In the sandbox MMO ArcheAge, the endgame truly begins on Tuesday. Then the northern continent of Auroria will open. But what is this all about?
On Tuesday, November 4th, the northern continent of Auroria will open in ArcheAge. Its opening was delayed until Trion Worlds was sure there were enough guilds ready to compete for it, so that early starters could not get too far ahead. Beforehand, some guides based on beta experiences had already appeared, describing what is actually happening there. Now Trion Worlds themselves presented in an update to the fans what they can expect there.
Become Your Own Lord
Four new zones have been unlocked. These are Marzala, Ruheland, Heedmar, and Nuimari. The interesting news that Auroria brings is certainly the possibility for extremely successful guilds to claim one of the areas for themselves. This is considered an important part of the endgame in ArcheAge.
To do this, an “Archeum Magnet” must be cleansed, and only the leader of a guild can do that. For this, they need the “cleansing Archeum Package.” To craft this, Anya Ingots and Blood Archeum Crystals are required. The Blood Archeum Crystals can be purchased from the merchant for 40 gold each – so that’s not an issue. The Anya Ingots are obtained from Anya Pebbles, which are only found on the island of Auroria.
Trion Worlds states that you need an experienced metalworker and an experienced miner to gather these pebbles. No exact numbers are mentioned.
Quickly back to speculation:
Speculation about the exact numbers comes from a guide
In a guide that appeared on archeagedaily and is based on beta experiences, the author mentioned needing 50,000 mining to first mine the pebbles. Furthermore, they spoke of needing 20,000 in metalwork to smelt the pebbles into ingots. Allegedly, you need 50 Archeum Crystals for the package, which would cost 2,000 gold.
For 100 Anya Ingots (which are also needed), you require 300 Anya Pebbles. From an Anya vein, a player gets 1-4 of these pebbles. Per vein, they need 50 labor points. According to the guide (this was loudly questioned), these veins can only be found in caves, which are in turn protected by a wall. Allegedly, players need 3,000 labor points to first break down the wall and obtain mining rights for the veins behind it. Behind it are about 10 veins, which only respawn when you leave the cave and break down the wall. As mentioned: This information is provided without guarantee.
The cleansing Archeum Package must then also be transported from the mainland to the magnet with effort … and lazy guilds will probably think it’s a great idea to go on a looting spree.
Back to the official:
What do you gain from a castle?
The special thing about a castle is that the guild can decide who can build in the direct vicinity of the castle and who cannot. If they dislike a house there, they can destroy it. Other houses in the area cannot be destroyed by the ruling guild but can be taxed.
The new building areas on Auroria have two climate zones and are therefore more attractive; additionally, only special resources can be grown here.
Guild Wars in ArcheAge
Now, of course, it would be silly if the first four guilds on a server grabbed the castles and then nothing ever happened in the endgame of ArcheAge again. Therefore, there is a way to attack these castles and also to lose them.
For this, the developers came up with something clever, as it is strictly organized and a massive gold sink (a drain for gold from the game). At regular intervals, a license to attack a very specific castle appears in the auction house. Bidding occurs on it – these are enormous sums. (According to the guide, these licenses appear every three weeks and start at 500 gold; an auction lasts 24 hours)
The guild that secures the right to attack can then fight in a strictly regulated guild battle against the “established” guild for the right to the castle. Both guilds have the opportunity to prepare for this battle. The attackers must, in a kind of “Capture-the-Flag XXL”, attack the stone and focus on it uninterrupted for 5 minutes, while the defenders try to prevent them. Each of the two parties can, according to the guide (the numbers are unofficial again), send only 100 people.
As can be seen from the sums and numbers, the guild part of Auroria is not for lone wolves. The dominant guilds have surely already made detailed plans on how to quickly gather the ore together. Off the cuff, it won’t work; just to reach 50,000 mining requires several days of preparation. For solo players, there remains the hope that the rush for Auroria will free up land in the home areas. However, players without a large guild must wait until one of the areas in the new sandbox deluxe of ArcheAge has been cleaned.
