Hello everyone
So I’ve been playing on official PvE server 3023 for quite a while now. Had huge bases disappear a few times, like for example when I went on vacation for 10 days with my brothers who also play the game, Which already sucked but Hey, de figured that’s just the way the decay system works.
But I really, really hope what just happened is a bug. Built a great wheel of pain, Which took me 4 game sessions (I’m a bar manager, work 50+ hours a week, make cocktail menus and have to attend events during my free time, and somehow sleep and maintain a social life), played 5 days ago for the last time. And it’s gone. Decayed in 3 days. I didn’t play for 5 days because I can’t afford To spend too much time playing and it was already gone after 3.
So if it’s a bug, please fix it. If it’s not, your game has a serious problem funcom. I’m a huge fan and spent countless on the game, but weirldy enough my job and sleep schedule is more important than religiously logging in just so everything I put hours of hard work building doesn’t disappear into the void. Been playing since console release, but if it’s not a bug I just won’t be able To play anymore. I’m most likely not the only one in this situation.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but on all official servers there is a decay timer at its max it’s 168 hours less if it’s not connected to you base. That means you have to touch your stuff every 168 hours at the least. A couple of ways around this is to play on a solo game which has the decay timer turned off because you are hosting the save files or get with a clan mate who can tend to your things while you’re gone.
There are definitely times when I feel like this game was designed for the unemployed or (at the least) people without families. The usual comeback is something like “go play singleplayer/private server then”. Which may be true but isn’t exactly constructive given the serious drawbacks inherent with either of those two playmodes.
Decay for official servers is set at 7 days for abandonment, and 7 extra for complete decay. On vacations that timer is doubled. It is a performance measure that can be tweaked, so private servers can have any
I’m wondering the same as in my experience the buildings and placeables will despawn about 24 hours after the decay timer has expired and the structure or placeable has changed to abandoned (the state during which any player can select the demolish option even if they do not own it.)
[With sadness I watched this happen to all the buildings of very nice and helpful clan who had public map rooms and the remaining member playing had a bad week at work and missed refreshing the timer by a day or two. I couldn’t even rescue items for her as I watched it disintegrate in front of me as we are on an official PvE server.]
I know that thralls and pets will stay on the server for 7days after the building has decayed and disappeared (assuming the building had the full 168 hour decay time.)
‘Complete decay’ means the decaying stuff be gone. Private servers often have the full two week setting set. I think we can collectively thank Griefers & Abusers for the shorter decay time. Though it would be nice to have similar on Official servers, the fact that this would also be abused by the G&A.
Regarding the wheel and decaying within three days…
It could happen if it’s placed on the ground isolated from other structures. The game calculates the maximum decay with different weighting’s for different placeables and what it adds up to for a linked structure
This can be confusing to get your head around.
I always use a repair hammer to check the decay time on anything I am building and when I visit them to renew timers.
Basic things I’ve found:
Placeables directly on the ground have a short timer if isolated from other buildings.
Takes more sandstone blocks to get full 168 hour timer than higher tiers.
Building an object that the game recognised as a “base” tends to give a higher timer to the structure … eg floor + walls + roof + doorway + door and then attached foundations with your wheel on it is likely to have a higher timer than just the wheel on foundations esp if using sandstone.
Some placeables will pick up the larger structures timer if close enough when placed. Others will not. Best to check with a repair hammer.