GoHa.ru is a large, general-purpose Russian videogame website, not exactly a dedicated ArcheAge fansite, but that hasn’t stopped them from submitting some interesting questions to XLGAMES in the hope of getting them answered (just like ArcheAgeSource.com did a little while back).

Here’s the questions that GoHa.ru sent and the answers they received. We didn’t do the translation, but we have edited the result to be as grammatically correct as possible.

1. Will players be able to build castles in any configuration they want on the northern continent from “building blocks”, similar to building in Ultima Online? Or will they only be able to buy some preconfigured designs? If custom designs will be possible, how will you limit the construction area? Will it be possible to build something like the “Great Wall of China”, crossing a whole continent from the west to the east?

The player can build castles in whatever shape they want, but only in the core part on their occupied territory (around 100m radius).

2. You mentioned rare resources on the north continent previously. How they will be mined? Will players build mines and gather resources manually, or will resources just be automatically awarded according to the territory controlled by a expeditionary force?

It will be a manual kind of extraction method, like regular mining or gathering. [Editor: just because you own an area doesn't mean you automatically receive resources, you still have to go out and gather them.] An automatic reward from owning territory would be taxes.

3. In closed beta 3 we have seen that equipment is color coded white, green, blue and yellow. Could you elaborate on how players will be able to get items of every color type, and which color marks the most rare/precious equipment?

Each colors stands for the level of the item: white (general), green (advanced), blue (rare). You can earn items through hunting or item crafting.

4. Why do we need the item durability and how it will be possible to restore it? What will happen when durability will reach zero? Will the item break and disappear?

Durability of items can be restored through repair NPCs. When the durability gets to zero, the item will not perform in the way it should. It will not break or disappear and can be restored after repair.

5. In closed beta your ship was repairing itself automatically and it was possible to recall it from a fight anytime. Do you plan to fix it before release? Will it be possible to destroy a ship completely?

Ships can be repaired through ship keeper NPCs or with a player’s repair skill. The system will be changed to not allow ships to be recalled during battle. Ships are very important assets of players, so they won’t be destroyed completely in any way. [Editor: they will just be put out commission for a long time while the player who owns the ship repairs it, which is too long for the player's ship to be useful in a battle more than once.]

6. In the last test we have noticed that ships are highly interactive, but controls have too much of an “arcade” feel to them. The ship’s ability to move backwards did not look very natural. Shall we expect any changes to the ship control system? Will you implement some factors that can change speed of a ship? For example, speed and direction of wind?

Changes to the ship control system are not planned for now. The speed of the ship is decided by the two sails and other additional factors that can change the speed are not in consideration.

7. Will we get a possibility to build new types of ships in the release version of the game? Will they differ by size and speed? Do you plan to add different types of ammunition? For example, one type for damage to sails and another for damage to the crew?

More kinds of ships will be included, from small to large ships with each having all different performance. Players will be able to customize certain part of their ships. However, we are not considering ship upgrades. Speedboats and ferries will be included. Harpoons will be mounted on ferries. (Not a weapon that can give damage to other ships.) [Editor: ferries and their harpoons are probably for hunting sea creatures.]

8. You have mentioned that initially players will be members of one of two factions, but that they will be allowed to create their own faction later on. How complicated will the creation process be? What will players need to do to join the player-created faction?

For a player to create their own faction, the player should own his/her own territory on Northern continent and claim independence from the faction that he/she used to belong to. It is bit difficult at the moment to explain exactly how difficult this process. For a player to be affiliated in a faction, the player just needs allowance from the head of that faction (another player), but will have to leave the previous faction. One player in one faction is the rule.

9. Will there be wars between different expeditionary forces within one faction?

Yes, in the Northern continent, wars between expeditionary forces will occur to win territory. [Editor: XLGAMES did not say anything about wars inside factions with this answer, just wars between expeditionary forces.]

10. Will there be a penalty in the form of jail time on the north continent, or will it be an open PvP zone?

There is no area where PvP is totally open. (Criminal penalties are applied when player kills another player who is in the same faction.) This includes the Northern continent. However, most of the Northern continent is open to PvP. (Open PvP areas are where PK between hostile factions is allowed without penalty.) Certain factions, such as pirates, might be free from criminal penalties. Also, since blood prints are the evidence of PK, and blood cannot be found easily on the open ocean, the sea can be generally regarded as an open PvP area.

Additional questions:

*1) Your answers in the last interview have made it clear that expeditionary force is basically a usual Lineage clan. This begs the question – what functions will you delegate to guilds?

There’s not much info about the guild system to reveal for now. Expeditionary forces will be introduced first.

*2) In the interview you have also mentioned upgradable “guild houses”. Are they something similar to the guildhalls in Lineage 2? What role will they play in the game?

We call what other MMOs call guilds as expeditionary forces in ArcheAge. Expeditionary forces will be provided plans to build a large and beautiful house where their members can gather.

*3) In closed beta 3 one needed a relatively small amount of resources to build a ship. Our testers could collect the necessary amount in 1 or 2 days. Will it stay like this in the release version?

Balancing will be tuned continuously. Anyone with just a little effort and time will be able to make a ship. There will be many more things to produce other than ships.

*4) Many players in the closed beta thought that the death penalty system is too forgiving for a spiritual successor of Ultima Online. What penalties the game has after release? Do you consider introducing more severe death penalties at the north continent?

Regarding death penalties, we are considering item durability decreases and extended resurrection times. We could also add corpse runs. (We are not considering strong penalties such as experience point loss or item drops.) We have to find a balance to make death meaningful but not force players away from the game. In the Northern continent, there will be more opportunities to encounter players in other factions, which means more PvP. In such cases if death penalty is too severe, it would be very hard to enjoy the game. We will listen more about how the players think about the death penalty in ArcheAge.

*5) What is the main purpose of battlegrounds in the ArcheAge world? Will players have a possibility to get some items just for playing in battlegrounds? Will they be able to get top-class equipment for their characters?

Battlegrounds are for fun and interesting PvP gameplay with various rules and systems. Points earned in the Battleground can be used to buy Battleground items. Battlegrounds is a system to provide more fun gameplay. Too many rewards can damage the original purpose of the system. [Editor: like mentioned in other Q&As, Battlegrounds are for FUN and TRAINING and are not a substitute for other game functions like crafting or questing.]

*6) After closed beta 3 we got the impression that labor points are the main and most important resource in the game. However, we were able to increase them easily by creating alts for resource gathering. Will you set some limits to prevent such tricks in the release?

We are consistently working on the balancing of labor system. We are considering ways to increase the maximum labor point and also thinking of ways to quicken the labor point recharging time. The system will be changed to allow a player to designate a certain character to recharge labor points, which means only one character can recharge labor points at one time.

Original source: http://www.archeage-online.ru/c/archive/item/40/636217.html
Translation: http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/4393722#4393722