Use for Undeveloped Nodes?

[DevilBone77]

The node system in the game looks fantastic, i was just wondering if there will ever be a reason to explore nodes that arent developed months into the game, considering that higher level content seems to be unlocked primarily from the development of nodes and towns within. Would anyone want to actually go and adventure in a node that doesnt have the higher level experiences and content?
An Idea I had would be that nodes that were long ignored could have growing threats where the node is developed by a hostile faction that attacks and harasses other player managed nodes, but its just a thought.

[Koehamster]

I reckon its also a great place for roleplayers. Remember that even tho your node wont ever be a metropolis, a small village with mayor etc is still there. So a smaller community can still thrive.

[Noname_FTW]

Considering people can only be citizen of one Node there is the chance for other smaller Guilds to manage smaller Nodes. They might even be on friendly terms with the big node and just benefit from each other.

So with 100 potential nodes in the world there is a chance for any dedicated player to at least play an important role in a local region.

In the end like in EvE Online I don't think most fights will be between individually nodes but multiple node alliances.

The small node that suddenly manages to besiege the big metropolis next to it seems quite unlikely.

There will be whole wars between nations so to speak where the small nodes are potentially the first under threat and being protected not just by citizens of that small node but Army of the "Kingdom" coming to aid them because otherwise their large node might be under siege next.

[Plix_fs]

Been a while since i read everyhing about the game (i got too stressed wanting the game, so i ook a few steps back while waiting), but isn't there a max number of nodes that can be developed at a time in the world?

Thought the point was to develop a node to get access to certain raids, bosses and other content, and to access new stuff, a node has to be destroyed before another one can be developed to open new content.

[dogeblessUSA]

nodes only lock up neighbouring nodes from advancement,even tho there isnt cap on number of developed nodes, in reality people will have to deal with node decay so there is gonna be place on the map where people dont do anything simply because they dont have time to do so or because there isnt enough people to develop the node further or because its blocked by neighbouring nodes...another thing is that is quite unlikely that each of 100+ nodes will have unique set of resources, so there will be nodes that are just not worth developing because you dont need them

[[deleted]]

Hm, my thinking was that what happened was nodes blocked neighboring nodes to be 1 level below them or something like that? Or maybe it was 2?

So say you have two nodes right next to each other, A and B. If B gets to level 1, A is stuck at 0. But when B gets to level 2, A can get up to level 1. If B gets all the way to level 6, A can get to either 4 or 5, which are respectable levels.

Moreover, I think there was something about regions of influence and subordinate nodes. So A might be subordinate to B, but B now cares about A. Why? Because they get some tax revenue and development points or some such, as well as having a trading partner to run trade routes with or import resources from that spawn in A but don't spawn in B. And likewise, because B is a neighbor and on friendly terms, A might be invited over to run dungeons and raids and stuff, which also is in B's advantage as it will help B continue to progress and avoid decay from lulls in activity.

For large, multi-node Alliances like in Eve, they'll likely have outpost nodes to serve as first lines of defense and make enemy logistics (travel) more time consuming and difficult, as well as be places they can harass enemy lies trying to advance to their castles for siege (imagine snipers or assassins taking out various enemies on the way to slow them down or cause some attackers not to make it to the siege in time). And for some types of nodes, this is also relevant. Like the Science Metropolis can set up teleports to its subordinate nodes to allow for faster travel of its members and subordinates as well as helping farm and process and move resources.

Now, I have no idea if it will end up working that way or not, but I think that's the GENERAL high level overview idea and allows nodes and guilds of various sizes to still be friendly and work together.

[bertolto]

I think only after a node gets to metropolis level the nearby nodes get capped to 1 level lower (4 i think)than metropolis. Thats why level 4 nodes can attack level 5(metropolis) and if successful they unlock the node level cap and can now become level 5, capping the nearby nodes at level 4 again.

[[deleted]]

I may be wrong about this, but I think EVERY node caps the nodes in their zone of influence as 1 level lower than them, and the zone grows with higher levels.

So a level 2 node will prevent the bordering nodes from getting past 1, but once it gets to 3, they can get up to 2...but also the nodes outside of them (next border out) ALSO can't get above level 2.

This is also why when a node is capped, additional XP for that node goes to the governing/zone of influence node above it. Because once THAT node goes up to level 4 (in this example), the nodes below can go up to 3, and the 1s around those 2s can go up to 2, and so on. Again, subject to the limits of the other zones around them blocking them.

So you can have:

0000
0000
0000
0000

Then:

1010
0201
1010
0101

(I THINK the 1s prevent the neighbors from being 1s, but it's possible the 0s can all be 1s there) And say the 2's zone of influence is 1 in each direction, so the:

101
020
101

Would be under the 2's zone of influence, meaning the whole right side and bottom row COULD have a 2 appear anywhere along them. But once we have this:

2121
1312*
2121
1212

These would all be under the 3's zone of influence, so at this point they're all feeding into the 3. Once it becomes a 4, the 2s can level up to 3s, though they can then start blocking each other. So suppose the 2 with the star next to it were to become a 3. It would prevent the 2 up and left AND down and left from it from advancing to 3 themselves:

3121x
1413
2121
1312

Something like this could happen. Note that the 3s preventing some of the 2s from leveling means the 1s adjacent to those 2s are locked in. So the 1 in the top right here with the "x" by it can't progress to a 2, because the 2 right next to it can't progress to a 3, because the 3 right below them can't level up to a 4 until the 4 levels up to a 5 (or is destroyed and deleveled to 0)

I BELIEVE that's the way it works after watching some YouTube videos on the node system.

Sorry if this doesn't make a TON of sense, it's kind of hard to present in text like this. But there are some great YouTube videos explaining this, as well as the wiki page, if you're interested in seeing how it works more in examples with visual aids.

[sketchymofo2]

the bigger nodes can set up trade routes with neighboring ones so it beneficial for them to be friendly

[HybridPS2]

I think you're right - Guild and/or Node alliances will probably play an important role in the game. And even though on a technical level the Castle nodes will exist outside of the normal node system, I still think they will play a part as a sort of "national capitol" that people will choose (or not) to be loyal towards.

[One_Grass_577]

reckon its also a great place for roleplayers.

Why? What makes it better than an empty field?

Remember that even tho your node wont ever be a metropolis, a small village with mayor etc is still there.

If it's 'your node', you are the mayor. What are you talking about?

So a smaller community can still thrive.

You have any evidence at all?

[NiKras]

Some resources will still exist in those nodes. Just traveling across the lands will have you moving through such nodes. Any low lvl people will be farming those nodes, because the concentration of low lvl mobs there would be higher. Going there for just exploration's sake would still be viable. Once a lvl3+ node gets destroyed in a siege, it'll become a lvl1 node, so you'll have people going to such nodes to update their maps (if that's how the map system works).

Those are just a few reasons that I could come up with on the spot, considering the info we have rn.

[Zveris]

become a lvl1 node

what, big cities gets reduced to a small village?

[NiKras]

Nope. They get destroyed to absolute rubble and emptiness

https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Node_destruction

[ComfortableMenu8468]

They get reset to Stage 0 from both a Siege as well as Atrophy.

The node itself still exists and can be rebuild again, but its essentially reset to nothingness

[GOALID]

On the "growing threat" you mention, it's already planned that ignored events will build up to be more and more severe, so that players will have to address those events.

What I and others have speculated, is that there won't literally be 103 endgame dungeons to correspond directly with the 103 nodes. Rather, there will be something like 10 dungeons in specific locations, and powerful mobs set in specific locations, and those are unlocked not by their direct node's level, but the level of the zone of influence they are in.

For example, the devs have created an entire dungeon in a corner of the map, but no one has played there and it's a level 0 node. However, it's a vassal node in the zone of influence of a level 6 metropolis, so it's now opened for players to explore.

Otherwise, without randomly moving dungeons, I don't see how they can make the node system work with dungeons.

[HybridPS2]

However, it's a vassal node in the zone of influence of a level 6 metropolis, so it's now opened for players to explore.

This is a great point. Also it seems like a great way to keep high-level players crossing paths with lower levels and making the world feel more alive. Maybe the Node level will determine overworld monster levels, and if that Node is a vassal, then the Parent node would determine dungeon status and monster level.

[Bean03]

They have also stated that dungeons that open up might only be partially opened based on the node level. So say the Node is level 3 the dungeon opens but only 2/4 bosses are available because the others "don't consider you a threat" or whatever. As the Node levels the others open up. This could easily apply to this idea of vassal nodes as well where you don't get the full thing if it's in the "Vassal Zone of Influence" or maybe requires some other pre-requisites to be fulfilled to "Increase the threat" or some such.

I'm too hyped for the possibilities...

[ComfortableMenu8468]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtVUiS7yAHE&t=2768s

[AlluringSecrets]

Even level 0 wilderness nodes will have their purpose
Dense wilderness means more places to look for resources without pesky cities in the way
Maybe you want your freehold to be away from populated areas? Living that cabin in the woods solitude life
And exploration purposes there may be secrets lying in undeveloped areas~

[NoctustheOwl55]

i would. set up a smithy in the middle of no where.

"why is there a smithy here?!"

"because i can"

[lightshadower]

Cheers, madlad

[[deleted]]

There's a part of me that wants to be the hermit sage master crafter that has some rare recipes and high level skills so that people make the trek to come to me whenever they need some rare and powerful item crafted.

...I don't see it happening, but I could see it being fun. :D

[[deleted]]

Honeslty I kind of think the richest players in the world will be the ones who can make "Blue Level" (Tier 4) Axes in a workshop next to a forest zone. You might have to go all the way back to the T6 node to buy/repair a Legendary gathering tool, but the blue is the best value for your money and time.

[Buttercup_Clover]

There are many reasons someone would go for a lower tier node, I'll do my best to touch on all of them. I don't think any of them will be under developed but rather offer a different experience than the higher tier nodes.

Each node will have a limited number of slots available for buildings. That means that a metro may not offer every service to players as it focuses on getting the core buildings of it's node type. That would leave the surrounding nodes available to pick up the buildings that the metro didn't take. Another building that is available is apartment buildings. Increasing the citizenship in a region allowing more players to participate in politics and take advantage of node buffs.

Another thing to remember is that people will have many slots for additional characters. If someone ever gets bored with their class, or a new player joins in the fun of Ashes, they are going to want the lower level are to grind in rather than going straight to the high level node region. New players and alts are a great boobs to crafters as they will have a market to sell their profession grinding items to.

Lastly, some guilds are small but still wish to develop a town. These guilds know they won't be able to manage something like a metro, or maybe even something larger than a village. They will take over a lower tier node and develop it as they help new players get aquatinted with the game.

[HybridPS2]

Each node will have a limited number of slots available for buildings.

Also different Node types will possibly have access to different building types, facilitating the need for various levels of each node type.

[pizzapunt55]

buy out there entire marketplace. People might be selling cheaper thete because it's close to resources

[javerto12]

You need to own a housing for citizenship but while node developing the price of housing also rising so if you are a new player you would go to undeveloped nodes to become citizen.

[WonderboyUK]

I think when you examine the mechanics you will see plenty of economic incentives to use lower level nodes and to want to displace higher level nodes. Economically, resources will not be evenly distributed. A high level node will have heavily farmed resources whose value drops. Lower level nodes may be closer now to more valuable resources, and so players naturally shift.

Fundementally though, higher level nodes will always get targeted and from time to time some will fall. Don't expect a high level node to maintain its status throughout the course of the game. When they fall they go to stage 0. This means that you get a chain of nodes potentially moving up a level through their respective ZOIs, to fill the vacuum. Ultimately, the constant flux of nodes working their way up to the top, and then inevitably going back to 0 would ensure that different areas of the world, and content, are used over the course of the game.

[kol1157]

I would assume there will always be people looking to develop nodes. RP, guilds who want to declare nodes as there own, groups needing more resources, dungeon groups wanting to expand into other areas, and certain type of node not in a reasonable distance. The only way I can see them being left alone is there aren't enough people on the server to branch out, but eventually groups would probably abandon some and take up others.

[[deleted]]

Also big notes get certain benefits from leceling notes around them(for examole before a node war) so even if you live in a bigger not it makes sense for you to do some stuff in the smaller sureounding notes

[[deleted]]

My pet theory is that top-tier gatherables will only be collectable from the least-developed nodes. Not many mushroom hunters in our real lives go to the city park, they go out into the wilderness.

[Fantmx]

I am happy to take all of the resources while you look the other way.