Resources

Gatherable mushrooms found in an underground cave.

We want our players to have a reason to explore the wilderness, to travel with purpose, and much of that will be driven by our resource system. Transporting these goods might just be more difficult than gathering them. Our regional market system allows players to participate in creating pocket economies that will reinforce the stability of goods in particular regions.

Gatherable resources (also known as raw materials and harvestables) occur in locations where you would expect them to be organically.

• Some resources will be one-time gatherables, others will exist as clusters that will last until the vein is depleted.

We really want resources to be persistent and non-renewable. If there’s a mithril vein, that mithril vein will be there until it runs out. The server will manage these amounts on its own, and will repopulate things where and when it desires. You might find another mithril vein in that location sometime later, or somewhere nearby, or maybe never again!

• Players drop resources and other items upon death, based on their applicable death penalties.

• Raw materials (gatherable resources) are not to be confused with crafting materials (processed goods).

Surveying

Surveying plays a key role in helping gatherers identify resources in particular locations through the use of surveying tools.

Surveying is a way that players can check out an area for resources. Players can learn where resources are that are static and that grow back in the same location; but we'll also have resources and Ashes that can spawn anywhere, so surveying will help players locate those those resources. So if they're looking for something specific they can hunt them down. Surveying will also allow players to uncover hidden resources that players wouldn't be able to see with their with their naked eye. Another thing that a surveying would provide is some of the information that we're talking about before, like for instance if you survey- and inside of your survey area there's plants, you might learn what season that plant likes to grow in. You might learn whether it likes to be watered during the winter versus how it likes to be watered in the summer. – Kory Rice

• Surveying can identify the types of resources that spawn statically within an area and also provides information about the seasons and locations they spawn in.
• Surveying can help uncover hidden resources that are not visible to the naked eye.
• Artisan progression unlocks higher level surveying tools that enable better identification of gatherable resources within a location.
  • Unlocking surveying pylons allows the gatherer to adjust the shape and extend the area of their survey.

You'd work with a surveying tool; and you set the surveying tool down, and that tool would have a specific area in which it's able to uncover and extract information about the resources that are in the area. As a starting out gatherer you might end up with one of the tools, but as you as you progress and become more proficient with using the tool you might be able to set up additional pylons and extend the the area of your survey. That allows you to start making shapes and having more strategic areas that you're surveying. If you could connect multiple pylons to create a shape, maybe you could follow the twisting caverns of the cave. Maybe if you're out in the open like we are here you could just try and make yourself a nice widened shape to scan as much of the area as possible. So it'll be up to the player to be tricky with their surveying tool to try and get the most efficiency out of their survey. – Kory Rice

Resource locations

Alpha-1 mine shaft.

Players will be able to move resources and set up shop in other areas to take advantage of the varied markets. With resources spawning dynamically, certain regions will naturally become important trading hubs for the transportation of goods throughout the world.

Verra's map will not be procedurally generated, but starting resource points may be different on each server.

• Some resources will be one-time gatherables that will randomly respawn at a different location once collected.
• Other resources will exist as a cluster (also called vein gatherables). These will last until the full resource is depleted.

  Like a large mine that's present and has a vein of mithril ore in it, or a herd of some type of animal that you can collect fur or wool from. – Steven Sharif

  • There will be moving resources such as herds of animals that are constantly moving around the world.

  Herds are a source of certain types of wild gatherables but they're in animal form and they're animated; and they exist in a group of the golden fleece sheep that might only spawn very rarely in certain hillsides; and only during spring. And if you can find that vein so to speak of resource you can interact with the herd and you can gather from them. – Steven Sharif

  • Once a vein resource is depleted from one location it may respawn in the same location or somewhere else, depending on the type of resource.
• Resources respawn on a cooldown basis.
• Resources won't be locked to the node system.
• Some unique resources may be monsters in disguise or have monsters defending them.

Resource types

• Animals
• Apples
• Crops
• Eggs
• Fish
• Herbs
• Livestock
• Lumber
• Milk
• Mushrooms
• Ore
• Resource locations

Resource quality

Flanggler (Flower angler or Mimic flower).

Resources will have differing tiers of quality for the same resource type. This is somewhat similar to Star Wars Galaxies.

• Gatherers who are more advanced in their artisan tree will unlock higher level harvesting tools that have a greater chance of collecting higher quality resources or proccing a greater quantity.

You will have an opportunity to proc certain qualities based on your progression in the Artisan tree. So if you are a gatherer; and as you advance in your gathering, you'll have a higher opportunity to collect better resources. – Steven Sharif

This section contains information from Alpha-1 testing. It will be updated when new information is made available.

In Alpha-1 testing there are 4 tiers of gatherable resources across all gathering professions:

• Tier 1 (Common)
• Tier 2 (Uncommon)
• Tier 3 (Rare)
• Tier 4 (Epic)

Land management

Land management mechanics are present for gathering artisans.

As you draw resources from your surrounding area- what type of effect does that have on the land; and then also how effectively can you draw those resources without having such a deleterious effect on the land, which might impact future resource gathering for some period of time: And it makes relevant the movement of these players who are collecting these goods from the environment, that they actually cannot always just do so in one particular area, as the land management begins to degrade. So it actually encourages movement across the world to discover new areas that might not be as perturbed as the ones you're coming from. It's a very interesting idea. It's something that we're going to be prototyping in Alpha 2 and getting feedback on and testing. – Steven Sharif

• The spawn rate of resources in a given area is influenced by how players are interacting with those resources.
  • Drawing excessive amounts of resources may have a deleterious effect on the land health value for that area.
  • Actions like ridding an area of invasive species or performing crop rotations on freehold farms may have a positive effect on that area's land health value.

It could be could be positive or negative, or both simultaneously. So the land health value ties into the health of a specific ecosystem; and the ecosystem can kind of scale with different segment sizes of the world, or the world itself: A biome, maybe a node, maybe the player's freehold. And the things that a player does in those areas will contribute to health in a positive or negative way. So doing something like rotating your crops might increase the health of the land because that's considered something good to do; and maybe apprehending or removing poachers that are over hunting a certain species could be helpful to the health of the land. Maybe the mayor puts out a request for players to try and get rid of invasive species that are plants- maybe they're overgrowing weed and it's stopping other valuable plants from growing. – Kory Rice

Artisan tools

Sickle artisan tool in Alpha-2.

Gathering requires the creation and use of harvesting tools that enable the gathering of resources.

• Progression in the gathering artisan class unlocks higher level harvesting tools that enable gathering of higher level resources.
  • Artisan progression unlocks higher level surveying tools that enable better identification of gatherable resources within a location.
  • Higher level of progression can also speed up gathering times, resource yields, and may allow access to resources at earlier growth stages.
  • A gatherer at maximum proficiency will unlock master toolsets that will grant them access to the highest quality gatherables.

• Tools will have durability and tool lifespans.
  • The amount of usages of a gathering tool increases as the gatherer becomes more proficient in the gathering artisan tree.
  • Tools may become non-repairable, requiring re crafting.
• Artisans will not need to rely on other trees in order to make their tools.

Tools do advance within the artisan tree, so your ability to either gather, process or craft will require the equivalent tools necessary at that stage of crafting in order to accomplish the task at hand. So, you could not mine copper and mithril with the same tool. – Steven Sharif

• The developers are considering the introduction of gathering tools that require two players, such as two-person saws that can fell larger trees.

Your progression within the profession will take account what tools you can use. There might even be some opportunity to do some gathering with other players that you know. Typically in other games that I play you usually do the gathering alone. You're venturing around alone; and we wanted to take a look at maybe having a friend to help you with a two person saw on a larger tree. Maybe there's some panning that you could do as opposed to just hitting with the pickaxe. So, we'll have other tools that are part of that progression path and other activities that players can do if they would like to gather together. – Kory Rice

This section contains information from Alpha-1 testing. It will be updated when new information is made available.

Gathering tools for Mining, Herbalism, Lumberjacking, and Fishing are associated with a resource tier. For example: A tier 2 axe can gather tier 1 and 2 lumber and no higher.

Tool rarity	Resource tiers	Vendor price	Vendor location
Common	1	10g	Alpha-1 starting area
Uncommon	1 - 2	100g	Expedition (stage 1) nodes
Rare	1 - 3	500g	Encampment (stage 2) nodes
Epic	1 - 4	2000g	Village (stage 3) nodes

Seasonal resources

Pre-alpha winter wonderland environment.

If a particular region moves into a season and that week you can't grow a particular type of good, but another region halfway across the world can grow that good; and you talk about moving those goods across regions so that they're relevant to either craft workbenches or you can sell them in the local economies: That is a major indicator of movement of goods and movement of goods carries risks; and risks can create political foes and friends... Something as simple as just a climate can have cascading consequences across the entirety of the game. – Steven Sharif

Seasons affect crops and other herbology resources available for gathering or planting, including how crop rotation is managed.

• Seasonal variations in resource availability will impact the economy and necessitate the transit of goods between different regions.

One of the things that is huge about the season system and how it affects crops and the gatherables in the game is the impact it will have on the economy. When a particular area no longer is capable for a week's period of time, or even potentially longer, of producing a certain type of crop or harvestable; and that has to change across the world regionally, now the transit system of those materials of those gatherables they become more relevant, and they're subject to potential risk; and the prices might go up in certain areas. It is something that is actually very instrumental in the overall design of the economy in the game. – Steven Sharif

• Seasons may not directly affect certain gatherables, such as veins of ore, but access to those resources may be blocked during certain weather conditions.

It won't likely affect too much on certain resource spectrums like veins of ore. Those might not be affected by the seasons or weather systems, but there might be blockages to cave networks that house those types of ore veins. Alternatively it is going to be significant impact on any type of herbology or plant-based types of gatherables. It's going to have significant impacts on crops that players can plant themselves on their properties; and that they'll be able to harvest. They're going to need to time the crop placement and its maturity window so that it's harvestable and available to be harvest before the change of seasons that might adversely affect certain types of crops. And not every biome will experience the same type of effects caused by the seasonality of the world. The desert biome might instead of snow have significant more winds that pick up that could be damaging to more fragile types of crops if you have a freehold in that location. – Steven Sharif

Underrealm resources

Resources will be different in the Underrealm.

• This will affect Farming and Animal husbandry professions.
• Since players may only have one Freehold, they must choose their Artisan specializations accordingly if they wish to place it in the Underrealm.

Loot tables

Alpha-1 dungeon concept by Michael Bacon.

Loot tables (drop tables) of world bosses or dungeon bosses have a small RNG chance of dropping gear (completed items). Monsters drop hunting certificates, Items and crafting materials rather than gold.

• There is a much higher chance that materials and unique recipes are dropped that can be used to craft items of equitable value.
• There is a small RNG chance of looting rare and legendary items or crafting materials from mobs based on the level, status and type of mob. This also applies to harvesting resources with a gathering profession.
• Crafted gear is the best gear in Ashes of Creation.

• Legendary equipment is only dropped by Legendary world bosses.
• Stats on dropped items will vary based on the rarity of the item.
• Loot tables are disabled for player controlled monsters.
• Experience debt decreases the drop rate percentages from monsters.
• Loot tables will likely not be affected by weather conditions. This was previously listed as a possible effect.

World manager

The World manager is an algorithm in Ashes of Creation that controls dynamic world elements. It acts as both a throttle and an incentive system for various activities to ensure certain parameters are within acceptable thresholds.

A world manager is a technical term to define a server process that lives alongside the game server; and when the game server needs to do things- communicating with other game servers within that grid- it tells that manager and that manager sends it down to the appropriate server. – Steven Sharif

• Prices of hunting certificates.
• A heatmap of experience being gained to apply to node advancement.
  • The territory expansion algorithm takes into account the nearest coast, neighboring nodes, and the heatmap of players in surrounding areas over the last weeks or month.
  • Due to the way the progression algorithm calculates territorial (ZOI) expansion during node advancement, there is a small possibility that two nodes of the same stage end up being close to each other.
• Transit of resources and goods between regions to drive quest rewards for nodes.

For example if you know iron is being used as a raw resource for a specific crafting path that might drive up the price of mithril or silver; and that will incentivize the market to course correct a little bit. The idea is to provide soft incentives that help to alleviate the demand and also to prop up the supply that might not be present from the economic systems. – Steven Sharif

Resource extractors

Some of the following information has not been recently confirmed by the developers and may not be on the current development roadmap.

Resource extractors are potential constructions that can collect resources over time.

• Available to node citizens who own a freehold near a "resource center".
• Requires several people to construct.
• Moving resources from the extractor will likely require a caravan.

Timeline

Artisan classes (Gathering, Processing, Crafting) will come online fully in Alpha-2 and the Betas.

• Approximately 10 percent of the artisan system were online in Alpha-1.

Crafting honestly will not come online in any sense of its true form until Alpha-2. Alpha-1 has essentially what are intended to be the core gameplay loop of crafting, meaning the collection of materials, the translation of those materials into processed goods, and the use of those processed goods into item acquisition. That's the core gameplay loop that is currently present in Alpha-1. But those are mostly facilitated kind of piggy backing the merchant systems right now and not actually using the real crafting system; and that's because crafting hasn't been completed in a form that can be implemented in Alpha-1, but will be for Alpha-2. What's present in Alpha-1 doesn't even really scratch the surface for crafting. – Steven Sharif

See also

• Gathering
• Processing
• Materials
• Artisan classes