Fresh Start Servers

Eldurian

For those of you familiar with Morpheus(NA) and Rangora(EU) they will be doing two new fresh start servers with the December 10th expansion. 

Like Morpheus and Rangora that means that they will be creating a server where everyone starts at level one with no resources and character transfers are not possible until the server matures (At least 6-9 months from release).

Unlike Morpheus and Rangora you have to make an entirely new account to play on it and once you make that account there you can't make accounts on other servers so transfer of labor points / credits / patron status from existing servers to the fresh start server will not be possible. They'll also be restricting certain items on the market such as labor potions in the beginning to help control how quickly people can advance and make the playing-feild a bit more even.

So if you love everything about ArcheAge except the huge gear disparity this server is the place to be for the next 6-9+ months.

Also, shameless plug, I'll be running a pro-faction group on the Nuian faction of the North American fresh start server: Details

Dragnelus

Only played the beta, maybe I will try this at 10 dec!

GoldenArrow

It's an odd concept. The servers start as subscription servers and slowly turn into P2W servers later on. I'd imagine people will have fun on the server until the P2W elements are introduced. I don't understand why Trion doesn't simply start a subscription only server instead of these wierd gimmicks.

Dragnelus

GoldenArrow said:

It's an odd concept. The servers start as subscription servers and slowly turn into P2W servers later on. I'd imagine people will have fun on the server until the P2W elements are introduced. I don't understand why Trion doesn't simply start a subscription only server instead of these wierd gimmicks.

Ohh, need to pay sub for the fresh server? Or first month free?

Eldurian

I think he's referring to the investment needed to be viable. You can play for free but 15/mo for the patron benefits is hugely helpful in raising the in-game money needed for gear. Buying Apex (10$ real world money items that can be turned into cash shop credit or be used two at a time to buy a month of subscription) and selling it on the in-game market helps you gear even faster.

Ultimately I would suggest that you can try the game for free, subscribe for at least the first few months if you like it (after the first few months you can keep your subscription up with APEX if desired), and if you have money to burn and really love the game supplement your in-game revenue sources with APEX or additional accounts.

ArcheAge is not ever pay to win. People who put in massive playtime have just as much of an advantage as most swipers, and people who are good at playing the auction house or capable of running the highest payout content can keep up with either of those groups as well. Since APEX can be bought with in-game gold and used for cash shop credits you also won't be denied access to anything for not being a swiper.

The gear grind is pretty much unlimited though. I don't even know of anyone who's fully maxed out their gear because the RNG makes it so prohibitively expensive to reach the top tiers. On older servers you will face off with people who can one shot you even after you've been playing pretty obsessively for a few months.

This fresh start should ensure that people who massively outclass you are pretty rare if you are a consistent player who knows how to make good money though. And if they don't massively outclass you then the number of players you have, your player skill, and your group tactics could all allow you to pull off a win. My group did decently well on Morpheus for awhile and we were comprised mainly of players that joined 3-4 months after it released. So if you get in on day one and work hard at never falling too far behind you're going to be pretty competitive. 

Copperfield

well @least they are trying to fix the things..

I think they should another way tho..

by removing the RNG crap and make it a sub based game.

This might be a better way instead of a workaround of their shit setup

Scorchien

GoldenArrow said:

It's an odd concept. The servers start as subscription servers and slowly turn into P2W servers later on. I'd imagine people will have fun on the server until the P2W elements are introduced. I don't understand why Trion doesn't simply start a subscription only server instead of these wierd gimmicks.

Trion cant do that on there own , XL games i think would have to permit/agree , it would also prove there moneygrab system wrong as the sub server would easily be the most populated , most likely leading to them needing to open additional Sub servers .. ... As there P2W servers slowly died

Quazal.A

I like this idea, i have been playing AA for last 2 months, but ive got to point where i need to go have fun pvp/dungeons etcc.. but being a solo player up until now and so far behind the curve its almost impossible to catch up.
But its a shame for me that the game juust didn't release as well as it could, i loved htis game during cbt and actually enjoyed it levelling up.
so i might join the EU server and start again, it only takes a couple of weeks to max level, then rest is about what you do in game, but also the land-grab will be far-fairer and will suitable plots all around (as much as i was able to get 2x 16x16 farm plots + 16x16 house, its taken an age, but also the house plot was because some kind old player held it and allowed me to take it for free.

Kyleran

I think its a great idea, but unfortunately as I am unable to play obsessively I would quickly fall behind the power curve.

This is no different than any other MMORPG with a nearly unlimited progression cap, I always disliked the fact in most games I was a 2nd class citizen to those with more play time than me.

One reason EVE has remained my game of choice is with real time skill training and hard skill caps on ships and activities with the passage of time (and multiple accounts) I am the equal of anyone.

AA is a good MMO in my book, if I had more time I would give this another shot.

Good luck to you @Eldurian in your new adventure, keep us posted on your progress.

Eldurian

Copperfield said:

well @least they are trying to fix the things..

I think they should another way tho..

by removing the RNG crap and make it a sub based game.

This might be a better way instead of a workaround of their shit setup

Certainly if I was in charge I would decrease the power gap by newbs and vets but removing RNG and giving diminishing returns to the strength of each gear tier as opposed to the increasing returns they currently have.

But this is what we have and there unfortunately are not any real MMOs that can top it I'm aware of. I mean Wurm and EVE are each great games that are better in their own way but ArcheAge is one of the best on the market for a fast paced combat system that isn't ridden with bugs and suffering heavily from lack of funding. It's also one of the only themeparks left with deep character customization. It has MORE depth than vanilla WoW as opposed to the themeparks that have removed customization almost entirely.

Might see that change with some of the upcoming titles such as Crowfall but for now it's about the best we have.

Thupli

I wish this was any other monetization than how they did it

winghaven1

This was that one MMORPG that got away in my books. It has excellent gameplay, awesome housing, totally sandbox and open-world. But ultimately it's left wanting due to the shameless and stale p2w mechanics with the illusion of it being a choice for anyone that doesn't put 8+ hours perday into the game. 

+ Great concept and gameplay!

- Horrible implementation. 
- Horrible Publisher.

I won't touch it again even if I really want to due to the 'fresh start' servers but they've even said that it won't be long until they introduce the p2w cash shop ( labor point grind/buy) and then the impossible catch-up phase (one-shottted by hardcore veterans)

So what I'll be getting personally is just a brief segment of the game where everything seems to be right in the world but only the fact remains that the looming doom is just around the corner -- and "by doom around the corner" I do mean Trion Worlds with a baseball bat and eager for your wallet.

WTB Subscription Servers (No cash shops) 

filmoret

Copperfield said:

well @least they are trying to fix the things..

I think they should another way tho..

by removing the RNG crap and make it a sub based game.

This might be a better way instead of a workaround of their shit setup

From what I gather they have removed the RNG by giving you an alternative.  I don't know how well that alternative works though.  Anyone to help with this?

I am very reluctant to try this game again.  Its such a great game with awesome ideas.  Fool me once shame on you and fool me twice shame on me.  I mean it took them over a year to figure out that blockading in pve areas wasn't pvp.

Eldurian

One positive thing I can say about the labor point system is that it kind of shoots down the whole "the only way to compete is not having a life" argument. Maximum efficiency  for a patron is finding the way to make the most gold per labor and ensuring you spend 2880 labor per day (assuming you have patron). That's not 8+ hours per day. Not even close.

I can burn my labor fairly efficiently in 2-3 hours and maybe spend like 15 minutes a day working the auction house and trade channel to make quite good gold. The people who were dramatically ahead of me on Morpheus didn't get there as much by gold as the fact they had been playing 3-4 months longer, and I joined the day a regrade event was ending.

While I do agree the gear disparity is ridiculous I think most of the "Pay to Win" and "No Lifer" arguments are general QQing. If you got in on day one of event like this and played about 2 hours a day on average very few people would be much stronger than you.

NoxiousBass

I think ArcheAge is one of the finest mmo´s out there. Problem for me, is that this game is not casual friendly. You have to be in good guild to get the most out of ArcheAge,  which is not a bad thing, but I just cannot sink so many hours in a single game anymore.

Eldurian

NoxiousBass said:

I think ArcheAge is one of the finest mmo´s out there. Problem for me, is that this game is not casual friendly. You have to be in good guild to get the most out of ArcheAge,  which is not a bad thing, but I just cannot sink so many hours in a single game anymore.

Fully agreed on all points. You need a good guild and should be investing a bare minimum of an hour or two a day on average. Ideally 2-3 as previously stated. I can understand the time constraint issue but if you need a guild I might be able to hook you up.

filmoret

I think we need to address the rng crafting.  I was told that everyone uses obsidian stuff and that doesn't fall into the rng crafting bullcrap.  You can also upgrade it without worrying it will explode?  Does the upgrade process feel like a huge grind or impossible goal?

Eldurian

Obsidian is the most common type of gear for most people and most builds now. You can still use regular gear with the upside that it isn't bind on equip and works better for many more unique builds, but obsidian is a bit cheaper. Obsidian has the regrade RNG still (complete with the chance to break when regrading anything that is celestial or higher) but actually tiering the weapon up is a 100% success chance. This means you can get a base obsidian weapon at whatever grade you want and then upgrade it through the tiers with no chance of a break or degrade and a slight chance to bump it up grades. You see a lot of people selling tier 1 obsidian gear of celestial and higher grades because of this.

So it's far less RNG but still pretty RNGey. Top tiers of obsidian are also not as strong as top tiers of regular gear but if you are top tier obsidian with a decent grade you are stronger than the vast majority of players anyway.