In the Sandbox MMO ArcheAge the race for the limited building spots was even fiercer than expected.
The Sandbox MMO ArcheAge will officially release tomorrow and suffers from a problem that other MMOs would kill for: Overpopulation. The four European servers are packed and struggled with queues over the weekend, with the Free2Play game being accessible only to players who purchased a founder package for at least 46 euros.
But it is not the queues that worry players, but rather the precarious situation in the real estate market.
Land Grab was as tough as expected, rather even worse
Many had anticipated that with the head start on Friday, there would be a rush for the most coveted building spots. The intensity of this rush was surprisingly high. On the four EU servers, newcomers are lamenting: There is simply nothing left to find.
The reason for this is a design decision in ArcheAge, which allows players to cheaply build the framework for their future property. They do not need to complete it as long as they pay taxes for it. The space is reserved.
This leads to a strange sight in many building areas: useless foundations line up next to each other, while small scarecrows are surrounded by a few trees, plants, or farm animals.
The tactic has emerged that individual players claim as much building space as possible with multiple characters. They mark their claims in such a way that they block as much space as possible with each object, to expand later.
ArcheAge Currently Has Something of a Beach in Mallorca
Theoretically, the servers are designed in such a way that every player could secure a piece of land if everyone was willing to settle for a share. However, there is no equality or fairness principle in ArcheAge. And that is fine. Fans appreciate this characteristic highly, and it is characteristic of sandbox games. Those who demand a free world governed by players must accept that it will be unfair. One cannot have one without the other, as shown by EVE Online.
Even so: At the moment, the situation resembles a vacation on a beach in Mallorca and the nations’ war for the best sunbeds on the beach in the morning. It’s just that in ArcheAge, it’s as if some are running to the beach with twenty towels and throwing them over the few spots in such a way that with each towel they occupy five lounge chairs.
Since the head start was accompanied by a DDOS attack and had some other problems, it was also roughly like mornings when only 200 made it out of the hotel on time. After that, the gate was locked and the rest were told to be patient.
What to Do When Everything is Full?
Well, the situation is annoying for many, but it’s also not a disaster or a reason to give up on ArcheAge.
In the in-game chats and forums, one can read that most of those who grabbed so much land probably do not intend to hold it permanently. Instead, it is suspected that they will either try to sell their land to latecomers or simply stop paying the taxes for their land. Then building spots will become available.
Moreover, as some report, in remote places or in PvP areas there are still building spots available, though the question remains whether it is really worth it.
On the servers that are already open, the situation should at the latest calm down when the northern continent Auroria opens. This is expected in about six weeks.
And What Will the Release Look Like?
Players who have not purchased a founder package and fear standing in front of occupied spots at the release can be somewhat reassured.
At the release tomorrow, further European servers will likely open, which will be untouched by players and have free building spots (at least in the first few hours). New servers have not been officially confirmed yet, but anything else would be surprising.
