In the latest developer update for Ashes of Creation, the focus was primarily on the progress the ambitious MMORPG has made in recent weeks.
What is the current status of Ashes of Creation? Following the recent delay of Phase 3 of the current Alpha Two, the responsible developers have had to listen to quite a bit of criticism. A common accusation: If development continues at this pace, the game will never be released… or only in 10 or 15 years.
As disappointing as it may be for some fans that the next Alpha phase will not start until August 26, 2025, it is also clear that Ashes of Creation is gradually making noticeable progress, with innovations and improvements landing on the test and alpha servers at shorter intervals. This is once again emphasized by the new monthly developer update from Intrepid.
The Rogue is the latest class to join the Alpha of Ashes of Creation:
Successful test of a technical milestone
What kind of milestone is this? In the first part of the nearly 100-minute long video update on YouTube, the focus was on the progress that has recently been achieved. The most important news:
- The “Dynamic Gridding” first introduced in July 2024 was successfully tested on the test server. This essential and future-oriented server technology is intended to ensure satisfactory performance, even when many players are in an area – for example, during a battle for a node.
- In other words: Only through “Dynamic Gridding” can the gigantic, simulated world be realized in which all players are supposed to exist. Therefore, there are no divisions of the world into different channels, layers, or shards in Ashes of Creation.
What else has happened?
- The latest update to Unreal Engine 5.6 brought further important improvements for performance and stability, making the player experience on the test server currently much better than on the alpha server (where version 5.3 is currently active).
- The entire onboarding experience has been significantly improved.
- Based on player feedback/behavior from the alpha and the PTS, essential data for areas like node progress and the Time-to-Kill (the time it takes to defeat a player in PvP) has been collected. This allowed for important adjustments for the upcoming Phase 3.
- The guild system and the revised guild storage spaces have been tested on the test server. In the new iteration, it should be much more worthwhile to team up with other players in a guild.
Here you can watch the full developer video update:
What is the focus now? A lot is set to happen before the launch of Phase 3 of Alpha Two:
- Work continues on the new starting area called “The Anvils”. This should be a full-fledged alternative to the already available Riverlands.
- Phase 3 is expected to bring the next expansion level of nodes (Tier 4) and allow the upgrading of T3 villages to large cities.
- The upgrade will double the size of each settlement, and players will gain access to more functions, content, and systems. Starting at minute 1:00:45, the developers provide a tour of one of the new cities.
- With the cities, a new crate system will be introduced. Characters can carry crates with items throughout the world and deliver them to various NPCs to complete quest objectives, earn money, or advance (building) projects. Crates can also be transported by caravans or transport ships.
- Of course, players transporting crates through the world can be attacked. This allows players to steal the transported goods, but also activates the corruption mechanics that are intended to punish criminal behavior.
- The comprehensive adjustments and expansions to economy, crafting, and attributes continue to be the focus of the developers – the work is nearly complete, but still requires feedback from test server players to implement the necessary optimizations for Phase 3.
Exciting information nugget from the video update: In Intrepid’s internal quality assurance, there are experienced employees who previously worked at companies like Blizzard, Riot Games, Activision, Cloud Imperium, EA, Sony Online Entertainment, or Xbox.
What else do I need to know about Ashes of Creation? Ashes of Creation is a sandbox MMORPG in a fantasy setting, set in a vast open world. You fight against world bosses and engage in PvP battles. Additionally, there is a system where you level areas, build up villages and cities, and change parts of the game world – the so-called “nodes.” Development of the MMORPG began in 2015. More on this can be found here: Release, roadmap, Alpha 2, classes, gameplay, payment model – everything important about the MMORPG Ashes of Creation.
