Unique node buildings
Each node type has a unique service building associated with it that can be activated at Village (stage 3) of node advancement.[2] The unique building plays a central role in the progress of civilization for a server realm.[3]
List of unique service buildings
Node types

Nodes exist all throughout the world and the location of said node will determine its type; but this type will be... seen at the first stage of development when the first stage when a node propagates real-time assets in the world; is basically these NPCs, these merchants that come into an area and they offer services and/or of stores or whatever the deal may be. You will see the flavor of the node from those merchants. So if it's a military node you'll see military people. If it's... an economic node you'll see merchants. If it's a scientific one you'll see scholars; and if it's a divine one you'll see priests and clerics. So players will have a very firm understanding of which node is which type in order to know how they want to progress.[5] – Steven Sharif
Nodes are assigned one of four (4) node types, each of which contain unique specializations.[6][7]
- Node types are predetermined and are the same across all server realms.[6][7]
- Players will be able to identify the type of a node at its first stage of development (Expedition) based on its NPC population.[5]
Node type.[7] | Specialization.[7] | NPCs.[7] | Currency.[8][9] |
---|---|---|---|
Divine nodes | Faith and skill/equipment augment focuses | Priests | Favor |
Economic nodes | Trade and merchant focuses | Merchants | - |
Military nodes | Combat and class training focuses | Guards | Honor |
Academic nodes | Artisan and construction focuses | Scholars | - |
- A node’s type is static. It does not change based on the node's advancement or destruction.[6][7]
- For example, if a level 4 Scientific Node is destroyed, it will become a Level 0 Scientific Node. It will never be any other Node Type other than a Scientific Node. The location of these Types relates to the influences of the area around the Node.[7] – Margaret Krohn
- Node types affect various services and systems at each level of node advancement.[6][7]
- Beta testing will require that the node types be definitive; and that's because of how node types are integrated into the relating and corresponding neighboring points of interest and those quest lines. So it's not something we can swap very easily.[17] – Steven Sharif
Node layout and style

The layout and architecture within a Node’s development area are determined by influential race. For example, a stage 3 Node with the majority of player contribution being Py'rai would have a Py'rai village with Py'rai architecture. Most NPCs would be Py'rai elves, and offer questlines within the Py'rai narrative.[7] – Margaret Krohn
Each player’s contributed experience is flagged with their character race and other identifiers. When a Node advances, the race with the highest experience contribution determines the Node’s style and culture. This style and culture change can happen at every Node Stage. For example, if a Node advances to Level 2 - Encampment Stage and 51% of all experience was earned by Ren’Kai players, the Node will be a Level 2 Ren’Kai Node. If that same Node advances to a Level 3 - Village Stage Node, but the Py'Rai contributed 62% of all the experience earned, then the Node will be a Level 3 Py'Rai Node.[18] – Margaret Krohn
Node layout and style is determined by several factors:[19][16]
- The way that the node system is built is that they can exist across a spread of 18 biomes, but at the same time have to represent the cultural influence of these cultures that are intrinsically a part of a specific biome.[20] – Steven Sharif
- Environment (biome) and location of the node.[20][19][16]
- A node's footprint is a 1 km2 development area where a node's buildings are located.[21] Nodes can adjust the local topography of their footprint to fit the aesthetic and mechanical requirements of the node.[22][23][24][21][25]
- Some parts are determined by the area it's in. Some parts are determined by the type it is. Some parts are determined by the race it is; and then the rest of it is determined by the mayor.[16] – Jeffrey Bard
- Race that contributed the highest percentage to the node's advancement will alter the racial appearance of its buildings, NPCs, props, and narrative systems.[22][26][27][28][19][18][16][29][30]
- All nodes, whether they're associated with a castle or associated with normal node structure, has cultural influences that replicate over to the buildings that are produced and the NPCs that are present.[32] – Steven Sharif
- The rest is determined by the node's mayor.[16]
- It should be possible for a node to complete several building projects within a mayor's one month term in office.[33]
Racial influences

We have essentially sets that exist across all races; and each race that dons those armor sets is going to have their own racial influence on the presentation of those particular sets. So that's something that's unique in how each of the races get diversified. Additionally, the more that one particular race contributes to a node's development, it's going to manifest in that particular node's architectural influences. You're going to see the architectures of those races become manifest within the nodes as well: That's another way that we diversify each race and we present each race's culture in the game as through those architectures, through those props that exist, through the tailoring of the armor sets that the NPC might wear, to the different factions that exist. Factions will have their own affiliation with different races as well. Each race will also have some different nomenclature when it comes to the lore, or comes to locations in the world. They're going to have their own language influences as well: The way they speak is something that's going to be distinct between races; when you have dialogue trees with particular NPCs. So all of those things really go into setting an immersive world where the cultures have their own identity.[27] – Steven Sharif
Cultural influences manifest in many ways, from node and gear aesthetics to NPC languages and lore.[26][27][35][18]
- The cultural influence over a node serves as one of our types of predicates. So when we talk about dynamic content, when we talk about world spawners changing based off of these things, like narrative structures changing based off of that story arcs changing based off of that: Those all get informed by this predicate of cultural influence. Cultural influence is determined by racial contribution toward node development... Racial progression still serves as a very important piece of the predicate system, which influences our narrative structures.[26] – Steven Sharif
- Gear appearance of certain armor sets is influenced by the player's race.[27]
- Node layout and style is influenced by the race that contributes the most to that node.[26][27]
- There is an attrition and that attrition on experience and influence is heightened based on the performance of the race in the world. So if all these nodes are Orc nodes then their attrition rate is very high to compete with the cultural establishment of new nodes because they have more influence in the world and a popular opinion is against them in their outlying regions that they do not have influence in.[36] – Steven Sharif
NPC racial interaction
- NPCs will react differently to different character races.[37]
- Languages will be distinct between NPC races and in the lore.[27]
- Certain quest givers and NPCs may only be present at nodes with certain cultural influences.[38]
- Depending on the cultural influence of the node activates certain types of quest lines and/or sponsors. Some of those are shared, some of those are general. Some of those relate to a progression path that is a first time user experience. Those will be constant across all culture types. Some of them, however, are predicates that spawn when certain story arcs and/or events, or commissions or buy orders become present within the node; and those might change based on the cultural influence of the node. So there is a separation between those populations.[38] – Steven Sharif
See also
References
- ↑ Livestream, September 1, 2018 (36:28).
- ↑ Livestream, August 31, 2023 (56:18).
- ↑ Know Your Nodes: Economic Node Type.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Node series part II – the Metropolis.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Livestream, May 4, 2017 (15:15).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Interview, November 10, 2024 (31:07).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 Blog - Know Your Nodes - The Basics.
- ↑ Interview, July 9, 2023 (19:56).
- ↑ Interview, July 18, 2020 (27:11).
- ↑ Interview, November 10, 2024 (29:18).
- ↑ Livestream, September 27, 2024 (1:47:04).
- ↑ Livestream, February 29, 2024 (1:23:07).
- ↑ Livestream, April 29, 2022 (1:05:37).
- ↑ Livestream, March 31, 2022 (1:15:29).
- ↑ Livestream, January 18, 2018 (39:08).
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 Livestream, September 27, 2018 (53:06).
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Livestream, August 27, 2021 (1:19:43).
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Blog - Know Your Nodes - Advance and Destroy.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Livestream, October 30, 2020 (39:17).
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Livestream, February 25, 2022 (41:00).
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Livestream, October 14, 2022 (52:31).
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Interview, March 7, 2025 (38:47).
- ↑ Livestream, January 2, 2025 (39:26).
- ↑ Podcast, October 12, 2024 (16:48).
- ↑ Livestream, February 26, 2021 (1:12:18).
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 Interview, October 20, 2024 (1:10:00).
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 Livestream, March 31, 2022 (4:57).
- ↑ Podcast, April 11, 2021 (29:47).
- ↑ Interview, May 11, 2018 (54:34).
- ↑ Livestream, May 26, 2017 (21:23).
- ↑ Podcast, April 11, 2021 (23:36).
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Interview, May 11, 2018 (47:27).
- ↑ Livestream, July 29, 2022 (1:13:09).
- ↑ Livestream, June 26, 2020 (45:32).
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 Interview, February 7, 2021 (33:00).
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 Interview, May 11, 2018 (1:00:19).
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 Podcast, April 23, 2018 (29:56).
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 Interview, July 9, 2023 (1:35:28).