The so-called Nodes are the core feature of Ashes of Creation. Both PvE and PvP take place in them. In a new series of articles, the developers will provide a closer look at the Nodes.
What are Nodes? Nodes are locations in the open world that can be conquered, developed, and defended. Each Node has an area that it influences.
Anything that happens within this area influences the Node. Completing tasks or gathering materials grants experience to the Node.
Conversely, the Node also influences the area. Quests are determined by the level of development, but also by the race that controls the Node.
However, these areas are supposed to vary in size. The more a Node develops, the further the influence of an area is supposed to spread.
How do the Nodes work?
At the start of the game, there should be 103 Nodes on each server. The basic structure should always be identical.
How does a Node level up? A Node has a total of seven different stages in development:
- Level 0 – Wilderness
- Level 1 – Expedition
- Level 2 – Camp
- Level 3 – Village
- Level 4 – City
- Level 5 – Metropolis
- Level 6 – Megalopolis
While the first stages can be completed quickly, the development of a Node up to the Megalopolis takes several weeks or months.
What does leveling up a Node bring? The larger the Node gets, the more can be accomplished within it. It is only upon reaching Level 2 that merchants and bankers move in.
Once a Node reaches the status of “Village”, it becomes possible to operate player housing. Also, the number of quests increases with the level.
What kind of tasks await you in a Node depends on the type of the Node.
What types of Nodes are there? In Ashes of Creation, there are four different types of Nodes. These are fixed from the beginning, are identical on all servers, and cannot be changed:
- Economic Nodes
- Military Nodes
- Scientific Nodes
- Divine Nodes
Depending on the type of Node, the NPCs and the tasks vary. Economic Nodes are predestined for trade centers. Accordingly, more and more merchants will come with increasing levels.
Military Nodes, on the other hand, have many more guards and are easier to defend. Thus, Nodes around a fortress are always of a military nature.
Vassal Nodes: When a Node reaches Level 3, but the surrounding Nodes have not yet achieved this and lie within the influence area, the developed Node makes the others into Vassal Nodes.
These Nodes give experience to the mother Node and also share their influences in diplomacy, wars, and economy. Accordingly, a Vassal Node cannot rise up against the mother Node.
A Vassal Node cannot surpass the mother Node in development stages. Nevertheless, they can have Vassal Nodes themselves.
Race influence on the Nodes: The influence of races on the Nodes is particularly interesting. If a large part of the controlling faction plays the Py’rai as their race, then the buildings will also come from this cultural area.
This influence should also affect the story of quests and events in the Node’s area, as well as dungeons and raids.
The next steps of Ashes of Creation
In the coming week, the focus will be on the conquest and destruction of Nodes. Another article and a video from the developers are planned for this.
Ashes of Creation plans release for 2020: The first Alpha, in which the open world is supposed to be explored, has not yet started. It has been postponed indefinitely.
The release of Ashes of Creation has also been postponed. Unlike originally announced, it is now planned for 2020:
