Update on the Building FAQ

We received a lot of feedback and new questions after releasing our Building FAQ and videos, so we decided to update it with a bunch of further questions you can find below (if you prefer digging into the extended FAQ, you can too).

You mention "plot" several times. What is a plot exactly?

Good question! A plot is a portion of land that belongs to a character and that you can "claim" in the areas open for building. This portion of land is circular and vast enough to build a house of reasonable size and a couple of smaller structures. When you're placing a plot, you'll be able to pick the plot location in the Heartlands pretty freely and see a preview of precisely what the area you're getting is like.

How big are the Heartlands we're building in?

We're creating a separate FAQ about the world and will cover this question in detail. The Heartlands are pretty big, and there are many.

There are no doors or signs in the videos?

The current game build doesn't have doors and signs, but yes, we want to have these as much as you do.

Is there a height cap to how tall buildings I can make?

Yes, but the structural integrity system will block you from making buildings tall enough to hit the cap. We want to enable you to make large multi-story houses, but at the same time, we don't want the game to feature skyscrapers, so the tallest buildings will be somewhere around what you'd expect to see in the Middle Ages.

Are the building pieces in the video final?

The video we posted doesn't show all the blocks we have in the game, and we're still iterating on exactly what blocks we have, so please assume anything you saw in the video is subject to change.

Can I build on water?

Yes, we currently allow the plots to overlap water and probably will want to have this be the case long term. As you saw in the video we posted, lakeside properties are pretty awesome. In the current game build, you can place building foundation pieces underwater, as long as the bottom of the lake is close to the surface, so effectively you can build on the shore with slight overlap with water, but you cannot build let's say a bridge over a lake.

I can't build outside of Heartlands, right? But what about PvP?

You can't build outside of Heartlands in the current game version. We want to have this eventually, but PvP building destruction that works in an MMO is highly challenging to have work in a way that creates a good gameplay experience, so we haven't made this yet. We're working toward having a solid core game at launch, and we planned PvP building for a game update. Having said that, we absolutely want to have high-stakes PvP in the game launch version - it's just the stakes are not related to building. The reason not to have the houses you're building in Heartlands be part of PvP is that we want the base game to be enjoyable to even those who don't want to participate in PvP directly. We believe even the hardcore PvPers deserve a resting place in the world to regroup and gather forces in preparation for the next battle.

Does the game have roads? How do those work?

Yes, we have a pre-made road network, and we'll also cover this in more detail in the World FAQ. The short of it is: roads are intended for traveling the world, and you can't build on pre-made roads.

How much can I build on a plot?

We haven't yet determined how large the plots are, so it's impossible to answer this precisely. The balance we're looking for could be described as "You can build quite a lot on your plot, but you will also want to work with your clan to use the combined land in your clan's plots as smartly as possible."

Are there access controls in the plots?

We have an access control system that's being integrated into the items, and it will give you reasonably granular control over who can access things in your plot. We don't have a feature to restrict people from walking on your land, but you _can_ build walls, so theoretically, your clan could wall up the village - as people did in the Middle Ages.

Can I build on other players' plots?

Yes - depending on who allows you to do so. We're expecting most clans will set up their plots so all clan members can build on all clan plots.

What if a griefer builds a plot next to mine or my clan's plots?

We understand that players may encounter issues with plot placement, and we want to ensure that our players can resolve these conflicts. Our team has extensive experience working on multiple MMOs, and we are well-versed in the challenges that players can face.

Can I modify the ground in the plot?

We don't support this feature, but you can build the foundations to flatten the land.

Can I get more plots somehow?

In the current game, each player has just one plot, but we will eventually add ways in which you can get additional land.