Release schedule

Glorious Ashes of Creation community! Welcome to the start of our month-long Ashes of Creation Alpha One! We are extremely excited to invite folks to this glorious milestone of our development journey with NO NDA as we want everyone to be able to provide feedback unfiltered. During Alpha One testing, we'll be looking for your feedback specifically on the following things: download and installation process, client performance, and server performance. – Steven Sharif

The Ashes of Creation release schedule is subject to change.

Phase	Release	Estimated/Actual date
Pre‑alpha	Alpha-0.	December 15, 2017.
APOC	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale stress test (NDA).	September 7, 2018.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale stress test (NDA lifted).	October 19, 2018.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale open beta.	December 18, 2018.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale early access.	September 24, 2019.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle siege mode PI closed testing.	December 19, 2019.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale testing ends.	March 10, 2020.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle siege mode.	After Alpha-1.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse horde mode.	After Alpha-1.
Alpha	Alpha-1 early preview livestream.	March 27, 2020.
	Alpha-1 limited QA testing (NDA).	May 28, 2020.
	Alpha-1 preview pre-test 1 (NDA).	Dec 18 - Dec 21 2020.
	Alpha-1 preview pre-test 2 (NDA).	Feb 19 - Feb 22 2021.
	Alpha-1 preview intermittent spot testing (NDA).	Mar 19 - Jul 9 2021.
	Alpha-1 preview weekend (no NDA).	July 9 - July 11 2021.
	Alpha-1 (no NDA).	July 14 - August 13 2021.
	Alpha-1 intermittent spot testing.	After August 13 2021.
	Alpha-2 (persistent alpha).	To be announced.
Beta	Beta-1.	To be announced.
	Beta-2.	To be announced.
Pre‑release	Head start for crowdfunding backers at the Founder level and above.	1-2 days before launch.
Release	Launch (live) release.	To be announced.
Post‑launch	Major releases (DLC expansions).	Quarterly or six-monthly.
	Minor releases.	Monthly.

Early access

Alpha and beta key concept art.

Ashes of Creation early access packages:

• Alpha-0 was the invite-only "raffle" friends and family alpha test phase.
• Alpha-1, Alpha-2, Beta-1, and Beta-2 were available for purchase during the Kickstarter and Summer crowdfunding campaigns.
• Alpha-1 was available in the Intrepid pre-order pack and is currently available in the Adventurer pre-order pack from the cosmetic store.
• Alpha-2 and Beta-2 were available during PAX West 2017.
• Alpha-1, Alpha-2, Beta-1, and Beta-2 are currently available in Pre-order packs on the cosmetic store.

Ashes of Creation

Ashes of Creation website redesign preview (WIP).

Ashes of Creation takes place within a medieval fantasy setting, blending imagination with cutting-edge graphics. We are putting the word massive back into massively multiplayer with unique and novel mechanics that will bring meaning to player action. Ashes of Creation will incorporate the best parts of traditional MMORPGs with innovative sandbox concepts. You will choose your fate at every opportunity. Questlines will open and close based on the interactions of the players with their world, because this is a world where choice is consequential. Monsters will roam and grow in ferocity as civilization disrupts the natural order of things. From the location of towns to the size of cities, you will determine the landscape of your world. It will be unique in culture, ecology, and economy.

Ashes of Creation is an upcoming MMORPG set in a world of high fantasy where player’s choices will shape and define the world around them.

Ashes of Creation is a unique take on the MMO experience. Our world structure is dynamic and built to react to the actions of our players. Cities will rise and fall, their populations based on the history of the world as the players create it. Quests will unlock as these populations gather, their needs grow, and secrets are unlocked. As the world’s NPC structure is established in real time, players will have the ability to destroy what they’ve created, paving the way for new development, new populations, and real change. Political strife and intrigue will play a very real role in the structure of your world. Gone are the days of static worlds, change is here to stay.

The original code-name for Ashes of Creation was The World of Origins.

Alpha-1

Alpha-1 Teaser.

This is a true development alpha. This is not a marketing alpha; and what that means is as you know part of the process here in developing Ashes of Creation is being open with that development so you guys can see that progress; and it is a double-edged sword. There are going to be a spectrum of people that exists who are very involved with the game's development and those who are just completely at an arm's length away in understanding the process; and they may look at alpha one- the people who don't really understand the development process or haven't been a part of it- they may look at it and they may think oh you know this is trash, looks like trash, you know whatever it's the end-product. But at the end of the day what's important for us and what yields the best possible product is for us to include as much as possible the community in that development process with no NDA so that you guys give valuable feedback; and as we go through the iterative process in further defining the game and fleshing out that content were doing so with the player in mind and their voice in our ear. That is I think one of the key distinguishing factors between our development and many developments that you guys may have seen in the past. – Steven Sharif

Alpha-1 preview ancients mobs.

What this experience for Alpha one is going to be- that month-long experience- it is not intended to be a content experience... It is not intended to be a game experience. It is not intended to be a fully-fledged content experience. So keep that in mind. – Steven Sharif

Alpha-1 PvE combat.

Alpha-1 is a testing release of the Ashes of Creation MMORPG. Alpha-1 will test:

• Hybrid action/tab combat.
  • Revamped combat systems will be rolled out during and post Alpha-1 testing.

The weapon attack is an important component of the combat system, so we want to make sure that as we're doing this combat revamp that we are essentially taking into consideration player feedback and sentiment about how they want a reactive and more mobile weapon attack system. – Steven Sharif

• Progression to level 15.

  The composition of class skills or archetype skills has to tread a fine line between two roads: One we wanted to be representative of skills not just that would traditionally be found 1 through 15 but we're actually introducing some skills that might be found later, because we want to test those particular ideas and how the skill functions. – Steven Sharif

• 4 playable races.
  • Kaelar, Vaelune, Dünir, Empyrean.

  A lot of times people ask well why haven't we seen the other races and stuff? We want to establish the quality bar and process with these races first and then when we move into further content production for the other races we have have those pipelines in place and we have the processes in place and we know how to approach them.

• Cleric, Mage and Tank archetypes.
  • Ranger may be added later in Alpha-1.
  • Fighter, Bard, Rogue, and Summoner archetypes will follow in later in development (after Alpha-1).
  • Secondary archetypes will not be present in Alpha-1. These are planned for Alpha-2.

• The Alpha-1 map (Alpha island) consists of a mainland area and several islands. It will be almost 100 km² in size.
  • This is about 17% of the total world size.
  • Alpha-1 takes place in the north west part of the map.

• Node advancement to Village (stage 3).
  • There are 9 node locations in Alpha-1.
  • Normally there would be 18-20 nodes in the same area.
  • A basic vassal system is in place.
  • The node ZOI's is larger than the final map.
  • Node locations are subject to change prior to Beta-1.

• The economy present in Alpha-1 is not reflective of the final state of the game.
  • Merchant systems and player to player trading.

  We have an economy but it's not really going to be reflective of the final how the economy is going to work. It'll work for alpha one and there'll be plenty of things to trade and buy and exchange, but it's not going to be really super representative what the final state is. So keep that in mind as well it's a stubbed-in system. It's not a complete or really finalized system at all. – Jeffrey Bard

• Approximately 10 percent of the artisan system.
  • The core basics of the artisan gameplay loop is facilitated via the merchant (NPC) system.
  • Gathering, Processing, Crafting is expected to come online in Alpha-2 and the Betas.
  • Previously this was targeted for Alpha-1.

  What's present in Alpha-1 doesn't even really scratch the surface for crafting. – Steven Sharif

• Over 200 quests.
  • Questing is placeholder until Alpha-2.

• Guilds.

• Alpha-1 castle sieges and Castles are in a zone accessible via a NPC teleporter.
  • This zone includes three Elder dragon raid bosses.
  • These bosses also appear in the open world (outside the siege zone) with slightly different mechanics.

• Approximately 49 unique gear sets.
  • These are unique sets with different stats, but some may be similar in appearance.
  • Daggers (Dual weapons).

• There is no instancing in Alpha-1.
  • Approximately 6 or 7 dungeons with one almost raid-level difficulty.
  • Two world bosses requiring party-sized groups.
  • One true 40 person raid boss.

• Ships for "island hopping".
  • Temporary teleportation points are present in early tests until ships are introduced later in the alpha testing.

• Character creator (basic).

• UI and tutorial systems are placeholders until Alpha-2.

Some of the following information has not been recently confirmed by the developers and may not be on the current development roadmap for Alpha-1.

• Social organizations.
• Portions of player housing.
• Corruption.
• Name reservations.

Alpha-2

Alpha 2 is intended to have pretty much every core system in place to some degree or another... You're going to start seeing systems flesh out a little bit more. That's when you're going to start seeing those systems appear in a little bit more of a polished state. – Steven Sharif

Alpha-2 is the Persistent alpha. All core game systems are expected to be in place for this test, including:

• Tulnar race.
• Ships.
• Artisan classes will be fully implemented.
• Religions.
• Secondary classes.
• Emblem, logo and symbol editor (tentatively).
• Family summon mechanic.

UI, tutorial systems, and much of the questing will remain placeholder for Alpha One, and won't really come online until Alpha Two. – Steven Sharif

Alpha-1 and Alpha-2 testers may be invited to participate in spot testing prior to the Alpha-2 release.

Beta testing

The Beta-1 and Beta-2 testing phases of Ashes of Creation will be short.

• Bear McCreary's music will be unveiled in Beta-1.

The game should be pretty much done (at beta stage) and final polish and stuff like that being put in. We don't want people to get totally burnt out on the game before we actually release. So once we get to the beta phases it should be short and sweet. – Jeffrey Bard

Beta testing of Ashes of Creation (the MMORPG) will be closed.

Head start

Head start icon.

Head start grants early access one or two days prior to the live launch of Ashes of Creation for crowdfunding backers at the Founder level and above.

• Head start is a means to gradually ramp up the population to avoid player concurrency issues at launch.
• Head start will also be a way to address any last-minute launch or deployment issues.

The point of head start is twofold: One for testing, making sure that the live launch servers pre-wipe are good; and then Two, it's a way to stagger the population move into the game. Because if you have servers with 10,000 concurrent player capability and you have everyone logging in at the exact same time, that is a problem I've never seen an MMO tackle successfully, ever. – Steven Sharif

Headstart servers

The number of head start servers is estimated to be three. This is subject to change.

• There will be an OCE headstart server.

Headstart limitations

The game functionality is limited during the head start period so that players cannot decide the world-scape earlier than others.

• During the head start, the node system will be deactivated.
• Head start specific servers are also planned.
• It will not be possible to secure player housing during the headstart period due to the deactivation of the node system.

Head start was not a mistake, I tend to listen to my development team with regards to their vast past experiences in mmo launches and development. Advice from engineering on head starts was they are extremely desired in order to test any last minute launch/deployment issues that “always” happen. So I did as much as possible to mitigate the potential p2w elements/issues while still adhering to sound development principles. Including designating which servers are head start servers. So wanna make sure we don’t “chop” this one as a mistake or misstep. Everything done is done to ensure a quality launch/product. – Steven Sharif

NDA

• Alpha-1, Alpha-2, Beta-1, Beta-2 releases are not covered by NDA (non-disclosure agreement).
• Alpha-1 testing prior to the full release of Alpha-1 was covered by NDA.
  • NDA review and acceptance is done via the game client.
  • The text and voice NDA was lifted from the PI QA testing phase on May 28, 2020.
  • The verbal NDA was lifted from Alpha-1 preview testing, and future testing, on May 17, 2021.
  • The NDA was lifted on July 9, 2021 for the three day Alpha-1 preview weekend test.
  • The NDA was lifted on July 14, 2021 for Alpha-1.

We are extremely excited to invite folks to this glorious milestone of our development journey with NO NDA as we want everyone to be able to provide feedback unfiltered. During Alpha One testing, we'll be looking for your feedback specifically on the following things: download and installation process, client performance, and server performance.

Participation

• Alpha-0 had over 2,500 participants.

• Alpha-1 and Alpha-2 are expected to have 10,000 participants.

• Beta-1 and Beta-2 are expected to have 27,000 participants.

Alpha and Beta participation is expected to grow with the sale of pre-order packs.

Server wipes

Alpha and Beta servers will be wiped prior to launch.

• Alpha-1 testing phases will include full wipes.
• Servers may also be wiped between individual tests, unless the developers require progression to be saved for certain spot tests.

As a general rule, if the testing phase contains the word Alpha, it is safe to assume there will likely be wipes. – Steven Sharif

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse logo.

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse early access trailer.

The standalone prequel to the upcoming epic MMORPG Ashes of Creation - both a testing ground for new systems and content, as well as a unique last-man-standing action game where magic, steel, and chaos reign supreme in a high fantasy, free-to-play experience.

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse (also referred to as APOC) was a free-to-play matchmaking-based arena game with three primary modes.

• Battle royale (battlegrounds).
• Castle sieges.
• City defense horde mode.

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse utilizes action-based combat.

• Ashes of Creation Apocalypse will be implemented side-by-side with the Ashes of Creation MMORPG.
• 6.25 km² map size.
  • The Forest of Erinthia map is roughly 1/5th the size of the original map.
• A Character creator will be available to allow creation and saving of characters for use in the MMORPG.
• Establish Player housing and save Furniture arrangements for use in the full game.

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale early access testing ended on March 10, 2020.

• It was previously available for download on the official website and on Steam.

Milestones

December 2015	First team members were hired.
February 2016	Ashes of Creation design documentation and prototyping.
December 10, 2016	Official website was launched and project announced.
January 18, 2017	Official discord was launched.
May 2, 2017	Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign launched with $750,000 funding goal.
June 3, 2017	Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign completed with 19,576 backers raising $3,271,809.
June 2017	Game production began with a team size of 15-20.
June 21, 2017	Summer crowdfunding campaign launched.
July 22, 2017	Summer crowdfunding campaign completed with 2,485 backers.
September 1, 2017	PAX West 2017.
November 4, 2017	Raised $16,500 for Extra Life children's hospitals.
December 15, 2017	Alpha-0 released on schedule.
March 19-23, 2018	Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2018.
April 5, 2018	PAX East 2018.
August 15, 2018	Last day for purchases of Alpha-1 through Intrepid pre-order packs.
August 20, 2018	At Gamescom with My.com.
August 27, 2018	100 developers working on Ashes of Creation.
September 1, 2018	PAX West 2018 panel.
October 19, 2018	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale (previously called Alpha-1 phase 1 battlegrounds).
November 4, 2018	Raised $20,518 for Rady Children's hospital with Extra Life.
April 15, 2019	60 developers working on Ashes of Creation at San Diego offices (following disengagement with Malaysian art team).
November 3, 2019	Raised $20,901 for Rady Children's hospital with Extra Life.
August 21, 2020	Announced a mutual parting of ways with publisher My.games.
October 17, 2020	Almost 3,000,000 registered accounts for Ashes of Creation.
October 17, 2020	~87 developers working on Ashes of Creation.
November 8, 2020	Raised $88,546 for Rady Children's hospital with Extra Life.
February 26, 2021	Official ashesofcreation.com website redesign.
May 5, 2021	Alpha-1 sales resumed with the announcement of the Adventurer pre-order pack.
May 17, 2021	Verbal NDA was lifted from Alpha-1 testing.
July 9, 2021	Alpha-1 no-NDA preview weekend began on schedule.
July 11, 2021	Alpha-1 no-NDA preview weekend completed on schedule.
July 14, 2021	Alpha-1 no-NDA began on schedule.

Accomplishments

• Kickstarter's most funded MMORPG.
• Kickstarter's #7 most funded video game.
• Most anticipated MMO – MMORPG.com's Best of 2017 Awards.
• Most anticipated early access hands-on MMORPG – MMOs World.
• Gamescom 2018: Best Independent game.
• Gamescom 2018: Best Online game.
• Best indie MMO of 2020 – massivelyop.com reader's poll.
• Most anticipated MMO of 2021 and beyond – massivelyop.com reader's poll.
• Forbes: Top 10 Best Upcoming New MMORPGs For 2021 And Beyond.

See also

• Alpha-1
• Milestones
• Ashes of Creation