Dungeon difficulty

Tumok the Wretched Alpha-2 world boss.

Raid bosses are aware of the number of combatants within an area in proximity to them and that awareness is part of an indicator to which behaviors they're going to utilize as part of their behavior tree. So as it's assessing the types of combatants that are facing it, the number of those combatants, the position of those combatants, the abilities and totals of those combatants, it weighs certain actions in its behavior tree and then it acts on those actions; and in the scenario where you're bringing overwhelming odds to a particular fight, that might weigh heavier the AoE options that the boss has access to, where they're utilizing a lot more AoE abilities during an engagement due to that overage of of players. So in that sense it's a bit adaptive. It's a bit dynamic based on the encounter scenario. – Steven Sharif

The difficulty of PvE content, such as raids and dungeons will adapt based on the performance of the raid or group against previous bosses in that encounter.

• Higher performance in earlier phases will increase the difficulty of subsequent phases of the encounter.
  • Certain AI behaviors might activate based on progress within an encounter.

• Bosses and mobs will not auto-scale based on group size, but AI behaviors may dynamically adapt to the number and types of combatants in proximity to the encounter.

• There will be mobs who's level is above the player level cap.

Both in Alpha-2 and when the game launches, there will be monsters whose technical level is above that of the cap; and the intent there is obviously again to provide some level of challenge that exceeds a comparable level challenge rating.{livestream|2023-11-30|1h53m50|V9F_AJl9ozY}} – Steven Sharif

• The higher the difficulty, the better the loot tables will be.

Q: How challenging will raid boss mechanics be given the given that players may need to simultaneously fight other players while also fighting the boss?

A: It depends. The great thing about our encounter system is that it has a wide scalability from encounters that some might consider easy given their composition to encounters that some might consider impossible until they get their gear level to a certain stage. The level of interaction with other players is really predicated on the encounter itself. We may have some encounters that are in instances although the predominant portion of those will be in the open world, in which case they do have the potential being contested; and these encounters, especially the big ones that might land in contention, are giving some of the best-in-slot gear you can get in the game. So it's important that they are contested because it is a significant victory point; and one of our core pillars is risk versus reward: and the higher that risk the higher that reward should be. So those two things seem fitting and then in addition we do have the concept of winners and losers. Not everybody in Ashes of Creation is going to be a winner; and that sucks if you're not I guess, but there is opportunity for you to continue to excel and become one. But it gives much more meaning to an achievement when not everybody gets the achievement. That's our philosophy. – Steven Sharif

Q: So it's the sort of thing where it might be, we're going do a dungeon that's oops, all fire golems, so if everybody straps up with plate armor and fire resistance, you don't have to worry about the magic fire: you've got the fire resistance for. And when you start getting punched around, that's why everyone's come in with plate?

A: The encounters design team presents a particular type of challenge rating- for those you're familiar with playing DnD or whatever, challenge rating gets informed by a few different vertical power levels, but then there's also the horizontal perspective: That is, what tools does your party have to address the challenge rating of the situation and some of the horizontal progression exists within how you kit your equipment slots. Some of those can be enhancements or stones, as you're discussing with fire resistance. Some of those are base stats that exist on a particular item, such as physical damage mitigation versus magical damage mitigation and what subtype of damage is incoming based on that. These are the ways that we emphasize that more rock-paper-scissors type of interaction with balance to where it's okay to have asymmetric imbalance if there are horizontal methods by which you achieve the challenge rating. – Steven Sharif

Level scaling

Levels, stats, or skills will not be scaled to allow low level players to participate in encounters with higher level players or world bosses.

Q: Will world bosses scale when it comes to player levels and is it based on players or the zone itself leveling?

A: They will not scale based on player level, no. – Steven Sharif

Adaptive content

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              ﺔﻤﻳﺪﻗ ﺔﻤﺟﺮﺘﻟﺍ ﻩﺬﻫ ﻥﻮﻜﺗ ﺪﻗ

نقطة إهتمام  جديدة (مثل  الدهاليز  و زعماء العالم) تظهر  بعقد(بشكل) متطور. هذا المحتوي  يتكيف مع  تطور  المناطق الموجودة به.

• سوف تتغير الكثافة.
• صعوبة المحتوي سوف تتغير.
• قد يتغير المحتوي بلكامل , إعتمادا علي ما يتطور وكيف يتطور .
• أنواع جديدة من الوحوش وإختلاف القصة (المهمات).
• فقط بعض الدهاليز سوف تصبح متاحة في حالة أن العقد تطور لمراحل معينة .
• القصة(المهات) داخل الدهليز سوف تعتمد علي قوس المهمة التي تتكون من الطرق المختارة عن طريق نظام العقد.
• الجوائز في المناطق و الدهاليز سوف تكون مقيدة بتقدم المنقطة الموجودة بها.

الدهاليز المحيطة و النقط الاخري حول الخريطة سوف تتأثر بتطور العقد. فقط بعض الدهاليز سوف تصبح متاحة إذا طورنا العقد إلي مستوي معين. القصة(المهات) داخل الدهليز سوف تعتمد علي قوس المهمة التي تتكون من الطرق المختارة عن طريق نظام العقد الجوائزفي المناطق و الدهاليز سوف تكون مقيدة بتقدم المنقطة الموجودة بها . علي سبيل المثال لنفترض أن البشر طورو عقد في المنقطة ج, و أصبحت مجموعة من المهمات متاحة مما يقود اللاعبين إلي أكتشاف دهاليز المناطق المجاورة .ولنفترض أن هذا العقد تم تطويره في منقطة صناعية… قبل تطور العقد , كان هذا الدهليز متاح… ولكن الأن نفس الدهليز أصبح يمتلك وحوش جديدة و تغيرت جوائزه لتصبح جوائز تستعمل للصناعة بسبب تطور العقد . وربما , قد يظهر زعيم جديد في غرف مختلفة من الدهليز التي سوف تحتوي علي مغامرة مختلفة و مهمات مختلفة , مثل شئ غامض مع مهمة للحصول عليه والمهمة يمكن فقط قبولها إذا تطور العقد إلي نقطة معينة في منطقة معينة , حول العالم . نظامنا واسع جدا, بما يتعلق ب الترابط و كيف يتأثر العالم بللاعبين.

Dungeon size

Open world dungeon in Alpha-1.

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.

Loot tagging

Looting rights (also known as Loot tagging) is based on a blended tag and damage done system.

• The first party to obtain a tag (on a mob or boss) will gain an approximately 5-10% edge over competing parties in terms of the total damage done when determining looting rights.
  • These numbers will be balanced based on testing.
• At the end of the fight, the party with the highest damage done, including first tagging bonus, will be granted looting rights.

We have a blended approach of damage done and a tag benefit. So if you tag the boss first, or you tag the loot- whatever the loot target is first- you're gonna get a benefit in the damage overall determination. So if you need to have 51% of damage done in order to qualify your raid, or the plurality of damage done if there's even three or four raids, then tagging first might give you a five or ten percent edge. We'll play with that number- balance it based on testing, but generally that's our approach in competing loot rights – Steven Sharif

Q: If looting rights are based on a blended tag and damage done system, will there be any mechanics in place to ensure roles like tanks and healers have an equal shot even when they haven't dealt as much damage?

A: That's the reason for the blended approach. The reason that we're doing a hybrid system between tag and damage done is for the purposes of those classes who may not be as DPS oriented as other classes. The tag system- all classes are going to have a sprinkling of immediate effects- of instantaneous casts and they can use that to tag a target, and that'll give them a modifier on the looting rights: So plus 10 or plus 15 will balance that, but it'll give them plus 10 to 15 on overall damage done if they tag the target and then their damage will make up the remainder of that percentage completion. So if I do 50 damage to a target but someone else has the tag I'm not going to be able to claim that looting right. They'll have done the other 50 plus 10 or 15. – Steven Sharif

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.

• تاراغلا will have 40 man groups.
• Content will be tailored for 40, 16 and 8 person group sizes.
• تاحاسلا 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.
• راصحلا هعلق 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

Solo players

Alpha-2 solo PvE ranger combat.

Ashes of Creation provides gameplay options for solo oriented players.

For those solo players who don't really care about finding a community to play with but they want to have one when they need it, there's going to be a lot of opportunities from a dialogue perspective, in-game chat options; you can join as part of citizenships: there's a lot of pseudo factions there- social organizations that give you an in to other players without the strong bonds that typically come with guild-oriented organizations; and I think that that's a comfortable medium between the two. – Steven Sharif

• Certain quest lines and hunting grounds are devoted towards solo players.
• Node citizenship and social organizations provide the ability to interact without the strong bonds that typically come with guild-oriented organizations.
• Mechanics exist within larger conflicts for small groups and solo players to impact the battle.
  • This includes systems that will likely focus on single group sized participants while the larger battle is occurring.

Mentor program

.ﺔﻴﻟﺎﺤﻟﺍ ﺮﻳﻮﻄﺘﻟﺍ ﻖﻳﺮﻃ ﺔﻃﺭﺎﺧ ﻲﻓ ﺓﺩﻮﺟﻮﻣ ﻥﻮﻜﺗ ﻻ ﺪﻗﻭ ﻦﻳﺭﻮﻄﻤﻟﺍ ﻞﺒﻗ ﻦﻣ ﺍﺮًﺧﺆﻣ ﺔﻴﻟﺎﺘﻟﺍ ﺕﺎﻣﻮﻠﻌﻤﻟﺍ ﺾﻌﺑ ﺪﻴﻛﺄﺗ ﻢﺘﻳ ﻢﻟ

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.

• Certain node buildings and organizations offer quests that can be initiated by a mentor to assist new players. Rewards are offered to both the mentor and the mentee upon completion.
  • Leading a mentee through a dungeon.
  • Meeting at pre-arranged locations.
  • Escort quests for NPC caravans.

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 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

The mentorship program provides individual quests that can be initiated by the mentor based off of what node that they are part of. So these are like quests that are determined by either certain buildings and/or organizations or the mayor; and there are specific ones that are available for mentors to provide mentees; and they can also participate in some of those quest lines as well: Whether that be leading your mentee through a dungeon or providing a location for them to arrive with you at, or escort quests for the NPC caravans. These types of things, when done together with your mentor, will provide benefits both for the mentor and the mentee as well, so you're incentivized to participate with new players. – Steven Sharif

See also

• تانازنزلا
• تاراغلا
• PvE
• هحفاكم