Alpha-2 starting area

You'll be seeing more as we get closer to Alpha Two but this will give you a little bit of insight to the capital city of the Aelan empire prior to the Exodus. This is one of the starting areas that players enter into. This will be this one of the starting areas in alpha 2.[1] – Steven Sharif
- The Riverlands biome houses the Aelan divine gateway in Alpha-2.[2]
Divine gateways

When you play the MMORPG you're going to be stepping through what are called these divine gateways from a planet called Sanctus and Sanctus was really a safe haven that was forethought by the Goddess of Fate and Creation as a sanctuary to provide the people of Verra who could survive the fall, the apocalypse, the exodus essentially.[3] – Steven Sharif
Divine gateways are portals located in the ruined cities of the four ancient races of Verra.[4]
- Divine gateways are where players first arrive in Ashes of Creation.[5]
- Each divine gateway is in proximity to one or more starting area.[4]
- Players can choose their starting gateway.[6] This choice is not restricted by their choice of race.[7]
- Tulnar characters have the same option of starting at any of the divine gateways as other races.[8][7][9]
- The divine gateways were created by the Goddess of Creation in response to a warning from the Goddess of Fate that The Ancients and The Others would return from exile and seek retribution for their defeat at the hands of The Seven gods.[3][10]
Where players start, they enter this portal from another world called Sanctus. Sanctus is a place of no magic, low technology; and players are the first expeditioners that are coming through this portal into the world of Verra.[11] – Jeffrey Bard
World map

If you have tuned into our live streams and update videos, you may have caught glimpses of Verra. The world is very large and meant to hold around 10,000 concurrent players. With elaborate trade routes and sea-play, the Verran landscapes must provide complex obstacles and intricate passages between its regions. Alpha One will be the first test phase in the actual world map of Verra. For the first time ever, our community will step foot on the world we hope you'll call home.[12] – Steven Sharif

The original Ashes map from my pathfinder world of Ashes made 10 years ago. Obviously some adjustments had to be made for the mmorpg. But the main two continents and their points of interest have a lot of the same.[13] – Steven Sharif
The world of Verra features an in-game viewable world map. This map is not randomly generated, and begins covered in a fog of war.[14] Players will not be able to see the world until they have explored it or gathered information about it. The world is also full of imperfect information, which will require the player to act on it for verification.[15]
- For example, you may hear a rumor in a tavern that tells you the location of a cave full of weak Kobolds, but this was not accurate as the rumor was started by well-equipped bandits in order to waylay overconfident adventurers.[15]
When information is gathered, or the player has successfully explored an area, points of interest are marked on the map.[16]
- These points of interest are determined by Node progression; and not every server will share the same map, as player decisions will vary server to server.[16]
- The map UI will potentially incorporate player created location markers that are visible by other party members.[17]
In addition to node progression being a factor on map generation, zones in Ashes of Creation will cater to all levels.[18]
The map will have geographical choke points (such as Mountains) that are not traversable by players.[19]
- Even though we're an open-world that doesn't mean that from a design perspective, especially with the way our economic systems work, that we will want to create Geographic choke points.[19] – Steven Sharif
Artwork
- None -
See also
References
- ↑ Livestream, 27 May 2022 (1:04:29).
- ↑ Video, 27 May 2022 (3:46).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Livestream, 8 November 2020 (0:00:00).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2
- ↑ Livestream, 19 May 2017 (29:25).
- ↑
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Livestream, 16 October 2017 (53:58).
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ Interview, 20 July 2020 (13:33).
- ↑ Interview, 20 April 2018 (5:46).
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Blog: Creative Director's Letter
- ↑
- ↑ Interview, 22 May 2017 (22:54).
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 The mighty beard!
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 MMOGames interview, January 2017
- ↑ Livestream, 27 May 2022 (2:33).
- ↑ Livestream, 15 May 2017 (30:53).
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Livestream, 26 June 2020 (1:25:11).