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.
Comments
How would you describe the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? What’s working well, and what could be improved?
2, think exp should be improved. I cannot tell about money and other rewards since I don't have data about this.
In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system?
Additional to the expected "gold", some material rewards could be ingredients or materials that player might sell in the market.
Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)?
Less than 25%
25–49%
50–74%
75% or more
Why did you choose that percentage?
I think you shouldn't choose a linear % increase.
* First measure measure 1h of grinding (everage not meta-maximum-grinding) and now comparee to the time it take a person to complete a given quest.
* You have data on how much time a player spends in accomplishing a quest.
* Increase accorddingly.
You could do the same exercesise for each activity in the world
Improvements:
* By level ranges, activity
* Stablish an strategy target time you want a player to spend for every single activity type /event and modify accordingly
What helps you feel connected to a game world, and what could Ashes of Creation do to feel more immersive and dynamic?
Exploration, Quests with some interesting lore behind the quests, voice located NPC (even though its an AI) definitely
3. I feel like quests should been used to teach mechanics of the game, while also helping with experience gain. Adding any kind of loot or materials to be gained from a quest I feel defeats the purpose of a player driven game, if the NPCs are supplying you with a bunch of items. Personally, I think area events should be more common as well.
4. 25-49% so thats a difficult question to answer, become if this game is meant to be social, then allowing solo players to rush through the game via quests would diminish the player engagement with the social aspect of the game. In my humble opinion, I would argue that the best way to earn Exp should be with grouping or helping with a node. Have quests made to be completed in a group at Pois that have enemies designed to be taken by a group. Have a node loyalty system that rewards players a bonus in exp for completing gathering, crafting, and PvE, PvP commissions. Offer higher exp yields for events that gain more players. Have exp being earned through actually interacting with the world and the player base, instead of letting players solo zerg through, and only participate in the PvE part of the game.
5. I love this question. Adding on top of what I said in my last answer, design the game to require you to actually interact with other players and nodes themselves. This not being a theme park MMO, the player doesnt need to be the chosen one, or someone who can solo all the content by themselves. Create an environment where the players WANT to be a part of this world. I'm a PvE player by heart, but give me the chance to be a part of a node that is unique compared to others, so I can defend it or siege other nodes that dare to threaten our home! Grant more space for freeholds, so towns and cities actually feel lived in, rather than a hub to buy stuff and store your items at.
2 - It's not that the quests are necessarily bad, but rewarding our efforts for easily spending 20, 30, up to 45-minutes on one quest that requires significant travel and grinding in locations that are over-populated should be more consistent with the time spent achieving and completing them.
How would you describe the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? What’s working well, and what could be improved?
there seem to be certain quests that are essentially required to complete in order to make it past the early game, but then almost entirely disappear in relevance post level 10. If the emphasis is to gather, craft, quest, and grind equally, milestones at certain levels could be a good idea. For example: a quest starting at level 1 that helps get to level 6/7 but if individuals properly utilize and explore zones to grind and build artisanship, can easily achieve level 9-10, now create something similar for every 10 levels to help feel more connected to the world and its lore.
In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system?
quest-building/chains, create quests that build off eachother and potentially branch to allow players to feel rewarded following certain quest paths. As you approach the end of the quest chain, the rewards increase up to a point where it helps set up for the next adventure individuals embark on (starting gear, potions, enhancement scrolls) and clearly match the difficulty in tandem with what's rewarded. Same concept with PvP, potentially create quests that help incentivize pvp but rewarding with pvp specific gear and such. But don't forget to tie them in to the story of the world, what's happening, whats the conflict, how close are we getting to the 'Big Bad'. There are so many great area's that Intrepid could build cool story lines that reward gear or achievements (tied to exp) to make them fall in love with certain factions or territories.
Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)?
Easily, less then 25%
Why did you choose that percentage?
questing post 10 feels inconsistent, does not engage me to pay attention to the story, and feels like it just fills the gaps.. but without the feeling of achieving something.
What helps you feel connected to a game world, and what could Ashes of Creation do to feel more immersive and dynamic?
The world building, node system, and lively area's all help me feel like the world is truly alive, but in order to immerse myself and feel the impact of its nature, create unique story lines that drive mystery, adventure, and recognition. Take Runescape for example, the quests in Runescape have always been so unique, taking you to new environments and rewarding you with classic gear that is recognizable across its ecosystem, try something near that approach.
On a scale of 1–5, how would you rate the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? (1 = Very poor, 5 = Excellent)
How would you describe the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? What’s working well, and what could be improved?
Currently, for me, it is 1 to 2. I'll have to take more time to think and edit to add more info later.
In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system?
Something that allows me to keep up with pure grinders more or less. Additionally, with Verra being how it is, having flexibility where I can get some types of quests done. For example, if a quest wants a Grem's tooth, let me get it off of any grem since there are grem of different levels across the Riverlands.
Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)?
50–74%
Why did you choose that percentage?
I imagine that my time will be a combination of taking up the quests plus the commissions and events. Hopefully, they go together well and all connect well with the story ARC for the current narrative.
The other 25% to 50% can come from gathering and artisanships
What helps you feel connected to a game world, and what could Ashes of Creation do to feel more immersive and dynamic?
I like it when a questing system supplements exploration and story. I loved the thought of quests being the hook back into the primary story arc -- be it Events, area-wide quests or even biome-wide quests. I think the intended plan to have dynamic events reacting to player actions is amazing and something I've been looking forward to since the kickstarter. I have enjoyed the events that do exist, though I wish there were a lot more across the biomes.
Right now, it feels like Miraleth and Winstead are artificially drawn towards since that area is more fleshed out with Events.
This morning, I spent two hours on my lvl 15 fighter grinding through commission boards and stumbled on a side quest in an estate zone. It had a range of mob difficulties—I could handle the regulars and 1-stars, but the place was swarming with 3-stars that I just couldn’t kill. After dying a few times, I gave up on the quest and went back to commissions. I started at level 15 with ~17k XP debt, ran all over the place finishing tasks, and after two full hours walked away with just 8.9k XP. Sure, the debt is gone, but that’s still a miserable return for the time spent.
TL;DR: 2 hours of Seph = a level and a half | 2 hours of questing = a centimeter of a quarter-bar.
Last night was a blast. This morning, I'd rather do laundry.
On a scale of 1–5, how would you rate the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? (1 = Very poor, 5 = Excellent)
1-2.
How would you describe the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? What’s working well, and what could be improved?
From my experience, their not worth the time of day. Either reward or experience wise, with the sole exception being the beginner tutorial quest to get your first mount. Because there appears to be no level scaling for the quests, you can wind up taking a high level quest in a beginner area, only to be sent to an area where you will be one shot. Why even offer quests if they cannot be done at the level in which you find them?
And don't get me started on the crappy AI voices. Kills any and all mood I have to do a quest. I'd rather just read.
In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system?
Whatever gold reward there is should be relatively equal to the same amount of time spent grinding mobs of the same level, at the very least. Perhaps even have said reward scale on player level, if the intent is to have quests remain valuable or useful regardless of level.
Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)?
Less than 25%
25–49%
50–74%
75% or more
Depends if we are talking main quests or side quests, and sum total or per level. For a side quest, about 20-30%, depending on length. For a main story quest, 50-70%. They should be very rewarding. Group quests, if you have them, about 40-50%.
Why did you choose that percentage?
Quests can do a lot of heavy lifting to connect players to the game world and its characters, so it should be rewarding.
What helps you feel connected to a game world, and what could Ashes of Creation do to feel more immersive and dynamic?
I think an 'all of the above' method to experience and gold gain works the best. Where regardless of what activity you are doing, your being rewarded for your time equally, from questing, grinding mobs, crafting to exploring. So that no matter what you feel like doing that day, your going to get rewarded for it.
Basically, this is what Guild Wars 2 does. And it works really very well.
By having a wide range of activities, you can meet people where they are and give them something rewarding to do. And the more time they spend in your game, the more they will get attached and immersed.
In the short term, exploration and visas would be an easy addition. Jumping puzzles would be nice too.
I remember when I played WOW and came back to it when Pandaria came out, this was exactly what made me really like the quest and story, with some cinematics sceens in between. I really felt like a part of the world, like a real hero. I have to admit that in one moment i even pull out some tears because it was so emotional. I never felt more connected to the story and game.
For me personally grinding is like a job, you go there and do the same over and over which feels like next job. I wanna come home from work and enyjoy the story and feel to be a part of it. But also you dont wanna stuck on lvl 15 while everyone else is already lvl 25 even though you play same amount of time
Hello! I am having fun in the alpha! I give questing a 2.
How would you describe the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? What’s working well, and what could be improved?
I want to start by saying I will go out of my way to follow quests and quest chains. I like them in MMOs.
These are very poor rewards overall. It seems the XP for turn ins doesn't quite scale with the quests very well, esp chain quests. The glint amount doesn't translate well to feeling like a decent amount (some of that could be because of larger economy issues where a lot of things are outrageously expensive that seem like they should not be). I know you do not want to hand out gear, but for example the questline to get the tokens to get gear from the Surplus vendor is very obscure and there are a large number of guides online because of how hard the quest line is to follow. It seems like some quests have good markers and others don't. You're in a spot where you want people to be reading and driven to find the next clue themselves, but it seems like only SOMETIMES. Much of the time it's clearly marked on the map. I don't know how you balance mystery with user friendliness but I feel like right now, any quest that doesn't have full markers is just "an alpha thing" and it's not meant to be that way?
What oculd be improved: Icons for quest availability/progress. There is the book icon but many times I go to the NPC and he doesn't actually have a quest for me. I just want to know why. "You're too weak for this job" "come back with friends" "You haven't even done X yet" etc would help. OR I have already actually done the quest and the book still shows up.
Also zooming in on the map sometimes reveals more quest markers, which is great but it's very inconsistent at what map zoom distance they actually show up. There are 2 types of quest book icons. They are waaaay too similar imo. I also struggle to know which NPCs quest I am currently doing because the icon does not change (that I can see). I know its the classic example, but in WoW you have an ! and a ? to help players recognize what's new/in progress. Some NPCs names glow/shine when you can interact with them and some have quest text that triggers when you are nearby them. These are all great. BUT this does not seem to be consistently applied throughout the process. I don't ever want to see another ! over an NPC in my life so I think you're doing nicely here with the way NPCs get your attention, it's much more immsersive but sometimes I can't figure out "am I already on this quest" "do they have another quest" "did I already do that quest"? type stuff. I am all for "secret/hidden" quests too that are not on the main map, but in alpha right now it's hard to tell what's purposefully hidden and what just isn't finished.
In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system? I think fair quest rewards have to balance out against other forms of money/gear acquisition. They can perhaps be lacking in physical item rewards if the XP is very good. Have players do the quests for XP, exploration, coin, and perhaps collectible but somewhat useless trinkets/cosmetics. Perhaps longer chains could reward some interesting gear. I am imagining a larger core story quest chain for each 5 level range that is supported by side-quests. But never reward gear for quests that are like deliveries from A to B.
Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)? I think it should be an avenue for significant content at all levels. I would say around 50% to 75% could be quest driven. This high percentage gives players a consistent path to follow. I would also hope that there would be many quests to choose from at any level so that not everyone is railroaded down the exact same line.
Questing could be better accompanied/supported by commission boards. I think the commission boards should tie more into quests. I really do not like commission boards. I feel they are lazy excuses for a real questing system. I know this is a common way of doing quests in games these days but boy I wish it wasn't. It's not immersive in any way. This system COULD be expanded to make it more fun and interesting. The comission cards/tiles could be kind of like a game. If you do certain ones, others unlock. If you check at night certain ones are available. IF you have done x quest x number of times, it triggers some new quest. There is currently something about rarities of comissions in game but I don't understand it at all, and I also don't understand why the comission board is flipping over cards after I selected them. If they aren't available because I already have them, they should not be visible. It feels very buggy.
What helps you feel connected to a game world, and what could Ashes of Creation do to feel more immersive and dynamic?
I feel more connected to the game world when I have a clear path to forge ahead that is not based on grinding piles of mobs standing around in open fields (or in really nice ruins or whatever). I like to kill lots of mobs but I do appreciate a good reason for doing so otherwise I start feeling like I am just a CCU number you need to keep logged in and that feels not great. I like to collect lore and treasures and see other people out in the world too. I like discovering things like random caves or places to climb. Honestly, just trigger my "oh shiny" and let me move around and pick up things without worrying about a full inventory all the time and I am happy. I also would feel more connected to the world if I felt that my actions were having a real impact on the world, but so far no game has done this except WoW with Phasing starting in Wrath of the Lich King (Idk if they still do that or not I can see how it would be a massive technical pain). I think the politics and caravans are helping in this realm although I am not much participating and this system seems to be for organized groups.
I also feel more connected when the game scales properly. If you send me on a level 5 quest, and I am not able to do it til level 9, that is not good. Many quests in game seem to have this problem right now. Some of this may be because of grouping issues. I think most people approach quests from a solo PoV and will need a hint when a group is helpful or required as a heads up before heading out to the quest [group quest] or "you'll want to bring friends." type tags or dialogue. I run into this scaling issue on quests I think should be soloable.
I feel like AoC is currently separating "grind/quest here" zones from other stuff too much. It's kind of like an American suburb. People live in big subdivisions and then go shopping in big strip malls on the other side of town. In AoC we have these towns where crafting and quest boards happen. And we have the POIs where we do the quests. It's all so rigidly separated into these little bubbles. I don't know exactly how to integrate them more, but ti would be nice if it was. Having things to do in town would help.
And synchronization issues. However, when they did work, it was a great deal of fun. Quite honestly, the biggest thing would be quest simply working seamlessly.
Quest rewards, it just aren't relative to leveling progression. And usefulness. 1 out 5.
I personally would like to see about 65 to 75% Quest experience per level give or take 15%.
Personally I feel like certain spells, abilities, crafting items (progression crafting items) should be locked behind lore driven questlines. It acts as a mechanism to slow leveling and crafting progression and makes them feel more personal. It also creates a nice forced pause from the level grinding , when you get to a certain level and a big skill/spell/recipe is now available once you finish a big quest chain.
Just being handed spells and abilities just because you reached a specific level is extremely boring and gives no life to the progression of the class. I want to be able to either do lore on my own, or have to gather my guild mates or friends to finish off a final boss at the end of my quest line. Having a bunch of people gather specifically to help a single persons progression is a very rewarding experience for both those helping and those who needed the help.
Having class/crafting lore questlines that are soloable + party support for certain stages are the only questing I actually enjoy and should be sprinkled in throughout the entire leveling process or at least part of set level milestones.
With over 295 million people worldwide living with moderate to severe vision impairment, accessibility isn’t a niche concern—it’s essential. Adding scalable UI text and screen reader compatibility would go a long way in making your game more inclusive and enjoyable for a broader audience.
Questing: 1
Quest rewards: 1
Were the quests engaging? No they're were absolutely, ungodly trash. Minecraft has better quest depth.
The quests had no soul, there were no connections AT ALL to ANY NPC in the game. I don't even remember the town names because they're so obscure and useless to know because NOTHING EXISTS.
I invited someone to my room and let them look around and there was literally nothing to see; I had to awkwardly answer questions because the game has nothing to offer. I had to tell them 'well you levelup and there will be 'x' soon™ and x x x... soon... it's not quite... well it's still in...' yeah the game kinda sucks right now but it'll get better I think.
I'm not refunding because I refuse to believe that this much time and money is going to waste.
This game better be good.
And I am not filtering myself for YOU shitting the bed.
* More quest as 99% of the above asked for, I agree.
* My biggest contention.. I do a quest taking me what an hr or so and get rewards and glint. Some asshole alts4 and kills me before I can get to town and store it and I loss all that work.
* I DO NOT want to PVP. Don't force me please.
Blown past falling sands…
I'd give this a 2, I don't think all the quest rewards are bad, but I do feel like a lot of the quests that are available now are not completely worth doing in their current state.
"How would you describe the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? What’s working well, and what could be improved?"
I think there needs to be a deeper focus on making sure the quests are functional (I usually spend most of my time each phase reporting questing bugs) and the work vs reward from quests. Some of the early quests feel better tuned these days, but at level 10, there's no point in me running half way across the current world for 1-2 green glint and 3k XP when soloing mobs would net me way more xp and rewards in less time.
"In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system?"
I think that there needs to be a heavy XP incentive. The glint rewards are fine, but if you want players to commit to quests, at least make them more worth while than the alternative, which is just grinding. I WANT to quest more and care about the lore of Verra. But at bare minimum, I need the XP reward to be much fatter than it is now to get me to do that. If quests gave way more XP, players would feel better leveled/equipped to go out and defend themselves as needed when they do the crafting/gathering/life skilling to make their currency/contribute to the economy.
"Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)?
Less than 25%, 25–49%, 50–74%, 75% or more
Why did you choose that percentage?
What helps you feel connected to a game world, and what could Ashes of Creation do to feel more immersive and dynamic?"
I think if you really want to encourage players to do the quests and care about the questing, 50% would get the PvE players that don't mind questing to buy in and somewhere in the ballpark of 80% to get the players that don't care about questing and would rather grind. The character level XP from crafting/gathering is pretty abysmal, so I wouldn't consider that a viable method of leveling (the artisan levels are grindy enough).
I can appreciate if quests are going to send me across the world to see the sights and come across events on my travels, but the main reason I'm doing the quests is so I can level and not have to grind the same level 7 zone for 8 hours so I can go move to a level 11 zone for another 14 hours. Questing to level allows me to do the quests, unlock more of my abilities, become stronger, so then I can feel more confident joining in the immersive and dynamic events that are happening. Currently, I stick to a grind spot and if I do decide to do a quest, I purposely ignore a lot of things on my way there and back because I'm most likely alone and I know I'm just going to get killed and lose XP and items.
The rewards presently feel very good like a 5 but I think that is due to artisanship being a work in progress creating a sort of item drought.
How would you describe the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? What’s working well, and what could be improved?
I think rewards can be a mixture of xp, glint, items, and crafting materials (where it makes sense like a botanist quest giver for example.) I like the amount of work to be reflected in the reward. The spell power necklace has a lengthy chain but it rewards a really valuable piece of gear. This feels good.
In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system?
I think XP should always be the main attraction in a single quest. Given the nature of the leveling approach this will be more valuable as the level range raises in Alpha. Items should be the result a lengthy chain. Crafting materials and glint should be a good secondary reward to sweeten the pot.
Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)?
I do not mind grinding but I feel like you will lose a lot of players if you do not allow questing a bigger piece of the pie as an option for gaining xp. I base this off sentiment of others I interact with and especially my friends I've recruited to Ashes who have other mmo experience with a wide variety of "cores of gameplay" and breadth of mmo experience. With that in mind I would advise...
Questing 34-50%
Events 25-34%
Grinding 25-34%
Gathering 0-25%*
Basically players should be able to decide between events, grinding, and questing. Gathering should be an option but not built with it being a requirement.
What helps you feel connected to a game world, and what could Ashes of Creation do to feel more immersive and dynamic?
More events. I'd like to go out to do some grinding, quests, and boards then to see events happening often for me to consider partaking in. It feels presently like there are not that many happening unless I want to cross over biomes. It'd be nice if it was just a node away instead at most. To me the events represent (and a variety of them) the world responding to my inputs.
That way, it keeps it interesting with a little more variation, and a little more unpredictability, but players can still play together when they choose to.
The game is built on risk vs. reward, meaning every action should offer a clear ROI. While not designed as a strictly competitive game, player friction makes it inherently competitive. Therefore, rewards across all content (quests, events, story, etc.) must be calibrated to reflect the time invested, as time is the player’s most valuable resource.
How would you describe the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? What’s working well, and what could be improved? (2)
In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system?
Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)?
50-75%
Why did you choose that percentage?
I think if you want to quest, you should be able to get ^0-75% of exp questing.
What helps you feel connected to a game world, and what could Ashes of Creation do to feel more immersive and dynamic?
Questing and rewards that guide you through exploration and history, too many quests broken, or just too hard to complete. Not enough clues to finish some of them without looking them up. More quests, Class quests, etc
A:~2-3 some have good XP and Glint but need more gear as rewards. I like that some quests you can just turn in from the quest screen, and others have different destinations for turn in from where you picked them up.
How would you describe the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? What’s working well, and what could be improved?
In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system?
A: Its okay, Some quests give good glint and some give good XP, they don't really progress you forward or help you in any other way though. A great quest has includes lore, starts in one place and takes you to a new place (appropriate for your level or to move to) then help with a combination of XP, Money, or Gear. The Gear doesn't have to be as good as boss drops or crafted gear but should be better then base gear and help a character progress to the new areas or deal with the dungeons and go after better gear.
Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)?
Less than 25%
25–49%
50–74%
75% or more
Why did you choose that percentage?
A: People should be able to choose where they get their XP from, if they want to grind 100% let them, if they want to do dungeons 100% let them, if they want to quest for 100% (means they're really intk the stories you have to tell) let them.
What helps you feel connected to a game world, and what could Ashes of Creation do to feel more immersive and dynamic?
A: when the quests and NPCs are deeply integrated with the lore, when quests aren't just go retrieve so many of this and bring it back to me but instead are help with this situation, become involved in the lore yourself and you'll end up discovering other points of interest and destinations along the way. A huge multi biomed world and map is kinda useless if it isn't interactive or have different parts of lore and involvement. "Oh this sea has red sharks vs the other ocean I was in with green sharks" vs "Watch out for the sharks in that ocean that are attracked to movement and them faster/more people that move the more the come at you, and don't go into the water at this other sea at night because aggresisive electric eels come out only at night." Then a quest that gets you used to fighting sharks but then has you gointo the other ocean with eels.
Draw this out, quest/world state machine:
One node -> continuous type quest like incomplete pest extermination (i.e. you don't completely get rid of them)
Two nodes -> bipolar continuity back and forth pair of quests - i.e. rival thieves guilds
Three nodes -> capable of brownian motion, three way or an unknown alliance/betrayal/opportunist
More nodes -> less predictable world, still allows for semi-deterministic gameplay balance.
I'll stop there, beyond that is hard to tell if you are riding the forefront of the edge or standing in front of it waiting to be sliced.
1. At least of phase 2. Someone of it felt like a short cut to gear, by doing something completely trivial for the quests that were complete/working. Other than that the quests were too broken to really complete.
How would you describe the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? What’s working well, and what could be improved?
Many quests were broken, unable to turn or lacking direction. I don't need map markers but at least in the text explain to me clearly what I need to do, because I generally can't ask that NPC questions. Anything that drives we out of game to solve I normally don't enjoy.
Some item rewards are good, but sources of gear is planned to be abundant. I fear there's too many low level quest gear rewards for players, which drive players away from the early gear crafting. Why bother crafting a chest plate early game if I can just go pick up 5 boxes for that and more gear that's on par if not better than what I can craft. Minimize the quest gear rewards, rewards materials and glint and reputation (if that exists) mostly. I'll do any quest if the story is good though, even if there's no reward. Generally EXP rewards for quests shouldn't exist, quest hubs under value quests because their so watered down and boring. It's just a fast track to max level, if that's the preferred path to max level you want than increase the rewards, if not than decrease them. If you increase them you risk being much like all other post WoW MMOs. Make quest more than just a path to exp and gear.
In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system?
Very minimal gear rewards (not none) from quests. The value of quests should be as so.
1. Story: You do the quest because the story is good. (no negative)
2. Reputation: You build a repour with that NPC or Node. (no negative)
3. Monetary: You receive gold or materials. (devalues other gathering methods if to much/good)
4. Gear: You receive a piece of complete gear. (devalues other methods of gear if too good/often)
5. EXP: You receive some EXP. (devalues other level methods if too high)
You know you made a good quest if people do it even if the reward is low.
Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)?
Less than 25% I'm here for sure. I'd say 10%. This is EXP as a quest reward. I still get EXP while completing the quest though.
25–49%
50–74%
75% or more Please don't!
Why did you choose that percentage?
If you keep it low you drive people into other activities. You can still reward them, just not EXP.
A quest like got to X POI and Kill X number of Y enemies, already nets you with EXP, turn that in should net you rewards like materials, reputation ect. Not EXP. This reward of materials suppliments your crafting. Because we want crafters and gathers. So those who enjoy combat will still be able to focus combat mainly without being set back too much in crafting.
If gathering/crafting reward exp than those who wish to minimize their combat should still be leveling. Although not as fast, just as those in combat aren't getting as much materials as a gatherer, or crafting as much as someone focusing on that. But no chosen path is isolated, therefor encouraging people to craft, or gather, or quest, which is something that'd have avoided.
What helps you feel connected to a game world, and what could Ashes of Creation do to feel more immersive and dynamic?
1. Immersion. Don't make me exit the game to figure something out, if the game doesn't explain it well enough than people look it up. This should be minimal, I shouldn't have to look up on gpt/google, how to craft XYZ or where do I need to go for XYZ quest objectives. I should have access to that in game. I know some people like spread sheets and for making mass production you're going to need to do that offline planning. So don't remake excel in the game lol. Add a recipe book, index, ect, and clear quest instructions help with this.
2. Story telling. The game needs more lore than what we see now. It needs quests, chains, ect. They need to be compelling and well written. My character needs to be involved and attached to the world. It doesn't need to be the hero, but it needs to be "important". This is PvE focused, since we're talking about quests.
Extra quest ideas for some PvP quests:
Node quest: A quest that can be picked up from a shady person in town to kill people from another Node. Could be a precursor to a war or siege or whatever.
Node quest: to Harvest X number of Y materials from another Node. Steal their resources.
How would you describe the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? What’s working well, and what could be improved?
-It depends. What's there and works is pretty good and I'd give it a 4.5. The writing and quests themselves are enjoyable and the rewards are very much worth it. But there are also other quests that just do not work and a lot of zones and level ranges feel empty so I'm unable to rate them(Unless I have yet to find the quests available there).
For example, let's focus in the first 10-13 levels. For me this range is in a very good spot now.
You can easily get to lvl 11 doing quests around Lionhold, surplus coins quests, slivers of the past and distant relatives. You also get over 1 gold from the glint.
That's perfect, because you can then start the plunders chain to gain another 1-1.5 levels.
At that point you have moved around several of the Riverlands' POIs, visited some nodes, you should be lvl 12-13 with 2+ gold or an equivalent amount of glint in your bag and pretty good lvl 1-10 equipment from the surplus coins and quests, you probably interacted with several other players to get there and can become a citizen. A perfect starting point whatever you want to do.
After that point I don't know any fixed route to level with quests, but I might be just lacking knowledge.
I know some pretty interesting higher level quest chains around the world very much worth the effort if you find them. A notable example is the tower and the wolf, but there are others like the goblin message and the minotaurs near Carphin, the graveyard golem, etc.
-For me the main problems are quest that just do not work like the eye of Seafury or break like rebel rousers and zones/level ranges that lack enough quests to progress through questing. I also miss more artisanship quests.
In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system?
-A very important part of questing reward should be fun, they need to be well written, engaging and fun.
Beyond that I think anything is ok as a reward. Important lore, money/glint, combat/artisanship/guild experience, materials, unique recipes, useful equipment for both combat and artisanship, unique equipment, mounts and vehicles, skills, skill augments, access to special locations or mechanics, events triggering, world progression triggers...
You are in an unique situation to go wild with the effects that quests and quest chains can have in the game.
Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)?
Why did you choose that percentage?
-50–74% Would be nice. It would drive people too centered in quest to try other systems and give artisans and people that prefer grinding mobs more ways to level their adventure class.
What helps you feel connected to a game world, and what could Ashes of Creation do to feel more immersive and dynamic?
-Good writing, responsive controls, good combat, a world that feels alive, lack of intrusive and immersion breaking systems and mechanics.
-Continue improving your networking, finish dynamic server meshing, increase culling distance A LOT so we can see people moving in the distance, finish your story arc/modules system so we can see the world changing and evolving around us, make classes something more than combat skillsets, create many more out of combat skills like mage's light and rogue's grappling hook. For example a mage or a cleric should be able to do many incredible things with their skills beyond just fighting.
Go wild with the tech you are building. You wake up Firebrand with a quest chain and fail to kill him? Bad luck, now it's mad. Make the dragon fly away and start torching trees, characters, animals, crops and freeholds on it's way to the node of the characters that attacked him to burn it to the ground.
- I would say it’s a 1 or a 2
• How would you describe the current quest rewards in Alpha Two? What’s working well, and what could be improved?
- I would say they are uninspired and not impactful. They don’t give you much feeling of reward or progression and the XP is terrible.
• In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system?
- A great example is a classic wow starting quest where you kill crabs. At the end of it you get a sticky crab glue that has a handful of charges and comes in handy when you’re in a pinch. I still remember this years later.
• Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)?
Less than 25%
25–49%
50–74%
75% or more
- 75% or more. There should be an option to level to max level from purely questing or at least questing and gathering/crafting. This has become the industry standard and to abandon it entirely would isolate a potential large part of a possible player base.
• Why did you choose that percentage?
- because mindlessly killing mobs for hours doesn’t tell tell a story and doesn’t give the player a journey. People want an MMO with a meaningful journey, they don’t want to stare at aoe mob farms until their eyes bleed.
• What helps you feel connected to a game world, and what could Ashes of Creation do to feel more immersive and dynamic?
- the stories the game has to tell and the natural emergent player interactions. When I meet a player out in the world and we team up to tackle a quest. Ashes should really take notice of RuneScape questing. No MMO has done questing close to as good.
There’s no reason you can’t have meaningful quests that stick with players. I still remember baking a cake in RuneScape or trying to break into a dwarf fortress to steal treasure.
These stick with players way more than kill 20 mobs ever could. However even classic wows kill 20 boars is better than nothing.
Currently, quests seem to mostly be a way of jump-starting new characters by giving them a good way to obtain basic armor and supplies. That is definitely a good use for quests in the starting area, but in my opinion quests past the early levels should reward the player with items that can only be sourced from questing.
In your opinion, what makes for engaging and fair quest rewards in a game like Ashes of Creation that features an economy-driven PvX system?
I believe a good way to balance a questing system is to set it up as a parallel "track" to grinding. By grinding you can obtain gear and materials to make gear all the way up into end-game. Questing should allow the player to obtain gear and weapons that are otherwise unavailable; for example, quests could provide weapons that do an unusual damage type (a sword that applies volatile) or applies a DOT with it's basic attack cycle. The important thing is that these items shouldn't be *better* than the crafted/grindable gear, they should be about the same in power on average but have different applications (one weapon might synergise with certain personal abilities or team compositions better than others). I think it adds interesting nuance if you have to consider "I have this build so I should use this weapon," or "my team member is a mage, so it would be helpful if I can provide burning for her."
Roughly what percentage of your leveling experience do you feel should come from questing compared to other activities (e.g., grinding, gathering, events)?
75% or more
Why did you choose that percentage?
I think that it should be *possible* to level all the way to max using almost exclusively questing instead of grinding. It probably shouldn't be the fastest method, but I still think it should be possible. For some people, questing is a more interesting and rewarding experience, and even for people who enjoy the grind having quests to break up the grinding sessions is nice. Personally, I think it creates the most interesting experience if the fastest method for leveling alternates between being questing or grinding every ~10 levels, because that really punctuates the milestones. Alternatively, having a few quests at the beginning of each milestone level that efficiently move you from 10->14, 20->24 etc would be a good-feeling method for encouraging a mix of grinding and questing.