The quests of Ashes of Creation work differently than the quests of other MMORPGs. We at MeinMMO reveal what makes the side quests, commissions, and major story arc content of the online role-playing game by Intrepid Studios so special.
What makes the quests of Ashes of Creation special? In the world of the ambitious online role-playing game by Intrepid Studios, you can encounter different types of missions – so far, so typical. But whether they are story arc challenges, side quests, or commissions, they are interconnected and directly affect the game world.
How the quest system of Ashes of Creation works in detail has been presented by the developers in their monthly video update. You can watch the nearly 37 minutes below. After that, we will summarize the key insights for you and provide an assessment.
Commissions: Small tasks for every level
What are commissions? These are tasks that you can accept through the so-called “Commission Boards.” These “bulletin boards for quests” appear at nodes once the associated service buildings have been constructed.
Each bulletin board offers a selection of commissions aimed at different character levels and vary in quality (white, green, blue – similar to the quality tiers of equipment). The higher the quality, the greater the rewards.
The selection of commissions rotates after some time. However, the currently active tasks are the same for all players, allowing you to team up with like-minded players to tackle the commissions.
Once you accept a commission, it will appear in your quest journal. The quest tracking keeps you updated on the progress made. The map also marks the target locations. Ashes of Creation offers the genre-typical comfort features for quests.
Side quests reward anyone nearby
What is the difference between commissions and side quests? While exploring the open world, you may stumble upon NPCs who provide you with side quests. This could be a minotaur waving at you because he has fallen out with the nearby clan. Such tasks can lead to longer quest chains that tell their own stories.
Sometimes, a larger event in the world arises from such a chain of side quests. During the minotaur’s mission, for example, a storm suddenly brews, and a powerful clan leader and his bodyguards appear. Players participating in these events receive a reward, regardless of whether they completed the side quests or not.
The quests of Ashes of Creation sound immersive and dynamic
How are the quests interconnected? Let’s take a look at the commissions again: Each time the tasks rotate on a “bulletin board”, a system in the background checks, among other things:
- Which story arcs are currently active?
- Which story arcs have been completed most recently?
- What is the weather like?
- What time of day is the server currently in?
These and other factors determine which events, challenges, and side quests are active in different parts of the world. The new selection of commissions then aims to gently guide you into those areas, allowing you to engage with the available events, side quests, and other content.
Additionally: The server community must complete commissions to advance a node’s progress, which then grants all players access to the major story arcs. You need the story arcs to activate certain side quests and other content. Everything is interconnected.
What are story arcs? They are also quests, but they are significantly larger and more complex than side quests and commissions. Story arcs also affect the entire region with their events, changing the landscape of the world, the type of enemies, and more.
In the developer update, MMORPG fans express their enthusiasm. One viewer writes, “Ashes of Creation is slowly but surely looking like a real AAA MMORPG.” Another adds, “It’s great to see how all the puzzle pieces are coming together slowly.”
When can I play Ashes of Creation? According to studio head Steven Sharif, the team has continued to grow over the past weeks. Nearly 200 employees are said to be currently employed at Intrepid – and the trend is rising. All eyes are on the Alpha-2 testing phase, which is set to take place in the third quarter of 2024. You can find a general overview of the game here: Everything about the new MMORPG Ashes of Creation – Release, Classes, Gameplay, and Nodes
