In a new video, the developers of the MMORPG Ashes of Creation presented their adjustments to gathering wood, stone, and more. However, the system now strongly resembles New World. That’s great, according to MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch. If it were up to him, Ashes could even steal a few more things.
Ashes of Creation has made significant adjustments to gathering. They proudly presented the changes in a new video. Work has been done on what objects can be gathered, what the animations look like, and what sound is associated with it.
But while the developers celebrate their innovations, it all reminds me strongly of New World. And that actually speaks for Ashes of Creation.
For my colleague Mark Sellner already praised the animations and sound during gathering in New World – yes, only these features motivated him to continue playing after the rather weak release for a while. And I am also excited about the crafting system of New World.
Everything can now be harvested and looks fantastic
While in Alpha 1 only special trees could be felled and stones mined that were marked with a golden ring, now almost everything in the open world can be harvested.
New plants have been added that can be gathered, and fishes that can be caught. Animals can also be skinned. In addition, there will be a system to detect resources faster on the map. Most resources are supposed to be static, with some appearing dynamically in different locations.
There were also major adjustments to the sound and animations. The sound of the pickaxe hitting stone sounds great, and trees now fall down and stay down for a while. Ashes has even advanced the animation system a bit further, so that the trees first grow back as small saplings and can only be felled when they are grown into large trees.
Gathering is now a real strength of the MMORPG. Here you can watch the corresponding video:
Ashes borrows from the best, but that’s totally fine
That the system now resembles New World so much, I find not reprehensible at all. Blizzard has already borrowed from other games for WoW and New World definitely has one of the best gathering and crafting systems of all MMORPGs.
In fact, I think Ashes of Creation could borrow a bit more from New World. Especially regarding the lighting and the atmosphere of areas, the new MMORPG from Intrepid looks a bit pale and monotonous. New World, on the other hand, has its strengths in this area as well.
I will never forget the first minutes I walked through a forest in Everfall back then, with a low sun and colorful leaves on the trees. That remains one of my special MMORPG experiences to this day.
But Ashes of Creation can also draw inspiration from more than just New World. The regrowth of trees, for instance, also exists in ArcheAge, as do the PvP events around caravans. These have been my personal highlight of ArcheAge to this day and have been far too little appreciated by other sandbox MMORPGs.
Ashes of Creation has taken the secondary classes from Guild Wars 1. In the new MMORPG, there will be a similar system, including the fact that the second class can be switched.
Furthermore, Ashes combines many good systems around housing, such as the use of crafting stations in your own house, additional storage space, and the placement of trophies that grant you bonuses. The latter is also found in New World.
What Ashes of Creation fortunately did not copy from New World is the character editor. It already looks better than that of the MMORPG from Amazon:
Ashes of Creation also has its own ideas
Steven Sharif, the head of Ashes of Creation, underscores his ambitions to create one of the best MMORPGs with the new gathering system. However, he does not only rely on good systems from other games but also has his own approaches.
Quite unique is the node system. Each area has different stages. The more tasks are completed in areas, the further it levels up. New levels change the node and reveal tougher bosses or dungeons and allow the town in the area to grow. Larger towns offer more space for housing but are also more popular as targets for conquest by other guilds.
However, the high goals and ambitions also mean that the release of the game keeps getting postponed. Currently, it looks like Ashes of Creation will not be released before 2024/25 – Alpha 2 does not even have a start date at this moment. The release was originally planned for 2019.
Where Ashes of Creation currently stands, we have summarized here:
What is the status of Ashes of Creation in 2022, the new MMORPG hope from the West?
