Verra’s developers did not create the game’s territory and settlement layout, rather this is a result of players’ collective actions. It occurs through their accounts and how they interacted with other players via the Node system.
The Node System creates a situation where if you do not take action, you will receive a negative consequence for this inactivity. This means that if you do not actively grow your Node, you are likely to experience negative consequences now and into the future, and potentially even affect your server’s overall economy and political landscape.
If you are a typical video game player today balancing a career with family obligations, then there is an extraordinary amount of pressure to succeed within this environment. Consider an Ashes of Creation boost as a way to secure your footing.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Advanced Nodes “vassalize” neighbors, preventing them from leveling and capping their growth potential.
- Only 5 Metropolises can exist per server, making the race to the top tier a zero-sum game.
- Low-level citizens are liabilities in sieges; a failed defense results in total Node destruction and loss of assets.
To understand why speed matters, you have to understand how a Node grows. Verra is divided into 103 distinct zones, each with a Node at its center. When the servers go live, every single one of these Nodes is at Stage 0, or Wilderness level.
Collectively, by any actions taken within an area that all contribute to the Node’s experience. So all actions contribute toward that Node’s durability and when enough Experience has been collected, the Node will Level Up.
A Node’s growth will change it from a simple Expedition to an Encampment, then a Village, Town, City and finally, Metropolis. With every Level Up, a Node will grow and will also expand its ZOI.
A Node will start to eat away at the ZOI of the surrounding Nodes. This is not simply an aesthetic change on the map. The Node has actually been “locked out” at the mechanical level.
A Node cannot Level Up until such time as there are no other Nodes at the same Level or higher in the surrounding area’s ZOI. There are only five Metropolises available per Server.
A massive, server-wide musical chair. If your guild levels up too slowly and your neighboring regional node levels up faster than your Node, you have become “Slave Locked.”
In case you have become Slave Locked, there is nothing you can do to advance your Node into a city until your Neighbor has beaten you to that advancement. You are effectively living in the suburbs of your Neighbor’s empire, and subject to their taxation and rulership.
In most MMOs, cities are just glorified lobbies; you can use the services without ever caring who runs the place. Ashes demands loyalty. You have to declare citizenship, and you are limited to a single Node at a time. It is a serious commitment, but it unlocks the VIP treatment.
But citizenship is a two-way street. You owe the Node your sword.
When a player wishes to take control of your territory (called your Operating Node), they will launch a Siege against it. It is basically a large-scale PvP battle held on specific dates and involving many players from both sides.
If you are under-leveled, you are a liability during a siege. The math is brutal. A level 20 character cannot scratch a level 50 attacker.
If you are playing as a low-level character, you are simply taking up space that an elite player could be using instead. Additionally, the more developed your character is, the more valuable they will be to their guild during Sieges.
Because of this, guilds that are dedicated to helping members reach max-level as quickly as possible encourage their members to do so. Players participating within Ashes of Creation’s boosting system will have a solid network of max-level defenders available for the first Siege to occur.
If the siege is lost, the Node is destroyed, de-leveling all the way back to zero. Your Freehold? Gone. Your storage? Exposed. The infrastructure you spent weeks building? Reduced to ashes.
Node progression dictates available resources. Scientific Metropolises unlock teleportation; Economic ones open linked markets. In a player-driven economy, “first mover advantage” is astronomical.
The first players to reach higher tier resource zones will dominate that market; however, players who fail to get to those zones in time will need to buy resources until they do so. Falling behind means you are forced to buy high-end gear at inflated prices rather than farming it yourself. You become a consumer rather than a supplier, draining your gold reserves and making it harder to fund PvP consumables.
Node has a Mayor who controls tax rates and treasury allocation. Winning this seat requires power-whether it is winning a combat trial in a Military Node or buying the seat in an Economic one.
If you lag in progression, you are locked out of politics. You cannot win duels or outbid rivals. You are at the mercy of a Mayor who might max out taxes or neglect defenses. An Ashes of Creation boost provides a seat at the table, allowing you to participate in governance rather than just being a tenant.
“Zerg guilds” try to win by throwing bodies at an objective. However, Ashes allows organized specialists to dismantle them. A single highly geared tank holding a choke point can stop fifty under-leveled rushers.
The only way for a small group of players to survive is to stay one step ahead of everyone else. Quality versus quantity is very important to staying ahead of your competition.
The players that break through the fog of war when the server goes live will set the beginning of the boundary. If your character is stuck grinding wolves in the newbie zone while someone else establishes themselves in the prime zone, you are in a position to lose.
Adult gamers tend to possess the ability to be strategic and have a game plan for conquering their opponents. But, as an adult, don’t always have a schedule that allows for the time spent grinding to achieve their goals of taking over. We understand the big picture of the game’s economy, yet we cannot devote ten hours to farm generic mobs.
The gap between your game knowledge and your character’s power is frustrating. The game Ashes of Creation requires players to be devoted and loyal to the game, as each player can only be a citizen of one Node (or central location) at any given time. Players must also officially declare their loyalty to the Node.
Every player’s contribution to a Node helps maintain the safety of their home. When siege weapons are at your door, the game’s not concerned with how many hours you’ve worked this week – only about how much damage you will take.
If you aren’t putting in enough effort, your guild will have breached areas in its defenses. It doesn’t matter if you work overnight for a chance to catch up or buy a boost – as long as your Node is still there after the dust settles, your goal has been achieved.
Ans: Yes, any Node Stage 3 or higher can be destroyed via a successful player-led siege.
Ans: It is the final stage of a Node. Only 5 can exist on a server at any given time.
Ans: You can claim citizenship at Stage 3 (Village) by owning a house or a freehold within the Zone of Influence.
Ans: No, a Node’s type (Military, Scientific, etc.), which is predetermined and remains the same even if destroyed.
