Labor system
Labor Points were the backbone of the original ArcheAge's economy. Every crafting, gathering, trading, farming, and economic action consumed labor points. The system created natural scarcity and made time itself a tradeable commodity.
Regeneration rates
Free-to-play players: 5 labor points per 5 minutes, online only
Patron subscribers: 10 labor points per 5 minutes, both online and offline
A labor cap limited maximum accumulation. Because free players only gained labor while logged in, many ran AFK overnight to accumulate points. Patron players gained labor even while offline, making the subscription almost mandatory for anyone serious about crafting or trading.
Economic impact
Since labor was required for everything from mining ore to processing materials to listing items on the auction house, it acted as a universal limiter on production. Players had to choose how to spend their labor budget each day. Spending labor on a trade run meant less labor for crafting. This created genuine economic tradeoffs and gave labor-intensive activities real value.
The system also fed the game's controversies. Free players' inability to regenerate labor offline, combined with their inability to own land, made the game feel heavily pay-gated despite being marketed as free-to-play.