Quick Fix Checklist (If You Only Read One Section) ✅👀

• Pick a “home node plan” (even if it’s temporary).
• Learn corruption rules and stop taking “free kills” that cost you hours later.
• Specialize artisanship instead of leveling everything randomly.
• Use caravans/commodities as part of your money loop (when you’re ready).
• Join a real guild (or at least a consistent squad) before you get left behind.

Bold truth: You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to stop bleeding time. 🩸⏳

Mistake: Treating Nodes Like Normal NPC Towns 🏘️❌

New players often think: “Town is town.”

In Ashes, that mindset is how you get stuck living in the wrong place, selling in dead markets, and wondering why everything feels slow.

Nodes are designed to grow through player activity and unlock bigger systems (services, government, influence, trade power). That means where you spend your time isn’t just “where you quest”—it’s where you’re investing your future convenience.

How to avoid it

• Choose a “starter node” you like and commit a chunk of your early playtime near it.
• Pay attention to where players cluster: that’s where the economy and groups will form.
• If your area feels empty, don’t cope—move.

Bold line: Nodes aren’t scenery. Nodes are strategy. 🧠🏛️

Mistake: Picking Citizenship Randomly (Or Too Late) 🏠💸

Citizenship is powerful… and it’s also a trap if you choose blindly.

A lot of new players pick citizenship the moment they see the option, without thinking about:

• taxes/dues,
• their future market hub,
• guild plans,
• and how often they’ll actually be in that region.

Also, taxes/dues are designed to create pressure so everyone doesn’t pile into one place forever—so “joining late” can be more expensive than joining early in some cases.

How to avoid it

• Ask yourself: “Do I want to live here for a while?”
• If you’re unsure, wait a bit and watch which node is growing with real momentum.
• If your guild has a node plan, follow it. Your wallet will thank you.

Bold line: Citizenship is a long-term choice disguised as a quick button. 🫠

Mistake: Ignoring Node Government and Politics Until It’s Too Late 🗳️😵

New players love PvE and crafting… then they get shocked when taxes change, building priorities shift, and the region becomes hostile or controlled.

As nodes advance, player government becomes a thing—mayors and policies matter. That changes:

• what gets built,
• how safe/unsafe trade feels,
• and where people choose to do business.

How to avoid it

• Even if you don’t care about politics, track who controls your area.
• If your node leadership feels chaotic, consider relocating before you’re deeply invested.
• If you do care about politics: show up early, help your node, and build relationships.

Bold line: In Verra, “I don’t do politics” is still a political decision. 😈🏛️

Mistake: Not Understanding Vassal Influence (So You Live in a Bad Spot) 🗺️😬

A common new-player pain: you settle somewhere convenient… then your “convenient” spot becomes a vassal zone under a parent node’s influence and taxes.

Vassal relationships and zones of influence shape regional rules and trade reality. If you pick a home without understanding the bigger map, you might end up paying the price later.

How to avoid it

• Don’t just pick a home because it looks pretty.
• Pick a home because it’s connected to routes, resources, and real player traffic.
• Learn which nodes are feeding into bigger ones (even casually).

Bold line: The map has a hidden layer: influence. Learn it early. 🧠🗺️

Mistake: Selling Everything in the Wrong Place 🏪🤦‍♂️

New players often sell wherever they happen to be standing. That’s how you get terrible prices and slow sales.

In Ashes, demand is local. The busiest hubs—especially economically strong nodes—tend to have more buyers, better liquidity, and faster movement of materials and crafted goods.

How to avoid it

• Sell where players gather (busy nodes, major routes, popular grind areas).
• If you’re crafting: sell where crafters buy inputs and where fighters buy outputs.
• If your items don’t sell in 24 hours, don’t rage—relocate your listing strategy.

Bold line: The best market isn’t “fair.” It’s “alive.” 💓💰

Mistake: “Free Kill” Brain → Accidentally Becoming the Villain (Corruption) 😈❌

This one ruins more new-player sessions than anything else.

Ashes has a flagging/corruption system built to discourage griefing. If you kill players in the wrong state (or get baited into it), you can trigger harsh consequences. And corruption is not “just a red name.” It’s a long-term headache.

How to avoid it

• Learn the basic player states and what actions actually generate corruption.
• Don’t take random kills on “non-combatants” just because you can.
• If you want PvP, fight people who are actually ready to fight.

Bold line: The game will absolutely let you ruin your own day. Don’t help it. 😅

Mistake: Falling for Corruption Bait 🎣😤

Some players will try to bait you into taking corruption penalties. They’ll poke, run through mobs, pretend to be harmless, or create messy situations where you look like the aggressor.

New players fall for it because they respond emotionally:

“I’m not letting this guy annoy me.”

That’s exactly what the bait wants.

How to avoid it

• Don’t chase baiters across half a zone.
• Don’t fight on their terms. Fight on yours.
• If you’re unsure about the flag state: back off and reset.

Bold line: Winning the bait is losing the war. 🧠⚠️

Mistake: Carrying Your Whole Life Savings While Traveling 🧺💀

A classic MMO habit: keep everything in your bags “just in case.”

In Ashes, risk/reward matters more—especially with PvP, caravans, and general danger.

New players lose huge progress because they roam with:

• all their gatherables,
• all their processed mats,
• and all their valuables…

…and then something goes wrong.

How to avoid it

• Bank/stash often.
• Travel light when you’re scouting or exploring.
• Only carry what you’re willing to lose for that activity.

Bold line: If you can’t afford to lose it, don’t carry it. 🎒❌

Mistake: Ignoring Caravans Because They Look “Complicated” 🚚😅

Caravans aren’t optional forever. They’re a major piece of the economy loop, especially for players who want real money-making through trade.

A lot of new players say:

“I’ll do caravans later.”

Then later comes, and they’re broke, and they never built the habit.

How to avoid it

• Start small: learn where caravan services exist and what they require.
• Treat caravans like a planned activity, not a random impulse run.
• If you’re not ready to run caravans, at least learn how commodities/glint fit into the bigger economy so you’re not lost.

Bold line: Ignoring caravans is like ignoring gold in a gold game. 💰🚚

Mistake: Running Caravans Like a Solo Quest (No Scouts, No Plan) 🧠❌

Some players try caravans once, get hit, and decide:

“Caravans are trash.”

Usually the problem isn’t caravans. It’s the approach.

Caravans are designed around risk, routes, timing, and escort strategy. If you run them like a casual delivery quest, you’re basically donating loot to the road.

How to avoid it

• Scout your route first.
• Run during lower traffic if you’re small-scale.
• Bring at least one friend if you can.
• Pick safer routes until you understand the danger patterns.

Bold line: A caravan run is a mini-operation, not a jog. 🕵️‍♂️🛡️

Mistake: Trying to Grandmaster Everything (Artisan Trap) 🛠️😵

New players often try to level every artisan path because it feels efficient:

“I’ll just be self-sufficient.”

But Ashes is built around specialization and player interdependence. There are limits to how far you can push multiple professions at the highest tiers, so spreading progress too wide early often creates a “mid at everything” character.

How to avoid it

• Pick an identity:
• gatherer,
• processor,
• crafter,
• trader,
• or a hybrid with a clear plan.
• Focus on one “money lane” first.
• Add more lanes later when you’re stable.

Bold line: Specialists get rich. Generalists stay busy. 😈💰

Mistake: Skipping Processing (So Your Profit Never Scales) 🔥📉

New players love gathering because it’s simple and relaxing. But they often skip processing and wonder why they can’t afford anything.

Processing is usually where raw materials turn into “real value.” It’s also where many supply chain bottlenecks exist—meaning processed goods often sell better than raw stacks, depending on demand.

How to avoid it

• If you gather, learn at least one matching processing lane.
• Watch what sells faster: raw vs processed.
• Don’t blindly process everything—process what your region needs.

Bold line: Raw mats are volume. Processed mats are margin. 💸

Mistake: Crafting Without Doing Basic Math (Crafting at a Loss) 🧾💀

Crafting is fun… until you realize you’ve been paying to craft.

New players often ignore:

• the cost of inputs,
• time value,
• listing fees/taxes,
• and opportunity cost.

So they craft an item, feel proud, sell it… and quietly lost money.

How to avoid it

• Track input costs in a simple way:
• “How many stacks did this consume?”
• “What would those stacks sell for instead?”
• Start by crafting items with obvious demand (tools, consumables, common upgrades).
• If something doesn’t sell, stop making it and adjust.

Bold line: If crafting doesn’t pay, it’s a hobby—treat it like one. 😅

Mistake: Hoarding Everything and Never Selling 📦😶

This is the “inventory dragon” problem.

New players keep stacks forever because:

• “I might need it later,”
• “Prices might go up,”
• “I don’t want to sell too cheap.”

Then they stay broke forever.

How to avoid it

• Sell consistently, even in small amounts.
• Keep a “stash limit” rule:
• keep 1–2 stacks for personal use,
• sell the rest.
• Remember: money in your bag is power today, not “maybe power later.”

Bold line: Items don’t upgrade your gear. Gold does. 💰⚔️

Mistake: Buying Random Gear Upgrades With No Plan 🛡️🤷‍♂️

New players often waste gold on upgrades that feel good for five minutes but don’t actually help their progression loop.

Example:

• buying a fancy item that doesn’t increase kill speed,
• buying defensive gear when you’re not dying,
• buying something that doesn’t match your build direction.

How to avoid it

• Spend to improve your loop:
• faster kills,
• less downtime,
• better travel,
• better gathering efficiency,
• better survivability in the content you actually do.
• Prioritize the upgrades that change your session the most.

Bold line: Best upgrade = the one you feel every minute. ⏳🔥

Mistake: Playing Solo Too Long (Then Being Shocked by Politics) 🤝😬

You can solo in Ashes. But if you stay solo too long, you lose access to:

• reliable groups,
• safe caravan runs,
• node influence,
• and protection from organized players.

And once big groups settle in, it gets harder to “catch up socially.”

How to avoid it

• Join a guild early, even if it’s a temporary one.
• If you dislike big guilds, join a small tight group—but join something.
• Make friends on purpose: run the same grind spots, be helpful, trade fairly.

Bold line: In Verra, friends are progression. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑💪

Mistake: Joining a Guild With No Goals (Chaos Guild Syndrome) 🌀😵

Not all guilds are equal. Some are real organizations. Others are a chat room.

New players join the first guild that invites them and then spend weeks:

• with no plan,
• no scheduled runs,
• no node direction,
• and no support.

How to avoid it

Ask one simple question before committing:

“What is the guild trying to control or achieve?”

Good answers sound like:

• “We’re focusing a specific node.”
• “We run caravans and protect our crafters.”
• “We’re building a siege roster.”
• “We’re economy-first and own our supply chain.”

Bad answers sound like:

• “We chill.”
• “We do everything.”
• “We’ll figure it out.”

Bold line: A guild without goals becomes a time tax. 🧾⏳

Mistake: Copying Meta Builds Without Understanding Your Job 🧠❌

New players see a “broken build” video and copy it… then hate it in real gameplay because:

• it’s designed for group PvP but they’re solo PvE,
• it needs support to function,
• it’s strong only with specific timing and positioning.

How to avoid it

• Build around your main content:
• solo leveling,
• group grinding,
• open-world PvP,
• caravans,
• siege fights.
• Pick one build goal: burst, sustain, support, control.
• Make your build easy to execute under pressure.

Bold line: A build isn’t broken if you can’t play it. 😅🎮

Mistake: Spreading Your Progress Across Too Many “Projects” 📌😵

New players do this constantly:

• start leveling,
• then start gathering,
• then start crafting,
• then start trading,
• then start PvP,
• then start housing planning…

…and they end the week feeling like they did a lot but gained nothing.

How to avoid it

Use a simple “2-project rule” per session:

• One main goal (leveling, gold, artisanship, guild content)
• One side goal (light gathering, small trades, gear upgrades)

That’s it.

Bold line: Progress is focus, not effort. 🎯

Mistake: Ignoring Regional Price Differences (So You Miss Easy Profit) 🗺️💸

New players assume the price they see is “the price.”

In regional economies, that’s rarely true.

Different nodes have different needs, different supply, different taxes, and different risk levels. That creates natural price gaps.

How to avoid it

• Compare prices between hubs (even casually).
• Sell inputs where crafting demand is high.
• Sell outputs where fighters and guilds spend money.
• Don’t chase tiny margins—chase repeatable ones.

Bold line: You don’t need perfect routes. You need consistent ones. 🚚✅

Mistake: Not Learning When to Fight and When to Walk Away 🚶‍♂️⚔️

Some new players avoid all PvP and get bullied.

Others fight everything and get punished by the system or by better players.

The real skill is knowing:

• which fights are worth it,
• which fights are bait,
• and which fights cost more than they pay.

How to avoid it

• Fight when you have an advantage:
• backup nearby,
• terrain advantage,
• target is isolated,
• your cooldowns are ready.
• Walk away when it’s messy:
• unknown enemy numbers,
• your bags are full,
• you’re near corruption risk situations.

Bold line: Smart players don’t take every fight. They take the right ones. 🧠🔥

Mistake: No Session Plan (Log In, Wander, Log Out) 💤🧭

This is the silent killer.

You log in, do a little of everything, get distracted, sell nothing, craft nothing meaningful, and log out feeling “meh.”

How to avoid it

Before you log in, pick ONE sentence:

• “Tonight I’m farming mats for my crafting lane.”
• “Tonight I’m leveling near my home node.”
• “Tonight I’m doing caravans with the guild.”
• “Tonight I’m building gold through processing + market listing.”

Then do it for 60–90 minutes before you freestyle.

Bold line: A plan turns Ashes from overwhelming into addictive. 😈🎮

Conclusion: Fix These, and the Game Feels 10x Better 🏁🔥

Ashes of Creation rewards players who respect its systems:

• nodes aren’t just towns,
• corruption isn’t “just PvP,”
• artisanship isn’t “max everything,”
• caravans aren’t “optional money,”
• and guilds aren’t “just a tag.”

If you avoid these 20 mistakes, you’ll feel the difference fast:

• more gold,
• better gear timing,
• less wasted travel,
• fewer rage moments,
• and way more wins—both in PvE and PvP.

Final bold line: Stop griefing yourself. Let Verra be fun. 😄⚔️