devtrackers.gg
Hello Glorious Ashes of Creation community!
Thank you for participating in our Q&A discussion on Discord, where many of you asked questions regarding the Ashes of Creation MMO and Apocalypse.
We saw a few very detailed questions about bigger features like housing, class mechanics, and crafting professions - we’ll be sharing more in-depth looks at these topics in future blog posts so we can get to some of the specifics you’ve been asking for.
Please keep in mind that since we are still in the development phase, all design decisions are subject to change. The below information is based on our current design plans.
Without further ado, here’s a collection of the answers to some of your top questions:
GENERAL
Q: Will you have a rotating cast for Twitch streams so we can hear from some of the other leads on the team?
A: Yes! We’ll be rotating the cast on our livestreams based on what we’re talking about or showing off - get ready to see some new faces on camera.
Q: Do you have any updates on the support ticket process and the estimated wait time?
A: Due to the recent website migration, we received an influx of tickets that our team is working through now. We appreciate your patience as we work to resolve some outstanding account issues. In addition, we’re working to improve our CS processes so that you can expect a more reasonable wait time moving forward.
Q: Will there be any physical merchandise returning to the website?
A: We are currently working on new physical merchandise for the website and our future conventions!
Q: Are there plans to expand servers to other regions, such as South America and Asia?
A: Yes, we have plans to expand servers to other regions - you can see the latest update on that here.
ASHES OF CREATION
Q: Can we dual-wield weapons? For example, I want to play as a rogue and dual-wield daggers.
A: Yes, you will be able to dual-wield certain weapons.
Q: Will name reservations be server-based or account-based?
A: Name reservations will be both account and server based. Your account will have a name reservation token, that will entitle you to reserve a name on a specific server when the reservation time comes.
Q: How will the wide camera angle work with action combat - will it just zoom in instantly when we try to aim, or something else?
A: We’re working on a few different control schemes to make this work. The goal is to make it as intuitive and unobtrusive as possible, and switching between types of abilities a natural, tactical experience.
Q: Will server transfers be a thing? And if so, what would happen to owned housing, etc.?
A: Initially we will want to stay away from allowing server transfers. However, as time goes on and servers mature there will be opportunities to request transfers. When we are closer to launch we will have more specific details on how this impacts housing and other systems.
Q: When can we submit the names for the NPC (Leader of Men package)?
A: As we begin to enter our Alphas for AoC, we will be reaching out to our Leader of Men and above backers with details for this reward.
Q: What will the player group size be for random grouping, dungeons, PvP, raids, etc.?
A: Groups are 8 players in size, but anyone can form a group of groups, up to a maximum of 40 people (five groups). We’ll have content tuned for different sizes of group makeup. These numbers may change though, as we discover problems or fun emergent things from different sizes.
Q: How will character/race size be balanced with hitboxes when it comes to action combat?
A: This is something we’re still sorting out and part of the testing we intend with Apocalypse. We’re trying a few different things, and once we find a system that we’re happy with, we’ll let you know!
Q: Can we get an update on the progress of major systems such as Nodes and Caravans?
A: We are currently working on showing some of the progress we have made since Alpha Zero for the node systems and other major systems. Soon ™ (But seriously, soon.)
Q: In regards to secondary classes - will there just be visual changes to main abilities, or will they fundamentally change the way the ability works?
A: They will fundamentally change the way the ability works - adapting what the ability once did to incorporate the identity of the secondary class.
Q: We saw icons for the classes in the Siege announcement - will all classes (including the 64 unique variations) have an in-game symbol or icon?
A: Yes.
Q: Is the corruption system here to stay?
A: Yes.
Q: Will there be more cool racial skins like that of the fire and ice, or angel and demon Kickstarter racial skins but for those of us that missed them?
A: Yes.
Q: Are weapons balanced towards a proficiency system (i.e. the longer I use a sword, the better my damage will be), or will it be a normal RPG stat system with no long-term scaling?
A: We will not be using a proficiency system as described, but players will have passives available in their skill tree that will increase effectiveness of certain weapons. Becoming a master of swords will be something that is possible, just not in that particular manner.
Q: Will there be in-game GMs?
A: Live events are something that we are very interested in pursuing, and customer service will certainly include in-game support.
Q: Will there be druids?
A: There will be druid-like class/subclass combinations.
Q: The current MMORPG map is estimated to be approximately 480 sq km. How long can we expect in approximate time to travel across the map mounted? Minutes, hours, days?
A: Within the realm of hours.
Q: Will coastal building be possible - like underwater farms, or even above-water housing?
A: You’ll be able to build ‘on’ the coasts, but not ‘in’ the water at launch. We do have plans to increase the scope of housing though, and would look toward an expansion or a big game update for that sort of functionality.
Q: Will there be beast taming of any kind?
A: Yes.
Q: Will leaderboards be available? What kinds of stats will we be able to see?
A: Leaderboards will be available for both AoC and Apocalypse. They’ll use different data but have the same functionality. You’ll see things like server firsts, resource discoveries and raw collections, K/D ratios, total damage done, legendary items discovered, etc. They’ll be broken down between servers, so that you can compare what’s happening on any given server.
Q: Are you still aiming for 40-man raids? What other raid sizes will be available? Will loot tables differ based on the size of the group?
A: We’re still playing around with sizes, but you can likely expect 40, 16 and 8 person sized content. We will be testing dynamic loot tables, but will have more of an idea on that during our test phases.
Q: Will crafting be the sole way to obtain high-level gear? (meaning you would utilize raids to gather materials)
A: Crafting and World Bosses will be the main way to obtain high-level gear. There are some exceptions to this in the form of Legendary items (single server drops or discoveries), and other equipment that may drop wholesale, but we want Artisans and top tier raiding to produce the lion’s share of high level, high effectiveness equipment.
Q: What is more important to the team - the leveling up experience, or the max level/end game experience (in terms of content)?
A: We want the game to be a living game, which means that all content should be relevant at all times. I’d say that we try to make as little distinction between the leveling up experience and the end game experience as possible. The whole journey is important to us, in order to maximize the fun people have during different stages of the game.
Q: What’s the minimum guild size to really have a meaningful impact on the realm?
A: This is a tough question to answer. Single individuals can have a large impact on the realm without guild support, in the form of mayorships, Artisanship, economic opportunities, etc. We’re also balancing guilds through guild levels, where guilds must choose between size and effectiveness - smaller guilds will have an opportunity to get a leg up through abilities that larger guilds can’t afford to take. At the end of the day, having clear goals and organizational structure will likely matter more than raw numbers.
Q: Are there plans to balance world PvP to avoid zerging as the best overall strategy?
A: Yes, and one of the primary means of doing this is our lack of true fast travel (mass and easy teleportation). It’s not really possible to zerg in this game, as it’s traditionally experienced.
Q: When might we expect to see hybrid combat?
A: We hope to have some form of it ready for Alpha 1.
Q: Does Intrepid plan on creating more “unique” weapons (like the Potion Launcher) that aren’t necessarily inspired by real world designs?
A: The focus is on traditional weapons, but we do want to get outside of the box where we can. There might be some surprises down the road.
Q: Can we get a list of the crafting professions sometime in the near future?
A: Definitely.
ASHES OF CREATION APOCALYPSE
Q: Can we make a YouTube channel covering AoC updates, or are we still in Closed Beta?
A: The battle royale mode of Ashes of Creation Apocalypse is now in Open Beta, so feel free to create videos, stream, or share pictures.
Q: Can we launch other players from catapults?
A: This would be awesome, and has been discussed, but probably not. :(
Q: How happy are you with the current state of the combat in Apocalypse? Do you plan on changing it up more?
A: We’re pretty happy with where we’re at in development, but obviously there’s improvement to be found, hence why we are testing still. Expect to see more iterations of it as we continue to move forward.
Q: Why is there a queue limit/player cap in one battle royale instance?
A: We adjust player caps in battle royale to test certain things like high-frequency match creation and player population density.
Q: Are there plans to have a chat box in Apocalypse as an alternative to voice chat?
External link →A: We are planning a party chat box, yes.