A Short Introduction To Trion’s Trove Alpha

Trion's Trove Alpha is turning out to be pretty involved. If you're curious about the basics, learn more in this short overview.

It’s been a long while since I’ve been able to write here. And let me start out by saying that being away has left a big hole in my heart. Unfortunately, it’s been for reasons outside of my control.

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Thankfully, I’m back–and with a bounty of fun new information, tips, and details on Trion’s current Alpha, Trove. 

A quick warning–there’s no way to pack everything into a single post, so this will be just the basics. More to come in additional posts.

I’ve been in the Alpha for a little over two weeks now, picking away at the game as I can inbetween IRL responsibilities. I’ve played enough to realize that–hey–I am really enjoying this game.

So let’s jump right in, shall we?

 

What the Heck is a Trove?

If you tune into Webster’s Dictionary, you’ll find this answer:

Definition of TROVE

1: discovery, find
2: a valuable collection : treasure; also : haul, collection

This is a reasonably good answer at a basic level. Trove is, indeed, about finding, making, and hunting loot. 

But it’s also about so much more–if you’ll permit me to compare it to Minecraft, the two use the same block-based building structure. That’s about where the similarities end, though.

Trove is a voxel-based game but the graphics, gameplay, and design was much cleaner, improved, and preferred when I compared it to Minecraft. In fact, while Minecraft never really hooked me and I grew bored of it quickly, Trove’s had me veritably stuck and rooted for the last two weeks. 

Biomes, Biomes Everywhere

The first thing you need to know about Trove is that it operates on an open-end, biome-based group of worlds. The basic biomes,  including their variants, (as of 9/4/2014, anyway) are as follows:

Medieval Highlands:

  • Peaceful Hills
  • Frigga’s Forest
  • Deep Forest

Cyberian Tundra:

  • Robo Wastes
  • Dead of Winter
  • Desolate Landing Zone

Desert Frontier:

  • Abandoned Boneyard
  • Desert of Secrets

Cursed Vale:

 

  • Viking Burial Ground

Fae Wilds:

  • Uncanny Valley
  • Bewitching Wood
  • Spellbound Thicket

Dragonfire Peaks:

  • New, no variants yet

Sea of Tranquility:

  • Sea of Regret

There is reference to a “Neon” biome in the Trove Wiki, but there’s no information available as of yet as to what it will hold. There’s also a Shadow Area within the end-game content, but this is more of a dungeon than a true biome.

Hubs

No, this isn’t a reference to someone’s husband.

Hubs are Trove’s answer to novice starting areas and meeting grounds. You’ll find two different types of Hubs in the game–the main Hub, and a second that’s scattered throughout the various levels and worlds throughout the game. That’s the Outpost of Light.

The main Hub is where you start the game, whereas the other is simply a place to meet up with friends or build a house.

Build a House? (AKA What’s a Cornerstone?)

Trove isn’t all about levels and advancing, and gathering loot. In the same way as its predecessors, Minecraft and Cube World, there’s a significant ability to build things. If you’ve ever desired the ability to build quickly and easily from the start, you’ll find it in this game.

Each level, Hub, or Outpost of Light in Trove has a number of black squares scattered throughout it. By clicking “E” over the small sign, you can lay claim to it. This will prevent other players from messing with it.

When you first claim a cornerstone, a plot will spring up with a very generic house. It has only a basic structure and an Elysian Flask (health potion) refill fountain on it. You’re free to keep it, destroy it, or build something fantastic on it like other adventurers before you.

Want to see what other players have built? Log into the game, and head out into the area directly around Hub. These spots generally get claimed quickly. Take a look at this fabulous build:

Building

Everything in Trove is based on blocks.

As there is far too much to explain in a single post regarding blocks, it may be better to visit Trove Wiki to get the full picture. Just want a short overview? Adventure forth.

The above blocks are the most basic in the game. From there, there are hundreds more that can be made, either to mimic natural materials or to decorate your home. 

You can build in the general world, too–although this tends to be a bit pointless, as Hubs and levels aren’t persistent. Once they are overpopulated or empty, a new version is spawned. This helps to spread out the population fairly.

In regards to other colors and block styles, there are literally hundreds. You’ll find everything from chain to curtains to plant blocks that you can use to decorate and build with. Which brings us to…

Recipes

Almost everything in Trove has a recipe that you can use to create it. Aside from collectible weapons, masks, and other wearables, if you can use it to build or decorate, there’s probably a recipe for it. Crafting and recipes are a whole separate article, so feel free to visit the link above if you need an overview immediately.

The most basic recipes provide access to your crafting machines. That includes a number of handy-dandy block converters, portal crafting machines, and a veritable plethora of decorative and organic block makers. 

These recipes are found strewn throughout the world, but they aren’t always easy to find. Farming recipes can almost become a sort of game in and of itself.

You’ll find them when digging blocks in the ground, when going through recipe dungeons, and sometimes they even drop from mobs. That’s why it’s always beneficial to go forth and tackle some…

Dungeons…Dungeons Everywhere

Each and every adventure world within Trove has a number of dungeons. These can be small or large, and most contain slightly harder mobs and a single boss mob. Dungeons also tend to drop better gear and more interesting items, but this isn’t always the case. On any hand, they do provide an excellent way to level.

They don’t always look dungeon-ish, either; this video by Maxwell on YouTube highlights a tree dungeon and will help you to better understand how things work.

Each biome and biome variant has its own random dungeons, but there’s no map telling you where they are – you’ll need to adventure out into the wilds to find them. Conversely, if you see a large X on your map (accessed by pressing M), that’s a dungeon that’s already been cleared.

Classes

Classes are still evolving in Trove, but for the moment, there are four options:

Dracolyte

Knight

Fae Trickster

 

Gunslinger

As you might expect, each of these classes has their own special attacks, stats, and animations.

But Wait, There’s More!

This is (very) far from a comprehensive Trove guide, but it should be enough to get you warmed up. Because including each and every piece of information would make this post run to about 10,000 words or more, I’ll save the more in-depth stuff for separate articles.

In the mean time, if you need more information, visit /r/Trove on Reddit. That’s where the community and the developers hang out and post updates. Community, by the way, is also excellent in this game.

Of course, you could always just wade in, become a supporter, and enjoy the game now! Don’t forget to sign up for the closed beta if you haven’t already; it starts September 25.


Some images sourced from the Trove Wiki or Mmporg.com. All others sourced personally in-game.


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Author
MandieM
MandieM is a gamer girl with a double-life. In the day, she masquerades as TaskHeroGirl, a valiant freelance copywriter. At night, she turns back into the mild-mannered MandieM, gamer extraordinaire. She likes games that are packed full of great stories, filled with inspiration and meaning, or even just good, clean, silly fun. When she's not writing at GameSkinny or working, she's probably tucking into the newest Steam game or finding her way through some distant dimension.