The concept behind the Living Settlement System in the Age of Heroes update holds great potential, but in its current state, it’s plagued with bugs and ultimately feels underwhelming after just a week of testing. Below are some specific issues I encountered, which impacted my experience with the system:
⦁ Thrall Disappearance Bug
One of the more frustrating bugs I encountered was when my thrall disappeared after being placed in a bed. Initially, the thrall was stuck in an endless loop of sitting and eating by the fireplace, so I moved them to a bed, where they correctly laid down. After going AFK for about 10–15 minutes, I returned to find that the thrall had completely vanished from my base. I searched everywhere and eventually turned on tracking, only to find that the thrall had somehow moved far from my base into the grasslands area.
A possible contributing factor might be the base layout. My character was standing near the stairs, which was the only way back down to the first floor. It’s possible that the thrall’s AI pathfinding glitched out because it couldn’t navigate back down the stairs, causing the disappearance. This is a significant bug, especially since managing your thralls is a key part of the new settlement system.
Update: Using the Rescue function. I tried to rescue a lost thrall, and although they returned, they came back without any gear, which seems like an intentional design choice, but the fact they end up far from the base at all is concerning.
⦁ Thrall Vanishing After Conversion
Thralls disappearing after being placed in the wheel of pain is another bug that’s been causing frustration. For instance, upon successfully converting a thrall and placing them in the world, they seem to vanish without explanation. The follower list continues to show them, but their map marker doesn’t appear, and attempts to rescue them fail with an error message, which eventually results in the thrall being deleted entirely from the game.
This issue has occurred multiple times across different types of thralls, including fighters and crafters. While the problem doesn’t happen consistently, it’s frequent enough to significantly disrupt gameplay.
⦁ Inconsistent Thrall AI in the Living Settlement System
One of the core issues with the Living Settlement System is the inconsistency of the AI when it comes to their intended “lively” actions around the base. I found that once you obstruct the pathing of a crafting thrall or move them between stations, their lively actions, such as sitting, warming themselves by a fire, or interacting with benches, would stop entirely. After server restarts and attempts to reset their paths, they never resumed their “lively” actions, essentially turning into static NPCs that simply look around or perform idle animations.
⦁ Repetitive NPC Actions
Even when the NPCs do perform their “lively” settlement actions, the repetition becomes frustrating quickly. It’s not uncommon to see a thrall sit down, eat, stand up, and immediately repeat the same sequence of actions 4, 5, or even 6 times consecutively with no variation. This lack of diversity in the NPC’s actions, combined with the other AI issues, makes the entire system feel more like a monotonous chore than an immersive feature.
⦁ Overall Lack of Engagement
Beyond the bugs, the Living Settlement System currently offers little in terms of engaging gameplay. There’s no real management required, no consequences for neglecting your settlement, and no rewarding tasks to complete to ensure that your thralls and settlement are running efficiently. After a week of playing, the system felt pointless and boring, with little to no interaction needed from the player beyond placing thralls and watching them perform repetitive, bugged actions. For a feature designed to breathe life into settlements, it does the opposite—making settlements feel stagnant and lifeless.
Living Settlement System Feedback – Age of Heroes Public Beta
The Living Settlement System in the Age of Heroes update holds great promise, but it currently lacks engagement and depth. Below are my suggestions to enhance the system, making it more dynamic and immersive while offering both challenges and rewards for players who enjoy managing their settlements. These suggestions are optional and should be configurable through server settings, allowing players to choose the level of complexity and challenge they want.
Primary Needs for Thralls: Rest, Thirst, and Hunger
Currently, the Rest, Thirst, and Hunger needs exist in the game, but they are largely cosmetic. Thralls will emote to “fake eat,” but there is no actual impact for failing to meet these needs. For example, there’s no penalty or benefit tied to whether a Thrall rests, drinks, or eats. As a result, the system becomes boring and pointless, making a key feature for an expansion not feel good at all.
To improve the depth of the Living Settlement System, these three primary needs—Rest, Thirst, and Hunger—should not only be visually represented through bars but also have actual gameplay consequences. If these needs are not met, it could lead to Thralls passing out or even dying. Here’s how it could work:
Rest:
If a Thrall doesn’t get enough sleep, they will start to exhibit exhaustion, affecting their movement and behavior. They might stagger, move slower, or stop periodically to rest. Visual emotes, such as yawning or holding their head, would indicate their need for rest. If they continue without enough rest, they could pass out, requiring other Thralls to carry them to a bed. Medical Thralls could also be assigned to tend to these unconscious Thralls. In the worst-case scenario, if rest is neglected too long, they could die from over-exhaustion.
Thirst:
Dehydrated Thralls could experience hallucinations, become confused, or move more slowly. They might cower in fear or exhibit erratic behavior as their thirst increases. If left unattended for too long, they could pass out or die, leaving their duties unfulfilled. Thirst-related emotes, such as mimicking the act of drinking or showing confusion, would provide visual cues. As with Rest, ignoring Thirst could result in your Thralls passing out and needing to be carried to a bed by medical Thralls, or worse, death from dehydration.
Hunger:
Hungry Thralls would stop regenerating health and might clutch their stomach in pain or show signs of weakness through emotes. If their hunger isn’t addressed, it could lead to them passing out from starvation, or even death. Medical Thralls would again be required to move the unconscious Thralls to safety if they collapse. This would make food management essential for maintaining a functional settlement.
In this system, failing to meet any of these three needs could lead to consequences like passing out or death, making it crucial for players to manage their Thralls’ well-being effectively. Thralls passing out would slow down production or combat effectiveness, and losing them to death would be a major loss to your settlement.
Emotes as Indicators
Emotes would serve as an essential visual tool for indicating the status of your Thralls. Whether it’s thirst, hunger, or exhaustion, the emotes would act as a warning system for the player, making it easier to monitor and manage their needs. Thralls could express their conditions in real-time, providing a level of immersion that would make the Living Settlement System feel more dynamic.
Positive and Negative Effects
Meeting the needs of your Thralls would yield benefits, while neglecting them would impose penalties. Here are some possible effects:
Positive Effects for Meeting Needs:
- Crafting Speed Boost: Thralls who are well-rested, well-fed, and hydrated could receive a 10% passive crafting speed bonus. This would stack with the workstation and Thrall effects, speeding up production and encouraging players to take care of their workforce.
- Peak Fitness: A 5-10% bonus to a random weapon stat, such as increased damage, reduced weight, or faster attack speed. Well-maintained Thralls would be stronger and more effective in combat.
- Durability Bonus: Thralls working at crafting stations could provide a 10% durability bonus to the items they produce. This would stack with existing Thrall and workstation effects, giving players an extra incentive to maintain their Thralls’ well-being.
Negative Penalties for Failing to Meet Needs:
- Reduced Crafting Speed (Weakened Output): Thralls who are exhausted, dehydrated, or starving would craft items more slowly, significantly reducing productivity.
- Weakness (Combat Penalty): Thralls who are malnourished or fatigued would suffer penalties to combat effectiveness, including reduced damage and slower weapon attack speed.
- Item Durability Penalty: If Thralls are neglected, the items they craft could have reduced durability, affecting the long-term quality of crafted gear and tools.
Improvements to Crafting Stations
To further intensify the consequences of neglect, crafting stations would only function when a Thrall or the player is present to operate them. If a Thrall passes out from lack of rest, thirst, or hunger, the crafting station they were assigned to becomes unusable unless the player manually operates it. This would add an extra layer of strategy to managing Thralls, making it essential to maintain their health and well-being.
An improvement to this system would allow players to assign two active Thralls to each station—one for a day shift and one for a night shift. Thralls won’t be standing at their crafting stations all day long, which can feel unnatural and immersion-breaking. Instead, they will wander off when idle, engage in other activities around the settlement, and return to their stations when needed. When a crafting queue is initiated or an item is being requested, the designated Thrall will run back to the station (if their health and needs are well-maintained) to begin crafting. Once the day shift ends, the Thrall will retire to their bed, and the night shift Thrall will take over.
This system makes it necessary to have more than one Tier 4 Thrall per station and adds a natural flow to their day and night activities, enhancing immersion. Players will need to carefully manage their Thralls’ health, as a shortage of well-rested, well-fed workers could halt production.
Social and Entertainment Needs
Thralls also need amusement and social interaction to prevent boredom and repetitive behavior. Currently, the lack of variety in NPC actions makes the Living Settlement System feel static. Here’s how it can be improved:
Amusement:
Thralls might visit the tavern, juggle, or perform small tricks to stay entertained. This adds life to the settlement and makes the environment feel more vibrant and realistic. Amusement prevents Thralls from becoming frustrated and ensures they remain efficient.
Engagement:
NPCs need social interaction to feel connected. Thralls could talk to each other, tell stories, or joke around to fulfill their engagement needs. If left isolated, Thralls could work more slowly, lose motivation, or produce lower-quality items. Implementing a cooldown system for emotes would prevent repetitive actions and ensure that their behaviors feel more varied and natural.
Economy Expansion
Let’s have the Thralls follow a living wage system and evolve it by allowing them to purchase new gear. Thralls could earn daily wages from the Treasure Coffer, which they would use to buy food and drink at the tavern or request better equipment from blacksmiths. This creates an economic loop where NPCs contribute to a living, breathing settlement. Additionally, visitors to your tavern would spend currency, adding profit to your settlement.
The Treasure Coffer would serve as more than just a storage chest. It could be used to manage your settlement’s economy, ensuring that Thralls stay motivated by receiving their wages and that the settlement thrives by generating profit. NPCs would effectively recycle their wages back into the settlement by purchasing goods, while visitors would bring in fresh income.
Additionally, new storage items for food and drink that work like Thrall Pots but slow the decay rate for tavern supplies should be implemented. This would allow players to manage their settlement’s food needs without constantly worrying about spoilage.
Final Thoughts
Also, some other small things would help improve immersion when your Thralls use something. Have them actually turn it on. For example, I’ve watched a few Thralls stand by the fire to warm their hands, but there was no fire—they didn’t turn it on. Small details like this look really off and reduce immersion. Addressing these smaller issues can elevate the system and make the world feel more interactive. "I will leave you with this: These are my thoughts on the system so far. For a new feature, having no real involvement feels boring, and watching how poorly the NPCs move around makes it feel like a wasted system at the moment. There’s no meaning or engagement. On the other hand, the Companion system for heroes is really good, though buggy. At least you have some engagement in that system, which adds more to do.
Thrall pot.
so accurate. Btw do priests mingle? Asking for a friend.