We had such an AMAZING turn out for this livestream, so thank you so much to everyone who tuned in and raided us! We appreciate it beyond words, and hope the folks over here on RUclips enjoy it just the same. We are working diligently towards Alpha Two which will be starting in October, and hope that you can join us for our A2 Roadmap and AMA stream on August 16th. As a note, everything you are seeing is a WIP - lighting is in the middle of a revamp, so some areas may be too dark and VFX overexposed, but even with that, we are excited to your see your feedback on the FIRST preview of our Bard Archetype. Just don't throw any tomatoes at us. 😝🍅 See you Verra soon, we cannot wait for you to join us in Alpha Two! 🤗💕
I love the floating spell book. One comment though, is I think it might look more natural if it were to move more independently of the player. For example if a player is running and attacking, the book could lag behind a little while firing and following the player - rather than staying pinned to a specific point relative to the player.
@@_Frexil_ weapons aren’t specific to any one class. Any class can use any weapon, so while this book might fit the theme of a wizard, it can be used by anyone. The bard still uses their instrument when they do their melodies.
While I do agree from a visual perspective, I can see why they chose to do this. If the spell book was a secondary/passive type thing I can totally see it trailing the player but in this case it's the players weapon. Having the players weapon trail behind the player would be odd.
the spell animation coming from the spellbook is such an awkward thing to look at. Hopefully they fix the animation or just have it cast from the player.
Think someone commented on the other video but I'd like to second the thought of "roleplay" spells/abilities. Bards playing songs, wizards performing some kind of ritual, clerics setting up a little shrine, etc.
This game looks amazing I wait for it since 2018 and its still in development for over a decade almost, I hope I will be alive to play it around 2030 when it launches. Cheers.
Very glad you're including some unconventional magic weapons, like the floating book... crystal orb skins for them would be nice too! Already liked the wand so it's nice to see more.
I played Wizardry original and have seen the evolution of gaming since then, and it has come a long way. I beta tested Everquest. I beta tested WOW. I beta tested many similar games. I would be happy to help beta test this one as well. Looks like an actual substantial advancement in massive multi play online gaming. Nice work.
Looking at the stock photo on the AMA announcement and seeing Steven in this update, you can definitely see that the stress of creating this game is taking its toll. I know he and the entire team have been busting their rears to get Ashes where they want it. Keep up the great work and this was another awesome stream.
That's just called time. And it's not linear. The effect time has on a person is not the same from 7 to 17 as it is from 60 to 70. Both are 10 year stretches, but they are VERY different in the effect they have on the person.
@@Doobiestain Okay. Maybe I should have said the rate of aging from 20 to 30 isn't the same as 60 to 70. Better? The point is, the older we get, the faster we age. It's not linear.
Would you ever consider the introduction of siege instruments? Similar to siege weapons, bards would be provided massive instruments such as a war horn or war drum to provide buffs in a massive radius during raids. Or possibly just increased strength of buffs.
I really appreciate the scope of the zoom in and out that you allow the player to have... please don't change that, it looks perfect as it is now. Looking more gorgeous with every video too!
The core class looks absolutely great. You are truly crafting an interesting unique experience for a unique role instead of just coming up with different animations for the same 3 mechanics again and again. Speaking of animations, the melody animations look a little janky, but the dances look really great. I can't wait to see how this looks like after another few iterations!
While Steven was talking about the sagas. Some ideas for a few sages came to mind that you can use. A giant slamming his club down causing shock waves, Monsters causing havoc, a beautiful angel or a Phoenix rising bestowing health, a mighty golden hero holding his sword in his right hand over his head in a victory stands while holding a shield in his left giving courage to all who fight, a wizard casting a meteorite to strike a city, a hero jumping in the sky to stop the meteorite with his shield while shield bashing the meteorite and sending it back to where it came from, and a undefeated king who defeated an army and won.
I have never been a player that enjoied playing a support class, but this one peaked my interest. I love that this bard approach is a versatile one in a sense that it is not just healing or other stuff, but you can change what kind of support you want to provide based on the particular situation. I think this makes it more interesting and less repetitive to play. I also really love spells that can be used as a party member to support your friends but when you play solo, it has an alternative effect. I think this is an incredibly important thing, to make support characters viable when someone's friends are not available for some reason. I would love to see more skills and spells like these. Keep up the good work!
As a huge fun and a Lineage 2 player, i would really love to see some type of Soulshot mechanism (the visual effect side of it). Its something that really made Lineage 2 unique
It was an interesting sink in L2 and also visual wise. But I haven’t heard anything like that for Ashes. I think in ashes you just need to do regularly maintenance on your gear.
@@Haylash8 you are right I think. Would add more noise and visual effects. And it might be more fun if the gameplay is not too much focussed on auto attack as in L2. Maybe there are potions 🧪 or other things to imbue your blades for a certain amount of hits / time to do elemental or poison damage.
What's most exciting to me is that they are not simply listening to us, it's like we are in a literal investor's meeting. There are so many eyes on this project that it is quite difficult to imagine a world where this game doesn't satisfy at least us who are following the development up close. (English is not my mother's tongue, sorry for any nonsense)
I love the class. Ive always been a support(not healer) player in games. From what I can see it's great to see the bard being able to cast and move but watching someone play it, it feels floaty or like he's ice skating around the battlefield.
I think Bard being able to do some variations of songs while mounted would be a cool way to add adventuring spells. Similar to the Rogue finding hidden doors and passageways in adungeon, wizard being able to open magical doors, cleric being able to pray at special or hidden shrines or types of passage ways to be able to access new areas or quests. The more classes that have unique interactions with the world outside of combat the better. And it gives players a reason to join a party and diversify the classes they have in said party.
That would be cool if the Bard could open treasure chests or secret passways that have some type of musical lock. It would also be inline with the Bard if they give them some skills or tricks that belong to those who might work at a circus or carnival like a magician or fire breather because of how they like to put on a show. I also feel like they could use magical attacks that come from their mouth because of their magical voice.
I feel like the spell book should be in the hand, and maybe a weapon like an orb that hovers around the character. At the very least the book should be a little bit smaller.
I think finding ways to weave, but expanding upon weaving is a way to make the class feel a bit more impactful. For example, playing notes in a certain order, will contribute to a different outcome, perhaps even a big payoff compared to weaving notes that don't compliment eachother etc. Feel like that will give it some more engaging gameplay and moving away from the "Aura bot" mentality.
I agree, it looks a bit like a buff/debuff bot at the moment with nothing ground breaking except visuals. Spellweaving as in Age of Conan would be great. I would welcome spells that had non combat affects, example would be a bard playing in a local area to speed up harvest time or something similar in a town re building. Or the ability to locate mythical creatures, something more than just a combat buff bot.
@@kunoichi5010 You watched the video VERY badly if you only saw the bot buff. This is literally 20% of the entire bard. To be effective, you have to play almost like a piano. The class is created very well, it is literally the best bard of all MMORPGs.
@@HardHeavySTYLE The thing is, to be 'The best Bard of all MMORPG' just need to be a 5/10 Bard, because all Bards are 3/10 at maximum. It's nothing wrong to dream about a 8/10, and besides, a lot of other games have creative mechanics that allow YOU to play literal notes to make music ingame. Or drawing mechanics.... We have a lot of room to improve.
@@ZelkovaSensei "Play by notes" is a very boring and rudimentary mechanic that gives you a "wow" effect at the first time of the game, but at a long distance it becomes very boring and unnecessary because people come to play the game, be effective on the battlefield, and not force you to "play by notes" because That's how the game designer came up with it. The class looks very good and balanced for all styles of play, and yes, the bard here looks 10/10 compared to other bards in any MMORPG. 5/10 is a lie and personal preference, not an objective view. Leave "Play by the notes" for entertaining mechanics, somewhere in a tavern, to get some kind of long-term buff, this should not affect the class itself and the main gameplay, because it does not carry anything interesting for a long and enjoyable gaming experience. These are unnecessary, superfluous and overloading game mechanics. We already have a Saga in which you, as a Dota Invoker, have to choose the right set of "notes" to get a certain effect, this is more than enough.
damn cool! Bard was favorite class when i was playing Ragnarock, this is beyond of my expectation, just bought the presale already, i hope you can release it sooner!
Rearranging my life schedule for alpha two launch and prepping to buy keys as we speak. I loved the paladin from GW2 and the gigantic Tome reminds me of that, makes me want to play Bard, or be able to use the tome on another character 😍
No waaaay, 🤯 making dreams come true. I’m ecstatic to play Ashes. Your vision for the game has yet to disappoint, appreciate the communication always.❤
I think AoC's implementation of "all classes can use all weapons" is different from GW2. In GW2, changing the weapon changes ALL the primary skills (based on off/main hand or two handed) completely, but so far, changing the weapon in AoC only changes the basic attacks and stats. Correct me if I'm wrong. Although AoC should take a ton of ideas from GW2 instead of just Lineage 2.
First things first - congratulations with the future little one! Bard feedback : Personal instrument choice for sound/graphics is great ( Ukelele anyone? ). The shown abilities, skills and there graphics looks and sounds really great - shield dance & tomato toss especially. Spellbook is super nice - big thumbs up. ( Possible to customize it, colours etc? ) Few other tidbits : Tory's helm looks badass, love that look. BrianF the Dunir dwarf hiding behind the shield - loving the height, but hope its possible in customization to perhaps make em a bit stouter/wider/broad shoulders and arms. All in all loved to see the progress, and personally cant wait to see the reveal of the summoner once in the future... Dwarf/Tulnar Summoner in the making!
Love aura classes. For bard it would be cool if you had a slot for your instrument that changed your tunes, not effect, just the sound it makes for some of your spells changing them into flute/drum/lute flavoured. and i would also like to see my instrument playing animation persist as well as my current song, and maybe have a toggle to turn this on and off in the menu for those who thinks its annoying. Not the biggest fan of the floating spellbook for bard, i get that its your basic attack from your weapons but if i could i would rather just powerslide with my flute and blast my targets with sonic attacks or arcane notes like you do with the (Discordant spell) just riffing with my instrument. Dances where awesome, could make some of the dances stronger and force them to slow walk during, except the pep one of course, going to try this class for sure.
You all act like you are being forced to buy a key to even play the game when it Officially launches..... If you don't want to buy one, then don't buy one.
@@FlowersInAlaska Oh, I'm never gonna touch this pile of crap, I've seen enough by not to know these guys aren't 50% profit, 50% player satisfaction, no, they're 99% profit.
@@Brekner Then don't play it? I'm not even sure where this selective outrage is even coming from within this community. Not as if every other MMO didn't take as long to produce and the key thing is something pretty much every game does nowadays.
@@FlowersInAlaska Oh, I don't wanna be part of this community. I'd never consider spending 500 frigging bucks on a game that's nowhere near done, especially not a live service game (meaning, it can shut down in 2-3 years or simply have too few players for any MMO activities) that also has a frigging 15 bucks a month sub, lmao. They should offer at least a year of sub-free gameplay to whoever paid that much, and give them access to all the alphas and betas and all that FOR FREE. The fact that you think that's not the case tells me everything I need to know about this so-called "community". But hey, if giving them more money makes you happy, that's all that matters. Don't let me dissuade you from giving them more money.
@@AshesofCreation thanks the heads up! I'll definitely be looking out for the news. Good luck on making the game. It keeps looking better and better with each showcase.🎵🎶🎉.
I think this has to be the most creative class AoC has created thus far, looks amazing and sounds amazing! can't wait to see how my main class Rogue will look!!!
As a Bard main in every game I play, I watch this video with great concern [The following statements will be probably a little too harsh for the current alpha2 phase, but these points need to be addressed as soon as possible] Steven once said: "Bards are about telling stories" Well said. I just hope that "storytelling" isn't about pressing one key on the keyboard and activating a "story skill" and apply a buff. Steven also once said: "We don't want the Bard on Ashes to have a gameplay where you activate a long-lasting buff and be there doing nothing. We want an active Bard." Well said. And to be fair, the mechanics presented in this video, for an alpha/beta phase, already fulfill the promise of the statement above. But I'm a little worried about the direction the class is taking... I don't dislike people who wants to play a Bard efficiently as a support to the main healer, but what if I want to play, for example, in a rather chaotic way? Where are the luck-based skills, which can affect the party positively or negatively? (like the Dancer's 'Bewildering Grace' skill on Octopath Traveler, or the old Clown's 'Tarot Card of Fate' skill on Ragnarök Online, or the old Ecaflip's 'Roulette' skill on Dofus etc etc). Bards are about art, poems, theater, melodies, stories, acting... we still haven't reached a satisfactory point of creativity to fulfill any Role Playing needs. Bard is a class that demands creativity, and often unique and innovative exclusive mechanics to the class to meet the needs for artistic expression. Take as an example the music composition system in Mabinogi (a MMORPG from 2000s), where you literally compose and play music ingame. Square Enix also did it recently in FF7R with a gamepad controller (the piano minigame), I imagine it's easier with a keyboard. Perhaps, exclusive Bard emotes as a reward in some kind of exclusive dance or acting system? Maybe implement a system similar or almost identical to Splatoon's community post/art/draw? Yes, it may leave room for a lot of obscenities, but we're talking about a long lifetime MMORPG for God's sake, we're not going to spend years sketching balls and Ds. Anyways, just some tiny ideas. I hope for more Role Playing content and innovation.
looks amazing and this might just lock in Bard as the first class I play. I’m really hoping they take a look at mana regen at some point, base regen is not enough and the Bard ability basically doesn’t do anything. i don’t think you should be requiring all classes to drink at every pull or every other pull. I also think leashing mechanics should be put in place for all mobs. you shouldn’t be able to pull them out of the buildings and all the way down the road. people will 100% grief with this, also it just feels weird that you can never reset and they chase you all the way
The mana is balanced very well. It forces you to keep an eye on supplies, supports the market economy in the relevance of mana bottles, turns the game not into an unrestrained Japanese slasher and forces you to take breaks, stops to rest. Ideal for such an mmorpg.
@@HardHeavySTYLE except its not 2003 anymore and this gen of gamer has zero patience.. Dont believe me? D4 is a good case study.. They tried to make that a slow boring mmo time sink-grind and look where it is now... Even though it is isometric, you could clearly see they tried to make it a tedious mmo style time sink. I don't think people will waste time in a game that has too much down time. This game will end up just like new world did because left brained Devs have zero clue how to hook players creatively into a game world and right brained devs don't typically exist .. Its more than just combat and mechanics. There would need to be fluid mechanics and systems that persuade social interactions. Swg did it but lacked in content because it was too much reliant on players creating the content. It also hooked players in through the alpha class jedi which had to be grinded out, a real pvp bounty hunter system and a crafting system that was way beyond its time compared to the trash we see in today's mmos.
As someone that was nervous the Bard class was going to force others to conform to playing in formations and such for buffs, I can get on board with the direction you chose for Bard. Your team found a good balance between role fantasy and limiting intrusion on the fantasy and fun of other roles, by not forcing them to play too much around the bard and allowing more freedom of positioning for other team members. I still don't get the 'use any weapon' idea though for all roles. It looks very funky to me having various roles use random weapons. It is a bit jarring. I'd rather roles were limited to a few options, than having access to all and having a look + feel of being disjointed.
Bard looks amazing but feels weak. All the small buffs just don't seem like they do much. Then again we would need testing for that. Like a party that runs 2 mages instead of mage+bard or any other combo. This performer armor tho definitely looks cosmetic grade. Fantastic job. I honestly prefer the look of base armors over any cosmetic released so far. They just seem more grounded in the setting.
The bard's reminding me of the virtuoso from Dragon Age Inquisition Multiplayer, which is awesome since I loved that class! One thing I'd say is that when the saga comes out, since it's a directional ability, I feel like the dragon's head should be pointing in the same direction (it's turned sideways and is hard to tell where it's actually breathing its fire).
My thoughts: - The environment team did a great job in this manor and the sound effects on the bard *chef's kiss* - Bard seems really interesting class. The songs and dances and the synergy between them looks nice! My concern is about how well can it play solo. Damage numbers seems a bit low ( i know it's work in progress). - I really need to know more about the loot system. How often will we see armor & weapons drop from monsters and will it be plenty with different skins? Also i suggest auto-loot glint. - So far i really like the part game play. - Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see more!
I like how you can freely move and get behind your opponent and are able to use skills with Flourish. I also like how you can humiliate your opponent by throwing tomatoes at them. These two skills I feel like the other classes need to be able to use. A skill that you are allowed to freely move and cast other skills is great for melee players and the ability to humiliate your opponent and tricking NPC to attack you first is great for everyone. So if you could create a version of those skills for other classes that would be awesome.
I think some skills should be reserved for each archetype. Otherwise they won’t be unique. There needs to be things that distinct each class from another. Especially later on when there will be 64 classes.
@@Jinta-a I was thinking more on the line of how the skills work and not how it's looks because if that the case I would of picked lightning to trail after me on the Flourish. Is that what you mean by unique or something else. Besides I did leave a comment that the fighter needed a skill like the Flourish or the Flourish mechanics added to one of the gap closer on the fighter showcase around that time. I believe the true unique skills for classes haven't even been shown yet. Besides they are still testing the skills out. They also seeing what skills should belong in a class or not because there might be a skill that is just a fill in until they find and create a new skill that fit perfect with that class. The new skills are coming from people's comments and whatever their staff can come up with to make the classes unique and awesome. There is also the weapon skill tree that players have. If I have to guess Ashes of Creation are probably going to create some skills for players that will be based off their weapon tree because their main weapon might not suit their class and to give players more options and skills that fit in line with different players prefer fighting style and game play. There is also the second class ability and that if I have to guess unlocked hybrid skills that have elements of both your first class and your second class.
I'm a 90% PVE player and 10% PVP, I'm concerned that other players who spend way more time in this game than I do will be able to dictate how things go. Can you speak to how you plan to allow for causals to have fun in the same world with people who spend their entire life here?
great showing! Quick question... Will more of the rivers in the world be navigable by caravan raft? Also will we have something like a rowboat or canoe for 1-3 friends which we could travel maybe from the mountains to the sea for example!?
Some of the NPC movements became choppy in combat, especially the four legged animals, but I expect that to improve through development. Great stream guys!
Lovely preview, all of it looks great! I would love to have the option of a permanent instrument as a cosmetic, for example a lute sitting on your back, or some other way to have the instruments be a bit more visible.
I really enjoyed this livestream with a heavy emphasis on the way the bard plays. I have never been one to heal / support but I'm honestly interested. It did scare me listening to the 'Questions and Answers'section as there seems to be so much content yet still to have even started in development. I feel the community is asking too much, as an example the "illusion" idea doesn't seem to provide much in the way of gameplay yet asking more and more of this team doesn't seem to be a good idea. Bring on Alpha 2!
Love the bard class!! It does really make me curious about the subclass / archetype system. How much will a subclass affect the mechanics of your abilities vs. the visual (and audio?) flavor?
Honestly, for the book and other “self animating” weapons, save that for legendaries or archetypes of a weapon rather than every single one of them being so wild and animated. Give them some personalities! Make a grimoire more stoic or creepy in its moveset, etc… lower level ones moving less, etc or something
Great Update! Thank you. The bard looks amazing. I'm really curious how the primary archetypes skills, such as the fighter's, will be affected bard augments when selecting the bard as the secondary archetype at level 25.
Really cool dev update, love the bard and that spellbook is really cool - I am curious I noticed in combat no one seemed to be obviously dodging or blocking attacks from enemys, is this a mechanic you plan to implement? higher consequences for taking hits without trying to dodge or block it and some sort of stamina management alongside that?
The speed buff animation should be quick in my opinion. I recommend giving all the healing abilities to the cleric, and leaving any curses to the wizard like the debuff skills
The Ashes Devs should look at how Warframe implemented Octavia. They made it so the user can create their own melody. And different melodies can effect damage output (faster ticks, slower ticks, etc.)
@@AshesofCreation alright thx for info but i remember wow classic when resto druids had no ressurect skill so everyone wanted other healers in groups so i think bard wont be an option then for groups for like 5man or sth, everyone will searchs for clerics then i think so
I assume there will be resurrection scrolls. Due to the 64 class system I assume 8 classes will have resurrection. So I think it will be fine. Each class should stay unique.
Very cool showcase!! A lot of cool ideas for this archetype. Really I just have one concern. I remember during the cleric showcase y’all mentioned how there were so many freakin abilities and that the typical approach is to specialize/prioritize a smaller number of abilities. With the bard however, it really feels like every dance or story or melody is a necessary piece of the puzzle/a buff that would be expected to be utilized. But it also feels, at least to me, like ability overload at that point. Anyway, other than that I’m very excited!
With hybrid play styles can you cast spells through the weapon of your choice like a sword or your fist or do you need a wand, staff or spell book to cast your spells with and if not will l be able to do later?
This is whats interesting for me. I decided that im going Minstrel. Bard/Bard when i saw that the class system prior to alpha 1. With some cooking skills.
As a long time competitive EQ2 Dirge player, and a AOC Braver of Worlds Kickstarter, I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed that the Bard is basically just a magic / caster support. I was really hoping for at least the option to play the Bard as a melee / stabby type similar to the EQ2 Dirge.
Combat looks floaty and the animations don't look right, They look out of place and jittery. It might be the way it was recorded. Also, Dwarfs shouldn't front flip when they jump, It looks ridiculous. Overall on the Bard things look great. Are all the spell effects for everyone or just the Bard? Can you turn off or down spell effects? That is a little excessive when you get in small rooms.
Bard is one of those classes that I absolutely never had any interest in. Yet, intrepid made it interesting and refreshing. The percussive timing weaved with the cultural dance animations that flowed with your character when it moved was outstanding.
@ashesofcreation i always knew this game was going to be special, but back when I met you guys at pax Seattle in 2017 I would of never thought it would of come to this. My question is, looking back at that con, what would you say has made you the most proud between then and now?
First Impression: Bard Class looks terrific to play because it is dynamic and not static. Key shout-outs: • Dynamic - Situational playability (Bard is not one-dimensional and static) • Song Weaving, • Story building to ultimate ability with three different options is amazing • Combos for beneficial effects • Mobility and Utility look good The overall kit utility to the party at level 10 was good 1. Buffs - Good a. Healing - Seems a bit much, but it does the trick b. Mana regeneration - A bit weak. c. Mobility - Was Very Good 2. Utility Buffs are good overall, with a good mix to the base kit. a. Speed b. DPS c. Healing d. Utility 3. De-Buffs seemed lacking, but I must play the Bard to see this in action. Abilities • The gambit card is too big in close zoom fights but not as severe when zoomed out. It covers the map too much when fighting in the buildings or small rooms. I would tone it down or speed up the animation so it does not linger on the screen too long. Seeing what is going on is more important than the effects. Find that sweet spot with it. • I agree that the knockback needs a five-meter knockback. • Overall, the abilities of the bard are looking great. • Your ability to weave your songs is epic, making the Bard's playability fun and situationally dynamic. This was shown on the live stream. • It will be incredible to be able to weave more and more songs as you level up to the max level. Which was hinted at. • I agree that making the bard weaving for two spells a default should come standard with the kit. The option kicks in if you want to do 3 or more. • The combs are great. • The animations for the bard are on point-you nailed it. With minor tweaks to a few and a few polishes, it is ready for prime-time Alpha 2.0. Weapon: • The book animation is excellent. • Book size looks good. It is a tomb, not a book o Please make a lot of killer skins for the book o I want to see GW2 fashion wars come alive in Ashes o I hope we can dye armor and weapons. The ability for enchanter crafters to enchant armor and weapons with particle effects - Fire, Ice, Spirit, etc.- both cosmetic only and to augment gear stats would be epic. It would take avatar modding to the next level. Avatar customizations are an MMORPG necessity. o I genuinely hope you can mix and match every outfit piece to customize your Avatar's look. o One thing I did not like about GW2 avatar fashions is that some of the costumes you purchased out of the cash store could not be swapped out peace by peace to build a custom look with a few of the pieces. • Ball Lightning looks much better now. I hope you can combo it, so it splits into three more petite orbs, making it an electric moving wall. Also, enable the ability to hit the spell icon again, allowing the player to detonate the full-sized orb to stun those caught inside it when it detonates and staggers those within a specific range. Ball lighting needs to have diversity. It would not be something I use very often in its current state. It requires more utility. Like to see: I would like to see the ability to lean heavier into support buffs, such as DPS, Healing, group buffs, or jack of all trades. This would bring me back to my Dirge/Troubadour days in EQII. You can spec to be more offensive, defensive, or utility. You mentioned you are going in this direction, so I look forward to seeing what that will look like. Game Play: • Looks like you have an MMORPG that is finding the fun. • Mob density, respawn, and agro range seemed a bit much, but it did not help that some in the group who should not be named were running all over the place, gathering them all up. • This kept the group on the edge of their seats and made for a great showcase because the group worked hard to keep from whipping. • I hope we can bind macro keys to mark Target and add that to our hot bars. As a tank in EQII and WoW, I had that on speed dial when running Dungeons and Raiding. • There is no accessible mode where you can go on auto-follow until you get the big boss mob with the loot drop you want. • I like that you can pull many mobs, and that body pulling them into rooms or around corners can break the line of sight. • Old School MMORPG vibes when that was called out and demonstrated in gameplay. • A good tank marks the targets and manages the ebb and flow of combat. • They know when to recover or how fast a group can pull and burn through the mobs to the main objective. Tank runs the pace of combat. • The dynamic lighting passes have paid off. The game is looking for a lot better. • Spells in dark rooms are too much on the eyes in tight, darker-room combat, so you might want to do a few passes to tone them down/blend them. Better yet, give the player the ability in the UI to tone down the brightness of spell effects till it fits their preference. Player options and customization are king. As you told us, give us the tools to customize our game UI and settings. Overall, your game looks like an MMORPG. 1. Don’t release it until it is ready. • Alpha 2 is going to make or break the game. i. Combat must be fun for all classes, solo and group. • Basic MMORPG systems, such as combat, UI, economy, crafting, and other major core tech, need to work. • Make sure the cake is baked before you serve it up like in other games. • I would rather wait till July 2025 to play Alpha 2.0 if you know it needs the time. • It's not worth risking having a ruthless community trash everything about it that did not work or live up to some of the hype because it was not ready. The drive-by gaming community loves highlighting every flaw and magnifying it into a mountain of a problem. Don't hand them the fuel and matches to burn ashes to the ground by releasing it before it is ready. • If 80% of it works well and 20% needs rework or tweaking because of feedback and test results, it is a success in my book. • But if >70% or lower, then don’t release it. > For better or worse, the community will evaluate this game, compare it to all the current MMORPGs, and pick it apart. They will not see it as an Alpha 2.0. Alpha 2.0 will definitely be that risk and reward you discussed. I cannot wait to see your game studio knock it out of the ballpark during Alpha 2.0. Keep up the great work. You find the fun and the MMORPG community will flock to your game.
Hey i wanted to ask this question can you we push the server size limit or go for mega servers 10k server size at 300 per guild is like 33 guilds its not enough for how epic a game you guys have in the works what are your thoughts?
Idk if I like it, its actually really jarring and immersion breaking to see the stop motion enemies. At first it made my eyes hurt thinking im going crazy and took a few moments to realize what was even wrong with them.
You keep on making each class look cool and have all these awesome class skills. I kinda wish that Aches of Creation would make a classless archetype that way I can pick and choose a few skills I like best from each of the other archetypes. But if you could make a skill book that allows you to pick a skill or a few from other classes I won't mind that either. You could also have a skill book that allows you to pick different races skills.
@@Jinta-a I mostly saying this because I have no idea what all the skill Aches of Creation will have with their classes or non class skills and what they are all capable of besides the one they show so far. The only way I see Aches of Creation doing a classless build is if they decide to do a demo where they allow players to test things out in an arena and don't want to switch classes to test it out. That's doesn't effect the game as a whole. That way they can get some feedback on combat skills from PVP or PVE and it might speed some of the process up of building ashes of creation. They could also create a demo workshop that tests the skills of professions. They could also have a mock dungeon or place to test other skills out. Now with the skills books it all depends on how they go about it. Because you have your combat skills, movement skills, support skills, non- combat skills, passive skills, utility skills, and your racial skills. Aches of Creation could set requirements to let players learn the skills they want but have to meet a few requirements first like having the right stats point, a certain mastery level of their weapon, the right profession, renown, haveing a certain Friendliness to a certain race and go through quests and meeting the right NPCs or skills trainer. They also don't have to make it easy to learn another class skills or another race skills. They could also set a few limits on the skills you learn like how many skills you can learn in total or it could even be just a few from each class. Aches of Creation could even set a tier cap where the skill can't level up or go past a certain level because you are picking up skills that are from another class so you won't have the skill tree that is tried to that skill.They could even give players a class bonus for their skills to outrank or outperform those who learn their class skills or they can do the opposite and give the player a debuff for the skill that is used against that skills class holder. Well it also depends on how a person sets their character up and their play style. Learning a few skills won't hurt and it might even make the player better as fighting in a team and an extra skill or two might make a difference between victory or defeat. There are some skills that players don't like or it goes against their play style so they don't use them and if they could trade them out for ones they like it might make a difference. With that in mind I can see players picking a class or race based on three things. The type of skills they prefer whether it be combat related skill or if they prefer the non-combat related skill that class or race gives. Players will also pick a class based on their play style, and lastly they just might pick something off appearance and if it's cool or not. Allowing players to pick up a skill that is not from their classes might cover up their flaws that they might have because of their play style or their poor judgement in-game. It can also allow the player to pick up some slack from their team mates or allows them to become a backup depending on what skills the player decides to learn.
There is a limit on how many max skills and active skills you can have. With that in mind they could add a few archetypes based on those limits. I can think of a few they could add like a Crafter, Warrior, Magi, and Adventurer archetypes. I think of them as Jack's of all trades who wish to transform into kings of the trade. The Crafter can become a grandmaster in every profession but can only learn combat skills thru quest, books, items and equipment.Have a higher drop rate of items with skills. If they want to level up the skill they must fine a higher grade weapon. Will be able to consume materials that will strengthen their stats or resistance to forge their body into the weapon. They will have a chosen weapon that is bound and can consume other weapons and acquire the weapon skills and to level up. The chosen weapon will have to be created. After the weapon is made they will gain a skill to summon the spirit of all defeated weapons of your weapon and command them to fight your opponents with a few skills. One of the skills will be like the blade skill from Fable. The King of the Forge and their companion the King Weapon. The Warrior will be the ultimate non-magical combat user. The king of the battle field. The Warrior will be a merge between the Tank, Fighter, Ranger, and the Rouge. The Warrior can learn the combat related skill from those archetypes. The Magi will be the ultimate magical class. The King of spells. It will be a merge between the Mage, Cleric, Bard, and the Summoner. Magi will be able to learn those archetype combat magic skills. The Adventurer will be a blank slate that will start with zero skills and have to aquire their skills from other archetype and classes but can only max out two skills. The Adventurer will be limited to the max skills they can learn and use. Whatever skills you learn as an adventurer it will tell a story. The Hero King who starts with nothing and becomes a mighty hero.
We had such an AMAZING turn out for this livestream, so thank you so much to everyone who tuned in and raided us! We appreciate it beyond words, and hope the folks over here on RUclips enjoy it just the same. We are working diligently towards Alpha Two which will be starting in October, and hope that you can join us for our A2 Roadmap and AMA stream on August 16th. As a note, everything you are seeing is a WIP - lighting is in the middle of a revamp, so some areas may be too dark and VFX overexposed, but even with that, we are excited to your see your feedback on the FIRST preview of our Bard Archetype. Just don't throw any tomatoes at us. 😝🍅
See you Verra soon, we cannot wait for you to join us in Alpha Two! 🤗💕
please please release the game in German too. the game will be soo great
@@stefanohms3798 or you just learn english like everyone else.
I didn't think I'd like Bard before this video but now it might be my favorite class shown so far. I love the mobility, utility and animations.
The bard looks absolutely incredible. Seriously amazing job so far guys & gals - keep it up!
I love the floating spell book.
One comment though, is I think it might look more natural if it were to move more independently of the player. For example if a player is running and attacking, the book could lag behind a little while firing and following the player - rather than staying pinned to a specific point relative to the player.
Yes cool but why a book of wizard ? A floating intrument or an astro card would be more logic
@@_Frexil_ weapons aren’t specific to any one class. Any class can use any weapon, so while this book might fit the theme of a wizard, it can be used by anyone. The bard still uses their instrument when they do their melodies.
While I do agree from a visual perspective, I can see why they chose to do this. If the spell book was a secondary/passive type thing I can totally see it trailing the player but in this case it's the players weapon. Having the players weapon trail behind the player would be odd.
The book does sort of float, it's not a solid point all the time....?
the spell animation coming from the spellbook is such an awkward thing to look at. Hopefully they fix the animation or just have it cast from the player.
Definitely my favorite class reveal so far! I love the direction y’all took, especially with a less straightforward class like the bard!
Think someone commented on the other video but I'd like to second the thought of "roleplay" spells/abilities. Bards playing songs, wizards performing some kind of ritual, clerics setting up a little shrine, etc.
This game looks amazing I wait for it since 2018 and its still in development for over a decade almost, I hope I will be alive to play it around 2030 when it launches. Cheers.
Play something else meanwhile. It's gonna be groovy.
you must be blind. those monster animations are beyond terrible. looks like the game got worst than the last update
@@grasthube monster animation is good or ok-ish but those skill animation is so bad 😅 combat is boring not gonna lie.
Finally an MMO does Bard justice. 11/10 cannot wait to see how this looks finished with augments.
Reminds me of the glorious bard from ArcheAge
Very glad you're including some unconventional magic weapons, like the floating book... crystal orb skins for them would be nice too! Already liked the wand so it's nice to see more.
I played Wizardry original and have seen the evolution of gaming since then, and it has come a long way. I beta tested Everquest. I beta tested WOW. I beta tested many similar games. I would be happy to help beta test this one as well. Looks like an actual substantial advancement in massive multi play online gaming. Nice work.
MMO veteran. Based.
Looking at the stock photo on the AMA announcement and seeing Steven in this update, you can definitely see that the stress of creating this game is taking its toll. I know he and the entire team have been busting their rears to get Ashes where they want it. Keep up the great work and this was another awesome stream.
I look a lot older 8 years later as well lol
That's just called time. And it's not linear. The effect time has on a person is not the same from 7 to 17 as it is from 60 to 70. Both are 10 year stretches, but they are VERY different in the effect they have on the person.
@@booberry6715 Yes from 7 to 17 you're developing, from 60 to 70 you're breaking down....
@@Doobiestain Okay. Maybe I should have said the rate of aging from 20 to 30 isn't the same as 60 to 70. Better? The point is, the older we get, the faster we age. It's not linear.
They all look so old now. The woman needs to use tons of filters to hide her age.
Would you ever consider the introduction of siege instruments? Similar to siege weapons, bards would be provided massive instruments such as a war horn or war drum to provide buffs in a massive radius during raids. Or possibly just increased strength of buffs.
This game looks so amazing i can't wait to play it I'm all in
The game looks better and better with every update
Hotbar with 24 buttons, game looks old and tired.
Please, bow users need a quiver.
It’s a really small thing, but it makes so much difference.
Classic wow type long term buffs are a great way to interract with other players.
Bard looks awesome for sure. I honestly am so stoked to give this game a try
I really appreciate the scope of the zoom in and out that you allow the player to have... please don't change that, it looks perfect as it is now. Looking more gorgeous with every video too!
The core class looks absolutely great.
You are truly crafting an interesting unique experience for a unique role instead of just coming up with different animations for the same 3 mechanics again and again.
Speaking of animations, the melody animations look a little janky, but the dances look really great.
I can't wait to see how this looks like after another few iterations!
While Steven was talking about the sagas. Some ideas for a few sages came to mind that you can use. A giant slamming his club down causing shock waves, Monsters causing havoc, a beautiful angel or a Phoenix rising bestowing health, a mighty golden hero holding his sword in his right hand over his head in a victory stands while holding a shield in his left giving courage to all who fight, a wizard casting a meteorite to strike a city, a hero jumping in the sky to stop the meteorite with his shield while shield bashing the meteorite and sending it back to where it came from, and a undefeated king who defeated an army and won.
I have never been a player that enjoied playing a support class, but this one peaked my interest. I love that this bard approach is a versatile one in a sense that it is not just healing or other stuff, but you can change what kind of support you want to provide based on the particular situation. I think this makes it more interesting and less repetitive to play.
I also really love spells that can be used as a party member to support your friends but when you play solo, it has an alternative effect. I think this is an incredibly important thing, to make support characters viable when someone's friends are not available for some reason. I would love to see more skills and spells like these.
Keep up the good work!
Excited for Alpha 2 really now :D Fortunes Wrath
As a huge fun and a Lineage 2 player, i would really love to see some type of Soulshot mechanism (the visual effect side of it). Its something that really made Lineage 2 unique
It was an interesting sink in L2 and also visual wise. But I haven’t heard anything like that for Ashes. I think in ashes you just need to do regularly maintenance on your gear.
There is already a lot of effects happening on the screen. Soulshots would make it worse imo.
@@Haylash8 you are right I think. Would add more noise and visual effects. And it might be more fun if the gameplay is not too much focussed on auto attack as in L2. Maybe there are potions 🧪 or other things to imbue your blades for a certain amount of hits / time to do elemental or poison damage.
What's most exciting to me is that they are not simply listening to us, it's like we are in a literal investor's meeting. There are so many eyes on this project that it is quite difficult to imagine a world where this game doesn't satisfy at least us who are following the development up close.
(English is not my mother's tongue, sorry for any nonsense)
I love the class. Ive always been a support(not healer) player in games. From what I can see it's great to see the bard being able to cast and move but watching someone play it, it feels floaty or like he's ice skating around the battlefield.
I think Bard being able to do some variations of songs while mounted would be a cool way to add adventuring spells. Similar to the Rogue finding hidden doors and passageways in adungeon, wizard being able to open magical doors, cleric being able to pray at special or hidden shrines or types of passage ways to be able to access new areas or quests. The more classes that have unique interactions with the world outside of combat the better. And it gives players a reason to join a party and diversify the classes they have in said party.
That would be cool if the Bard could open treasure chests or secret passways that have some type of musical lock. It would also be inline with the Bard if they give them some skills or tricks that belong to those who might work at a circus or carnival like a magician or fire breather because of how they like to put on a show. I also feel like they could use magical attacks that come from their mouth because of their magical voice.
I feel like the spell book should be in the hand, and maybe a weapon like an orb that hovers around the character. At the very least the book should be a little bit smaller.
Yeah it’s goofy looking
Going to play as a Bard for sure!
I think finding ways to weave, but expanding upon weaving is a way to make the class feel a bit more impactful. For example, playing notes in a certain order, will contribute to a different outcome, perhaps even a big payoff compared to weaving notes that don't compliment eachother etc. Feel like that will give it some more engaging gameplay and moving away from the "Aura bot" mentality.
I agree, it looks a bit like a buff/debuff bot at the moment with nothing ground breaking except visuals. Spellweaving as in Age of Conan would be great. I would welcome spells that had non combat affects, example would be a bard playing in a local area to speed up harvest time or something similar in a town re building. Or the ability to locate mythical creatures, something more than just a combat buff bot.
@@kunoichi5010 You watched the video VERY badly if you only saw the bot buff.
This is literally 20% of the entire bard. To be effective, you have to play almost like a piano. The class is created very well, it is literally the best bard of all MMORPGs.
@@HardHeavySTYLE The thing is, to be 'The best Bard of all MMORPG' just need to be a 5/10 Bard, because all Bards are 3/10 at maximum.
It's nothing wrong to dream about a 8/10, and besides, a lot of other games have creative mechanics that allow YOU to play literal notes to make music ingame. Or drawing mechanics.... We have a lot of room to improve.
@@ZelkovaSensei "Play by notes" is a very boring and rudimentary mechanic that gives you a "wow" effect at the first time of the game, but at a long distance it becomes very boring and unnecessary because people come to play the game, be effective on the battlefield, and not force you to "play by notes" because That's how the game designer came up with it. The class looks very good and balanced for all styles of play, and yes, the bard here looks 10/10 compared to other bards in any MMORPG. 5/10 is a lie and personal preference, not an objective view.
Leave "Play by the notes" for entertaining mechanics, somewhere in a tavern, to get some kind of long-term buff, this should not affect the class itself and the main gameplay, because it does not carry anything interesting for a long and enjoyable gaming experience. These are unnecessary, superfluous and overloading game mechanics. We already have a Saga in which you, as a Dota Invoker, have to choose the right set of "notes" to get a certain effect, this is more than enough.
damn cool! Bard was favorite class when i was playing Ragnarock, this is beyond of my expectation, just bought the presale already, i hope you can release it sooner!
Rearranging my life schedule for alpha two launch and prepping to buy keys as we speak. I loved the paladin from GW2 and the gigantic Tome reminds me of that, makes me want to play Bard, or be able to use the tome on another character 😍
All the archetypes can use all of the weapons! 📖 🙌
No waaaay, 🤯 making dreams come true. I’m ecstatic to play Ashes. Your vision for the game has yet to disappoint, appreciate the communication always.❤
I think AoC's implementation of "all classes can use all weapons" is different from GW2. In GW2, changing the weapon changes ALL the primary skills (based on off/main hand or two handed) completely, but so far, changing the weapon in AoC only changes the basic attacks and stats. Correct me if I'm wrong. Although AoC should take a ton of ideas from GW2 instead of just Lineage 2.
@@Ali-wf6rh guess it wouldn’t make much sense to see a warrior doing an overhead smash with a tome. Curious how that will work for gameplay purposes
First things first - congratulations with the future little one!
Bard feedback : Personal instrument choice for sound/graphics is great ( Ukelele anyone? ). The shown abilities, skills and there graphics looks and sounds really great - shield dance & tomato toss especially. Spellbook is super nice - big thumbs up. ( Possible to customize it, colours etc? )
Few other tidbits : Tory's helm looks badass, love that look. BrianF the Dunir dwarf hiding behind the shield - loving the height, but hope its possible in customization to perhaps make em a bit stouter/wider/broad shoulders and arms.
All in all loved to see the progress, and personally cant wait to see the reveal of the summoner once in the future... Dwarf/Tulnar Summoner in the making!
Dark lullaby is a good idea for a spell
Love aura classes.
For bard it would be cool if you had a slot for your instrument that changed your tunes, not effect, just the sound it makes for some of your spells changing them into flute/drum/lute flavoured.
and i would also like to see my instrument playing animation persist as well as my current song, and maybe have a toggle to turn this on and off in the menu for those who thinks its annoying.
Not the biggest fan of the floating spellbook for bard, i get that its your basic attack from your weapons but if i could i would rather just powerslide with my flute and blast my targets with sonic attacks or arcane notes like you do with the (Discordant spell) just riffing with my instrument.
Dances where awesome, could make some of the dances stronger and force them to slow walk during, except the pep one of course, going to try this class for sure.
2:33:00 Perhaps multiple Bards could 'Harmonize' similar melodies in order to increase their range or effectiveness in large-scale battles?
love the bard. the delay to october is ok for me. since 2017 i´m waiting, so one month is nothing. :) keep on your excellent work!
WHOO! I can't wait to test Alpha 2! Keep up the good work
hey I saved $500, it will be enough to play the game until it launches, or I need more to buy 10 alpha beta zeta deca keys?
They accept body parts as well. A kidney will get you into the game as soon as December! WooHooo!
You all act like you are being forced to buy a key to even play the game when it Officially launches..... If you don't want to buy one, then don't buy one.
@@FlowersInAlaska Oh, I'm never gonna touch this pile of crap, I've seen enough by not to know these guys aren't 50% profit, 50% player satisfaction, no, they're 99% profit.
@@Brekner Then don't play it? I'm not even sure where this selective outrage is even coming from within this community.
Not as if every other MMO didn't take as long to produce and the key thing is something pretty much every game does nowadays.
@@FlowersInAlaska Oh, I don't wanna be part of this community. I'd never consider spending 500 frigging bucks on a game that's nowhere near done, especially not a live service game (meaning, it can shut down in 2-3 years or simply have too few players for any MMO activities) that also has a frigging 15 bucks a month sub, lmao.
They should offer at least a year of sub-free gameplay to whoever paid that much, and give them access to all the alphas and betas and all that FOR FREE. The fact that you think that's not the case tells me everything I need to know about this so-called "community".
But hey, if giving them more money makes you happy, that's all that matters. Don't let me dissuade you from giving them more money.
Bard looks really fun! Thanks for the showcase...now to find a Alpha 2 key 😅
We will reopen Alpha Two sales in the near future. Keep an eye on our socials for the latest news and giveaways!
@@AshesofCreation thanks the heads up! I'll definitely be looking out for the news. Good luck on making the game. It keeps looking better and better with each showcase.🎵🎶🎉.
I think this has to be the most creative class AoC has created thus far, looks amazing and sounds amazing! can't wait to see how my main class Rogue will look!!!
definitely gonna try the bard in october. cheers guys nice job
Most awesome reminders so far.
As a Bard main in every game I play, I watch this video with great concern
[The following statements will be probably a little too harsh for the current alpha2 phase, but these points need to be addressed as soon as possible]
Steven once said: "Bards are about telling stories"
Well said.
I just hope that "storytelling" isn't about pressing one key on the keyboard and activating a "story skill" and apply a buff.
Steven also once said: "We don't want the Bard on Ashes to have a gameplay where you activate a long-lasting buff and be there doing nothing. We want an active Bard."
Well said. And to be fair, the mechanics presented in this video, for an alpha/beta phase, already fulfill the promise of the statement above.
But I'm a little worried about the direction the class is taking...
I don't dislike people who wants to play a Bard efficiently as a support to the main healer, but what if I want to play, for example, in a rather chaotic way? Where are the luck-based skills, which can affect the party positively or negatively? (like the Dancer's 'Bewildering Grace' skill on Octopath Traveler, or the old Clown's 'Tarot Card of Fate' skill on Ragnarök Online, or the old Ecaflip's 'Roulette' skill on Dofus etc etc).
Bards are about art, poems, theater, melodies, stories, acting... we still haven't reached a satisfactory point of creativity to fulfill any Role Playing needs.
Bard is a class that demands creativity, and often unique and innovative exclusive mechanics to the class to meet the needs for artistic expression.
Take as an example the music composition system in Mabinogi (a MMORPG from 2000s), where you literally compose and play music ingame. Square Enix also did it recently in FF7R with a gamepad controller (the piano minigame), I imagine it's easier with a keyboard.
Perhaps, exclusive Bard emotes as a reward in some kind of exclusive dance or acting system?
Maybe implement a system similar or almost identical to Splatoon's community post/art/draw? Yes, it may leave room for a lot of obscenities, but we're talking about a long lifetime MMORPG for God's sake, we're not going to spend years sketching balls and Ds.
Anyways, just some tiny ideas. I hope for more Role Playing content and innovation.
Ok you guys cooked! I definitely have my eyes on bard now.
that bard heal is like triple fungi tunic for the whole party. Games are wild now.
looks amazing and this might just lock in Bard as the first class I play. I’m really hoping they take a look at mana regen at some point, base regen is not enough and the Bard ability basically doesn’t do anything. i don’t think you should be requiring all classes to drink at every pull or every other pull.
I also think leashing mechanics should be put in place for all mobs. you shouldn’t be able to pull them out of the buildings and all the way down the road. people will 100% grief with this, also it just feels weird that you can never reset and they chase you all the way
The mana is balanced very well. It forces you to keep an eye on supplies, supports the market economy in the relevance of mana bottles, turns the game not into an unrestrained Japanese slasher and forces you to take breaks, stops to rest. Ideal for such an mmorpg.
@@HardHeavySTYLE except its not 2003 anymore and this gen of gamer has zero patience.. Dont believe me? D4 is a good case study.. They tried to make that a slow boring mmo time sink-grind and look where it is now... Even though it is isometric, you could clearly see they tried to make it a tedious mmo style time sink. I don't think people will waste time in a game that has too much down time. This game will end up just like new world did because left brained Devs have zero clue how to hook players creatively into a game world and right brained devs don't typically exist ..
Its more than just combat and mechanics. There would need to be fluid mechanics and systems that persuade social interactions. Swg did it but lacked in content because it was too much reliant on players creating the content. It also hooked players in through the alpha class jedi which had to be grinded out, a real pvp bounty hunter system and a crafting system that was way beyond its time compared to the trash we see in today's mmos.
As someone that was nervous the Bard class was going to force others to conform to playing in formations and such for buffs, I can get on board with the direction you chose for Bard. Your team found a good balance between role fantasy and limiting intrusion on the fantasy and fun of other roles, by not forcing them to play too much around the bard and allowing more freedom of positioning for other team members.
I still don't get the 'use any weapon' idea though for all roles. It looks very funky to me having various roles use random weapons. It is a bit jarring. I'd rather roles were limited to a few options, than having access to all and having a look + feel of being disjointed.
Bard looks amazing but feels weak. All the small buffs just don't seem like they do much. Then again we would need testing for that. Like a party that runs 2 mages instead of mage+bard or any other combo. This performer armor tho definitely looks cosmetic grade. Fantastic job. I honestly prefer the look of base armors over any cosmetic released so far. They just seem more grounded in the setting.
Yes!!! Finally a game where I don’t have to macro!!
The bard's reminding me of the virtuoso from Dragon Age Inquisition Multiplayer, which is awesome since I loved that class! One thing I'd say is that when the saga comes out, since it's a directional ability, I feel like the dragon's head should be pointing in the same direction (it's turned sideways and is hard to tell where it's actually breathing its fire).
My thoughts:
- The environment team did a great job in this manor and the sound effects on the bard *chef's kiss*
- Bard seems really interesting class. The songs and dances and the synergy between them looks nice! My concern is about how well can it play solo. Damage numbers seems a bit low ( i know it's work in progress).
- I really need to know more about the loot system. How often will we see armor & weapons drop from monsters and will it be plenty with different skins? Also i suggest auto-loot glint.
- So far i really like the part game play.
- Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see more!
Hopefully it'll not be overtuned solo, so it's always worth teaming up, like in old games. Wow era solo mmo is awful.
This game looks incredible! I am normally ps5 but I would defo buy a pc just to play this!
Good Work! im 100% playing Bard
I expecting musical instrument as a main weapon like magical harp or magical guitar/ukulele
Congrats on the baby! You look great, blessed
I like how you can freely move and get behind your opponent and are able to use skills with Flourish. I also like how you can humiliate your opponent by throwing tomatoes at them. These two skills I feel like the other classes need to be able to use. A skill that you are allowed to freely move and cast other skills is great for melee players and the ability to humiliate your opponent and tricking NPC to attack you first is great for everyone. So if you could create a version of those skills for other classes that would be awesome.
I think some skills should be reserved for each archetype. Otherwise they won’t be unique. There needs to be things that distinct each class from another. Especially later on when there will be 64 classes.
@@Jinta-a I was thinking more on the line of how the skills work and not how it's looks because if that the case I would of picked lightning to trail after me on the Flourish. Is that what you mean by unique or something else.
Besides I did leave a comment that the fighter needed a skill like the Flourish or the Flourish mechanics added to one of the gap closer on the fighter showcase around that time. I believe the true unique skills for classes haven't even been shown yet. Besides they are still testing the skills out. They also seeing what skills should belong in a class or not because there might be a skill that is just a fill in until they find and create a new skill that fit perfect with that class. The new skills are coming from people's comments and whatever their staff can come up with to make the classes unique and awesome.
There is also the weapon skill tree that players have. If I have to guess Ashes of Creation are probably going to create some skills for players that will be based off their weapon tree because their main weapon might not suit their class and to give players more options and skills that fit in line with different players prefer fighting style and game play. There is also the second class ability and that if I have to guess unlocked hybrid skills that have elements of both your first class and your second class.
I'm a 90% PVE player and 10% PVP, I'm concerned that other players who spend way more time in this game than I do will be able to dictate how things go. Can you speak to how you plan to allow for causals to have fun in the same world with people who spend their entire life here?
great showing! Quick question... Will more of the rivers in the world be navigable by caravan raft? Also will we have something like a rowboat or canoe for 1-3 friends which we could travel maybe from the mountains to the sea for example!?
There will be a variety of different naval transports and ships that players can use to navigate waterways! ⛵
Can’t wait for the August 16rh A2 roadmap!
What If i went for Bard+Bard? Mega dance moves and huge buffs/heals? Loving it.
👊🏻😁 Planning the same. I wonder what they will have prepared for us.
Some of the NPC movements became choppy in combat, especially the four legged animals, but I expect that to improve through development. Great stream guys!
The Chilling Lament sounds like Lux Aeterna (Requiem for a Dream). My Bard will be named ClintMansel.
Lovely preview, all of it looks great! I would love to have the option of a permanent instrument as a cosmetic, for example a lute sitting on your back, or some other way to have the instruments be a bit more visible.
I really enjoyed this livestream with a heavy emphasis on the way the bard plays. I have never been one to heal / support but I'm honestly interested. It did scare me listening to the 'Questions and Answers'section as there seems to be so much content yet still to have even started in development. I feel the community is asking too much, as an example the "illusion" idea doesn't seem to provide much in the way of gameplay yet asking more and more of this team doesn't seem to be a good idea. Bring on Alpha 2!
Love the bard class!! It does really make me curious about the subclass / archetype system. How much will a subclass affect the mechanics of your abilities vs. the visual (and audio?) flavor?
The story books remind me of the hologram books from the movie Treasure Planet.
Honestly, for the book and other “self animating” weapons, save that for legendaries or archetypes of a weapon rather than every single one of them being so wild and animated. Give them some personalities! Make a grimoire more stoic or creepy in its moveset, etc… lower level ones moving less, etc or something
Great Update! Thank you. The bard looks amazing. I'm really curious how the primary archetypes skills, such as the fighter's, will be affected bard augments when selecting the bard as the secondary archetype at level 25.
I never thought I'd be considering bard main, but damn that looks good!
From what I saw, this is like the Bard in Everquest, including weaving more than one song/melody.
Really cool dev update, love the bard and that spellbook is really cool - I am curious I noticed in combat no one seemed to be obviously dodging or blocking attacks from enemys, is this a mechanic you plan to implement? higher consequences for taking hits without trying to dodge or block it and some sort of stamina management alongside that?
Im so glad you guys dont fear to put the best aspects from other games, especially alot from wow pvp and introduce it ! aoc will be an awesome game
The speed buff animation should be quick in my opinion.
I recommend giving all the healing abilities to the cleric, and leaving any curses to the wizard like the debuff skills
I'm glad we saw what the spell book did. I was wondering about that
The Ashes Devs should look at how Warframe implemented Octavia. They made it so the user can create their own melody. And different melodies can effect damage output (faster ticks, slower ticks, etc.)
looks rly awesome but one question, will bard also have resurrect spell? i feel like both support classes should have it tbh
Bards do not currently have a resurrect spell planned for their kit.
@@AshesofCreation alright thx for info but i remember wow classic when resto druids had no ressurect skill so everyone wanted other healers in groups so i think bard wont be an option then for groups for like 5man or sth, everyone will searchs for clerics then i think so
I assume there will be resurrection scrolls. Due to the 64 class system I assume 8 classes will have resurrection. So I think it will be fine. Each class should stay unique.
Very cool showcase!! A lot of cool ideas for this archetype.
Really I just have one concern. I remember during the cleric showcase y’all mentioned how there were so many freakin abilities and that the typical approach is to specialize/prioritize a smaller number of abilities.
With the bard however, it really feels like every dance or story or melody is a necessary piece of the puzzle/a buff that would be expected to be utilized. But it also feels, at least to me, like ability overload at that point.
Anyway, other than that I’m very excited!
With hybrid play styles can you cast spells through the weapon of your choice like a sword or your fist or do you need a wand, staff or spell book to cast your spells with and if not will l be able to do later?
This is whats interesting for me. I decided that im going Minstrel. Bard/Bard when i saw that the class system prior to alpha 1. With some cooking skills.
will there be a dungeon in the game? If yes, I would like to see them, I also want to see the battle against the raid boss
Floating book looks cool but it doesn't look like a bard more like a mage or some magic user
As a bard you are not obligated to use the book. You can have any other weapon. I didn’t mind it maybe he is wilding his story book ^^
As a long time competitive EQ2 Dirge player, and a AOC Braver of Worlds Kickstarter, I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed that the Bard is basically just a magic / caster support. I was really hoping for at least the option to play the Bard as a melee / stabby type similar to the EQ2 Dirge.
Combat looks floaty and the animations don't look right, They look out of place and jittery. It might be the way it was recorded. Also, Dwarfs shouldn't front flip when they jump, It looks ridiculous.
Overall on the Bard things look great. Are all the spell effects for everyone or just the Bard?
Can you turn off or down spell effects? That is a little excessive when you get in small rooms.
Excited for this game to finally launch. Can't happen soon enough.
So many special effects spells. I hope it will be possible to reduce the intensity of spells and attacks by 70-80%.
Bard is one of those classes that I absolutely never had any interest in. Yet, intrepid made it interesting and refreshing. The percussive timing weaved with the cultural dance animations that flowed with your character when it moved was outstanding.
@ashesofcreation i always knew this game was going to be special, but back when I met you guys at pax Seattle in 2017 I would of never thought it would of come to this.
My question is, looking back at that con, what would you say has made you the most proud between then and now?
I can't wait to see what you all cook up for Blade Dancer
Same very curious for Bowsinger and Bladedancer
Ooohh... exited for October!!!
Man all I want to do is play this game, I honestly can’t wait 😢😁😁
First Impression:
Bard Class looks terrific to play because it is dynamic and not static.
Key shout-outs:
• Dynamic - Situational playability (Bard is not one-dimensional and static)
• Song Weaving,
• Story building to ultimate ability with three different options is amazing
• Combos for beneficial effects
• Mobility and Utility look good
The overall kit utility to the party at level 10 was good
1. Buffs - Good
a. Healing - Seems a bit much, but it does the trick
b. Mana regeneration - A bit weak.
c. Mobility - Was Very Good
2. Utility Buffs are good overall, with a good mix to the base kit.
a. Speed
b. DPS
c. Healing
d. Utility
3. De-Buffs seemed lacking, but I must play the Bard to see this in action.
Abilities
• The gambit card is too big in close zoom fights but not as severe when zoomed out. It covers the map too much when fighting in the buildings or small rooms. I would tone it down or speed up the animation so it does not linger on the screen too long. Seeing what is going on is more important than the effects. Find that sweet spot with it.
• I agree that the knockback needs a five-meter knockback.
• Overall, the abilities of the bard are looking great.
• Your ability to weave your songs is epic, making the Bard's playability fun and situationally dynamic. This was shown on the live stream.
• It will be incredible to be able to weave more and more songs as you level up to the max level. Which was hinted at.
• I agree that making the bard weaving for two spells a default should come standard with the kit. The option kicks in if you want to do 3 or more.
• The combs are great.
• The animations for the bard are on point-you nailed it. With minor tweaks to a few and a few polishes, it is ready for prime-time Alpha 2.0.
Weapon:
• The book animation is excellent.
• Book size looks good. It is a tomb, not a book
o Please make a lot of killer skins for the book
o I want to see GW2 fashion wars come alive in Ashes
o I hope we can dye armor and weapons.
The ability for enchanter crafters to enchant armor and weapons with particle effects - Fire, Ice, Spirit, etc.- both cosmetic only and to augment gear stats would be epic. It would take avatar modding to the next level.
Avatar customizations are an MMORPG necessity.
o I genuinely hope you can mix and match every outfit piece to customize your Avatar's look.
o One thing I did not like about GW2 avatar fashions is that some of the costumes you purchased out of the cash store could not be swapped out peace by peace to build a custom look with a few of the pieces.
• Ball Lightning looks much better now. I hope you can combo it, so it splits into three more petite orbs, making it an electric moving wall. Also, enable the ability to hit the spell icon again, allowing the player to detonate the full-sized orb to stun those caught inside it when it detonates and staggers those within a specific range. Ball lighting needs to have diversity. It would not be something I use very often in its current state. It requires more utility.
Like to see:
I would like to see the ability to lean heavier into support buffs, such as DPS, Healing, group buffs, or jack of all trades. This would bring me back to my Dirge/Troubadour days in EQII. You can spec to be more offensive, defensive, or utility. You mentioned you are going in this direction, so I look forward to seeing what that will look like.
Game Play:
• Looks like you have an MMORPG that is finding the fun.
• Mob density, respawn, and agro range seemed a bit much, but it did not help that some in the group who should not be named were running all over the place, gathering them all up.
• This kept the group on the edge of their seats and made for a great showcase because the group worked hard to keep from whipping.
• I hope we can bind macro keys to mark Target and add that to our hot bars. As a tank in EQII and WoW, I had that on speed dial when running Dungeons and Raiding.
• There is no accessible mode where you can go on auto-follow until you get the big boss mob with the loot drop you want.
• I like that you can pull many mobs, and that body pulling them into rooms or around corners can break the line of sight.
• Old School MMORPG vibes when that was called out and demonstrated in gameplay.
• A good tank marks the targets and manages the ebb and flow of combat.
• They know when to recover or how fast a group can pull and burn through the mobs to the main objective. Tank runs the pace of combat.
• The dynamic lighting passes have paid off. The game is looking for a lot better.
• Spells in dark rooms are too much on the eyes in tight, darker-room combat, so you might want to do a few passes to tone them down/blend them. Better yet, give the player the ability in the UI to tone down the brightness of spell effects till it fits their preference. Player options and customization are king. As you told us, give us the tools to customize our game UI and settings.
Overall, your game looks like an MMORPG.
1. Don’t release it until it is ready.
• Alpha 2 is going to make or break the game.
i. Combat must be fun for all classes, solo and group.
• Basic MMORPG systems, such as combat, UI, economy, crafting, and other major core tech, need to work.
• Make sure the cake is baked before you serve it up like in other games.
• I would rather wait till July 2025 to play Alpha 2.0 if you know it needs the time.
• It's not worth risking having a ruthless community trash everything about it that did not work or live up to some of the hype because it was not ready. The drive-by gaming community loves highlighting every flaw and magnifying it into a mountain of a problem. Don't hand them the fuel and matches to burn ashes to the ground by releasing it before it is ready.
• If 80% of it works well and 20% needs rework or tweaking because of feedback and test results, it is a success in my book.
• But if >70% or lower, then don’t release it.
> For better or worse, the community will evaluate this game, compare it to all the current MMORPGs, and pick it apart. They will not see it as an Alpha 2.0. Alpha 2.0 will definitely be that risk and reward you discussed. I cannot wait to see your game studio knock it out of the ballpark during Alpha 2.0. Keep up the great work. You find the fun and the MMORPG community will flock to your game.
Man, it's starting to actually look like a game.
Love that armor :)
🃏 💖
Im not the biggest fan of it, but to each their own, I suppose.
Animations look so satisfying
Hey i wanted to ask this question can you we push the server size limit or go for mega servers 10k server size at 300 per guild is like 33 guilds its not enough for how epic a game you guys have in the works what are your thoughts?
I kinda love the stop motion style on the mobs
Idk if I like it, its actually really jarring and immersion breaking to see the stop motion enemies. At first it made my eyes hurt thinking im going crazy and took a few moments to realize what was even wrong with them.
@@BloodDrenched-y6i its obviously not finished but id like if there was a setting for it
You keep on making each class look cool and have all these awesome class skills. I kinda wish that Aches of Creation would make a classless archetype that way I can pick and choose a few skills I like best from each of the other archetypes. But if you could make a skill book that allows you to pick a skill or a few from other classes I won't mind that either. You could also have a skill book that allows you to pick different races skills.
I think ashes or creation is focusing on group play. Your idea sounds interesting, but it could make it less of a group player game.
@@Jinta-a I mostly saying this because I have no idea what all the skill Aches of Creation will have with their classes or non class skills and what they are all capable of besides the one they show so far.
The only way I see Aches of Creation doing a classless build is if they decide to do a demo where they allow players to test things out in an arena and don't want to switch classes to test it out. That's doesn't effect the game as a whole. That way they can get some feedback on combat skills from PVP or PVE and it might speed some of the process up of building ashes of creation. They could also create a demo workshop that tests the skills of professions. They could also have a mock dungeon or place to test other skills out.
Now with the skills books it all depends on how they go about it. Because you have your combat skills, movement skills, support skills, non- combat skills, passive skills, utility skills, and your racial skills.
Aches of Creation could set requirements to let players learn the skills they want but have to meet a few requirements first like having the right stats point, a certain mastery level of their weapon, the right profession, renown, haveing a certain Friendliness to a certain race and go through quests and meeting the right NPCs or skills trainer. They also don't have to make it easy to learn another class skills or another race skills.
They could also set a few limits on the skills you learn like how many skills you can learn in total or it could even be just a few from each class. Aches of Creation could even set a tier cap where the skill can't level up or go past a certain level because you are picking up skills that are from another class so you won't have the skill tree that is tried to that skill.They could even give players a class bonus for their skills to outrank or outperform those who learn their class skills or they can do the opposite and give the player a debuff for the skill that is used against that skills class holder.
Well it also depends on how a person sets their character up and their play style. Learning a few skills won't hurt and it might even make the player better as fighting in a team and an extra skill or two might make a difference between victory or defeat. There are some skills that players don't like or it goes against their play style so they don't use them and if they could trade them out for ones they like it might make a difference.
With that in mind I can see players picking a class or race based on three things. The type of skills they prefer whether it be combat related skill or if they prefer the non-combat related skill that class or race gives. Players will also pick a class based on their play style, and lastly they just might pick something off appearance and if it's cool or not.
Allowing players to pick up a skill that is not from their classes might cover up their flaws that they might have because of their play style or their poor judgement in-game. It can also allow the player to pick up some slack from their team mates or allows them to become a backup depending on what skills the player decides to learn.
There is a limit on how many max skills and active skills you can have. With that in mind they could add a few archetypes based on those limits. I can think of a few they could add like a Crafter, Warrior, Magi, and Adventurer archetypes. I think of them as Jack's of all trades who wish to transform into kings of the trade.
The Crafter can become a grandmaster in every profession but can only learn combat skills thru quest, books, items and equipment.Have a higher drop rate of items with skills. If they want to level up the skill they must fine a higher grade weapon. Will be able to consume materials that will strengthen their stats or resistance to forge their body into the weapon. They will have a chosen weapon that is bound and can consume other weapons and acquire the weapon skills and to level up. The chosen weapon will have to be created. After the weapon is made they will gain a skill to summon the spirit of all defeated weapons of your weapon and command them to fight your opponents with a few skills. One of the skills will be like the blade skill from Fable. The King of the Forge and their companion the King Weapon.
The Warrior will be the ultimate non-magical combat user. The king of the battle field. The Warrior will be a merge between the Tank, Fighter, Ranger, and the Rouge. The Warrior can learn the combat related skill from those archetypes.
The Magi will be the ultimate magical class. The King of spells. It will be a merge between the Mage, Cleric, Bard, and the Summoner. Magi will be able to learn those archetype combat magic skills.
The Adventurer will be a blank slate that will start with zero skills and have to aquire their skills from other archetype and classes but can only max out two skills. The Adventurer will be limited to the max skills they can learn and use. Whatever skills you learn as an adventurer it will tell a story. The Hero King who starts with nothing and becomes a mighty hero.
good work
Steven is final boss? HP? Resistances? What is he weak to? How many phases? Does he have a final form?
No macros and no add ons is amazing
Thank you so much guys for doing such an AMAZING job with everything. Things are looking better after every stream!
Love from Sweden!