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What is stopping all the players and guilds from only converging into the areas where all node types border each other?

If the node types are randomized for each server then it's a moot point. If all the nodes are going to be uniform within all the servers then it presents an issue. Players will find what areas are most efficient due to node type placement and all the servers could just end up looking the same due to it. What do you all think? Am I overthinking it?

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over 1 year ago - /u/IntrepidStudios - Direct link

To answer your question about "what stops all servers from from progressing the same nodes," the answer to that question is "other players."

Certain content is locked behind different nodes that develop. If we assume that at some point all of the information regarding node progression is available, not all players on a server may agree on what content they want access to, or that they want other players to have access to.

Even if a certain perks from node progression are considered "best value" to players trying to solve a node meta, that doesn't mean all players on a server benefit from that in the same way. Because of this, some players make act against your best interests, because it isn't their best interest.

Nodes define (and redefine) the world around you, influence points of interest, world quest lines, story arcs, drop tables, resource pools, and even spawn tables for NPCs and bosses. The cycle of nodes leveling and triggering events is something we expect to see play out in a variety of different ways, across different servers, based on how players choose to play Ashes of Creation.