Ashes of Creation is continuing to flap excitedly in the direction of its exclusive freehold housing system, as Intrepid Studios follows up its earlier livestream all about the freehold with a dev blog post about the system and all of the benefits it provides.
Much of what’s being shared here isn’t dissimilar to revelations made over the course of development and in the aforementioned broadcast, but it does at least confirm many of the system’s features, such as the ability for freeholds to become player-run storefronts, the option to add “artisan buildings” or livestock space to a freehold plot for more crafting options, and the different sizes of house that can be built on a plot. The post also explains what happens when a freehold plot is lost and talks up guild hall-style freeholds known as baronies.
The tail end of the post further provides an FAQ that talks about the current plan for freehold plot numbers on a single server, which will be in “the low thousands” but will also likely be tweaked during Alpha Two, and also confirms that some housing functions available in freeholds won’t be lost to those who can’t get a plot, with alternatives like inn room rental, instanced apartments, and static housing options within a node; those last two options grant access to best-in-slot furnishings and unique benefits.
Of course, these options may come as cold comfort to those who have raised alarms about the freehold system’s artificial scarcity, particularly in relation to players who want to enter AOC to become high-tier crafters and are potentially being locked out of those aspirations because they can’t get a freehold plot. One way or the other, there’s now a blog post to read about the system.
