The Wilderness
Ashenvale's full-loot PvP zone. The rules, exactly what you can lose, how to protect yourself, and how to fight fair.
What the Wilderness is
Far to the north-west of Emberfall, a ring of ember-cracked black spires fences off a stretch of the ashlands. A red veil hangs across its bone archways. Inside is the Wilderness: the only place in Ashenvale where heroes can fight each other.
People go in for:
- The fight. Testing your gear and skill against other players, with real stakes.
- Tougher monsters. The beasts inside (around level 16 to 22) are well above the ashlands around them, and champion packs are common.
- A rich coal seam of its own, away from the crowds.
- The loot of the fallen.
Nobody has to go in. Nothing in the game requires it, and everything else in Ashenvale is free of player-versus-player combat.
Getting in
- Walk to the ring, far north-west of Emberfall. Its main archway faces east.
- Speak to the Warden of the Wilds, who stands just outside the main archway. He explains the rules.
- If you accept, tap "I understand — let me through" to swear his oath.
- Walk through an archway. The veil lets you pass.
The oath lasts 10 minutes, and only for this session. When it runs out, or the next time you log in, you'll have to speak to him and swear it again. Without the oath, the red veil simply throws you back out.
Exactly what you lose
If another player kills you inside the Wilderness:
| You drop | You keep |
|---|---|
| Every item in your bag, including any Gold Pouches | Everything in your bank, including your banked gold and banked materials |
| Every piece of gear you're wearing, weapon and armour and jewellery, including uniques and summon-granting items | Your skills and XP |
| Every material in your pouch: ore, bars, logs, fish, food, potions, gems, bones, Identify and Ashgate Scrolls, crafting orbs, runes, Emberstone, Ashen Ichor, sigils, key fragments | Your pets, and the companion following you |
| All the gold in your purse | Your house and everything built in it |
| Your Collection Log, achievements and titles | |
| Anything bought in the Shop | |
| Your attuned waystones and your best depth |
You wake up in Emberfall with nothing but what's in your bank.
Where it goes
Everything you drop lands in a heap where you fell:
- For the first 60 seconds, only your killer can pick it up.
- After that, anyone can take it, including you, if you can get back in time.
- After 180 seconds, whatever's left crumbles to ash and is gone for good.
Killed by a monster?
If a monster kills you in the Wilderness, it's an ordinary death: you wake up in town with everything you had. Only a killing blow from another player drops your belongings.
The rules inside
- Anyone can attack anyone. Tap or click another hero to fight them. Your attacks, abilities and some rites (like spirits and Pyre Aura) hit players too. Damage against players is reduced to 75% of what it would do to a monster.
- Your party is safe from you. Members of the same party can't hurt each other, so a group can go in together.
- Entry protection. When you cross into the Wilderness, you're untouchable for 15 seconds, so nobody can camp the archway. Attacking anyone ends your protection at once.
- No protection for runners. If you walk out in the middle of a fight (a hit on or from another player in the last 10 seconds), you get no entry protection the next time you go in for 60 seconds.
- No escape by logging out. If you close the game in the middle of a fight, your hero stays standing for a few seconds after you've gone, and can still be killed.
- The market is closed to you while you're inside. You can't list items to keep them safe.
- No Ashgates. The spires swallow the spell: you can't open an Ashgate inside the ring or close to it, or just after a fight with another hero.
- Townsfolk are never involved. Only real players can fight.
If you log in and find yourself inside the ring (with no fight going on), you're moved outside the main gate.
Staying alive
- Go in light. Take only the gear you need and the gold you can afford to lose. Leave everything else in the bank (gold and materials included).
- Don't carry your fortune. Your sigils, Emberstone and orbs are worth far more to a raider than your armour.
- Use your protection wisely. Your 15 seconds of safety on entry are for looking around, not for picking fights.
- Know your exits. There are two archways. Walking out through one is the only way out, short of dying; you can't read your way out with an Ashgate Scroll.
- Watch the monsters. A tough pack can soften you up for a player who's watching.
- Keep an eye on your oath. If it runs out while you're outside, you can't get back in to help a friend until you've sworn again.
Fighting fair
The Wilderness is meant to be dangerous, not miserable. A few courtesies go a long way:
- Don't taunt the fallen. They just lost everything. Win with grace.
- Pick fights you'd want picked with you. Hunting heroes far below your level is legal, but it isn't glorious.
- Honour your word. If you agree to a duel or a truce in chat, keep it.
- Never pressure new players into the Wilderness, or promise them safety you can't give.