The World Have Seen Ashes of Creation For What It Is 

*The bald funny copium guy when he's at home:* you know, sometimes I wonder if videos where I speak about what I believe in and how I think Steven Sharif would improve as a Creative Director, Leader and pioneer are just detrimental to this channel and the goals I'm trying to achieve. I want Ashes of Creation to be the best game it can possibly be so how do I deal with contraversies that Intrepid Studios put themselves into? Am I supposed to ignore them and pretend everything is fine? Or am I supposed to try to defend the project, directly opposing my beliefs? I have no desires for personal gain, money or fame - I am just a random nerd who stumbled upon Ashes of Creation one day when grinding in Black Desert Online and felt a surge of inspiration from Steven Sharif's speech during an Asmongold interview. From that moment, I worked tirelessly to become the man I am today, learning a skill I had never attempted before but ended up being a natrual at it. It allowed me to express myself in ways I had never been able to before and I am forever greatful for this oppertunity and have enjoyed Stevens commentary on my unique style. But as of late, Steven has expressed his distaste for my presentations and passion towards what I belive to be right for the game and sometimes I wonder if he wishes I would just not address them. Steven seem to acknowledge the message of them videos I made (Their extremely poor communication skills) but is happy to dismiss the videos publically as "vulgar" or "unproductive". When I first brought up these topics a few months ago I was labled as a Conspiracy Theorist and berated by this so called "Wholesome and welcoming" community and it makes me question whether what I am doing is the right thing. I've spent every waking hour for the last 4 years of my life, working to try and make Ashes of Creation the best game it can be in the only way I know I can, by being a Content Creator who has reach and influence to inspire audiences and developers to be excited about Stevens Vision. How can anyone be excited when this Kickstarter Project has been bleeding it's community dry of funding for 8 years with delay after delay, fomo after fomo and broken promise after broken promise. When does it become too much? when does it no longer become believable? Are they just winging it and counting on the fact that people forget what happened a couple of years prior and will continue these types of practices in the hopes that nobody speaks up about it? I wonder what the future holds for Ashes of Creation.

asmon wouldnt stop yapping over the video so here to watch straight from the source

Paying for an alpha will always be wild to me.

People paying more for speculation than they will for the actual game

Lets summarize some imporant points here: Steven: We dont need your money its already fully funded - Makes a kickstarter - Selling fomo cosmetics - Releasing a BR game with cash shop - Selling alpha/beta access Steven: We have over 100 000 players with alpha access - Sells alpha keys telling everyone on live stream its bcoz "they need more alpha testers" In what world is 100 000+ testers not enough? And if they need more, let everyone apply for free and pick as many as you need.

Game companies this days are the "trust us bruh".

I still haven’t and won’t pre-order anything from AoC until its launch. I don’t buy into any FOMO because I don’t have any fear of missing out on a game that has no launch date. AoC should have FOMO on missing out on ME playing this game at this point.

"not everything is okay but its OKAY to admit it" Steven should fucking frame that lol

I'm not paying $120 just to test a barebone game where you can only play on weekend or barely at all. 😂

I remember when beta tests were free and lottery invite only.

it's almost as if dickriding a game that won't be out for years hard enough to make 10 minute videos multiple times a week about it will extend your hype to an unimaginable level where nothing will be able to meet your expectations.

Been playing MMO's since 1997, I've been waiting for this MMO and religiously watch all the updates, BUT I WILL NOT pay 100+ USD for an alpha or beta test EVER.

We've seen them being greedier than we thought.

the more gameplay I see of AoC the more it starts to look like Neverwinter Online, but a bigger skill bar

Wait, are alpha keys a scam? - - - - - - They always have been.

Imagine you bought a 540 A1 package in 2021 like I did. Besides 5 spot tests, a claimed “1month no-nda” phase that actually lasted less than 3 weeks and 3years of nothing except hearing from PI backers that they have regular spot tests, you got nothing, no spot tests, no exclusive, news and so on. I wonder why I spent such a fortune on this shit. At the top of íf, they RnG invited A1 testers to the pre-alpha2 test. And now they sell the pack for 120.... Honestly it sucks what this shitty company is doing. To be honest, a good summary in this video. Also, so many things have been said that they are not delivering at the moment. Only 6 and not 7 or maybe 8 classes at the start of A2. Not even close to 40-50% of the map will be playable at the start. The servers are not persistent and so on. A lot has been said and literally nothing has been delivered.

getting upset when it matters: *crickets* getting upset after it happens:

They fucked me out of $500, im just here for the shit show

That video ending 🤣 That is pure gold!

Game? What game?😂

I didn’t realize it was supposed to drop in 2020

I'm surprised that 100,000 players is not enough to test an alpha and servers. Let alone already the Q&A teams they already have.

I mean it makes sense since we have older backers who paid into alpha for much higher cost it would piss off kickstarter backers and key purchasers who spent so much money before it was even close to this phase.

Ashes of Elyria.

I'm in the grizzled veteran group. I'm not even playing mmo's anymore, I'm also not spending anything beyon d my attention for this game because I've been burned too many times. I'm just going to wait for the game, I can wait.

To be honest, if I didn't follow your channel, I'd probably not pay AOC much attention. I've been burned by Kickstarter MMO's before and while I love everything about the design intent of this game, I know its expensive, difficult and a big gamble to make games like these. I'm not interested in testing games but I appreciate the folks who are willing to invest the time to help make the game possible. The whole battle royal era of AOC nearly had me right off the project all together. Your channel has really helped draw me back in. I hope you remain in the community and keep doing what you are doing. Putting light on the good and the bad. Nothing humans make is a clean ideal process and hopefully they'll improve and grow with time. I look forward to the day when you are playing the game and enjoying it - hopefully we'll all get to join you.

Wait wait waaaait! I need to agree with Steven on this one, "they asked for it" !!!!

Ya kinda PISSED as an A1 investor.......I understood A2 as a more long term testing phase..instead of what has been offered. TBH I want Ashes to be amazing!!! Can we pass alpha/beta access in our wills lol?

the message i get on the alpha key access is, "you dont have to buy because its just testing, but if you want to, here's the price. they reiterate that these alpha 2 keys are to test the game

i doubt anyone would feel like they're "missing out" on cosmetics- especially for this game. lol.

Your argument about the original packs for A2 falls flat.. It is not "just" some cosmetics. In fact, the cosmetics are basically just a bonus. These packs not only give you access to A2, they also give access to Beta and on release they add 9 months of game time (worth $135) plus $125 worth of in game currency. So just in monetary value they represent a value higher than what you pay. Had they opened up these packs again at $250, I would have had no issue buying in as it is good value. I'd have had no issue with a premium of say €50 actually as I can understand they'd need to compromise with regards to earlier backers. The keys they now try and sell you are purely and only for you to pay them to be a tester during only the A2 stages of your choice.

Buy the hype, sell the news

But what are people missing out on? We aren’t playing the game we are testing features. Sure people will miss out on disconnects, servers breaking, bugs, sitting in a queue to log in?

You're getting too caught up in this. It's just a game. People will forget all of this when the game is released. At the end of the day, what really matters is the quality of the game. People might complain now, but they'll still buy in-game items or early access if they can afford it. And if they can't, that's fine-they just have to wait.

How is this hard to understand? The pre order packs included items that were close in value to the amount you paid, if you were actually going to play the game. Like the 250 dollar pack gave you multiple skins, mount house etc, a name reserve, 9 months game time, like 140 bucks in cash shop currency iirc, and access to alpha 1 and beta 1/2. And then intrepid wants to sell JUST alpha 2 for 120 bucks like a year later? Nah, its a sad joke. If the reason for taking down the pre order packs was because the test servers couldn't handle the pop, but now they can, there IS NO REASON to not put them back up. At least modified versions of the pre order packs. Something like 3 months game time, a couple skins, and the alpha and beta access. And no intrepid white knight can give me an honest answer as to why they won't do that. In the live stream they said they wanted to bring back the keys in a way that was fair to everyone. That literally makes no sense. They have artificially created this issue. Just put the pre order packs back. Problem solved. Not everyone liked the pricing, I didnt, but I didnt complain because at least it was some what worth it IF you were gonna play the game when it released. And you got to help the process and test the game. No, this choice instead of the pre order packs is just a way to milk their community, which is sad because I love intrepid but this is indefensible. Bring back the pre order packs.

To the point and informative, Intrepid, pay attention!

New World not so bad now eh

what's crazy about this is that you pay 100+ for alpha but you won't even get the game on release. You will have to pay TWICE.

my biggest issue is that they delayed the actual alpha2 to may 2025 after having us fully hyped for a continuous playthrough until launch promised by q3 2024

Keep up the good work!

It's funny how outraged people have become about this. They sold the pre-order packs (which includes a lot of post-launch game time, in-game currency, alpha/beta access, and cosmetics) for a long period of time to help financially support the development of the game and provide testers when the alpha/beta test periods come. They then discontinue the pre-order packs because they now have enough money and testers. The community continuously makes comments on their videos and forums about how they're sad they can't get alpha/beta access because they missed out on the timing. Intrepid responds to that by saying they might release alpha keys for purchase for the people who missed out on the pre-order packs. Another portion of the community responds to this by saying how it's unfair that someone can buy just the alpha access after we had to buy the more expensive pre-order pack. Intrepid now tries to appease both crowds by releasing alpha test keys for those who complained about missing out on the pre-order packs and releasing those keys at a higher price for those who felt it was unfair that they had to buy the more expensive pre-order pack. If you think the price is too high, then just don't buy it. Wait for the game to come out. It's that simple. Intrepid isn't forcing you to spend money on their game. It's up to you to balance your excitement for the game and financial choices.

All that they did so far was to get themselves a very nice and well paid job and if this goes on for another five years then it means that they guaranteed themselves a job for almost ten years where they could do whatever they wanted without any repercursions or consequences so whoever paid them to practically have fun instead of actually working and providing the full product deserves to be departed with the money. If you are dumb enough to not take care of your own money then someone will glady do it for you.

I honestly think they shouldn’t have opened alpha keys to begin with. But then people would complain that they can’t get access.

dude i signed up for thier "free" alpha sign up and forgot about it till i started getting emails about it so i check em and see that for some reason they were selling expensive shit and it was so weird to see

I decided I don't care how they get labelled. IF they actually have the money, then it'll be published, and a niche group of players will play.... wasn't that the Plan from the get go? I thought it was.

I mean I kinda feel like everyone who gave the game $100’s of dollars almost a decade ago when the company needed it most should get priority invites to all testing over content creators the guild leaders, and the people who are buying in now. It’s not like they forgot their investment, and giving them late or short invites just makes them more discouraged to actually contribute, and extra salty.

They better have some good servers ready for all that money cos if 100k+ ppl log in to Riverlands on launch and the servers will take a dump they ppl will really start complaining.

idk how i feel. I and many others bought a alpha package so we could support the game. get a early access key as well as the bonus content the monthly packages contained. Steven stopped these packages because he said he has more then enough money and didn't need the funding. Now hes selling a key near the same price without any of the included bonus content everyone else got. using the excuse oh its for people that didn't know about the game is bad simply because there is kickstarter pledges like the 10k rise of the phoenix still have quantities available. So why cant we buy any of those pledges. I know i didn't know about the game back then.

I simply don’t see the issue. And I don’t think that the kickstarter point is THAT tangible as the scope has changed a TON since kickstarter promises. It sucks but it’s true. It’s this or them having to deal with idiots going “WHEN FREE KEY GIVEAWAY? HOW TO ACCESS ALPHA 2?”. Offering this is fair at that price point, as we paid at minimum $250 to access the alpha + beta. You can’t disseminate the value of our purchases by offering people the ability to join this at a cheaper rate. Simply wouldn’t make sense as it would internal uproar, instead of external. I’m glad alpha is rolling soon and I’m sure excited to test and play the game. I hope the new daily drama of the day doesn’t affect the way anyone actually feels about the product they’re working hard to create.

As long as you don't make a game, you can keep making a game forever.

Steven said, they NEED more Alpha testers, then try to sell a Alpha only pack for at least 100 bucks, why not lower the price or make it free. The only thing they NEED is obviously money. They knew it was wrong so they changed the packs! Good job gamers! We were right! The lowest tier ($100) now includes: - Alpha & Beta Access - 1 Month Sub time at release - $15 Cash shop credit

This somehow restored my faith in Ashes of Creation, atleast my desire to play if it ever releases, thank you, Narc.

High on Copium !

When ashes releases…will you Narc form the ultimate guild? You would be considered a living god in game with all your in game knowledge!

A very artisan take, yes yes

So Steven walked back the these are only alpha keys and won't give beta access? I read that 1:11 post as referencing keys bought before these stand alone ones.

They capitulated to babies crying for the keys to be sold again. They never needed more people but now they open up sales to listen to their player base and are called scammers. the price tag is to filter people wanting to play the game frivolously. This does not get rid of all of them, but it filters nonetheless and increases the chance that the new testers are genuinely wanting to test. They. do. not. need. more. players. They were begged for this. You are right that the change from 24/7 online alpha to this drawn out limited testing is bad, but that does not mean the above is also not true.

well, the joke is enough, they surpassed with this any single limit I could imagine. Im out of this bull sh*t.

All I heard is “I can’t control my itch for the game that haven’t finish yet but I also can’t afford to pay for the game just to a tester so I’m bitching about it” 🤦🏽‍♂️

It seems people often forget that participating in the testing phase of a game is optional. Additionally, the bundles offered during that time included more than just cosmetic items; they also provided subscription time, which helped me purchase access to Alpha 2 back then. Nine months of subscription time holds significant value! Moreover, the bundles included Embers, which are difficult to assign a monetary value to, and access to the Alpha itself, which offers valuable insight into the game before its official launch. If some believe that access should be cheaper or even free, they might be overlooking the concept of early investors taking on greater risks. Persistent testing doesn’t mean you can play 24/7; it simply means that your character's progress is carried over from one test to the next, with occasional wipes. The developers have stuck to their plan: testing will begin on weekends, gradually increase to 5+ days a week, and eventually be available 24/7 in Phase 3. I realize this comment might be seen as fanboyish or blindly supportive, but it's worth noting that the developers didn’t have to release additional Alpha keys. They might not need more testers, so the higher cost could be a way to prevent a surge of players they don’t actually need, while still offering the chance to buy in for those who are truly interested giving them an oppurtunity. Also Ashes of Creation just posted there is no Box Price on the game when it launches (See their Reddit Post) as well as this testing phase is from Oct 2024 - at minimal May 2026 since they said Phase 3 is a year long test phase..... They do keep stressing in all their posts that you SHOULD NOT buy the Alpha Key if you are expecting a full game... you are buying into a Test. So if your not happy with this simple: Don't buy into it...

Holy cow that location in the intro looks phenomenal. Is that a raid entrance? When did they showcase that bit of footage?

How funny would it be if Pantheon Rise of the Fallen ends of being the better MMO

Ah, I'll just wait for a Steam sale somewhere around the year 2042.

am i dumb or is it really simple. If you dont want to buy the alpha dont buy its not like its the actual game its just an alpha litearlly just watch someone that did buy it play it

Thanks! Narc got it so right.. huge W take

I bought my alpha 2 package 3 years ago. It came with a ton of stuff. I would never buy just an alpha key for this mutch. But hey there may be people willing to great. There will be no box price at launch! Just wait till then to play the game. Pay $100 if you want to donate to the cause and try a buggy mess lol.

Im with you, its been far too long since I felt happy playing an MMO. I miss the "good days"

If you don't want to pay that much to test a game, then don't. It's really not that deep. It's not like you'll have to pay that price at launch, the game box price will be $0.00. Steven said it himself in the livestream, you're not paying for the GAME, you're paying to test it. Personally I'm ok with the paywall being there, because it means the people testing will be invested in making the game better, not just a giant pile of whinging shitters complaining about a lack of features/content when the game is far from completion. People really will find anything to bitch about these days.

imagine ANYONE defending selling mtx in a game that isn't even out yet that is INSANE

Ok, 5+ day availability will be the norm in december. Its basically persistent after that point. Thats like 1 and a half to 2 months after they debug their severs. Its not that bad lol

I think we can all agree that this game and the visuals, and materials being released through streamers is really impressive. A lot of the gaming community are rooting for these devs to succeed but geez the poor leadership decisions related to budget, timeline, cost, features, alpha testing costs, server costs etc etc are starting too really put a spotlight on the lack of experience and foresight from the leaders of this game.

I don’t see the reasons for the hate, however rocky the road I feel the eventual result will be worth it! Even if I am playing on a potato rig that my pension could barely afford 40 years from now!

My guess, from a business perspective, why they would be doing this is as they upgrade the size of the studio for the expansion they need a way to fund it. Yes, they said that it was funded to completion, but with 220 people and an average of roughly $100,000 per employee they have $20 million per year in expenses not including their office, tech etc. I am not sure Steven has 4 more years of funding out of pocket for that much. While I do think it is a lot of money the benefit of this project and having people that will buy these packs is that it helps prevent private equity and other companies from investing that will want to force them to heavily monotize the game. Maybe they should be more upfront with this but if people are excited and believe in something they want to support then let them help fund it and hopefully you will get a great game in the long run.

It's funny how the people complaining are content creators that want to make money off the content but can't make the $100 investments so that they can make money off the content....

"Game is already funded" - however taxes have not been paid XD

i think the biggest reason, which is 100% valid, for the price of the alpha access, is to weed out the casuals and to make the ppl that have bought the packages serious about their testing because they put down the significant amount of money but i dont think steven wanted to say that because it would basically be him critizing a big chunk of the potential future players

Imagine going to work and paying your boss for the privilege to working for him...

People, regardless of the actual reasons for this decision, see this as a rip off. Steven, falling over himself to excuse the unprecedented price on an alpha testing "privilege", looks super bad and manipulative. That is all that matters. Makes me want to refund my supporter package, actually, if such a thing is still possible. EDIT: Fantastic video, BTW.

I watched the whole live stream and it was very clear - as you can see in the graphic - that $120 got you Alpha 2 access only and NOT Beta access. Seemed just as dumb a decision then as it does now that Steven has to reverse it. I happily paid $250 for Voyager in January and am looking forward to Alpha 2. The more they reduce the price the more people we'll have to play with.

Do people casually forget these keys are optional... Nobody HAS TO PAY. SO DON'T.

I had such high copium-addled buzz for Camelot Unchained, having played DAoC for 5 years. The source of many of today's MMO RvR/WvW style of large scale pvp.

Been watching the development of this game for about 4-5 years or so. I haven’t spent a dime and have never felt the need too. No one is being forced to pay for anything. You don’t HAVE to play the alpha. They have been taking feedback from people since the beginning. That’s why some things worked and some didn’t so they move on to what does. Name another game at this scale where they sat and talked to you the gamers almost every month to update you on what they have been working on and improving, features they have added or have I proved as well. Wonder why companies don’t do what intrepid is doing huh. Cause everyone whines and complains the entire time because it’s not perfect to them. I get it, Steven says they don’t need the money cause he’s funding it. Well that was probably true when they first started. But remember this company has grown ten fold and look what they have accomplished. Look at throne and liberty, ten years in the making, didn’t hear complaints about how long it took that game to come out. How many of you watched their monthly updates and questions from the community. Oh wait they didn’t have that. Anyway I’m done ranting. What I’m trying to convey is you don’t need to play the alpha, and if you want to play the game that badly then pay the 120$ and play it or wait for the beta. You say they are making this fomo but honestly it looks like you are the ones creating that fomo yourselves. I’m so excited for this game and trust Stephen and the intrepid team to deliver an amazing mmo and if they fail on the end then it’s just another mmo we all sank money into to once again be disappointed.

I saw Kira’s video on this and wondered what you’d say, so tried searching “ashes of creation bald guy” luckily recommended videos got me

Remember, with these keys you are NOT buying a product. You're donating and getting something in return as thanks.

I rremember putting 90 euro in the game during the Kickstarter project, which should have given me access to Beta 1. I remember back then it was 120 euro to get the Alpha 1 or Alpha 2. The only annoying thing is that I'm still waiting though :-P

The price was the least surprising thing based on how they've done pricing since the Kickstarter, but the fomo tactics of the keys is just classic Intrepid $tudios 🤑

I mean they said that stuff before they worked on server meshing, so things had to change, phase 3 will basically be when the true alpha 2 starts and everything before that will be doing massive load testing of the servers themselves getting them to the point they can just stay up

3:56 why do you purposely cut out the phase 3 which says it will be open til the launch of the game? just makes this clear this video is basically a manipulative cash grab for views cuz drama gets views even if fake

I bought the only tier that made sense to me. . Braver of Worlds. Lifetime Subscription to the game, and all access to all testing from Alpha One to launch.

why is everything in black and white? why does the community is getting so pissed at something that its developers said not to buy? why are we getting charged such a high price for the alpha? was any1 surprised? I hope not cause I wasnt, and Im not following the game for that long. if you want to TEST THE GAME yea sure buy it if you want to play the game, YOU ARE MISSING NOTHING! will I buy it? yes, but I want to shape a project that I believe in and make sure that this game will come out in a way that I will enjoy. do I wish it was cheaper? yes of course I would want it to be cheaper but I sat down looked at how much money I have and how much Im willing to spend to HELP THE GAME and not just play it.

I'll buy a key and leave it in my will for my great great great grandchildren when the game releases

Alpha testing means you are agreeing to help of your own free will, nobody is forcing you to do it. Contributing money for the alpha phase means you are also willing to provide financial support. I don’t understand what the problem is. If you don’t want to help, then maybe don’t get involved?

Economist speaking here. Two things. First: they get revenue= quantity X price. Second thing: let's plot price (vertical axis) and dedication (flakines/quality) of a tester (horizontal axis). The higher the price the more dedicated and better tester you get. Lower the price = more common to have person that thinks he/her is buying a game, go in, go mad, comment and make videos that AoC is bad. Now let's talk about AoC specific situation here - hype for the game is huge! When people are hyped the quality/price relationship changes. You have more people that want to play the game instead of testing it properly, you have more flakey people. Price point from which you get dedicated enough people/good quality testers moves upwards toward higher price. I'm not saying they don't get money from this, it's obviously their motivation, but for long term success of the game they also need to filter people they allow to test. We don't have the data and maybe they don't want to go the route of shitting on their alpha 1 testers for being not dedicated enough and being useless in terms of tests.

To clarify 100k PAYING testers :D. I most likely wont get an alpha key, maybe beta, they had one for 75€ i had bought that but now its gone. Lets see what this game will deliver at launch if it will launch in the first place...

Will I also have to pay a subscripton fee ontop of this or is that included in the price?

The problem I have is all these " content creators " act like modern media/news. They fish for views by doing negative titles / clickbaity content.

Only people that want to be part of the testing will pay. It’s an alpha , not the launch. This is games used to be. It’s expensive but then don’t buy it

Look I am 100% guilty of backing and enjoying Early Access/Beta/Alpha purchases. But this game has become more and more representative of a Store Citizen 2.0. EVERYTHING this game talks about sounds fucking amazing! I really hope it will succeed one day. But honestly 100$ TO TEST and Alpha Game Sate? Just...sad.

I think 'people' were mad at the 215 drop price a while back, maybe not streamies but everyone i knew wrote that shit off immediately when they first sold alpha keys

Ppl who cry about the alpha 2 keys are just a sad thing to look at. There is nobody forcing anyone to pay anything. Ppl dont need to pay because they have to but because they believe in the game and want to support it. Its like a donation. And as a thank you these ppl are allowed to participate in the alpha 2 waves. Thats what it is and nothing more.