Gear binding

There may be some gear binding (BoE or BoP) but it will be an exception rather than the rule, as this doesn't facilitate the objectives for the economy.

• Very little gear will be account bound or soulbound in Ashes of Creation.
  • The game economy is based around crafting and degradation of items.
• Gear is obtained via crafting, gathering and processing along with raid and dungeon bosses.

A lot of what we experienced in games that usually come before us is that many things are account bound and they're soulbound to your character... Instead very little here is character bound. Very very little. The vast majority of gear- yes you will get quest related gear as rewards- but it won't be let's say one set in one dungeon and you must run the dungeon over and over. Instead we want to really emphasize the reliance on the economy and crafters and gatherers and processors to support a majority of the gear structure in-game, combined with that of world raid bosses and dungeon bosses; not a repetitive quest line through a single dungeon. – Steven Sharif

Bound currencies

Bound currencies are specific progression-based currencies that cannot be traded. Bound currencies are utilized by various systems.

There are bound currencies that exist within the game; and then there is the general currencies that's usually achieved through certificates and the ability to trade those certificates in to get gold that we've talked about in the past. But some of those bound currencies are like favor: these are points that you achieve doing some divine questlines, participating in divine story-arcs; or honor, which is like PvP-oriented unique currency stuff like that. – Steven Sharif

• Religions.
• Social organizations.
• Tavern games (potentially).
• Node types have specific bound currencies that are earned through personal progression within the node.
  • Honor at military nodes for completing PvP-related activities.
  • Favor at divine nodes for completing divine questlines and story arcs.

A bound currency that's used to purchase a number of different types of vendorable items that exist within nodes. It is not player-to-player currency. It is not intended to be traded between players, but instead it interacts with these unique vendors that supply a large segment of necessary components for a number of different things: whether it be crafting, enchantments, a lot of different things that exist within the node. This is the reason why you would want to acquire that currency so you have access to those types of items. – Steven Sharif

• Node currencies stay bound to the player, even if their node is destroyed or they drop citizenship. They will be able to use their node currency once they are a citizen of a new node (of the same type).

Node currency stays with the player even if their node is destroyed or they drop citizenship. This is something that you have available to you and you carry forward to your next location. But you may only spend your node currency at nodes that you're a citizen of. – Steven Sharif

• Players must have enough node reputation in order to purchase certain items with node currency.

You have to have enough node rep to be able to buy certain tiers of things from the node with your node currency. Even though the currency is generic, you still need the rep with the node to unlock better purchases. – John Collins

Hunting certificates

Hunting certificates are bound items that house the value of a mob's death and are also provided as rewards for completing certain quests, events, and achievements. These are intended to be the primary method to generate gold in the Ashes of Creation economy.

When you kill certain monsters or when you complete certain events and/or achievements, you will be granted some number of certificates; and you will take those certificates to Hunting Lodges that exist within different nodes around the world, and you will trade those certificates in either for a direct gold value or for commodities; and if you're trading them in for commodities, those commodities are tied to the economic region where the commodity is granted; and that commodity can only be traded in at a nearby economic region; and the greater the distance is from the originating location of the commodity to the turn in location of the commodity is what determines the ratio of return for gold given. – Steven Sharif

• Hunting certificates are specific to an economic region and may be traded with hunter NPCs at hunting lodges within nodes for commodities. These commodities can then be transported to nodes in other economic regions (via caravan or merchant ship) where they can be traded for gold.
  • The level of the node and the distance of the node from where the commodity was obtained will determine the gold value of the commodity.
  • Commodities are provided in sealed crates, which can become unsealed if the caravan or merchant ship transporting them is destroyed, or if the crate is dropped on the ground and broken into. Once unsealed the crates may yield stolen certificates, which may get redeemed for a lesser value at black market locations.
  • The value of certificates is calculated (by the world manager algorithm) based on the volume of certificates being redeemed in each region.

• Hunting certificates will drop as stolen certificates on a character's death based on applicable death penalties. Stolen certificates are not bound to the character.

• Hunting certificates may also be used to pay housing taxes and citizen dues.

• Hunting certificates can be stored within node warehouses.

• Hunting certificates are not intended as crafting materials.

The important thing to note about these certificates is that they are also the basis of your tax economy. So you don't turn in certificates if you intend to use them for either citizenship dues or your land taxes and housing taxes. That means that you are not going to have the ability for players to RMT gold or to land baron essentially without them directly engaging with the game in some way shape or form, because those certificates are bound. – Steven Sharif

Cosmetic items

All cosmetic store items will be non-tradeable.

• Cosmetics are not tradeable with other players but can be reassigned to other characters (alts) within the same account.
  • This is a reversal of the earlier statement that assignment of account-bound cosmetics to a character cannot be undone.

Transferring cosmetics to alts

Ashes of Creation web site design preview (WIP).

The account management page is used to assign or reassign cosmetics to characters within an account.

• Cosmetics can be reassigned to other characters (alts), but can only be active on one character at a time.

• There will likely be a cooldown for reassigning cosmetics between characters.

See also

• Gear
• Economy
• Hunting certificates