Mobility

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Revamped Alpha-1 Mage Fireball ability.[1][2]

The general approach that we're taking based on a lot of feedback and just good combat design in general. You know philosophy is that we want to give more agency in the hands of the player and the antithesis of that is locking the player down for really long amounts of time. The sort of concept behind that is like you could make an animation effects as glorious looking as possible but if it's taking away control of the player, none of that really matters. Especially the 100th or thousandth time you're using the spell you're tired of that happening you don't feel powerful: You feel the opposite of powerful. So we're trying to like give a lot of control back to the player while they're using these abilities so they can still control their movements, they can react simultaneously while they're taking actions; and we just want to get overall more of a fluid flow, I guess, of combat. And that's the general design philosophy we're using to approach the overhaul.[1]Tradd Thompson

A lot of abilities you have the capability of moving while casting. It's going to decrease your movement speed significantly or depending on the type of ability. We do reserve the cost- and that's really what it is when you tie ability usage to mobility- we do reserve the cost of requiring the character to remain stationary on some big effect type abilities.[3]Steven Sharif
  • Most abilities in Ashes of Creation are capable of being cast while moving. Some abilities may slow the caster down during the cast, but only rarely will the player be rooted in place.[3][8]
    • Movement speed can decrease significantly depending on the type of ability.[3]
    • Weapon weight can also affect mobility.[4]
    • Skills with the greatest power may require the caster to remain stationary while channeling them. This is a risk vs. reward mechanic.[3][8][9][10]
Most abilities you'll find in Ashes of Creation are capable of being cast while moving. Some of those abilities might slow your movement during the cast, but you can continue to move. Very rarely, and depending on obviously the importance of the ability or the power level of that ability, you might be rooted in place. So, for example, the AoE ability [Chains of Restraint] has a lot going on. It has damage ticking over time, it is an area of effect, it also has a status condition application; and in those instances the player character gets rooted.[8]Steven Sharif
  • Unreal Engine 5 has enabled improved forms of locomotion, such as crouching, tilting and mantling.[11][12]
    • Crouching may or may not be in the game.[13][14]
  • The ability to prone is not be in the game.[13][14]
There's a balance in the game design between your movement speed on attack and the movement speed of your opponent. When you have a game that is both PvE centric as well as PvP centric, you have to make sure that combat is blended for both approaches; and we can always run into problems where, if you're significantly hampered in your movement speed, that has an effect on how we expect player versus player engagements to interact; and we don't want to restrict a player's ability to be mobile if they're the target of an attack. And as a result of that we need to make sure that we don't restrict the movement abilities of the player who is doing the attacking as well. So we want it to be relatively free for you to stay with each other. Your opponents move around the battlefield together and if we're hampering you on the attack action, we have to then implement some type of snare, or slow, or cc effect essentially on your opposing target; and that's not the approach we want to take for for PvP.[16]Steven Sharif
If we're talking about Fighter, they're going to have a lot of heavy gap closers. They can probably be a little bit more liberal in the use of their gap closers because they have so many of them, versus let's say a Ranger that needs to choose when to use their escape abilities, because they have fewer of them. The same would be true for a melee character like a rogue. Their approach vector is going to be more stealth-driven than it would be perhaps let's say from a gap-closer perspective.[17]Steven Sharif
Q: If a ranger is super mobile, what are the melee's options in order to catch them?
A: Different class kits will provide different gap closers. They'll provide different mobility skills. They'll have lockdowns. They'll have chains to pull back. They'll have a lot of different things in the rotation. That's part of what an MMORPG experience is. You're not just restricted to three or six skills, you have a rotational suite; and depending on the type of challenges you face is going to help determine which of those rotations you spec into from your skill tree.[18]Steven Sharif
info-orange.pngThis section contains information from early testing phases. It will be updated as soon as new information is made available.
Skill Icon Base skill
Air Strike Air Strike New.png Leap a great distance forward and into the air while firing three projectiles in a line along the path, each dealing area damage and rooting targets hit for 3 seconds. Rotation control is enabled during cast.[19] The root effect is nature based.[20]
Blink Blink.png Instantly teleport a set distance in the direction you are moving.[21][22]
Call of the Wild Call of the Wild Icon.png Remove all movement impairing effects and increase movement speed by 20% for 8 seconds. Snares and Roots effects applied to the caster are ignored.[23]
Caravan Trail Speed Bonus Trail Speed Bonus.png Minor speed boost for travelling on a simple trail.[24]
Rush rush icon.png Rush toward a target; and upon reaching the target, deal an amount damage with a chance to knock the target down.[25]
Speed Boost Speed Boost.png Gives the caravan a temporary speed boost.[26]
Wings of Salvation Wings of Salvation.png Sprout phoenix-like wings and leap to target ally, then grant a small amount of temporary health to that target on arrival.[27][28] An ally is defined as any non-combatant player or non-mob NPC.[29]

Combat revamp

Alpha-1 split-body melee weapon combat sneak peek.[5]

I can move while swinging on this guy. I can back up then continue to attack him. Just have complete control over my character while attacking.[5]Steven Sharif

A revamped combat system will be rolled out during and post Alpha-1 testing based on player feedback.[30][31][32][2]

I just want to give kudos to the combat team, because in my opinion having played this and watched this and seen the community's response to it, they've done a great job in moving away from what was our direction prior to Alpha-1 to now having developed for Alpha-2 a significantly revamped combat experience; and I think it feels good and it plays well and it's fun.[30]Steven Sharif
  • The goal is to give more agency to the player and achieve a more fluid flow of combat with greater mobility when using abilities.[33][1]
  • The current hybrid tab and action combat system will remain after the revamp.[33]
  • This revamp will not represent the final form of combat, but will set the general direction that combat will be taking.[34]
  • The revamp will be iterative and will be rolled out to testers in different phases.[1]
  • The developers will be testing whether or not to use global cooldowns GCDs on different types of abilities during Alpha-2.[35]
    • As of July 2023 global cooldowns are not currently in the game.[36]
    • Instant cast abilities are referred to as off-global-cooldown or OGCD abilities.[36]

The revamped combat system will feature split-body animations, where the character's upper body can be locked by weapon attack animations while the lower body is free to continue moving.[5][6][7]

You'll be able to move forward while swinging your weapon; and this will allow you complete control over your weapon attacks for melee.[5]Steven Sharif

Alpha-1 combat was focused on core functionality rather than combat balance.[7] Alpha-2 combat will include archetypes, significant ability support, augments, split-body combat, weapon attacks, and many additional items, among other things.[37]

Weapon weights

Weapon weight refers to how the mass of a weapon affects its performance during combat.[4]

There is a balance between player motion and agency as we call it and weapon weightedness- that almost locked-in-place rooted position- the heavier the weapon is, the more restrictions you want to place on that player agency to showcase the rooted effect: That weight- that heavyweight aspect; and so what we've done by presenting you guys with both the dual daggers and the two-handed weapon is we've shown the range between that complete player agency: a player agency in the light weapon attacks that's the dual daggers, and the maximum range of of rootedness or weightedness that's present on the two-handed weapon; and that's the spectrum in which our basic melee combat will exist within. So if there are medium weapon groups that exist in-between there, it's going to be somewhere in between that spectrum.[40]Steven Sharif

Player movement

  • Sprinting will consume a percentage of a character's mana pool. Sprinting will not be permitted while in combat.[42]
    • A sprinting/dash skill with a cooldown was confirmed to be part of a class kit.[43]
I've instructed design to incorporate a mana consumption that's percentage based for sprinting. So it'll be a similar amount of time that each class, regardless of their mana values, will have in order to sprint and it will not be accessible while in a combat.[42]Steven Sharif
  • There is a toggleable walk/run (autorun) capability.[44]
  • There is not going to be any "go to waypoint" (auto-pathing) mechanics.[45]

Collision

There are player and spell/projectile collision mechanics in Ashes of Creation.[49][50][51]

  • Inertia and momentum physics will help prevent blocking doorways/access points. This is based on a character's direction and movement speed, and can be used to push people out of the way.[52][51]
  • Specific ranged skills will have a pushback effect but this is not inherent to all ranged abilities.[54]
  • Player collision inherently limits the number of individuals that can be affected by AoE skills.[49]
Not all projectiles can be body-blocked. Some potentially can, but there will be certain abilities and effects, like a shield wall, that can that can be brought up and that will obscure line-of-sight to the target as well; and it will restrict some of those attacks from occurring.[50]Steven Sharif

Dodging/Weaving/Evasion

Dodging in Alpha-1 early combat.[55]

Another thing that's important about these action combats is the ability to dodge and moving out of the way of certain skill shots.[55]Steven Sharif

Evasion moves such as dodging and weaving will be present in Ashes of Creation combat.[56][57][58]

So you see an animation windup that's a telegraph on what's coming; and then you have response actions that you can take as a result of that in order to dodge, weave, move, do whatever. It is both a combination of what your rotation is but also how you have reaction abilities ready to go that you save for certain circumstances that are important.[57]Steven Sharif

Jumping

Jumping puzzles will occasionally feature in the world.[63]

Swimming

Underwater content will be accessible, not cumbersome.[68]

Treasures may be obtained through fishing and by exploring naval content.[71][72]

Animation cancelling

Animation cancelling will not be a combat mechanic in Ashes of Creation.[73][74]

Summoning mounts

Summoning a mount in Alpha-1.[75]

We want to make sure that it's not cumbersome to quickly mount a steed and start moving... Steeds play a very important role in mobility.[75]Steven Sharif

Mounts are items that players carry then activate to summon the mount nearby.[76]

  • Mounts are generally able to be summoned during combat in the open-world.[77]
    • There may be exceptions to this in certain dungeons, instances or other spaces where summoning mounts may not be permitted.[77]

A mount can be an initiation vehicle; it can be an escape vehicle; it can be utility vehicle; it can be traversal.[77]Steven Sharif

Mounts are going to be items that you will be able to carry on your character and activate to summon the mount in front of you or near you; where you can then ride the mount.[76]Steven Sharif

  • A player can dismount and have their mount follow them.[79][80]
    • In current Alpha-1 testing mounts are not separate from the player, but in future mounts will be.[79]

Right now we don't have it where the mount is separate from the player per-se. You automatically mount the mount when you summon it in the in the alpha. But in the future you'll be able to summon it and you won't have to automatically mount it. It'll just be standing next to you. It'll follow you around and then you'll be able to mount it.[79]Steven Sharif

  • De-summoning the mount returns the item back to the player's inventory.[78]

Fast travel

Fast travel is limited in Ashes of Creation. None of these fast travel methods allow transportation of gatherables or materials.[81][82]

There is very little teleportation in the world. Some of that does get unlocked through metropolises of a certain type. Additionally there are mounts that are faster travel and there are services that are fast travel between nodes.[45]Steven Sharif

Faster travel in Ashes of Creation refers to the use of player ridden mounts and flying automated creatures that connect certain nodes.[86]

Public transportation

There are multiple types of public transportation services where players can go AFK and be driven somewhere.[85][87]

One of the nodes has the idea of an airship that can go from node to node and I'm certain that we will have harbors that do similar things with other node types... It might be something that could be player-driven... We're sure to have a taxi system where you load up a couple people and you drive them somewhere while you AFK.[85]Jeffrey Bard

Faster travel

Faster travel in Ashes of Creation refers to the use of player ridden mounts and automated creatures that connect certain nodes.[90][91][84][86]

There will be connection points between certain nodes via the use of like flying automated creatures that you can use.[86]Steven Sharif

See also

References

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  2. 2.0 2.1 Video, February 26, 2021 (6:17).
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Livestream, July 28, 2023 (1:02:23).
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Livestream, June 30, 2022 (46:30).
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Livestream, July 30, 2021 (31:22).
  6. 6.0 6.1 Interview, June 13, 2021 (4:12).
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Livestream, May 28, 2021 (1:13:05).
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  14. 14.0 14.1 stevenclarification.png
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  17. 17.0 17.1 Livestream, December 19, 2023 (1:16:19).
  18. 18.0 18.1 Livestream, September 30, 2022 (51:28).
  19. Air Strike New Description.png
  20. Video, September 30, 2022 (15:28).
  21. Video, April 28, 2023 (4:40).
  22. Call of the Wild Description.png
  23. Trail Speed Bonus Description.png
  24. progression.png
  25. Speed Boost Description New.png
  26. Video, July 28, 2023 (24:03).
  27. Wings of Salvation Info Panel.png
  28. Video, July 28, 2023 (24:16).
  29. 30.0 30.1 Livestream, December 19, 2023 (1:30:29).
  30. Livestream, May 28, 2021 (1:14:50).
  31. steven-combat-revamp-update.png
  32. 33.0 33.1 steven-combat-revamp-update-2.png
  33. Interview, February 7, 2021 (49:18).
  34. Livestream, July 29, 2022 (1:05:20).
  35. 36.0 36.1 Video, July 28, 2023 (10:18).
  36. Livestream, May 27, 2022 (1:11:41).
  37. Livestream, May 27, 2022 (1:16:17).
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  42. Reddit - Developer response to unique ability visuals.
  43. autorun.jpg
  44. 45.0 45.1 45.2 45.3 Livestream, May 4, 2018 (51:57).
  45. Livestream, December 15, 2017 (1:35:38).
  46. Livestream, May 31, 2023 (1:10:08).
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  50. 51.0 51.1 collision.jpg
  51. Interview, March 27, 2020 (15:20).
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  71. fishing.jpg
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  80. 81.0 81.1 81.2 81.3 81.4 81.5 81.6 steven-stream-clarifications-august-2022.png
  81. caravan zerg.png
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