Gear enhancements

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Gear enhancements (power stones/runes) can be applied to weapons to add elemental or energy types of damage.[1][2]

We are very likely going to have a rune system and then we'll have the ability to sort of enchant weapons outside of that too... That's not always going to be like a vertical progression... Some of it's going to be giving up something to get something else; so maybe I do less physical damage but more magical damage, that thing.[2]Jeffrey Bard

It's not as though you're going to necessarily acquire these once and then you're set for your PvP enchantments, but instead you'll have to continually perform month after month in order to keep having those slotted enchantments.[4]Steven Sharif

Enchanting

Enchanting is not an artisan profession in its own right. Scribes create scrolls that can be utilized by different professions to create enchantments relating to that profession.[6][7]

You don't really push a particular item's level requirement or the identity of that item. You can enhance it, you can add enchantments to it, but it's still the item it is.[3]Steven Sharif

Enchantments

A few different professions participate in the creation of enchantment scrolls. Those enchantment scrolls are primarily going to be interfaced on the profession side with scribe, but once that scroll is created then it's in the hands of the open economy and players may utilize them to enchant weapons and stuff.[6]Steven Sharif

Mechanisms for achieving the safer enchantment routes would mainly be through very rare material acquisition and boss kills.[9]Steven Sharif

There are two types of enchantments for items: Vertical and horizontal.[10]

  • Vertical enchantments are a power progression for a crafted item. More damage or mitigations, added effects or bonuses. Vertical enchantments include risks.[10]
    It's a progressive tier of risk. At lower levels you have opportunities to potentially lose out on the pluses instead of breaking the equipment. But when you reach a certain threshold, there is an opportunity to essentially destroy the equipment, where you get resources back. But that's a risk that the player takes.[12]Steven Sharif
    • Lower levels of over-enchanting carries the risk of losing bonuses on the item. Over-enchanting beyond a certain threshold carries the risk of destroying the item and gaining resources back.[12][13][14]
    • There may be mechanisms for achieving safer over-enchantments, such as difficult to obtain enchantment scrolls, or very rare material acquisitions.[15][9][13]
    Personally, I am fine with RNG in enchantment, so long as there are special ways to mitigate the RNG with investment, to a degree. For example, difficult to obtain enchantment scrolls that insure enchantment efforts, and including a buffer of safe enchantment in earlier pluses.[15]Steven Sharif
  • Horizontal enchantments are more situational. For example: I'd like my sword to do force damage instead of holy damage because the monsters I tend to fight are incorporeal.[10]
    • This doesn't make the item more powerful, but instead more applicable to different situations, and less so to others.[10]
    • This type of enchanting assumes no risk, just time and effort.[10]

Enchantment appearance

Enchantments have visual effects associated with them, such as glows and colors on weapons.[16][17]

PvP seasons

Performance in various PvP systems (such as Caravans, Arenas, Guild wars) is measured over the course of 6 month PvP seasons. At the end of each season, a player's cumulative score may unlock various rewards.[18][5]

Arena ladder

The arena ladder system records a player's progress within PvP seasons based on their arena win/loss ratios.[18][20]

  • Titles can be received from arena play.[21]
  • Other rewards will be revealed at a later time.[22]
  • Arena points that can be used to buy gear is not currently in the design.[21]

Guild ladder

An inter-guild ladder will rank guilds based on their performance within competitive activities:[23][24]

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.[24]Steven Sharif

Weapon progression

In-game achievable sword and polearm 3D renders.[25]

Power creep is a balance issue... When it comes to gear progression specifically, the idea is to create an open market that is not heavily dependent on soulbound items; and having many item sinks and gold sinks within that economy that allows for the potential degradation and loss of assets within that closed economy; and not introduce items from the market that companies put in from a pay-to-win perspective or from a pay-to-convenience perspective that undermines the economy that players have built. That is a huge mistake that companies have made in the past and that lends to the imbalancing of what designers maybe have actually balanced well.[26]Steven Sharif

Weapons have their own progression paths.[27][28]

Q: Are weapons balanced towards a proficiency system (i.e. the longer I use a sword, the better my damage will be), or will it be a normal RPG stat system with no long-term scaling?
A: We will not be using a proficiency system as described, but players will have passives available in their skill tree that will increase effectiveness of certain weapons. Becoming a master of swords will be something that is possible, just not in that particular manner.[37]Sarah Flanagan

Ashes of Creation is all about providing many progression paths... The reason why we don't like the term endgame is because with the amount of progression that's available with the amount of diversity and player agency that impacts the world... We want the weapon system [to] add an element of that as well... You can determine special effects that proc from currently the combo system; you can determine ancillary effects that proc based on enchantment types; you can power stone weapons to add different either elemental types of damage and/or energy that play rock-paper-scissor with player defenses ... and then you can skill tree out how those effects that are granted ... you can make them better you can branch them off into a different direction.[1]Steven Sharif

Weapon skills

Basic weapon attack livestream teaser.[39]

Part of the plan with each of these weapons is they'll each have a unique skill tree associated with them to differentiate them, not only in terms of feel, but also in terms of mechanics. And an important thing that we really want to capture in Ashes is the important ability basically so the player can build their character how they want; and that extends beyond just their classkits. So for example, if I'm the ranger I can spec into my shortbow or I can spec into my longbow; and those will be two very different builds for example made specialized or have have a part of its tree that specializes and bleeds that might synergize with specific ranger abilities that the longbow might not necessarily synergize with. Their weapon choice will play into what abilities the archetype is specializing in.[32]Tradd Thompson

Weapon skills grant passive skills and proc effects and other status conditions rather than usable skills on a player's action bar.[40] The more skill points that are allocated to the weapon tree, the greater a player's weapon familiarity. This influences things like the number of attacks, attack speed, and increased chances of proc effects from carrying out basic attacks with that weapon. These procs may offer synergy with the player's active skills.[41][42][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][27][37][1] This synergy also applies to active skills from other characters.[41][43]

Our approach is not going to be providing skills through weapons. It's going to be providing skills through classes.[29]Steven Sharif
Let's say a dagger has some slashing effects that bleed the target or that cripple the target... Every time you attack you have a chance to proc that effect. That effect then can synergize with what your active skills tree has available to it. So let's say your backstab deals 30 additional damage to a bleeding target. If you attack with your main weapon first and the target gets the bleed proc off and you do your backstab skill then you're synergizing your effects.[36]Steven Sharif
Let's say backstab that you can apply to deals damage to the target and it'll have a conditional modifier on that damage if you're behind the target, and it'll have a conditional modifier deal additional 50 damage if the target is under a bleed effect. So you want to synergize essentially your weapon proc conditions with your active skills so that you're timing your certain active skills appropriately with the status conditions that the target has taken.[35]Steven Sharif

Weapon classes

Weapons 3D renders. These are depicted in the Threads of Fate cosmetic costume but are not part of that set. Models by Eli Hurst.[47]

Weapon classes (also referred to as weapon types and weapon groups) in Ashes of Creation may deal different types of physical damage.[48][34]

Elements

There are elements (such as Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Electrical) in Ashes of Creation each with their own resistances.[49][50][50][51][52][53]

  • There may be ley lines and strong magical places in the world that change or alter the way spells work.[57]
We've discussed a little bit about how the seasons and biomes will react with different types of skills. Like if you have a fireball and it's summer it might be a little bit different. If it's winter and you have a frost ability it might be different.[56]Steven Sharif

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Livestream, June 4, 2018 (1:11:19).
  2. 2.0 2.1 Livestream, June 4, 2018 (21:37).
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Livestream, March 26, 2021 (1:15:57).
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Interview, July 18, 2020 (14:22).
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Interview, July 18, 2020 (16:34).
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Livestream, May 27, 2022 (1:20:00).
  7. Livestream, May 26, 2017 (51:37).
  8. Livestream, May 17, 2017 (58:55).
  9. 9.0 9.1 steven-enchanting2.png
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 enchanting.png
  11. Rng crafting.jpg
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Interview, July 9, 2023 (1:50:10).
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 Interview, July 29, 2020 (15:04).
  14. 14.0 14.1 Livestream, May 5, 2017 (20:41).
  15. 15.0 15.1 steven-enchanting1.png
  16. Livestream, January 28, 2022 (56:12).
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Official Livestream - May 4th @ 3 PM PST - Q&A
  18. 18.0 18.1 Livestream, September 24, 2021 (1:22:46).
  19. Livestream, August 23, 2017 (16:44).
  20. partysize.png
  21. 21.0 21.1 Podcast, May 11, 2018 (52:20).
  22. arena rewards.png
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 Livestream, June 25, 2021 (1:12:37).
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 Interview, July 29, 2020 (14:28).
  25. Livestream, April 30, 2021 (53:08).
  26. Interview, October 20, 2018 (2:53:52).
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 Livestream, January 30, 2020 (1:28:40).
  28. Livestream, May 4, 2018 (45:37).
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 Livestream, June 30, 2022 (1:12:38).
  30. 30.0 30.1 30.2 Livestream, September 30, 2022 (53:15).
  31. 31.0 31.1 31.2 Livestream, September 30, 2022 (43:45).
  32. 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 Video, September 30, 2022 (24:49).
  33. 33.0 33.1 33.2 Podcast, September 29, 2021 (47:57).
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 Interview, February 7, 2021 (49:18).
  35. 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 35.4 Interview, July 19, 2020 (53:59).
  36. 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 36.4 Interview, July 18, 2020 (1:07:51).
  37. 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 February 8, 2019 - Questions and Answers.
  38. Livestream, June 25, 2021 (1:29:39).
  39. Twitter - What’s your go-to weapon?
  40. Livestream, October 14, 2022 (18:34).
  41. 41.0 41.1 Interview, July 9, 2023 (1:14:09).
  42. Livestream, December 2, 2022 (56:09).
  43. Interview, July 29, 2020 (55:44).
  44. Livestream, February 28, 2020 (1:10:21).
  45. 45.0 45.1 Livestream, May 31, 2023 (1:12:58).
  46. Livestream, September 30, 2022 (1:13:23).
  47. Livestream, August 27, 2021 (1:04:30).
  48. Video, August 31, 2023 (45:06).
  49. Fissure Description.png
  50. 50.0 50.1 Livestream, April 7, 2023 (1:11:14).
  51. 51.0 51.1 Interview, July 18, 2020 (1:05:04).
  52. Livestream, May 24, 2017 (27:47).
  53. 53.0 53.1 Livestream, 2018-04-8 (PM) (26:19).
  54. Video, September 30, 2022 (15:28).
  55. Livestream, September 30, 2020 (1:04:56).
  56. 56.0 56.1 Livestream, June 1, 2017 (20:23).
  57. Livestream, June 26, 2020 (1:32:16).