Castle sieges

Uit Ashes of Creation Wiki
Naar navigatie springen Naar zoeken springen
Alpha-1 castle siege gameplay.[1]

Throughout Ashes of Creation, the player has an opportunity to participate in massively multiplayer siege warfare. Since castles are likely the world’s most limited resource, it will be a task to secure and hold them. Involving hundreds of players on a single battlefield, our sieges will employ many moving parts and intricate design features. Because of the difficult nature of taking and keeping a castle there are great rewards available to the players for their efforts. Castles will allow players to exert control over nearby lands and allow for the development of unique buildings in the nearby towns.[2]

Guilds participate in Castle sieges in an effort to capture and occupy one of the five guild castles in Ashes of Creation.[3]

  • The minimum goal is for 250x250 players to be on a single battlefield. It is hoped that this can be increased to 500x500 over time.[7][8][9][10]
  • There will be systems that mimic some of the mechanics of sieges, but there won't be practice sieges.[11]
  • There may be instanced locations within otherwise open-world castle and node sieges, where specific groups can participate in small, short duration objective-based battles that will affect the overall outcome of the siege.[12]
I love castle-based gameplay. I love trophies. I like rewarding risk a lot; and for me it's very difficult to imagine a MMO that I would want to play where there is not competition of strategic prowess that determines the outcome of these types of events and there is not a meaningful reward both mechanically and from just a bragging rights perspective that players can aim for and try to achieve. I think that it brings a lot to the game when it comes to motivations, to excel, to level, to gain power, to engage those different progression loops when there is an ultimate goal or trophy that is not static and doesn't exist forever once you achieve it, but that you must constantly perform in order to maintain; and that's really the purpose of these castles.[17]Steven Sharif

A guild that captures a castle will own that castle for a month before it is sieged again.[18][19]

Each week leading up to the siege week... is a week that's dedicated to one of the three castle dedicated nodes. So around the castle there are three nodes. They represent week, one, two, and three; and then the fourth week is the siege against the castle. Those can only be elevated up to stage three. We've discussed this in the past and there's definitely information out there on the community ran wiki.[18]Steven Sharif
  • In the first three weeks that a guild occupies a castle they will need to level up each of their castle nodes to Dorp stage through questing.[18][19]
    • Each of the three castle nodes have a siege against it at the end of each of these three weeks.[19][20]
  • The fourth week is declaration week, where other guilds have the opportunity to lay down their declaration flag or to sign up as a defender of the castle.[18][19]
  • Depending on how well the guild defends their castle nodes results in better defenses for the castle.[19][20]
  • Different siege weaponry will grant the attackers the ability to destroy walls, doors and sections of the castle in order to gain access to the inner keep area.[21]
  • When castles change hands (following a siege), some taxes stay with the castle and some stay with the guild.[22]
There will be benefits to attracting people... even if they're not in your guild or alliance – a feudal like system, where you can attract other players who are just independent of this whole politic. They will have things to do there - benefits to receive - and there will be a reciprocal relationship between who you can attract, what they do for you; and how that benefits you and them.[19]Steven Sharif

Alpha-1 castle sieges

Trebuchets in the Alpha-1 preview castle siege attackers headquarter camp.[24]

Alpha-1 castle sieges are based on Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle sieges.[26][16]

  • Players will be able to join guilds. These guilds can register for the siege events.[24]
  • Castle siege events will be 100v100 battles that occur daily and will last for three hours.[24]
  • Attackers will start on the opposite end of the map (from the defenders).[24]
  • Attackers will be able to use trebuchets to drive to and assault the castle.[24]
    • Trebuchets have a single primary fire that does a small amount of damage to players and heavy damage to buildings.[24]
    • Trebuchets will be fully physical when they are being driven.[24]
  • When the attackers have breached the castle they will be able to channel a cast on the relic in the throne room to try to capture the castle from the defenders.[24]
  • The victors of castle sieges will receive benefits, such as cloaks, flying mounts for guild leaders and potentially also for guild officers.[24]
  • Alpha-1 castle sieges are in a separate zone that is accessible via a NPC teleporter.[14][15][13]
    Currently the siege zone is actually in the open world, but separated by mountains and off in the sea a bit. There is actually no instancing in A1, although the siege zone will only be accessible in A1 through a registration NPC teleporter.[14]Steven Sharif
  • The opposing team is notified when these raid bosses are being attacked.[26]
  • Teams who get the last hit on these bosses will receive buffs that will help them in the siege battle.[26]

Last year, I spoke of attempting to incorporate sieges into the Alpha One experience. This has obviously been a goal of mine because it provides considerable data and a consistent event within the world that players can participate in to help stress test the deployment. Well, I am happy to say that it is appearing more and more likely by the day! Initial implementation of the Apocalypse siege code has been migrated into the Alpha One client, and we should begin internal testing next month. I will caveat this expectation with the fact that we are cutting it a bit close from an internal QA standpoint, but I have some confidence that the system will be online and capable of inclusion for the Alpha One test in the month of June. The siege component will obviously not be representative of what the siege system will be at launch, or even in Alpha Two.[16]Steven Sharif

Guild castles

Guild castle Alpha-1 early preview.[28]

With five Castles in the world, and each having been owned by different civilizations from the far-flung past of Verra, you can expect that each Castle has its own character. Different terrains and different layouts will result in each Castle having its own advantages and disadvantages. Just because you have managed to take one Castle will not mean that your strategies will pan out in the next. Commanders will have to take into consideration the lay of the land, time of day, weather, and even seasons into account when forming their battle plans.[29]

Sword 01 - with logos.png

Five guild castles exist in Ashes of Creation.[30][29][3]

While the hard structural environment is static and not able to be- you're not building a castle if you own a castle, you're inheriting a historic ruined castle that is representative of the past because it has some tie-in to specific types of powers that we haven't gotten into from a lore perspective yet but we haven't expressed to the community. That's something that we're going to leave for the community to find out when they play. But when you place mercenaries and you place those blockades and you place those traps, that affects the level design of the castle according to the strategy you might use to defend it.[30]Steven Sharif
These Castles are occupied when players arrive on Verra, and their current inhabitants will have to be removed before any player can claim them. Castles will be dangerous and high-level raid zones until they can be cleared, and the first group of players to do so will gain the Castle as their reward.[29]

Castle nodes

One of the 5 guild castles is located on an island, depicted with its 3 adjacent castle nodes.[34][35]

Should you be deft enough to take a Castle, you’ll now be responsible for managing it. Castles will have their own Nodes associated with them, and developing and defending those Nodes will determine the state of your Castle during the next siege. If you’ve done a good job managing your kingdom, then you’ll have more and better options available for deployment during the next siege. If you let your populace fall to ruin, you may have to rely solely on your own devices.[29]

Guild castles have three adjacent castle nodes in close proximity.[3][21] The guild must develop those nodes to enhance the defenses of the castle.[3] It will be possible, but very difficult for a single guild to fully develop these nodes. They will likely need assistance from the broader community.[39]

Once the castle is owned by a guild that's when the supporting castle nodes start to come online and spawn each week prior to the fourth week castle siege. They'll have to form alliances, they'll have to get support, they'll have to get resources, they'll be able to allocate funds that have been collected through taxation in order to strengthen the defenses as well as hiring additional NPC mercenaries.[42]Steven Sharif

Castle nodes are leveled through questing by the owning guild or alliance guilds.[21]

  • Levelling castle nodes is a hastened process compared to regular nodes.[19]
  • At the end of each week leading up to a castle siege there is a period of time in the weekend where NPC generated caravans start moving toward one of the castle nodes carrying castle taxes from the nodes that fall under the castle's purview.[28][43]
    • During this time it is incumbent upon the owning guild, its allies, and citizens of the nodes to escort these caravans to the castle node.[28]
    • The enemies of the guild have incentive to attack these caravans to reap the rewards from the caravan and to sabotage the tax collection, which will reduce the defensive capability of the castle nodes and hence the castle itself.[28][21]
    • Citizens of nodes that fall under the purview of the castle are automatically registered as defenders of these caravans and may not participate in attacks against them.[28]
  • Completing these quests unlocks services and functions that are useful to the occupying guild and its allies as well as boosting the defenses the castle.[21]

If they fail to to level up those nodes or complete those quests within the three prior weeks before the declaration week, then the castle will be at a disadvantage.[21]Steven Sharif

Being a member of the occupying guild automatically makes you a garrison of the castle nodes and castle itself.[3]

  • Only members of the occupying guild are citizens of these nodes.[20]
  • This citizenship is different to normal node citizenship. Castle nodes don't operate like normal nodes.[20][40]

Siege defenses

Siege defenses in Ashes of Creation may refer to.

Siege balance

There are points of balance that we want to incorporate, such as the defense mechanisms that the defenders have, the types of buffs that are acquired through completing killing the bosses, or capturing control points, the stages before a siege when it comes to those node progressions in the preceding weeks: Those are all going to be balanced considering all things being equal between the two sides. But obviously we're not going to control the state of gear acquisition that one side might have as an advantage over the other. There might be a much better geared team over there. There might be a much better coordinated team. There might be a higher number of individuals who are part of the attacking or the defense. Those are components that we aren't necessarily going to put on railroads so-to-speak. But the aspects of design that we can talk about like the hit point health of a particular wall or door, or mercenaries that can be hired; what's their cost, what's their damage output: Those are things yes we're going to balance. But obviously anything that's player dependent or that has player interaction and activity and determination you can't always balance; and you don't want to balance. Those aspects you leave those to the players.[44]Steven Sharif

Declaring a castle siege

Siege preparation.[45]

Guilds are able to sign up to either siege or defend a castle over a week long declaration period.[42][21]

  • Once a guild registers for the siege a scroll creation quest is initiated that guild members may participate in, and it becomes possible to lay the declaration scroll down as soon as the quest is completed.[46]
    • Multiple guilds may register to attack and the first to complete the scroll and lay down the declaration may begin to have their members register to attack (there will be a cap).[46]
    • The siege scroll deployment is a 5 min rooted cast that alerts the region at the cast initiation and names the caster that must be the guild leader.[46][47]
    • If the guild leader is killed, the casting is interrupted.[48] The scroll will remain until it is recast. It will disappear if it is not cast within the declaration period.[49]
    • The scroll may only be placed in a ring around the castle.[50] The quality of the scroll determines the proximity to the castle.[51]
  • Players don't need to be in the guild that owns a castle in order to sign up for the defense of the castle.[21]
  • The guild leader that owns the castle is able to approve guilds that have applied to defend at the castle.[21]
  • Following declaration, the defender has a week grace period to approve defenders, hire mercenary NPCs and set up defensible positions.[42][21]

Siege alliances

When a siege begins, temporary alliances are formed among attackers and defenders.[52]

  • For node sieges, citizens of the node or provincial nodes being attacked are automatically registered as defenders.[53]
  • There are many reasons to participate as an ally in the attack or defence of other nodes.[54]
    • Titles.
    • Items.
    • Materials.
    • Money.
    • Social bonds.

Many incentives exist that can benefit your node and yourself personally by participating in the attack or defense of cities. These range from titles, to items, to materials, to money. Additionally, aiding others may help you strengthen bonds when your assets are threatened.[54]Steven Sharif

Siege participation

Non-registered combatants are not permitted on the siege field in castle or node sieges.[55]

  • Players may choose to respawn at their HQ as long as they are registered.[13][57]
    • Non-registered guilds are not granted the ability to take ownership of the castle if victorious.[13]

Lower level characters will have usefulness in mass combat that does not depend on their level, such as manning siege weapons, helping repair fortifications, bringing proximity-based buffs to key positions, using stealth or scaling walls. These types of things are relevant to the tide of battle and do not require the player to be max-level or have high combat stats.[59]

Server prime-time

Objective-based PvP events such as node sieges, castle sieges, guild wars, and node wars will occur within a prime-time window somewhere between 3PM and 9PM server time. This is subject to testing.[5][6][60]

  • Guild wars and node wars can be declared at any time, but the objectives will only spawn during the prime-time window.[61]

Announcements/Notifications

Goblins attacking a Town (fase 4) node due to a triggered event.[62][63]

Enemies can only really grow stronger as the node grows, becoming outposts essentially for exiled or rivals of the existing order.[64]Steven Sharif

There will be local, regional, or global (server-wide) announcements/notifications of important events.[64][65]

Event notifications will utilize different methods depending on the stage (scope and level) of the event.[64]

  • Local events
    • Local events (such as caravan PvP)[69][70][71] may prompt players via the UI asking if they wish to participate or not.[64]
    • Other local events may offer audible or visual cues without any UI notifications.[64]
    • Local events that have not been addressed may start to expand regionally or even globally.[64]
One important thing to note about events in general is notifications are sent to the players. Players can opt into these events in a similar way that you would into a quest. You're going to be presented with a 'would you like to participate' but they might not always be that way. You might hear trees falling in the forest and that may be an audio cue to tell you something's happening over there. It's out of the ordinary. This is not normally an audio cue that I hear in this area and i'm gonna go investigate that thing. So it might not just be always that UI window represented with a 'participate or not' but I'm going to go investigate and in that sense it could be stage driven. So you might have the more local stage where it is just the visual or audio cues and you get to go participate in that stage; and then when it advances, or if you don't answer the problem in time, then it starts to expand regionally and then it might send out particular notifications to either citizens of the node from which it falls under its purview or even broader than that. It could be global driven events and then it could have things that are are visual cues that are really big like a giant blizzard that's affecting the zone, because the event hasn't been addressed; and that can affect the crop rotations or it can affect passages and roads and how caravans move. There's a lot that the predicate system informs to the event system and then the event system reacts to those types of predicates.[64]Steven Sharif
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.[68]Steven Sharif
  • Regional or global events
    • Wider events may be broadcast regionally or even globally.[64][65]

Castle siege objectives

As a Siege rages on, there is a sense of territory and progression through the battle. These are represented through Control Points, and each side starts with a few already owned. Others are present, but neutral. As Control Points are captured by one side, that side gains a temporary buff and an increase to their spawn rate. The other side will find that their spawn rate has decreased and their ultimate victory condition has been pushed just a little bit further from their reach. The spawn areas also have a portal which will allow the side that owns it to teleport to any Control Point that side owns - perfect for backdoor shenanigans.[29]

  • Castles will initially be occupied by an NPC adversary. Guilds have a period of time to level up in order to siege these castles.[36][19]
    • The attacking guilds need to fight the NPCs and kill a raid boss at the center of the castle. Whichever guild had highest contributing DPS against the raid boss will capture the castle.[36][38][37][38][19]
    • Castle nodes around NPC run castles will not be present.[19]
The key to not making it a "zerg fest" is by emphasizing the the strategic relevance of those objectives and then catering objectives to group play versus raid play. So you have a spreading of different types of objectives where only a group can compete for it, versus a raid at the choke point. Having that distribution, it makes it so that smaller guilds have a vital role to play and can perform in environments where numbers are not always the deciding factor.[17]Steven Sharif
  • Castles that are occupied by guilds have the following objectives.[17]
    • Attackers capture waypoints/control points in the castle's architecture to diminish their respawn timer and increase the respawn timer of the defenders.[21]
    • Defenders can counter-play by attacking the siege headquarters of the attackers to diminish their declaration flags and increase their respawn timers.[21]
    • Legendary NPCs will be present as commanders that act like mini raid bosses within the defending and attacking armies. Killing these provides added benefits, such as certain types of drops that grant battlefield benefits to either side.[21]
    • The ultimate objective for the defenders is to survive during the timed period of the siege, which is approximately 90 minutes in its first iteration.[21]
    • If the attackers reach the inner keep of the castle, a guild leader (or one other delegated officer) must cast a 3 to 5 minute cast at a specific channel point in order to seal ownership of the castle.[17][21] It may be possible for defenders to decide on the location where the channel point is located.[17]
      • Channelling time is diminished based on the number of waypoints captured during the siege.[21]
      • There's an opportunity for any guild leader in the attacking alliance to capture the castle for themselves, despite what may have been agreed upon prior to the siege.[73]
There's an opportunity there for perhaps backstabbing in the throne room where one guild is like yeah we agreed to get to this area but we had a change of heart in the middle of the battle.[73]Steven Sharif

Siege mechanics

A siege occurs over several phases.[74]

  • Certain siege mechanics may be gated for specific size groups during sieges.[75]
  • There will not be a deserter debuff for leaving a siege before it is complete.[76]
  • More will be revealed in an upcoming blog entry.[74]

Siege weapons

Trebuchet siege weapon in Alpha-1 castle sieges preview.[77]

It wouldn’t be a castle siege without siege weapons. These are massive machines of war that enable attackers to bring down the walls, and defenders to keep their keep safe. Crafters can bring their own powerful schematics to the battlefield, or you can order baseline siege weapons from your friendly neighborhood siege master NPC. The Castle’s defenders will be able to deploy their own defensive weapons and turrets based on how well they maintained and defended their own Nodes. The sky will be illuminated with fire and fury.[29]

Siege weapons and siege vehicles are able to be utilized during sieges.[30]

Part of this endeavor of sieging a player-held location (or non-player-held location) is time to prepare; and that includes gathering and crafting these mega weapons or collecting the resources: Whether it be gold or specific quest items to purchase from NPCs.[37]Steven Sharif
Anything that you want to bring into existence in the world is going to be built by players: Whether that is Ships, Siege engines, Weapons, Armor, etc.[81]Jeffrey Bard

Siege PvP

Sieges don't use the PvP flagging system.[82]

Death penalties do not apply to objective-based events (such as caravans, guild wars, and node sieges).[83]

Siege NPCs

Siege NPCs, NPC guards, and mercenary NPCs serve as defense points during sieges and other events.[84][85]

  • Only combat NPCs are killable during a siege. Non-combat NPCs, such as merchants, will despawn and will respawn if the siege is unsuccessful.[84][86]
  • Mercenary NPCs can be hired in advance.[84] They are intended to be a significant presence but not the main line of defense in a siege.[87]

Mercenary NPCs

Mercenary NPCs can be hired to participate in objective-based situations.[42][89][90]

  • Varying tiers of mercenary NPCs may be unlocked based on the investment made in their progression. Highest tier NPC mercenaries are referred to as heros.[91][41][42][89]
  • Players can assign mercenary NPCs, but won't micromanage them, in a similar manner to pets.[90]
There are mercenary NPCs that can be assigned to players. We've discussed about that before and those will follow generically... a pet system even adopted majority of the pet system with the added bonus of objective based points of interest that you can assign them to. But we don't want to inundate the field with these mercenaries they'll be few and far between. They'll be assigned specifically like let's say for example as the mayor of a node during a siege you'll be able to assign these two specific players that are citizens within your node and then they'll have those they'll spawn during the during the node siege; or vice versa and the castle siege guild leaders can assign mercenaries that are available based on the progress of those subsidiary nodes around the castle siege whether or not you have those available to your defense or your attack.[90]Steven Sharif

Dragons

info-orange.pngSommige van de volgende informatie is niet recentelijk bevestigd door de ontwikkelaars en staat mogelijk niet op de huidige ontwikkelingsroutekaart.

Dragons are flying mounts with strong battle abilities, such as AoE breath attacks, swooping flyby attacks, and others.[92][93]

The dragon will have a lot of capability in PvP. It's primarily its purpose, because as it relates to Castles and the sieges they're in, or Nodes and the sieges they're in. We want dragons to have large scale ramifications against player raids.[93]Steven Sharif

Undermounts

The guild leader of a castle can grant the use of flying undermounts (such as wyrmlings) to guild officers during a castle siege.[95][96][97][98]

  • These may only be granted if the castle nodes are successfully established prior to the siege.[98]
    • Node A grants 1 undermount, Node B grants 2 undermounts, and Node C grants 2 undermounts.[99]
  • This system is subject to change during testing.[99]

Little wyrmlings that you can grant to officers if you're a castle owner, and they can fly around too.[96]Steven Sharif

Siege abilities

Group summons are activated by a party leader with that ability in their class kit along with additive components from other classes that are part of the group.[101]

info-orange.pngSommige van de volgende informatie is niet recentelijk bevestigd door de ontwikkelaars en staat mogelijk niet op de huidige ontwikkelingsroutekaart.

Up to eight players of the same primary archetype can band together to create monumental effects during a siege.[102]

These are the types of systems that we want to put in place where groups of a single primary archetype can come together to summon these types of effects that play off of what the identity of that archetype is.[102]Steven Sharif

Summoner

Summoners can collaborate together during sieges to summon larger creatures, such as Golems.[103][104][105]

We do have the concept of siege summons being a thing with multiple summoners being required in order to create that siege summon. In those situations your character becomes the summon. So you don't have an AI that takes over your previous character but instead the recipient of those additional spell effects becomes the actual summon itself.[103]Steven Sharif
  • The target of the group summon becomes the summon itself.[103][105]
    • Previously it was stated that the party-leader becomes the summon.[104]
info-orange.pngSommige van de volgende informatie is niet recentelijk bevestigd door de ontwikkelaars en staat mogelijk niet op de huidige ontwikkelingsroutekaart.
  • A siege summon will have an incremental size based on the number of summoners participating in that summon activity, with a maximum of eight.[106]
  • The number of summoners participating in the summon will determine its overall size.[106]
  • All summoners must be in the same party and the party leader must be a summoner.[104]
    • The party leader initiates the summon and then takes control of it.[104]
    • Once summoned, the party leader cannot be changed.[104]
    • If the party disbands, the summon ends. There will be a grace period to handle disconnects.[104]
    • The party may also contain non-Summoners.[104]

Tank

info-orange.pngSommige van de volgende informatie is niet recentelijk bevestigd door de ontwikkelaars en staat mogelijk niet op de huidige ontwikkelingsroutekaart.
If eight Tank archetypes each use one of their summon wall abilities it might construct a larger wall that can divide two raids in a moment; and would require damage and block skills and abilities for a momentary lapse of battle between those two raids.[102]Steven Sharif

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[108], 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.[29]

Zergs are empowered by fast-travel. Meaningful travel times are intended to prevent zerg play from being so much of an influence.[109]

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.[110] There are different ways to make a fight more difficult for larger sized groups without relying solely on stat buffs or making the boss a "damage sponge".[111]

  • Raid and dungeon bosses have specific mechanics and abilities that players need to learn and react to.[111] Zergs that are not aware of these mechanics or react to them appropriately will be wiped.[110]
  • There may be environmental hazards and AoE effects that cause more damage based on the number of players present.[111]
  • 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.[112]

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.[112]Steven Sharif

Mechanics that encourage political intrigue will play a role in destabilizing zergs.[113]

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 want that political intrigue to be present in the game.[113]Steven Sharif

Objective-based game play helps to balance the zerg mentality.[114]

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 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.[114]Steven Sharif

Instancing doesn't play a major role in limiting zergs, due to 80% of content in Ashes of Creation being open-world.[12]

  • There may be instanced locations within castle and node sieges where specific groups can participate in certain objective-based waypoints.[12]

Zerging is always a problem in a lot of these MMORPGs where you really can't control the number of participants in certain open-world systems; and in that sense instancing is a great tool that designers can sometimes use to curate a particular number of participants that you want. But the predominant amount of content within Ashes of Creation, over 80% of which is is open-world content, so instancing is very limited.[12]Steven Sharif

Completing a castle siege

Castle siege gate (portcullis).[115]

A castle siege will last for two hours.[42]

During the two-hour long siege that's when everything changes. The portcullises go down, the gates go down. You'll need siege weaponry. There's going to be specific objectives within the castles that you'll have to conquer and then there'll be- if it's an un-owned castle- it'll need to have a raid boss at the center that gets fought for. Attackers can fight each other during that experience.[42]Steven Sharif

Guild ladder

An inter-guild ladder will rank guilds based on their performance within competitive activities:[116][117]

When the guild participates in guild wars or they participate in sieges, you'll be able to climb the ranks of your inter-guild ladder as well so you get bragging rights amongst your friends.[117]Steven Sharif

Siege aftermath

We’re working on a destruction engine that should help us to make a Castle Siege that feels cinematic and visceral. Having shards of the walls tumble to the ground after a trebuchet scores a hit will feel satisfying in a way no other Castle Siege has been able to offer in an MMORPG like this. Maybe you don’t need to take down the whole wall, maybe if you blow open a big enough hole, that’ll be enough to turn the tides.[29]

Rubble will be visible for a period of time following a successful castle siege. This will likely persist until the incumbent guild develops the first defensive node.[118]

Destructible environments

Destructible environments is a core element of how players interact with the world, in Ashes of Creation.[120][121]

  • This applies to buildings, siege weapons and other structures (such as walls and gates) during events, such as sieges.[122][27]
    • There will be ways to repair destructible structures and also repair (or re-craft) siege weapons that were damaged during sieges.[27]
  • The terrain itself is not destructible.[122]

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle sieges

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle sieges are a planned Ashes of Creation Apocalypse testing mode that aims to test castle siege mechanics.[126]

The Castle Siege mode is another example of a playable slice of the MMORPG that Apocalypse is providing early testing for. While it’s a somewhat smaller scale experience than the one you’ll have in the MMO, the overall flow of taking and defending a castle will remain similar. There’s some additional systems you’ll see in the final product, like the influence of Nodes over the available defensive emplacements, the crafting and deploying of custom siege weapons, and the summoning of siege monsters. These are all things that we’ll be adding on top of this mode upon our release of Ashes of Creation.[128]Margaret Krohn

A potential Alpha-1 implementation of Castle sieges in the MMORPG is based on Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle sieges.[16]

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle siege maps

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle sieges take place on a 1km2 (one square kilometer) map.[128]

Five castles are intended for the Ashes of Creation MMORPG. It's likely that eventually there will also be five castle maps on Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle sieges.[133]

On January 11, 2019, we showcased our sneak peek of two siege map designs coming to Ashes of Creation Apocalypse soon - Castle Korgan previously owned by the Aelan humans and Castle Milnar constructed by the great Dünzenkell dwarves. These great castles of Verra were the cornerstone of defense for the Empires that owned them. Once home to legendary battles that turned the tides of power and influence on Verra. Now abandoned by the great powers that have fled Verra through the Divine Gateways, these great pillars of civilization are battlefields in the Apocalypse.[128]Margaret Krohn

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle siege mechanics

Dünzenkell Dwarven and Aelan Human objective torches.[135]
Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle siege objective torch. The bowl fills with flames colored to match the team that captures the objective.[135]
Reliquary concept art.[136]

The Attacking Team’s victory condition is to take the Defending Team’s Relic which is the final Control Point in the castle.They will also have several Control Points located in their camp to encourage Defenders to skirmish outside the castle walls. These will also act as spawn locations for the Attacking Team.[128]Margaret Krohn

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle sieges will be objective-based.[126]

A player elects to be either an attacker or defender.[133][128]

  • The matchmaker will attempt to assign a player their selected side (referred to as role in the article) but it may allocate another side so as to shorten queue times.[128]
  • Once in the match, a player's side will not change.[128]

Players select one of the six classes prior to battle.[133]

  • Players can see the numbers of players in their raid who have selected each class.[137]
  • Players will have a limited amount of time to lock in their class choice. If they miss the window, the least selected class choice will be automatically chosen for them.[128]
  • There is no limit to the number of a specific class that may be on a team, however the developers note that composition will be important from a strategic perspective.[128]
  • Classes cannot be swapped during a match, but this may change based on testing.[128]

There will be a timeframe for preparation where attackers and defenders take positions and prepare weaponry.[133]

  • Siege weaponry will include ballistas, trebuchets, battering rams and potentially traps and "powder keg" type weapons.[133]

When you join into the castle siege in Apocalypse you're going to be able to select one of six classes. Right and upon selecting those classes then you're going to be placed on your starting side, whether it be the attacker or defenders; and then you're going to be able to start preparations. It's gonna be a little bit of a loading time where you have selected those classes. You're going to take positions perhaps and whatnot; and there are siege weaponry that's going to be present there as you see here some ballistas, some trebuchets, a battering ram and maybe some traps and some powder keg stuff available to destroy some things.[133]Steven Sharif

Attacking team

In the first phase of battle the attackers attempt to penetrate the walls and gates to gain access to the inside of the castle.[133][138]

  • Siege weapons available to the attacking side include Trebuchets and Battering Rams.[128]

There will be a variety of siege weapons available to the Attacking side including Trebuchets and Battering Rams. Trebuchets’ range will be long enough to reach the enemy ballistas from their initial placement points. These placement points will be out of player character’s weapon range from the castle walls, but within ballista range, and scattered on the battlefield.[128]Margaret Krohn

Once inside the castle, the attackers need to hold objectives.[133]

  • There are objectives within the castle, such as killing guard captains.[126]
  • Attackers must destroy key strategic objectives to swing the battle in their favor.[127]
  • Defenders must protect key strategic objectives to maintain advantage.[127]
  • Holding capture points increase or decrease the duration of the map, change the opposing side's respawn times and give buffs to the side that holds them.[133][126]
    • Players can also respawn on capture points that they hold.[133]

The ultimate objective of the attackers is to reach the center keep of the castle to channel on the final relic that's present in order to achieve victory.[138]

Defending team

The defenders are attempting to hold out as long as possible, but they can also rush the field to the enemy encampment or headquarters to attempt to damage their ability to siege.[138]

  • Attempt to take out attacker's siege weapons.[138]
  • Attempt to capture attacker's control points to increase their spawn time and decrease the total match time.[138]

If a Defender captures an Attacker’s Control Point, the total match time decreases, the Attacker Teams’ respawn time increases, and it also provides a temporary morale buff to the entire Defender’s side. Defenders will also be able to teleport to any Control Points that have been taken.[128]Margaret Krohn

Siege weapons available to the defending side include Ballistas and Traps.[128]

Ballistas will have fixed positions on castle towers. Traps will be placeable items that the Defending Team can use to damage and crowd control their enemies. Note that these items are destructible by the Attacking Team.[128]Margaret Krohn

Respawning

Players have infinite lives in castle siege mode.[128]

  • Upon death, players join a respawn queue shared with their teammates.[128]

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse siege equipment

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse siege equipment.[139]

As a thank you, we wanted to share a little sneak peek of one of the siege weapons awaiting the players in our upcoming Castle Sieges Mode![139]

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse siege equipment includes ballistas, trebuchets, battering rams and potentially traps and "powder keg" type weapons.[133]

  • Siege weapons available to the attacking side include Trebuchets and Battering Rams.[128]
  • Siege weapons available to the defending side include Ballistas and Traps.[128]
  • Siege weapons are deployable and piloted by players.[127]

With regards to alpha one phase one however in the castle siege system... what will happen is static siege equipment that's placed in the map for the attackers to utilize that will present at focal points of PvP in the match where defenders will know where to target a specific area on the field in order to attack. [79]Steven Sharif

Kunstwerk

Zie ook

Referenties

  1. Video, 2021-05-28 (25:44).
  2. About Ashes of Creation.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 castle nodes.png
  4. Livestream, 2022-07-29 (1:12:14).
  5. 5.0 5.1 Interview, 2020-07-29 (31:05).
  6. 6.0 6.1 Interview, 2020-07-18 (13:13).
  7. Livestream, 2021-09-24 (52:48).
  8. Interview, 2021-07-08 (57:19).
  9. Interview, 2020-07-19 (44:28).
  10. castle-siege-scale.png
  11. Twitch Bustin - Practice Sieges?
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Livestream, 2022-01-28 (17:50).
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 13.8 Podcast, 2021-04-11 (49:40).
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 steven-siege-zone.png
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Livestream, 2021-04-30 (41:18).
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 Blog: Creative Director's Letter, April 14 2021
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Interview, 2023-09-10 (25:14).
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Livestream, 2020-08-28 (1:43:03).
  19. 19.00 19.01 19.02 19.03 19.04 19.05 19.06 19.07 19.08 19.09 19.10 19.11 19.12 Podcast, 2018-04-23 (21:55).
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Livestream, 2017-08-23 (23:00).
  21. 21.00 21.01 21.02 21.03 21.04 21.05 21.06 21.07 21.08 21.09 21.10 21.11 21.12 21.13 21.14 21.15 21.16 21.17 Podcast, 2018-04-23 (15:14).
  22. castle-taxes5.png
  23. Video, 2021-05-28 (24:44).
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 24.6 24.7 24.8 Video, 2021-04-30 (19:25).
  25. Video, 2021-05-28 (19:04).
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 Video, 2021-04-30 (13:02).
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 Livestream, 2021-05-28 (1:04:29).
  28. 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 Livestream, 2020-08-28 (1:39:02).
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 29.5 29.6 29.7 Blog: 10 facts about castle sieges in the MMORPG.
  30. 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 Interview, 2023-09-10 (22:29).
  31. 31.0 31.1 31.2 Livestream, 2022-04-29 (27:42).
  32. 32.0 32.1 32.2 Livestream, 2020-07-25 (1:22:40).
  33. 33.0 33.1 33.2 Livestream, 2020-06-26 (1:33:10).
  34. 34.0 34.1 Livestream, 2022-10-14 (58:46).
  35. 35.0 35.1 steven-island-castle.png
  36. 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 Interview, 2023-09-10 (24:15).
  37. 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 Livestream, 2018-01-18 (37:05).
  38. 38.0 38.1 38.2 Livestream, 2020-08-28 (1:31:11).
  39. Livestream, 2019-07-26 (1:29:00).
  40. 40.0 40.1 castle-systems.png
  41. 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.3 41.4 41.5 41.6 41.7 Livestream, 2021-04-30 (1:01:10).
  42. 42.0 42.1 42.2 42.3 42.4 42.5 42.6 42.7 42.8 42.9 Livestream, 2020-08-28 (1:41:24).
  43. castle-node-caravans.png
  44. Livestream, 2021-06-25 (1:10:52).
  45. Video, 2017-04-20 (8:20).
  46. 46.0 46.1 46.2 Steven Sharif - Clarification points from today’s stream.
  47. steven-castle-siege-declaration-2.png
  48. steven-castle-siege-declaration-1.png
  49. steven-castle-siege-declaration-5.png
  50. steven-castle-siege-declaration-3.png
  51. steven-castle-siege-declaration-4.png
  52. siege alliances.png
  53. siege auto defenders.png
  54. 54.0 54.1 Official Livestream - May 4th @ 3 PM PST - Q&A
  55. siege-combatants.png
  56. siege-barrier.png
  57. siege-respawn.png
  58. siege-stragglers.png
  59. Interview, 2020-07-08 (1:12:51).
  60. Interview, 2020-07-08 (22:37).
  61. steven-wars-prime-time.png
  62. Types of Events on Verra.
  63. Livestream, 2022-04-29 (32:29).
  64. 64.0 64.1 64.2 64.3 64.4 64.5 64.6 64.7 64.8 Livestream, 2022-04-29 (42:31).
  65. 65.0 65.1 65.2 65.3 65.4 65.5 Livestream, 2018-05-04 (48:14).
  66. Livestream, 2022-04-29 (39:00).
  67. Livestream, 2021-06-25 (1:13:30).
  68. 68.0 68.1 68.2 68.3 Interview, 2018-08-17 (24:48).
  69. Interview, 2020-03-27 (16:19).
  70. caravan UI.png
  71. Livestream, 2017-05-22 (40:40).
  72. 72.0 72.1 Livestream, 2020-10-30 (1:01:00).
  73. 73.0 73.1 Interview, 2018-05-11 (44:20).
  74. 74.0 74.1 siege more info.png
  75. siege mechanics.png
  76. Livestream, 2017-05-24 (37:05).
  77. Video, 2021-05-28 (25:44).
  78. Video, 2021-05-28 (11:55).
  79. 79.0 79.1 Interview, 2018-08-08 (20:49).
  80. 80.0 80.1 Livestream, 2021-05-28 (1:04:29).
  81. Livestream, 2017-05-24 (17:08).
  82. Livestream, 2017-05-19 (45:14).
  83. Livestream, 2020-12-22 (1:13:51).
  84. 84.0 84.1 84.2 84.3 Livestream, 2023-08-31 (2:09:32).
  85. siege success.png
  86. siege npcs killable.png
  87. Livestream, 2017-07-28 (36:51).
  88. Livestream, 2023-05-31 (58:25).
  89. 89.0 89.1 89.2 Livestream, 2020-06-26 (59:11).
  90. 90.0 90.1 90.2 90.3 Livestream, 2019-11-22 (1:14:23).
  91. 91.0 91.1 91.2 Livestream, 2022-05-27 (1:18:09).
  92. dragon abilities.png
  93. 93.0 93.1 93.2 Livestream, 2018-04-8 (PM) (51:49).
  94. Livestream, 2019-09-27 (39:09).
  95. Interview, 2020-07-19 (1:05:41).
  96. 96.0 96.1 Livestream, 2019-07-26 (56:06).
  97. wyrmlings1.png
  98. 98.0 98.1 wyrmlings2.png
  99. 99.0 99.1 wyrmlings3.png
  100. Livestream, 2019-11-22 (41:02).
  101. Livestream, 2023-01-27 (1:33:42).
  102. 102.0 102.1 102.2 102.3 Podcast, 2018-05-11 (49:20).
  103. 103.0 103.1 103.2 Livestream, 2023-03-31 (1:22:21).
  104. 104.0 104.1 104.2 104.3 104.4 104.5 104.6 Interview, 2018-08-17 (14:59).
  105. 105.0 105.1 Livestream, 2017-05-19 (10:06).
  106. 106.0 106.1 Livestream, 2018-04-8 (AM) (28:01).
  107. steven-a1-leak-1.png
  108. pillars-confusion.png
  109. Livestream, 2017-05-05 (23:26).
  110. 110.0 110.1 Livestream, 2017-05-19 (25:18).
  111. 111.0 111.1 111.2 Livestream, 2020-11-30 (1:16:09).
  112. 112.0 112.1 Livestream, 2017-05-22 (57:37).
  113. 113.0 113.1 Interview, 2018-05-11 (44:20).
  114. 114.0 114.1 Interview, 2018-08-08 (11:52).
  115. Livestream, 2019-10-31 (36:20).
  116. 116.0 116.1 116.2 116.3 Livestream, 2021-06-25 (1:12:37).
  117. 117.0 117.1 117.2 117.3 Interview, 2020-07-29 (14:28).
  118. Livestream, 2018-07-09 (42:48).
  119. Video, 2021-05-28 (23:45).
  120. Livestream, 2022-03-31 (1:13:00).
  121. Livestream, 2019-06-28 (31:15).
  122. 122.0 122.1 Livestream, 2023-03-31 (1:33:05).
  123. Video, 2019-03-08 (0:00).
  124. Livestream, 2019-10-31 (11:05).
  125. steven-a1-leak-3.png
  126. 126.0 126.1 126.2 126.3 126.4 Livestream, 2018-08-17 (30:29).
  127. 127.0 127.1 127.2 127.3 127.4 Livestream, 2018-09-01 (54:06).
  128. 128.00 128.01 128.02 128.03 128.04 128.05 128.06 128.07 128.08 128.09 128.10 128.11 128.12 128.13 128.14 128.15 128.16 128.17 128.18 128.19 128.20 128.21 128.22 Castle Siege Overview.
  129. Interview, 2018-08-24 (13:17).
  130. Interview, 2018-08-17 (8:16).
  131. Interview, 2018-12-06 (38:10).
  132. Video, 2019-01-11 (0:00).
  133. 133.00 133.01 133.02 133.03 133.04 133.05 133.06 133.07 133.08 133.09 133.10 133.11 Livestream, 2019-01-11 (35:44).
  134. 134.0 134.1 Livestream, 2019-01-11 (34:26).
  135. 135.0 135.1 objective-torch.png
  136. reliquary-concept.png
  137. Livestream, 2019-01-11 (56:11).
  138. 138.0 138.1 138.2 138.3 138.4 Livestream, 2019-01-11 (37:45).
  139. 139.0 139.1 2019-10-12 Newsletter.
  140. Video, 2019-07-17 (0:00).