Anyone that has been looking at the future of MMORPGs is very, very likely no stranger to the upcoming title, Ashes of Creation, from Intrepid Studios. Though I haven’t covered the game much here (seriously, it’s been about 2 years!), due to how deep into the alpha development the game is, and how much it can change in launch – I’ve still kept a close eye on the game. After all, being one of the only Unreal Engine 5 MMORPGs in development, it is pretty much on a league of its own.
On September 30, the team over at Intrepid Studios showed a teaser at the ranged combat system that will be featured in Ashes of Creation. Steven Sharif, the studio head, recorded some gameplay for viewers, and provided an opportunity to check out The Riverlands, one of the prominent locations in the game. Unreal Engine 5 shines through with this area, where the game currently is in the Spring season – which means there will be pollen in the air, fog and lots of sunlight. With the reflections off of the water, and how these lights were placed, it was a nice nod to the Lumen system provided by Unreal Engine 5.
In relation to the ranged combat system however, what is mostly shown are basic attacks such as Quick Shot, Air Strike and Snipe, along with explanations on the differences between the Short and Long Bow, through the Archer archetype.
Tab-Target and Action Combat Mode was also shown off a bit more – where in Tab-Target, players can manually select an enemy, yet in Action Combat Mode it is more based off of what your character is facing, but players will be able to “Hard Lock” a target with the Right Mouse Button (though this is customizable, if players want to use another button).
Ashes of Creation continues to impress with every single development update, and will soon offer Alpha 2 – a testing ground for Kickstarter backers, as well as interested players that purchased the available packages on the official website – soon, according to Intrepid Studios. The game’s release schedule is not yet available, but it is worth noting that it has been in the works since 2016, with its very first Alpha 0 test on December 2017. Since then, there have been various forms of testing such as the Battle Royale version of the game for server stress testing, and data accumulation for their Action Combat hybrid system, Castle Sieging, and Alpha 1.
For interested readers, Ashes of Creation is set to release on PC, with a possible Console and Linux port at a later point. You can also check out the game via my referral link here, or through the normal link at AshesOfCreation.com.
