Processing
Processing is one of the artisan classes in Ashes of Creation.[1]
- Processing involves the refining of raw materials obtained from gathering and item deconstruction.[1]
Processing requires blueprints for the construction of buildings that are needed to process resources.[2]
Contents
Processing professions
Artisan mastery
Players must choose a path in the artisan skill tree for each character.[3] Within each of the three parent artisan paths (Gathering, Processing and Crafting) there are different professions. A character may only ever master one of these parent paths.[4][5][6][7]
Gathering is a parent artisan path, along with processing and crafting. Within each of the three parent paths lies different professions. You may only ever master one parent path. But you may spend time mastering each profession within the parent artisan path.[7] – Steven Sharif
Becoming a master Crafter or a master Processor or a master Gatherer should be a significant time investment and resource investment; and because of that it should also be something that when you achieve that status it's like people on the server know who you are.[8] – Steven Sharif
- Players can dabble in all professions at a "beginners" level before they decide to master a particular pathway.[9]
- Choosing a specific path in the skill tree allows the player an opportunity to specialize in a certain area. This encourages player inter-dependency, enhancing the artisan experience.[10]
- It is possible to master multiple professions (but not all) within a parent artisan path, but this will be a long and labor intensive feat, requiring many resources.[4][7][11]
- Masteries aren’t just about making an item. They grant many things, including titles, access to items, bargains, and quests. [14]
Players will have the opportunity to kind of dabble in all of the professions at a very beginners level and then you know that kind of gives them an understanding of what that profession feels like and then allows them to kind of pinpoint the direction that they want to go in to master particular professions.[9] – Steven Sharif
When we reference not being masters of all that doesn't mean you're not a master within your own one of the three artisan types, which is you know crafter or gatherer, processor. You will be a master of one of those, you will not be master of the other two.[6] – Steven Sharif
Raw materials
Gatherable resources (raw materials/harvestables) occur in locations where you would expect them to be organically.[16]
- Some resources will be one-time gatherables that will randomly respawn at a different location once collected.[17][18]
- Other resources will exist as a cluster (also called vein gatherables). These will last until the full resource is depleted.[17][18][16]
- Like a large mine that's present and has a vein of mithril ore in it, or a herd of some type of animal that you can collect fur or wool from.[18] – Steven Sharif
- Resources won't be locked to the node system.[16]
- Some unique resources may be monsters in disguise or have monsters defending them.[20]
We want our players to have a reason to explore the wilderness, to travel with purpose, and much of that will be driven by our resource system. Transporting these goods might just be more difficult than gathering them. Our regional market system allows players to participate in creating pocket economies that will reinforce the stability of goods in particular regions.[21]
We really want resources to be persistent and non-renewable. If there’s a mithril vein, that mithril vein will be there until it runs out. The server will manage these amounts on its own, and will repopulate things where and when it desires. You might find another mithril vein in that location sometime later, or somewhere nearby, or maybe never again![22]
Resource quality
Resources will have differing levels of quality for the same resource type.[18] This is somewhat similar to Star Wars Galaxies.[25]
- Gatherers who are more advanced in their artisan tree will unlock higher level harvesting tools that have a greater chance of collecting higher quality resources or proccing a greater quantity.[18][26][27]
You will have an opportunity to proc certain qualities based on your progression in the Artisan tree. So if you are a gatherer; and as you advance in your gathering, you'll have a higher opportunity to collect better resources.[27] – Steven Sharif
Processed materials
Materials (processed goods) are obtained in the following ways:
The quality of crafting materials will influence the quality of the crafted item.[30]
List of processed goods (crafting materials)
High-level materials
Materials for crafting high-level items are obtained from world bosses and through the deconstruction of other high-level items.[29]
Many end level items with crafting will require mats from world bosses etc. we want those systems intertwined. However. There may be opportunities to deconstruct high level items and replace those needed materials as well. We will be testing the crafting trees in alpha and beta.[29] – Steven Sharif
Artisan tools
Gathering artisan classes require the creation and use of harvesting tools that enable the gathering of resources.[2][32]
- Progression in the gathering artisan class unlocks higher level harvesting tools that enable gathering of higher level resources.[26]
- A gatherer at maximum proficiency will unlock Master toolsets that will grant them access to the highest quality gatherables.[17]
- Tools will have durability and tool lifespans.[17][33]
- Artisans will not need to rely on other trees in order to make their tools.[2]
Tools do advance within the artisan tree, so your ability to either gather, process or craft will require the equivalent tools necessary at that stage of crafting in order to accomplish the task at hand. So, you could not mine copper and mithril with the same tool.[32] – Steven Sharif
Processing requires blueprints for the construction of buildings that are needed to process resources.[2]
Artisan supply chain
Artisans within Ashes of Creation must choose a path in their artisan skill tree. This inter-dependency establishes a supply chain from raw materials to finished product.[34][28] Each stage of the chain may require caravans to transport goods from one artisan to another.[10]
- Obtaining raw materials:[35]
- Using the Gathering profession.
- By killing mobs and bosses.[36]
- From deconstructing weapons or armor.
- By purchasing them from other players.
- Refining the raw materials with the Processing profession.[28]
- Crafting the finished product using its crafting recipe.
As a crafter you're going to want to know where certain recipes can be fulfilled; which nodes have the capability of creating what you've processed material that you've gathered for; and then you're going to want to plan out your route to either transit the goods there or make sure that you're situated in the area so that you can go out collect and build in that area as well. So there's a lot of planning that's going to be necessary.[38] – Steven Sharif
Gathering
Gathering is one of the artisan classes in Ashes of Creation.[15][41]
- Gatherable resources are discovered by trial-and-error and by learning their visuals.[15]
- Gathering requires the creation and use of tools.[2][32]
- Gathering within a node's Zone of influence (ZOI) will contribute to its experience growth.[15]
- Certain low level gatherables will have a tiered progression into higher level crafting.[42]
Certain low level gatherables will have a tiered progression into higher level crafting. So for example you know if I'm gathering... leaves of the blue petal flower to craft a pigment that's going to be used in the development of a tunic that I can wear at level one, then I may need to collect those in order to craft the pigments to craft a greater pigment that might be present in the in the crafting of a higher level item. So it's going to be kind of a tiered progression so that materials have relevancy throughout the different levels of of crafting; and that's important from an economic stability standpoint. You need to have layered demand from a supply standpoint so that players who are interested in collecting and gathering those materials still are relevant when the later level items are crafted.[42] – Steven Sharif
Crafting

Crafting and gathering is a very important component of the economy that players will have direct control over. Whether you wish to build a sprawling plantation around your house, or wish to travel the vast wilderness in search of treasure and resources. There are many tools available to the crafters of our world. Regardless of how you gather your resources, we believe that every item that exists in the world should in some way reflect its creator. As such, there will be extreme versatility in our crafting system – giving crafters the ability to create unique items that represent their strengths and weaknesses.[21]
Crafting is one of the artisan classes in Ashes of Creation. It is a driving force for the game economy.[44]
- Crafting requires the acquisition of recipes in order to craft items.[2]
- Crafting stations are located on freeholds or within nodes.[45][46]
- Higher tier crafting stations are unlocked with node progression.[47]
Anything that you want to bring into existence in the world is going to be built by players: Whether that is Ships, Siege engines, Weapons, Armor, etc.[48] – Jeffrey Bard
There will not be a labor or energy system in Ashes of Creation.[49]
There is no labor or energy system in Ashes. However, that's not to say that crafting will not be difficult. Crafting is very difficult; but it is because it is difficult that it will be very rewarding as well.[49] – Steven Sharif
Freehold buildings
Freehold buildings can be placed on a freehold plot.[51][52]
- Blacksmiths
- Forges
- Freehold farms
- Guild halls
- Homesteads
- Inns
- Lumber yards
- Mills
- Shrines
- Smelters
- Stables
- Taverns
Buildings will require blueprints and materials.[53]
- Basements in freehold buildings are to be decided.[54]
Freehold buildings will not change in terms of footprint (within a specific tier of that building) but may increase in height.[55]
- Certain buildings will have multiple tiers, with different footprint sizes. For example: Small, medium, large, to mansion-sized homes.[55]
- A mansion sized home may occupy up to 50% of a freehold plot.[55]
Freehold building architecture is based on the blueprint for the building.[56]
- Cosmetics can also be applied to a blueprint based on the type of building.[56]
- Players are not locked into any particular race for freehold blueprints.[57]
The way we look at it is the freehold is your space so we want you to be able to make it look the way you want it to.[56] – Jeffrey Bard
Freehold building placement
There may be a grid-based system that freehold owners can use to place items/props and buildings on their freehold plot.[58][59]
- Players will need to manage how these are arranged to maximize adjacency bonuses.[59]
Depending on where your place you're freehold, you're gonna have different environmental tiles available to you and those will kind of enable or buff existing structures that you place in your Freehold... I don't know that we would put like fish farming just for a freehold that's on a river. What we would probably do is give you a buff to fishing in that area. That kind of a thing. So there'll be more buffs for existing things rather than necessarily a special buildings just for that area. But again we're not fully baked in on that system yet, so it's very possible though we end up going down that direction.[60] – Jeffrey Bard
Artwork
Community guides
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Livestream, 5 May 2017 (34:15).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Interview, 27 March 2020 (9:00).
- ↑
- ↑ 4.0 4.1
- ↑ Livestream, 24 May 2017 (32:07).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Livestream, 26 July 2019 (1:09:46).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2
- ↑ Interview, 20 July 2020 (18:47).
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Interview, 27 March 2020 (5:25).
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Livestream, 5 May 2017 (6:12).
- ↑
- ↑ 12.0 12.1
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Livestream, 3 September 2017 (10:48).
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Livestream, 8 May 2017 (54:26).
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Livestream, 31 July 2020 (1:05:58).
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 Livestream, 25 July 2020 (1:04:50).
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Livestream, 17 December 2019 (1:14:42).
- ↑
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 About Ashes of Creation.
- ↑ Interview: Ashes of Creation on Building Their Virtual World, 13 April 2017.
- ↑
- ↑ Livestream, 17 November 2017 (53:28).
- ↑
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Livestream, 30 April 2020 (53:11).
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Interview, 20 October 2018 (2:13).
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 Livestream, 5 May 2017 (8:22).
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3
- ↑ Interview, 20 October 2018 (17:31).
- ↑ Livestream, 30 April 2020 (54:33).
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 Interview, 11 May 2018 (38:25).
- ↑ 33.0 33.1
- ↑ Interview, 20 July 2020 (20:17).
- ↑ Livestream, 8 May 2017 (20:41).
- ↑ Livestream, 18 July 2017 (38:30).
- ↑ Livestream, 26 May 2017 (26:00).
- ↑ Interview, 11 May 2018 (24:18).
- ↑
- ↑ Livestream, 28 March 2020 (48:31).
- ↑
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 Podcast, 11 May 2018 (1:00:07).
- ↑ Livestream, 17 August 2018 (15:14).
- ↑
- ↑ Livestream, 30 January 2020 (1:38:26).
- ↑ Livestream, 12 May 2017 (1:00:18).
- ↑ Interview, 19 July 2020 (6:38).
- ↑ Livestream, 24 May 2017 (17:08).
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 Interview, 20 October 2018 (2:31:39).
- ↑ Ashes of Creation Store: Velkor's Eye.
- ↑ Node series part II – the Metropolis.
- ↑ Livestream, 24 May 2017 (9:58).
- ↑
- ↑ Livestream, 28 June 2019 (1:09:22).
- ↑ 55.0 55.1 55.2 Interview, 8 July 2020 (45:23).
- ↑ 56.0 56.1 56.2 Livestream, 28 August 2020 (2:14:06).
- ↑ Livestream, 26 May 2017 (44:11).
- ↑ Livestream, 29 May 2020 (41:27).
- ↑ 59.0 59.1 Livestream, 16 October 2017 (56:42).
- ↑ Livestream, 6 December 2018 (44:14).