Guild castles
Five guild castles exist in Ashes of Creation.[3][2][4]
- Each of the five castles has its own static layout. Castle siege defenses include deploying traps and blockades within the castle, as well as hiring mercenary NPCs to defend specific locations.[3][5][6][7]
- 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.[3] – Steven Sharif
- Castle sieges occur in the open world but may become instanced based on testing.[8]
- There is one castle located on an island that is able to be affected by naval combat.[12][13]
- Castles will initially be occupied by an NPC adversary. These are the primary antagonists in the storyline. Guilds have a period of time to level up in order to siege these castles.[14][15]
- 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.[2]
Benefits of guild castles
Guild castles provide benefits and trophies for guilds that capture and control them.[1][18]
- These benefits increase the longer a guild holds its castle.[1]
There are levers and dials that are present to both the owners of Castles as well as the elected officials of Nodes that during their administration they have the ability to impact and influence the region around them.[19] – Steven Sharif
Guild castles exert a King or Queen's presence over nodes within their region.[1][19][20]
- Levy taxes for the purposes of defense (additional to taxes already imposed by node governments).[1][20]
- Activate events and abilities that benefit node citizens under their rule.[1][20]
- Establish special relationships with Mayors to help build up the three dedicated castle nodes.[1]
- Unlock additional types of buildings in nodes.[20]
- Exert control and pressure over one of the five economic regions.[1]
Castle nodes
Guild castles have three adjacent nodes in close proximity.[21]
- These castle nodes exist outside of the node system.
- Castle nodes cannot exceed stage 4 (Town) and are always military node types.
- Being a member of the guild will automatically make you a garrison of the castle nodes and castle itself.
- Only the guild who occupies the castle can participate in the development of these nodes.
- The guild must develop those nodes to enhance the defenses of the castle.
- Only members of the occupying guild are citizens of these nodes.[22]
- This citizenship exists in addition to normal node citizenship.
Castle sieges
Guilds participate in Castle sieges in an effort to capture and occupy one of the five guild castles in Ashes of Creation.[4]
- 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.[28][29][30][31]
- There will be systems that mimic some of the mechanics of sieges, but there won't be practice sieges.[32]
- 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.[33]
- 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.[34] – Steven Sharif
A guild that captures a castle will own that castle for a month before it is sieged again.[35][15]
- 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.[35] – 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 Village stage through questing.[35][15]
- 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.[35][15]
- Depending on how well the guild defends their castle nodes results in better defenses for the castle.[15][36]
- 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.[37]
- When castles change hands (following a siege), some taxes stay with the castle and some stay with the guild.[38]
- 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.[15] – Steven Sharif
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Transmisja na żywo, 2020-08-28 (1:39:02).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Blog: 10 facts about castle sieges in the MMORPG.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wywiad, 2023-09-10 (22:29).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2022-04-29 (27:42).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2020-07-25 (1:22:40).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2020-06-26 (1:33:10).
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Podcast, 2021-04-11 (49:40).
- ↑ 9.0 9.1
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Transmisja na żywo, 2021-04-30 (41:18).
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Blog: Creative Director's Letter, April 14 2021
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2022-10-14 (58:46).
- ↑
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Wywiad, 2023-09-10 (24:15).
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 Podcast, 2018-04-23 (21:55).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2018-01-18 (37:05).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2020-08-28 (1:31:11).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2017-11-17 (49:30).
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Wywiad, 2018-05-11 (47:27).
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Podcast, 2017-05-05 (52:32).
- ↑
- ↑ Livestream, 23 August 2017 (23:00).
- ↑ Video, 2021-05-28 (25:44).
- ↑ About Ashes of Creation.
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2022-07-29 (1:12:14).
- ↑ Wywiad, 2020-07-29 (31:05).
- ↑ Wywiad, 2020-07-18 (13:13).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2021-09-24 (52:48).
- ↑ Wywiad, 2021-07-08 (57:19).
- ↑ Wywiad, 2020-07-19 (44:28).
- ↑
- ↑ Twitch Bustin - Practice Sieges?
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2022-01-28 (17:50).
- ↑ Wywiad, 2023-09-10 (25:14).
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 Transmisja na żywo, 2020-08-28 (1:43:03).
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 Transmisja na żywo, 2017-08-23 (23:00).
- ↑ Podcast, 2018-04-23 (15:14).
- ↑