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Pre-alpha PAX PvE Developer playthrough, 3 September 2017.

The Node system facilitates the generation of new PvE content such as Missioni, Monete del mostro, Dungeon and Incursioni.

There is going to be a lot of PvE content for all portions of the playerbase... Part of that risk versus reward: Your risk is your time you're putting in to having a chance at getting the reward and successfully completing; and that should feel good based on how much time you devote. Now I know that there's a spectrum of casual and hard-core players in the time there, what we can do, but that's why we have many different content paths that play towards how you affect the world around you. – Steven Sharif

Adaptive content

Alpha-1 preview pirate themed dynamic point of interest.

This is actually a dynamic POI. This one will evolve as players evolve the node that it's attached to. So this is its final state. – Jeffrey Bard

New points of interest (such as dungeons, world bosses, and corrupted areas) spawn as nodes develop. This content adapts to the node progression of the zone it is in.

• Additional buildings will spawn.
• Additional mobs will spawn.
  • Different antagonists/leaders with different story lines.
  • Populations will change.
• Content difficulty will change.
  • The content may be different altogether.
  • Additional quest hooks.
• Dungeon will be unlocked when certain nodes advance to certain stages.
  • Multiple nearby nodes may collectively influence larger POIs.
  • Larger dungeons will gain higher level content as nearby nodes advance.
  • Storyline objectives for players inside dungeons will depend on the story arc paths chosen through the node system.
• Drop tables in areas and dungeons will be tied into the progression of certain areas.
• POI events are events that relate to specific points-of-interest (POI).
• The location of points of interest will be the same on each server, but some servers may have limited or no access to them.

Certain dungeons and other points of interest across the map will all be affected by the server’s node development. Some dungeons will only be unlocked if nodes are developed to certain stages. The storyline objectives for players inside dungeons will also be dependent on the story arc paths chosen through the node system. The drop tables in area and dungeons will also be tied into the progression of certain areas. For example, let’s say that the humans have developed a node in Region A, and a storyline has opened up that leads players to inspect the ruins (dungeon) of a nearby area. And let’s say that this node was developed in a scientific (crafting) zone… Well before the node developed, this dungeon was accessible… But now the dungeon has propagated new monster assets that include a drop table catering to a crafting emphasis because of the development of that academic node. And perhaps, a new boss appears in different rooms of the dungeon that includes different adventure quest starts, like a mysterious item with a storyline that can only be progressed if a node develops to the metropolis stage in a certain region, across the world. Our system is so vast, when it comes to interconnectivity and how the world reacts to the players.

Player driven narrative

One of the major goals I feel like we have is to allow player decisions to have consequences and to have meaningful results from the decisions that they make, so it seems like people can really create their own stories. – Aimi Watanabe

The world of Verra will be the same on each server, but Nodi will develop differently. Different servers will have different narratives. Things that happen on one server may not happen on another.

• The overarching narrative of Ashes of Creation is that players are the returning children of Verra but they will not be characterized individually as "saviors".

We want as many people as possible to experience the main server Narrative. These will branch at different scales, but largely at the personal level. Where things change is at the Node level – different parts of the story will be unlocked based on where and when Nodes grow. Unlocking a part of the story in a certain way locks out progression of the story in a different way. You’ll see different antagonists, different NPCs, and different calls to action depending on what’s happening with the server at that time.

It redefines what the players will experience in an MMORPG to come into a wilderness that is devoid of really any structure outside of what the community creates themselves; and then what can be created can be changed, if they want to experience a storyline that's been seen on another server, but you're fighting a dragon because you're near a mountain and the other server's fighting a Kraken because they're near the coast and you want to fight that Kraken because of its drop table. If you want to meta it or because you just want that under your belt: to be the server first to take out that Kraken and you have yet to develop the node there, it's incumbent upon you to manifest that in the game. – Steven Sharif

Artificial intelligence

Jermaine Torment of Illwind boss mob.

You can see how we utilize some of the different armor pieces- you've probably seen some of these pieces on different outfits like that toast Corvid Castigator cloak is on him. – Margaret Krohn

Ashes of Creation utilizes an adaptive artificial intelligence (AI), meaning different encounters with similar mobs and bosses will yield different player experiences.

• Some NPC AI behaviors may be randomly selected at the time of initial engagement causing them to make decisions dynamically during an encounter.
  • Higher frequency of AoE attacks depending on how many players are participating.
  • Unlock rage, recovery effects and buffs.
  • Supporting other monster types or classes nearby.
  • Additional adds and add classes.
  • Some NPCs may attempt to seek cover behind obstacles during encounters.
• NPCs performing "idle actions" to make the world seem more alive has been discussed by the developers but is not confirmed.

Part of the NPC encounter design is not always going to be the same behavior tree. There will be purposefully behaviors that exist for the boss that are rolled at the time of the initial engagement; and so that is in an effort to keep things emergent, to keep things different, to try to not keep a static monotonous engagement idea. – Steven Sharif

There are AI systems that don't relate to controlling NPCs.

• Node advancement.
• Stock market.
• Triggered events.

There are some additional AI parameters that are set that don't relate necessarily to controlling NPCs. There are AIs with regards to the development of the borders for nodes in the direction and also the decisions that are made of which lower nodes to enslave as vassal states. There's AI that relates to a little bit of the stock market that's going to be present in the economy. There's some AI systems that are going to be announced also that are pretty innovative I think with regards to the MMORPG genre and that's going to make the triggered event system very interesting I think; and that's with regards to how nodes develop and the environment reacts to that development by spawning these triggered events of a horde of zombies attacking a city or a legendary raid boss coming out of the mountain. I think there's a lot of opportunity for some of the innovations that's been in the AI sector of game development too to come out in Ashes. – Steven Sharif

Dinamiche di gruppo

Alpha-2 Party invite UI.

Dinamiche di gruppo aim to bring players together.

One of the main philosophical pillars behind our design was that PvE must be impactful and inclusive. We want solo players, small groups and large groups to all have a home within our system.

• Ashes of Creation is in development. These systems could change through playtesting and player feedback.

Group sizes

Party witnessing the beginning of the An Ancient Violence Story arc in Alpha-2.

We're not creating a solo game, but it doesn't mean that we don't offer gameplay that is solo centric as well: It lives in addition to the social aspect of What MMOs provide; and so part of what we do in order to to give that element of gameplay is we have quest lines that are devoted towards solo players. We have hunting grounds. Obviously one of the benefits of being a solo player is you get to keep everything that drops. You don't have to share loot with a party or with friends; that's one benefit of being a solo player. But it's going to be more difficult to overcome challenges; and those individuals who are up to taking that additional level of of difficulty are going to excel perhaps in their character progression a bit faster than those who are more group-centric. It's going to be a little bit of a roll of the dice there because there are loot tables, there are reward tables that accompany that, but it's important to note that from a content perspective Ashes of Creation is looking to fulfill both that solo-oriented mind in gameplay as well as the group and social experience; and a lot of times those paths diverge: They move apart, they come back together; and that process is going to be seen throughout the leveling in Ashes of Creation where you'll have more opportunities for solo gameplay and some opportunities for group gameplay. – Steven Sharif

Ashes of Creation is designed for solo players as well as large and small groups.

• Parties have up to eight (8) players in a single group.

The idea behind an 8-person group is to allow us to really amplify party roles, and to create a need for each of the archetypes in every party.

• Incursioni will have 40 man groups.
• Content will be tailored for 40, 16 and 8 person group sizes.
• Arene will have 1 man, 3 man, 5 man and possibly 20 man Free-For-All (Deathmatch) group sizes.
  • There won't specifically be guild vs guild arenas but team-based matchmaking allows teams to face other teams.
• Assedi del castello are expected to have at minimum 250x250 players to be on a single battlefield, with the possibility of increasing this to 500x500 over time.

The minimum goal is 500 players on a single battlefield. I think we will be able to hit 500vs500 but we shall see. – Steven Sharif

Looting rules

Alpha-2 looting UI preview.

In the group loot obviously there's a lot of functionality here that parties have the ability to customize. There can be loot master, there can be round-robin, there can be need/greed/pass that's applied on a per rarity basis depending on the party's choices. – Steven Sharif

Alpha-2 vote to change loot allocation method UI.

Ashes of Creation intends to use traditional loot rules, selected by the party or raid leader.

• Group loot rules are defined on a per-rarity basis.
• A majority of party members must vote to approve any changes to group loot allocation changes.
• The developers are considering using a double-tap interaction to loot all containers within a close proximity radius.
• There won't be auto-looting pets.
• It will be possible to kick a player from a party prior to them acquiring loot.

Yes, technically it would be possible for you to kick a player prior to acquiring loot. However, again because we are a game that relies on social interactions, there are reputations to be had; and if you acquire a reputation as a raid leader, or as a party leader, of doing something dirty like that, then it's unlikely you'll be able to Garner the support of future party members and/or raids to lead efforts against these raid bosses. – Steven Sharif

Free-for-all.

• Whoever is first to loot gets the loot.

Lootmaster.

• A master looter (or lootmaster) is a player designated by the party leader to decide how loot is distributed in a dungeon or raid party.

Round-robin.

• With round-robin looting, party members take turns looting.

Need or greed.

• This is a traditional need before greed system based on dice rolls.
• Since there is very little gear binding in Ashes of Creation, it's left to the party to deal with players who excessively roll Need on loot.

Alcune delle seguenti informazioni non sono state confermate di recente dagli sviluppatori e potrebbero non essere nell'attuale roadmap di sviluppo.

Bidding system.

• Intrepid are investigating a potential bidding system, which allows players to bid on items instead of rolling for them.
  • The highest bidder wins the item.
  • The gold then goes into a pool that is split among the rest of the party members.

Party roles

Ashes of Creation has the traditional trinity of Tank, DPS (damage dealers) and Support (healer or non-healer) roles.

We have our eight base archetypes; and the trinity is a pretty strong influence with regards to the eight base classes. However the area in which we actually begin to play with that line between the trinity is in the secondary classes that you can pick. That's where we begin to blend those spaces and allow people a little bit of influence over their role and whether or not they fit perfectly within a particular category within the trinity. – Steven Sharif

• Although traditional roles are present, players should not feel branded by their primary archetype.
• Skill augments available through the class system allow characters to be personalized outside of their primary role.
• Players can also double down on their archetype choice to strengthen their primary role.

PvX

We like to really refer to ourselves as a PvX game, because in those systems of PvP, PvE, crafting they're all intertwined: They're interdependent on each other... Our system of development really requires some interdependence there between those things. You're going to need a crafter to give you the best items. You're going to need PvPers to secure cities and castles. You're gonna need PvErs to take down those world bosses for those materials to craft. – Steven Sharif

Ashes is a comprehensive game. It is not a PvP focused or a PvE focused, it is a comprehensive PvX game and as a result these systems are all interconnected and have to coexist with one another with certain types of mechanisms that can provide that give and take, that push and shove. – Steven Sharif

Ashes of Creation is a PvX game. Players will naturally encounter both Pvp and PvE elements. It is unlikely that a player could purely focus on just Pvp or just PvE.

Ashes is a PvX game; and so in that regard, your ability to wholesale disconnect from the PvP elements of the game are likely not going to be entirely successful. Now, does that mean that you can reduce your exposure to PvP? A hundred percent; and there are multiple play paths and progression points that players can elect instead to be more PvE focused, but by the sheer nature of risk-versus-reward, and risk including not being able to predict how other players might impact your gameplay, that is an element of the innate risk that exists in the multiplayer environment of a PvX setting. So, not everybody is going to like that and we accept that; and we're not trying to build a game that everybody is going to like, because everybody it's doing that is not going to be successful, because there're just people with different interests; and you know we accept that and we're very on the nose about what we're trying to achieve. The idea is not to create a gank fest, is not to create a grief fest. That is not what PvX is; and so because of that we have certain mechanisms and systems that govern the way players engage in PvP and the majority of those are opt-in, but there is always that element of risk that's governed by the flagging system. And so, if you're interested in that I would take a look at the Wiki and look up what flagging is, and look up what corruption is. My experience tells me- and my expectations of the system are that they will signal significantly reduce a player's exposure to non-consensual PvP, but that risk is always going to be present to some degree. – Steven Sharif

• A defining principle of Ashes of Creation as a PvX game is that PvE builds the world, and Pvp changes the world.

• Around 80% of the content is open-world, where healthy competition is an instigator for player friction; for potential cooperation; for the ability to yield alliances; and the political theater that comes with it. This is an intended part of the PvX game design.

• There won't be separate PvE and PvP servers but some servers may be more PvP focused than others.

• All stats relate to a player's combat effectiveness in PvX.

We're very clear with our objective and philosophy on the game and we understand that they may not appeal to everybody. But it is an important reciprocal relationship between the content that's related to PvE and the content that's related to PvP and they feed off of each other. They're catalysts for change: Their progression, their development. It's things that people can value when they see something earned and they see something lost. That elicits an emotional response from the player: That they've invested time in to either succeed or fail; and PvP allows for that element to be introduced into gameplay. And we're very clear that is our objective: That risk versus reward relationship, that achievement-based mentality. Not everybody's going to be a winner and that's okay. – Steven Sharif

Alcune delle seguenti informazioni non sono state confermate di recente dagli sviluppatori e potrebbero non essere nell'attuale roadmap di sviluppo.

• There will not be different PvP and PvE gear types.

See also

• Bosses
• Boss del mondo
• NPCs
• Nodi
• Assedi al nodo
• Assedi del castello
• Caravan
• Pvp
• Combattimento