Kill higher mobs to get mats.,
4. Repeat 1-3.,

Options for Loop to be possible:
1. No loot drop. Node Roadblock(Need higher level nodes for higher level monsters). Gear necessity(need stronger gear to fight monsters). This option is discussed more in this feedback link. ⁠Lock Progression with the Node,
2. Like star wars galaxy. Loot drop but very very rare and the drops are common or worse. Gear necessity(need stronger gear to fight monsters).,
3. No Loot drop. Station Roadblock(having a training hall station, to level passed 10. You need to have a training hall station. Get a quest and do a quest to be allowed to continue to level past 10. Also this station can only be added if you already have a crafting station. Lot 1. crafting, Lot 2 training hall.) Gear necessity(need stronger gear to fight monsters). This option is discussed in this forum. https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/67433/balancing-combat-and-artisan-leveling#latest

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Comments

Vyllz

Great post, thanks for taking the time to lay it out so clearly. This really highlights how important it is to fine-tune the progression loop between combat and economy. Thankfully, we’re still in Alpha and these are exactly the kind of things that will be refined with community feedback. Let’s keep testing and contributing!

MDS

Agree there needs to be better alignment with node progression and player leveling. And there needs to be some sort of mech to incentivize or even force participation in leveling node like you mentioned with the training hall idea.

Aszkalon

The " Rota(tion " doesn't seem to be locked in. As in a safe Loop. Or am i just imagining this ?

There is no real Circle between going out -> killing Mobs -> looting killed Mobs -> bringing Stuff back -> brought Stuff helps Place/Location ABC inside Node XYZ -> and then you can choose how to continue or if you want to do something else to help another Place inside your Node.

Or maybe there is this Loop/Rotation ready already and i just happened to miss it all the time. But most of the time i see Players only level and level and level and level by grinding Mobs for Weeks on End and i have no Idea if they are actually helping the Node somehow.

Has anyone EVER seeing a Node Level up ? From like Stage 1 to Stage 2 ? And from Stage 2 to Stage 3 ?

Noaani

It is worth pointing out, since the OP's initial issue is in relation to nodes leveing too slowly (even if the rest of the post doesn't address this at all), that the node leveling system isn't actually in place as yet.

What we have is a stand in so that we can test the nodes themselves.

When the actual system is put in place, there is every reason to assume the OP's issue will simply go away.

It would be a mistake for Intrepid to implement a temporary system unless that system is in place to allow access to something else that they want players to test. Even if the idea was to see how the economy played out, it wouldn't tell anyone anything useful because the economy would be different when the node system is properly implemented.

It is also worth pointing out that alpha - in a general sense - can be looked at a systems test. Beta can be looked at an over all test. As such, there is no testing value in this during alpha at all anyway.

Vhaeyne

I agree with OP wholeheartedly.

I suspect that players are deliberately avoiding node progression to preserve the ongoing conflict over green drops from named mobs—since fighting over these drops is currently the only fun part of the game.

I believe the drop rate of materials from named mobs should be aligned with the current drop rate of named items, and the item drop rate itself should be either removed entirely or nerfed into the ground.

While the current system is fun, it’s also frustrating.

We now have 15 nodes, with 10 more on the way. Many of them feel pointless, offering little to no incentive to explore or engage with them. These areas could—and should—serve as valuable leveling or grinding zones.

If a mob’s level exceeds the level of the node, it shouldn’t spawn there. Instead, a lower-level alternative, like a goblin or something similar, should take its place.

ShaggyRyn

They need to make leveling the nodes feel more personal. People should be able to see what needs to happen to level th node and all of the crafting stations. Also I feel like there should be a big incentive to stay with a node or else everyone is going to just go to the metropolis every time.

Vhaeyne

ShaggyRyn wrote: »

They need to make leveling the nodes feel more personal. People should be able to see what needs to happen to level th node and all of the crafting stations. Also I feel like there should be a big incentive to stay with a node or else everyone is going to just go to the metropolis every time.

Unless plans have changed, you’re not supposed to become a citizen of a node without owning land there. The minimum requirement should be something like an apartment. Since freeholds are barely implemented and there’s currently no player-owned land within nodes, I think they’re just letting us become citizens for free to test the system.

Wouldn't requiring land ownership make node progression feel more personal?

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