On December 11, 2025, Ashes of Creation will launch in Early Access on Steam. But does the new MMORPG also offer fun for solo players who want to explore the wilderness of Verra alone?
Ashes of Creation is one of the few remaining MMORPG projects by Western developers, backed by a large budget and even bigger ambitions. The online RPG by Intrepid Studios, however, aims not to be a second World of Warcraft but rather to provide a more old-school experience, focusing on social interactions, guilds, and PvP.
Looking ahead to the Early Access launch on Steam on December 11, 2025, you may wonder whether you can still have fun in the world of Ashes of Creation without a guild or a fixed group. In the following, we will answer this question.
A Mammoth Task for a Solo Player
Currently, there are two factors that make solo play in Ashes of Creation quite challenging:
- The current alpha status: Ashes of Creation is far from finished and polished
- The focus of Ashes of Creation on a sandbox experience, PvP, and cooperation between players disadvantages solo players
Those who level alone through the world of AoC must lure enemies carefully, regenerate regularly, and prepare for a relatively tedious experience. The grind factor behind character and profession progression is high. There are quests, but not yet in large numbers.
Additionally, many content pieces revolve around the social interactions of guilds or communities in the medium term. For example, the fight against world bosses, battles for castles, and the transport of goods via caravans and ships.
It doesn’t help that PvP is generally enabled in the world and that as a solo player, you are likely to be at a disadvantage if you encounter an aggressive group of players. Without support, fights of any kind can often lead to virtual death, causing frequent suffering from associated penalties (XP loss, loss of materials).
With the Steam release, the Harbingers event will also arrive:
As Solo-Friendly as Never Before for Early Access Launch
The good news for all players who prefer or initially want to play Ashes of Creation alone: Despite the aforementioned factors, solo players can still have some fun during the alpha. Moreover, several improvements have landed on the test server that make the MMORPG more beginner- and solo-friendly:
- First-level enemies drop rations more frequently, which you can use to regenerate your health. This saves precious copper coins at the merchant and makes it easier to restore health.
- The leveling phase up to level 10 is shorter, as enemies grant more experience and you need less XP for level-ups. This way, you can unlock new abilities faster, making your character noticeably stronger in a shorter time.
- New quests are also helpful, providing you with equipment upgrades until level 10. This eliminates the tedious farming for new gear at the beginning and the tasks serve as a red thread throughout the first part of the leveling phase.
- The developers have extended the protection against PvP encounters from level 5 to level 10. This applies not only in the starting area but everywhere (exception: intentional participation in PvP events such as caravans).
- Crafting is also less tedious and grindy on the PTR. Prices and resource requirements are noticeably lower, allowing for quicker progress.
Once you reach level 10, you can register as a citizen of a settlement and become part of the local community without having to join a guild. PvP is prohibited among citizens of a settlement, for example.
Through the Commission Board, you can take on tasks that can be completed solo and contribute to the growth of the settlement. You can also focus entirely on a profession and offer your goods on the marketplace. Or you can try your luck at the Monster Coin event and challenge other players as a raid boss.
However, how well a solo player can participate in larger story arcs, world boss fights, open dungeons, or the new Harbinger event remains to be seen.
The Conclusion: To get the most out of Ashes of Creation, master all content, and succeed in PvP, you must join a community. However, even soloists can have some fun in the world of Verra with less ambitious plans.
This is supported by the fact that the developers apparently plan to make the game significantly more beginner- and solo-friendly in light of the PTR for the Steam release.
But even then, Ashes of Creation will not become a theme park like WoW, Elder Scrolls Online, or Final Fantasy XIV, where you can experience almost everything without a fixed guild. Whether you find the still unfinished alpha version worth 42 to 50 US dollars (there should be a small discount at the Steam launch) is ultimately up to you to decide.
What else should I know about Ashes of Creation? Ashes of Creation is a sandbox MMORPG set in a fantasy world, played in a massive open world. You fight against world bosses and engage in PvP battles. There is also a system in which you level areas, thereby building villages and cities, and changing parts of the game world – the so-called “nodes”. Development of the MMORPG began in 2015. You can read more about it here: Release, Roadmap, Alpha 2, Classes, Gameplay, Payment Model – all important information about the MMORPG Ashes of Creation.
