םיכוב

Alpha-0 Dünir Dünheim dungeon design by Michael Bacon.

Alpha-0 dungeon design by Javier Perez.

Dungeons in האירבה רפא will range in size and will be mostly open-world.

• Open world dungeons will be populated to facilitate multiple groups within the dungeon.
• Instanced dungeons will also be present and will cater for solo and group questlines.

There are going to be smaller, simpler, linear dungeons. There's going to be bigger, more complex, nonlinear dungeons. So, It's a little bit of both. We want the environment to be a character. In order for the environment to be a character, these places need to be interesting and there needs to be a dynamicism to them. – Jeffrey Bard

Half the problem won't just be solving the dungeon, it will be solving other players too. – Jeffrey Bard

Alpha-0 dungeon design by Javier Perez.

Alpha-0 dungeon design by Javier Perez.

Alpha-0 dungeon design by Javier Perez.

Alpha-0 dungeon design by Javier Perez.

Open world

Alpha-0 flood plains environment.

האירבה רפא will be a seamless open-world experience.

• No loading time or loading screens between regions.

There will be open world dungeons and raids. The aspiration is to maintain the open world feel while being able to capitalize on the benefits of instanced mechanics.

• Instancing is only going to happen in certain dungeons where the desire is to have greater narrative appeal. Outside of these and arenas there will not be too much instancing anywhere else.

We're probably going to do instancing only in certain dungeons and in arenas. You probably won't see instancing too much anywhere else. What you see is gonna be what you get. – Jeffrey Bard

The PvP flagging system presents an opportunity for open conflict.

Dungeon scale

The intention is that dungeons are going to be "massive" in scale.

• Massive caverns and open world spaces.
• Places to suit larger and smaller commitments.
  • Where people with 30 minutes can participate.
• Dungeons are vast and have room for multiple groups.

Dungeon content

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

• Populations will change.
• Content difficulty will change.
• The content may be different altogether, depending on what is developed and how.
• Different types of antagonists with different story lines.
• Some dungeons will only be unlocked if nodes are developed to certain stages.
• 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.

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 scientific 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.

Raid strategies

תוטישפ will have elements that can be pre-planned.

• Required composition of DPS, healers and support.
• Key positioning.

Raids will also have dynamic elements that can change from session to session.

• The types and numbers of bosses and mobs present in the raid and their skill repertoire.
• Variables are manifested based on node progression.
  • The number of metropolis nodes developed.
  • The types of metropolis nodes developed.

One of the design elements that we're implementing into our raids is that the raid will not be exactly the same every single time. You're going to have variables that can't necessarily be pre-planned out for. You can pre-plan out for a lot of the raid like how many DPS do you need and healers and support; where the key position and all that kind of stuff; but I think the compelling aspect of Ashes raiding will be the difficulty in achieving this content and having that content change from session to session as well. We want there to be variables that get manifested by you know what type of node got developed elsewhere. Is he going to have acolytes or cultists? What will the acolytes have skills [available] to them? What kit is the boss gonna have? What available skill repertoire will the boss be able to [wield]? ... A lot of those systems are influenced obviously by world development. So the raid kind of takes into account at what stage has the world developed: Are there two metropolises now available in the world? Okay well let's activate this skill in this skill. Now you have five metropolises, well now all these skills have been activated. Are there are they all economic nodes? Are they all military nodes? That we can change things based on that stuff. And it really is a threat assessment from the environment against the players. – Steven Sharif

Group sizes

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

האירבה רפא is designed for solo players as well as large and small groups.

• The party size is eight (8) players for a single group.
• תוטישפ will have 40 man groups.
• Content will be tailored for 40, 16 and 8 person group sizes.
• סנרא 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.
• רוצמ הריטה 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 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.

Content isn't locked behind guilds.

• Mechanics exist within larger conflicts for small groups and even solo players to impact the battle.
• This includes systems that will likely focus on single group sized participants while the larger battle is occurring.

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse group sizes

Group sizes in Ashes of Creation Apocalypse.

• Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale will have party sizes of up to 5.
• Guild mode will have parties of raids of up to 20.
• Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle sieges will have parties of 5 within a raid, with 5 raids for each of the two teams.
• Ashes of Creation Apocalypse horde mode will have a party size of 5 with a total of ten groups, making for 50 players.

There will be an option in the lobby where you are capable of joining a guild based match that you can link parties together up to a maximum of twenty individuals. – Steven Sharif

Loot tables

Mobs and Bosses will drop Gold, םיטירפ and crafting materials based on the type of mob or boss. For example, a wolf is not going to be carrying a sack of gold. It may instead drop "pelts" that can be traded for gold.

• Loot tables will favor dropping crafting materials as opposed to trash items.
• Loot tables are disabled for player controlled monsters.
• The developers intend to test dynamic loot tables during the test phases.

Underwater dungeons

Underwater dungeons are part of האירבה רפא naval content.

Zergs

For every play, there should be a counterplay. We often see Castle Sieges turn into zerg-fests, which really doesn’t capture the epic, back-and-forth battles we wish to see in Ashes of Creation. One of our key pillars is that Choice Matters, and that applies to tactics and strategy as well. A well-formulated battle plan should win out over stat sheets and bodies. Zergs will generally be difficult to pull off, and will be eminently counterable through siege weapons, traps, and other battlefield tricks.

Zergs are empowered by fast-travel. Meaningful travel times are intended to prevent zerg play from being so much of an influence.

Encounters are designed to have meaning in terms of how boss skills and abilities relate to group compositions, tactics and strategies. Zerging is not experiencing content.

• Raid and dungeon bosses have specific mechanics that players need to learn and react to. Zergs that are not aware of these mechanics or react to them appropriately will be wiped.
• There is a give-and-take for guilds that want to see a larger number of members as opposed to a more focused group that may be a part of an alliance.

We're very cognizant of the fact that we don't want to see zerging be a mechanic that's utilized by guilds to accomplish content or just to steamroll over sieges... There are specific mechanics that we are working on that will be seen through the testing phases that relate to a degree of understanding of certain systems that can't just be overrun with numbers. – Steven Sharif

Mechanics that encourage political intrigue will play a role in destabilizing zergs.

The best way that I found in games I played previously to take down a zerg is to cause drama from within... It's that conflict inside of the politicking that happens in that big organization. If we provide opportunities for division to occur then it also provides stability to keep a server healthy away from that zerg mentality also... If we approach the castle siege and we've destroyed the walls and we're in the throne room and we're about to cast on the penultimate thing and I at this time am just so excited from what's happening that I'm like "screw it I'm gonna go for it". It's gonna be mine. I'm gonna take the taxes for the next month. I'm gonna take all the gear from the castle. I'm gonna take everything... We kind of want that political intrigue to be present in the game. – Steven Sharif

Objective-based game play helps to balance the zerg mentality.

I always feel that if you balance based on groups that in your balance focus is to incorporate features that play well from a player versus player perspective as well as a player versus environment perspective: Having support classes, having DPS and tanks that can obstruct movement and/or create you know bottlenecks on the field and stuff like that. I think a well-rounded raid it will perform better against a non well-rounded raid, however then you incorporate the second aspect of numbers; and that's where again mobility, organization, leadership tactics. Having objectives in gameplay that make those important helps to balance the zerg mentality that a lot of guilds can tend to have. – Steven Sharif

Leader boards

There will be dungeon and raid leader boards.

• Some leader boards will be across all servers.

Jumping mechanics

Jumping over a pit trap in Alpha-0 Dünheim dungeon.

Jumping puzzles will occasionally feature in the world.

Jumping mechanics are present in the Alpha-0 Dünheim dungeon.

Announcements/Notifications

There will be global (server-wide) announcements/notifications of important events.

• רוצמ הריטה.
• םיתמצ רוצמ.
• Legendary world boss spawns.
• Monster coin events.
• Dungeon opportunities.

Local node events, such as םינאוורק will not be announced. These will rely on player word-of-mouth.

Whether it be like a siege or a triggered event against a city or like a unique dungeon opportunity... those types of things are going to involve notifications. Especially to the citizens of the city; where you'll be informed of an impending event. Basically it will give you time. – Steven Sharif

Mentor program

There will be a mentorship program where upper-level players are able to benefit from partying and/or helping lower level players; and getting them situated in the game.

• Levels or skills will not be adjusted to allow low level players to participate in dungeons with higher level players.

There will be activities that are present for higher level players to mentor lower level players. Let's say you have a friend who joins later on and you still want to do things with them, there will be things to do. Will you he be able to enter a dungeon of your level and participate? No, because we don't want to inflate or deflate characters and manipulate that type of skill or power. We want that to be something that makes sense for them in a progression standpoint. – Steven Sharif

ואדיו יעטק

• 2016-12-15 Video - Dungeons First Look - Water Temple
• 2018-02-09 Livestream
• 2018-02-24 Video - Alpha-0 Dünheim Dungeon Lore

Artwork

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See also

• Bosses
• תוטישפ
• סנרא
• ברק