Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Alpha Two Phase II testing is currently taking place 5+ days each week. More information about 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 Phase II testing is currently taking place 5+ days each week. More information about 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
The Idea about expecting ppl to fight over spawns is a joke. If they want ppl to small scale fight over rss, do it somehow else.
Could be NPC caravans, random events like the already have etc. easy to figure out better ways, just dont ruin it for the gahteres with static nodes.
Even some of the legendary gatherers in my guild are saying they're not going to bother in P3 if the current system stays the same.
It sucks... It is a quit point for many people. Gathering is supposed to be a core part of the game.
Where is @Dygz?!?!?! Ashes is supposed to be dynamic, not static!
More systems where the rich get exponentially richer and poor fall futher behind. Great for player retention, really...
No one - including I - ever claimed that Ashes would be dynamic during Alpha. ALPHA
We don't even have Stage 4 Nodes yet or Node Sieges - and you are complaining about the lack of dynamic content.
Alpha isn't about player retention. Alpha is about testing.
If you are bored testing Alpha Phase II - take a break.
Hey @Vaknar it's been a week, when should we expect the official thread to be created?
Alpha alpha alpha, blah blah blah, no one cares... gathering is a core part of the game loop on which node stages and sieges rely on, if gathering is broke or unbalanced the nodes and sieges will be too. So why was it built like it's 2006? Is this static location/time spawn intended, an oversite, a bug? We don't know for sure @Vaknar said they're going to make an official thread for it, but we're still waiting. If they did a poll for it than the only people polled will be those still following, which would alienate others that have walked away or holding out for the next phase, beta, or release. And could potentially tilt the poll towards those that are benefitting from the static asshattery, since they're still playing. Many people care more about 'winning' than playing a good game.
Correct! We'll be posting a Dev Discussion on this very soon. I just finalized all of the work for it, so putting it onto the calendar is the next step
I'll merge threads like this one into the official one once it's posted!
If you guys really wanted us to test things, you'd give us the resources necessary to test them.
Thanks for getting the conversation started everyone
Resources should be respawning within their general regions (i.e. willows by the rivers, minerals closer to mountains, etc) with a 2+-1h timer (could be faster, if testing shows that's better). Their rarity should be completely randomized on each respawn.
We should have 3 types of pylons. One is a research pylon, the other is quality and the third is quantity.
Research pylon should have a fairly big radius, fairly cheap cost, some reusability (either limited uses or fix requirements) and tell you how many resources will spawn in that radius within the next 3h. Could potentially show their rarity, if the pylon was of a high-enough quality.
The other 2 pylons would become "artisan events". Once a player places one of them down, other players in the vicinity would see it as an artisan event circle on their map for the duration of the pylon.
The quality pylon should immediately make the respawn of the resources longer (so they'd be rolling the +1h rng window, up to the max of 3h from their initial respawn start time), but their quality would be a step above whatever they would've been normally (could be more steps, depending on the quality of the pylon).
The quantity pylon would give the -1h roll and would obviously increase the quantity of gatherables. If a respawn was about to happen in, say, 2 minutes and the rng roll for the -1h hit that respawn with 58+min - the resource should immediately respawn.
The pylon durations themselves should be determined by their own crafting materials and they should also be their own things, rather than linked to the player's character (cause I fucking hated that my pylon would go away on relog/crash).
I think this could be a good way to not only let players control their gameplay more, but would also create a caravan-like artisan-based guild/group event, where you can get a high return on investment as long as you can defend it or use it at an opportune moment. And the research pylons would allow solo players to try and hunt down a good gatherable respawn w/o activating the event.
Imo this would be a much better approach to creating pvp around gatherables, rather than letting bots relogin next to a staticly-spawning resource. And to just clarify, imo this should not be a pvp zone, cause otherwise you'd completely cut off any and all solo players and even small groups of gatherers.
The gameplay would go down smth like this
- a gatherer comes up to a mountain
- uses a research pylon
- sees that there's gonna be a few rare minerals respawning within the next 3h
- gatherer asks their guild/friends how soon they can come to that spot to defend it from competition
- if they are close and/or if the research showed that the spawns will have high rarity - the gatherer uses the quantity pylon
- otherwise they could use quality, to get the best return on investment or if they just have enough time to wait
- everyone in the vicinity now knows that there's a potentially juicy gathering spot nearby and can react to that in an according manner
- Ashes gameplay ensues
Pylons could be specialized (i.e. for trees, flowers, mining) and craftable either with items from a different specialization or from the same one, depending on how cross-profession Intrepid want this activity to be.The updates to the Gatherable Spawning System sound like a huge step forward in making Ashes of Creation feel like a living, breathing world where exploration truly matters.
No more predictable farming loops—just dynamic, immersive gathering that rewards skill, strategy, and adaptability. The Surveying System also adds an exciting layer of competition, making resource discovery feel more engaging rather than just a passive grind.
The Artisanship and Processing updates are also fantastic! Being able to mix and match rarity levels in recipes and adjust batch sizes for Processing Stations will make crafting much more flexible. Plus, equippable gathering tools? Yes, please! I want to be able to buy/sell gathering tools. Finally, a way to specialize and gear up as a gatherer beyond just carrying an axe in my inventory.
Some additional suggestions:
🔹 Seasonal Resource Shifts – Certain resources could become more common or rare based on in-game seasons or events, encouraging long-term strategy and market fluctuations.
🔹 Regional Resource Scarcity – If one region gets overfarmed, resources could deplete temporarily, nudging players toward new locations and making the economy more dynamic.
🔹 Skill-Based Gathering Enhancements – Maybe introduce special techniques that unlock at higher gathering levels, like the ability to harvest more efficiently or detect hidden resources.
🔹 Rare “Event” Spawns – Occasionally, special high-value resources could spawn in unique, temporary locations, creating mini “gold rush” moments for gatherers.
Thank you for prioritizing feedback and making Alpha Two such an exciting experience. Can’t wait to test these changes in the upcoming builds! 🎉
IMO the ideal gathering system is you gather something, roll RNG on table to determine rarity, roll again on rarity table based on your rarity+ stat to determine a rarity upgrade. I get that the pre-set rarity spawning is supposed to be driving pvp into gathering, but I don't see this as being an objectively good idea, or good for the game. PvE people need a space to thrive in an MMO, and this is just going to cause them to be camped by PvPers who don't gather but can easily find and camp their gathering spots. This is not a balanced system.
Also... using surveying to find the exact location of a legendary spawn and then waiting 30 minutes or whatever for it to spawn while a zerg guild starts stacking max lvl pvpers next to you sounds like a Great idea...
Instead, how about making surveying point you to a high density area of gatherables that you are looking for, and then when you arrive it makes an area of a rarity+ stat to anyone in the area. This makes it more event based and randomized, and prevents the ability for PvE'ers to be camped at pre-determined spots.
What aspects of the current gathering system do you like or dislike?
âś… What I like:
I absolutely love the rarity system, which works like a lottery. You click with hope, and when an epic or legendary item appears, it brings a huge wave of satisfaction!
The balance of resources on the map seems well thought out—there is enough without it being excessive. I particularly like that ores are placed in mountainous areas or near rivers, which makes sense and adds to immersion.
Similarly, animals are well positioned, making the world feel consistent and realistic.
❌ What I don’t like:
What makes a gathering system fun for you?
The system is already very diverse in terms of resources and node types. Every player can choose a specialization, which is great.
But what I enjoy the most is hunting for the rarest ores and woods, which keeps me farming for hours. The feeling of discovery and rarity makes gathering much more engaging.
What kind of scenarios would you like to see encouraged through the system?
🔹 Mines and resource-rich caves with dynamic events
I would love to see resource dungeons, meaning caves filled with rare minerals, but guarded by hostile creatures.
A dynamic event system could make gathering even more immersive:
🔹 Lawless zones and high-risk gathering spots
Another interesting feature would be high-risk gathering areas in open waters, where players could find large resource deposits (e.g., 50 to 100 stacks at once).
To prevent these spots from being constantly controlled by organized groups, they should not be visible on the map. Instead, players should have to explore and discover these gathering points, where a large carcass or massive tree might spawn within the hour.
These areas could create real PvP conflicts:
- Inspired by Albion Online, this system could reward those who take risks by offering large amounts of valuable materials to the most daring players.
This would add strategy and danger to gathering, while offering a unique gameplay loop for those who enjoy exploration and spontaneous PvP encounters.Are there gathering systems in other games that you enjoy?
I really enjoyed New World’s gathering system, but I believe your game has the potential to be even better, especially with the rarity mechanics in place.
Overall, you are already among my favorites, and the system isn’t even finished yet!
Which upcoming gathering-related changes excite or intrigue you the most, and why?
- Hunting system overhaul: It currently lacks excitement, so I hope to see improvements.
- Respawn timer adjustments and randomization: This would make gathering fairer and prevent monopolization.
- Guild buffs affecting gathering: I’m curious to see if these buffs will have a meaningful impact and whether they will encourage specialized farming guilds.
In conclusion, you already have a solid foundation. By carefully balancing PvE and PvP, while ensuring a fair and rewarding system for everyone, you could create a unique and engaging gathering experience.Looking forward to your feedback!
Imanech
Now we need hunting and fishing updates!
Now all that needs done is a gear/stat overhaul to properly adjust TTK, and a proper adjustment for disparity between different rarities of the same gear. Do that and then a server wipe will allow for much more accurate data of class balancing in PvP.
Gathering nodes start as small (2) and common rarity. After X amount time, they increase to large (5) common, then grow to small uncommon, then large uncommon, etc. If they are there long enough, they would be large legendary gathering nodes.
NPC spawns could be the same way. Everything spawns initially as the lowest spawnable version of that mob type, then levels as they kill players, or just survive over time without being killed. At certain thresholds, they could then gain a star, until they are eventually around long enough to become a named mob at the “max” level for that type of spawn.
You could even incorporate larger and larger groups of lower spawns that build up around these higher level spawns, similar to how the Alpha Wolf currently gets packs of wolves around it. Let the population get too out of control, and it could then spawn a world event that causes an actual overpopulation of mobs around a meta boss spawn that starts roaming around the POI until stopped, with the other mobs following it around protecting it.
Gatherables could also spawn NPC protectors at some stage, as it gets to certain stages of development, requiring the players guarding it to fight off successively larger NPC forces (think zombie style shooter modes) that will gather(destroy) the gatherables if the players lose.
Doing this would make protecting areas of land important, forcing land management both for gatherables as well as named mob farming, and prevent “legendary farming” that is currently done by planting alts and logging in for ten seconds every two hours to grab a legendary spawn before anyone else even knows it is there.
This would encourage PvP “friction” in a positive way, as you could gather a group to protect certain areas, or even encourage “node patrols” to protect your nodes territory so it can develop the higher rarity spawns as needed.
I will suggest having some higher rarity nodes be guarded by some kind of raid mob. like when a raid mob respawns in lets say 4 hours the nodes also respawn. Giving players a spot to fight over and a massive mob to give it more risk.
if the mob is dead you can then have a timer to spawn in another set of mobs that will clear out any left over nodes and kill players still hitting the node. once the nodes are cleared out these mobs will not respawn.
could also have the second wave of mobs clear out the nodes making it something you have to show up for on time. This would also give more meaning to having a speed stat
Another idea is to have wilderness zone be lawless zones with higher base rarity nodes to fight over. this will add to the risk vs reward concept creating more PvP interactions. also another reason to siege a node for higher rewards from the land
some raid and boss mobs should also flag players as combatants to encourage more PvP
could also give a higher luck stat to combatant flagged players on boss drops and node gathers.
some kind of fan fair when you roll a node up would also be helpful and rewarding. this fan fair could also help make someone be a target for attack
At this point I only wear hunting clothes no matter what i gather
discord.gg/lod
Previous was kinda boring and 80% of players didn't even knew about most of resources spawn points
I really like system where we have like 200 spawn points but only 50 resources spawning on them and they spawn always on different spot
Thank you for cheking out our feedback
I don't like to just click onto the environment to get resources. But is too late, you made is so, like in a survival game. Would have been better all resources to drop from NPCs.
And fishing I avoid the most in all gathering activities in all games.
Also I hate getting quests or tasks or commissions and be sent to do such activities. I would do them if it is a more natural, subtle step toward a goal which I choose rather than issued in such an explicit way.
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Grinding <-- I never believed this but hoped you have a better vision
Then resources should spawn in an unpredictable way. The information where the resources are located should be on server side to prevent players behaving like bots and to reward natural exploration.
Be sure you offer as much information about how you care about balancing and how you will solve issues... as we got when reading the wiki which showed deep thought about the final game mechanics.
At least do a good balancing for the 3rd (proper) alpha 2 start.
I greatly dislike Coal in its current form. It should be readily available as a fuel source that we can mine, and while the conditions where it appears can be more limited (low valleys, deep underground) it should not be tied to the "maybe you get a bonus gem or coal as as a reward for mining enough stone" like we have right now. I appreciate gems among stone as a relief for the early days of a server, but beyond that I don't think coal should be tied exclusively to that system.
I dunno what the announced updates will bring but I'd like to see more tools and their expression in the field. A low yield high rarity mining tool, heart shots in hunting, animal musks and creature-specific foods for the taming side of hunting, herbalism being able to extract a root ball instead of the herbs, etc. There's a whole lot more the gathering system can do.
Oh and more tool and artisan clothes variants. Give players more room to target the specificity they desire, where I might want XP and speed at Apprentice because I'm rushing to Journeyman, or getting a high rarity novice tool so I can start catching heroics before anything apprentice is even up and running. Likewise I want to see a LOT more bag options. A Sanctus Bag that we can craft to hold stacks of up to 50 would be gigantic. An herbalism bag with half the stack size but twice the slots will better accommodate my tendency to have 5 different herbs at 3 different rarity ratings on any given stroll between two nodes, which makes the extra slots of a journeyman mining bag more ideal than a journeyman herbalism bag.
And it isn't gathering but for the love of Verra we have to get processed material stacking. I got an alt to journeyman lumbermilling and he can't pull a full upcrafted order of ~270 timber with the sanctus bag and two novice LJ bags. ORrrrrrrrr.... maybe Timber should be 1x1 like logs, woodchips, beams, boards, and planks? That's your call, I'm just highlighting the issue.
I'm excited for the upcoming system changes!