Mobility

Revamped Alpha-1 Mage Fireball ability.

The general approach that we're kind of 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 kind of the general design philosophy we're using to approach the overhaul. – Tradd Thompson

• The revamped combat system features 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.
  • The amount of mobility is determined by the weight of the weapon being used.
• 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.
  • Skills with the greatest power may require the caster to remain stationary while channeling them. This is a risk vs. reward mechanic.

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. – Steven Sharif

• Unreal Engine 5 has enabled improved forms of locomotion, such as crouching, tilting and mantling.
  • Crouching may or may not be in the game.
• The ability to prone is not be in the game.
• Moving backward will likely not affect block and parry.
• Player movement speed during combat is balanced for both PvE and PvP.

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. – 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. – Steven Sharif

This section contains information from early testing phases. It will be updated as soon as new information is made available.

Skill	Icon	Rank 1	Rank 2	Rank 3
Blink		Instantly teleport a set distance in the direction you are moving.	-	-
Rush		Rush toward a target; and upon reaching the target, deal an amount damage with a chance to knock the target down.	-	-

Combat revamp

Alpha-1 split-body melee weapon combat sneak peek.

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. – Steven Sharif

A revamped combat system will be rolled out during and post Alpha-1 testing based on player feedback.

• The goal is to give more agency to the player and achieve a more fluid flow of combat with greater mobility when using abilities.
• The current hybrid tab and action combat system will remain after the revamp.
• This revamp will not represent the final form of combat, but will set the general direction that combat will be taking.
• The revamp will be iterative and will be rolled out to testers in different phases.
• The developers will be testing whether or not to use global cooldowns GCDs on different types of abilities during Alpha-2.

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.

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

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

• Changes that allow templated abilities to apply to 3D positions in the air or water will be prototyped and may be included in Alpha-2.

Weapon weights

Alpha-2 shield, spear, and mace 3D renders.

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

• Light weapons have fewer restrictions on player agency and motion.
• Medium weapons exist on a spectrum between light and heavy weapons.
• Heavy weapons will increasingly lock the player in place during portions of the combat animation.

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 kind of aspect; and so what we've done by presenting you guys with both the dual daggers and the two-handed weapon is we've kind of 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. – Steven Sharif

Player movement

Walking and running shown in pre-alpha gameplay.

• Sprinting will consume a percentage of a character's mana pool. Sprinting will not be permitted while in combat.
  • A sprinting/dash skill with a cooldown was confirmed to be part of a class kit.

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. – Steven Sharif

• There is a toggleable walk/run (autorun) capability.

• There is not going to be any "go to waypoint" (auto-pathing) mechanics.

• Back-peddling (walking backwards) and strafing are slower than normal movement speed.

• Unreal Engine 5 mantling was demonstrated by the developers.

Collision

There are player and spell collision mechanics in Ashes of Creation.

• 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.

Dodging/Weaving/Evasion

Dodging in Alpha-1 early combat.

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

Evasion moves such as dodging and weaving will be present in Ashes of Creation combat.

• The developers are considering the inclusion of dodging in a subset of universal skills that apply to all classes.
  • Dodge rolling type skills were previously housed in the action skill sets of agile classes such as Rogues or Fighters.
  • The developers will be testing the use of separate energy mechanics for universal skills in Alpha-2.

• Dodging will not use I-frames (invincibility frames), but it may affect accuracy and mitigation stats when used.
  • Previously it was stated that hybrid combat will likely have true evasion skills relating to action-oriented combat and also have I-frames that apply to tab targeting.

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. – Steven Sharif

Jumping

Jumping puzzle in early Alpha-1 dungeon entrance.

Jumping puzzles will occasionally feature in the world.

• Jumping puzzles were shown in the Alpha-2 Tower of Carphin preview.
• Jumping puzzles were present in early Alpha-1 dungeon gameplay footage.
• Jumping puzzles were present in the Alpha-0 Dünheim dungeon.

Swimming

Alpha-1 swimming.

Tidesnapper early Alpha-1 water animations.

Underwater content will be accessible, not cumbersome.

• Characters are able to utilize their abilities while in the water.
• Stamina does not limit swimming, however breath does.
• Navigational instruments are available to allow ships to detect movement under the water, such as aquatic mounts.

Treasures may be obtained through fishing and by exploring naval content.

Animation cancelling

Animation cancelling will not be a combat mechanic.

• Players will be able to cancel channeled abilities.

Summoning mounts

Summoning a mount in Alpha-1.

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. – Steven Sharif

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

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

A mount can be an initiation vehicle; it can be an escape vehicle; it can be utility vehicle; it can be traversal. – Steven Sharif

• Animal husbandry mounts are summoned via an item that is obtainable from a stable (husbandry stall).

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. – Steven Sharif

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

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. – Steven Sharif

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

Fast travel

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

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. – Steven Sharif

• Scientific metropolises offer teleportation within their vassal network, which can extend across seas, and also include islands.
• Flight paths between coastal nodes or nodes within specific regions.
• Airships between metropolises. This was previously stated to be between scientific metropolises.
• Family summoning.

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

Public transportation

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

• Players can visit a node building and pay a fee to be driven via road to another node on their land mount of choice.
  • The node building can be upgraded to become a flight path, which allows longer direct connections to other nodes within a specific region that also have a flight path.

• Airships between metropolises. This was previously stated to be between scientific metropolises.
• It is possible that some public transportation services could be player-driven.

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 you know where you load up a couple people and you drive them somewhere while you AFK. – 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.

• Public transportation via system driven land mounts or flying mounts.
• There is not going to be any "go to waypoint" (auto-pathing) mechanics (outside of these mechanics).

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

See also

• Player movement
• Combat