MMORPG.com's Jeffery Hargrove writes this account of his guild's first 24 hours on NA-1, the first server launched by Aventuring in North America for its controversial PvP MMO Darkfall Online.

Darkfall Online, an MMO developed by Aventurine, launched their North American server on July 12th 2009. The second time around, Aventurine has really pulled it together. Their launch of the shard named NA-1 went off perfectly and without any tedious downtimes, and no wait to buy or play like with the EU launch. Overall I have had an extremely good play experience on NA-1 this last week. As a member of an established gaming community, "The Exodus Syndicate" I have been part of several server firsts. Including the first guild created, first city claimed, first village captured, first keep created, to name a few. I am going to give a quick breakdown of the first 24hrs of the game, from my perspective and share a few of my experiences on this new NA server.

The first few minutes after launch where chaotic, everyone was logging and grouping from across the world. The Exodus Syndicate has developed a plan and practiced on EU-1 for weeks to establish a guild and create a city in under two hours from scratch. With weeks of practice we finally had our chance to take what we had learned and put it to work. But first we had to wait for the servers to go live.

Read One Guild's First 24 Hours on NA-1

" It was six in the morning when the first players went afk at the top of our new mountain top city. Our bloodwall was the final contribution of players too tired to stay awake. Those who had fallen off earlier awakened to a few hours of un-interrupted skill ups."

Since macroing skills is supposedly against Aventurine's rules and Aventurine is supposedly "cracking down", shouldn't someone be losing their account right about now?

Also, doesn't really look good to give official recognition to an article written by someone admittedly engaging in bannable activities.

Edit: Going to bed. So in case of the inevitable "He didn't say HE was doing it, he said OTHERS were doing it", I respond thusly: did he state he reported his guildmates for breaking the rules? No? Then he participated through inaction. And he obviously approves, or he wouldn't have just nonchalantly mentioned it like it was a perfectly normal and okay thing.

an entire guild that paid for this game twice - - - brilliant

seems like a guild to avoid

Originally posted by Zorvan

" It was six in the morning when the first players went afk at the top of our new mountain top city. Our bloodwall was the final contribution of players too tired to stay awake. Those who had fallen off earlier awakened to a few hours of un-interrupted skill ups."

Since macroing skills is supposedly against Aventurine's rules and Aventurine is supposedly "cracking down", shouldn't someone be losing their account right about now?

Also, doesn't really look good to give official recognition to an article written by someone admittedly engaging in bannable activities.

Edit: Going to bed. So in case of the inevitable "He didn't say HE was doing it, he said OTHERS were doing it", I respond thusly: did he state he reported his guildmates for breaking the rules? No? Then he participated through inaction. And he obviously approves, or he wouldn't have just nonchalantly mentioned it like it was a perfectly normal and okay thing.

He didn't say anything about macroing.  All he said is that people went afk on a wall.  Being afk is not against any rules.

Very interesting article, OP.

Could anyone give me a little info on how cites are claimed and how buildings are built? This stuff intrigues me, and though I dislike other elements and restrictions in the game, might be enough to warrant me trying it out.

Originally posted by Sabiancym

Originally posted by Zorvan

" It was six in the morning when the first players went afk at the top of our new mountain top city. Our bloodwall was the final contribution of players too tired to stay awake. Those who had fallen off earlier awakened to a few hours of un-interrupted skill ups."

Since macroing skills is supposedly against Aventurine's rules and Aventurine is supposedly "cracking down", shouldn't someone be losing their account right about now?

Also, doesn't really look good to give official recognition to an article written by someone admittedly engaging in bannable activities.

Edit: Going to bed. So in case of the inevitable "He didn't say HE was doing it, he said OTHERS were doing it", I respond thusly: did he state he reported his guildmates for breaking the rules? No? Then he participated through inaction. And he obviously approves, or he wouldn't have just nonchalantly mentioned it like it was a perfectly normal and okay thing.

 

He didn't say anything about macroing.  All he said is that people went afk on a wall.  Being afk is not against any rules.

Get off it. You know exactly what a "bloodwall" is. Even the most diehard fanbot is laughing at your response right now. Try harder next time.

By the way Einstein, did you read the highlighted part? Let me put some more emphasis on it for you:

"Those who had fallen off earlier awakened to a few hours of un-interrupted skill ups."
 

Good night.

So, this article just tells me that your guild zerged and cheated to get ahead in a game. And that your proud of it.

This is why I left DF at the end of month 1. It's a great game at it's heart, but just full of tunnel visioned ***** that see cheating as the new 'hardcore'.

Your no better then the asshats that hacked and exploited their way to dominance on EU-1, only to be left untouched and unpunished by AV because they were so scared of losing the custom.

People like you claim to love DF, while all the time you are destroying it. It's tragic.

A nice epeen article.  Congrats on accomplishing your goals against players who you admit had never played DFO before.  Sounds to me like high schoolers beating up on kindergarteners.

BTW, it was not a NA server launch but the opening of the NA server.  A game can have only one launch, and that was the EU server.  There is a difference.

From the description of what was happening in chat, it sounds like the NA server community is no better than the EU server community.  Not unexpected but worth noting.

Enjoy your wins against clueless players.

Ion

Great article, how to exploit and cheat on a new server.  Brilliant.  Unfortunately a good portion of the playerbase resorts to such methods with little opposition from Aventurine.  Like I have mentioned before this game is a hackers and exploiters delight.   The web is littered with programs that will let you do all manner of things in Darkfall.

The amazing thing they are now so brazen they brag in articles about their exploits.

No matter how many articles the proponents put up, it won't change this game from the mediocrity it wallows in, nor to the players it attracts who give little thought to observing the rules.

Originally posted by Ionselon

A nice epeen article.  Congrats on accomplishing your goals against players who you admit had never played DFO before.  Sounds to me like high schoolers beating up on kindergarteners.

BTW, it was not a NA server launch but the opening of the NA server.  A game can have only one launch, and that was the EU server.  There is a difference.

From the description of what was happening in chat, it sounds like the NA server community is no better than the EU server community.  Not unexpected but worth noting.

Enjoy your wins against clueless players.

Ion

Sounds to me, like a smart group used planning and organization to make strong initial strides in a VERY competitive environment. Grats to them. I don't like the exploiting, but it only takes one guild to do it, to virtually force all the others to do the same.

As for wins against clueless players - that's PvP, that's war. Why go into a FFA PvP game if you aren't up to competition?

Are we actually promoting an article on MMORPG that condones a bannable offense?  Ummmm, just wow.....

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Ionselon

A nice epeen article.  Congrats on accomplishing your goals against players who you admit had never played DFO before.  Sounds to me like high schoolers beating up on kindergarteners.

BTW, it was not a NA server launch but the opening of the NA server.  A game can have only one launch, and that was the EU server.  There is a difference.

From the description of what was happening in chat, it sounds like the NA server community is no better than the EU server community.  Not unexpected but worth noting.

Enjoy your wins against clueless players.

Ion

Sounds to me, like a smart group used planning and organization to make strong initial strides in a VERY competitive environment. Grats to them. I don't like the exploiting, but it only takes one guild to do it, to virtually force all the others to do the same.

 

As for wins against clueless players - that's PvP, that's war. Why go into a FFA PvP game if you aren't up to competition?

LOL
 

People have been rationalizing their behavior since time immortal.  I understand FFA PvP; I just don't understand bragging about winning against a much overmatched opponent.  Where is the challenge, the true accomplishment?  There is none.

Also, I didn't say anything against the planning and organization the guild demonstrated.  They are to be commended for that.  It's just that their planning and organizing was not really tested because of the uneven playing field that was stacked in their favor.  Again, there was no real accomplishment gained through their planning and organizing.

Ion

Edit: grammar

Originally posted by junzo316

Are we actually promoting an article on MMORPG that condones a bannable offense?  Ummmm, just wow.....

Gotta agree with the dude above.. Kudos to Syndicate's 'uberness', organisational skills are hard to come by. If this is the kind of gaming that makes them happy, great. But why the heck is this an article? The only thing I read there as being positive was the work that goes into organising stuff.

C'mon, editors, doesn't this whole piece really scrape the borders of integrity? MMORPG.com, while remaining neutral in all things, should surely be working toward promoting MMO gaming from a positive angle? This whole article just smacks of all the things already described in earlier responses. AFK 'bloodwalls'?!?! Seriously.. even I know what one of those is, and I'm a bleedin' roleplayer fer fug's sake!

Or is the highlighting of bloodwalls (skilling up your character by hitting afk guildmembers) some sort of journalistic strategy to turn people away from Darkfall? Ooohh.. conspiracies! /sarcasm

Originally posted by korvass

Originally posted by junzo316

Are we actually promoting an article on MMORPG that condones a bannable offense?  Ummmm, just wow.....

 

Gotta agree with the dude above.. Kudos to Syndicate's 'uberness', organisational skills are hard to come by. If this is the kind of gaming that makes them happy, great. But why the heck is this an article? The only thing I read there as being positive was the work that goes into organising stuff.

C'mon, editors, doesn't this whole piece really scrape the borders of integrity? MMORPG.com, while remaining neutral in all things, should surely be working toward promoting MMO gaming from a positive angle? This whole article just smacks of all the things already described in earlier responses. AFK 'bloodwalls'?!?! Seriously.. even I know what one of those is, and I'm a bleedin' roleplayer fer fug's sake!

Or is the highlighting of bloodwalls (skilling up your character by hitting afk guildmembers) some sort of journalistic strategy to turn people away from Darkfall? Ooohh.. conspiracies! /sarcasm

It would be interesting to have someone from MMORPG.com comment on their decision to post this article.
 

Originally posted by Ionselon

People have been rationalizing their behavior since time immortal.  I understand FFA PvP; I just don't understand bragging about winning against a much overmatched opponent.  Where is the challenge, the true accomplishment?  There is none.

Also, I didn't say anything against the planning and organization the guild demonstrated.  They are to be commended for that.  It's just that their planning and organizing was not really tested because of the uneven playing field that was stacked in their favor.  Again, there was no real accomplish gained through their planning and organizing.

Ion

Edit: grammar

They started off at zero, like the other players on the server. They played better and enjoyed success because of it. Sounds like they earned the privilege of bragging.

The challenge was at launch. They met that challenge - they took the first city on the server. Well done, I say.

Originally posted by Ionselon

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Ionselon

A nice epeen article.  Congrats on accomplishing your goals against players who you admit had never played DFO before.  Sounds to me like high schoolers beating up on kindergarteners.

BTW, it was not a NA server launch but the opening of the NA server.  A game can have only one launch, and that was the EU server.  There is a difference.

From the description of what was happening in chat, it sounds like the NA server community is no better than the EU server community.  Not unexpected but worth noting.

Enjoy your wins against clueless players.

Ion

Sounds to me, like a smart group used planning and organization to make strong initial strides in a VERY competitive environment. Grats to them. I don't like the exploiting, but it only takes one guild to do it, to virtually force all the others to do the same.

 

As for wins against clueless players - that's PvP, that's war. Why go into a FFA PvP game if you aren't up to competition?

LOL
 

People have been rationalizing their behavior since time immortal.  I understand FFA PvP; I just don't understand bragging about winning against a much overmatched opponent.  Where is the challenge, the true accomplishment?  There is none.

Also, I didn't say anything against the planning and organization the guild demonstrated.  They are to be commended for that.  It's just that their planning and organizing was not really tested because of the uneven playing field that was stacked in their favor.  Again, there was no real accomplish gained through their planning and organizing.

Ion

Edit: grammar

It's a war, not a boxing match. Do you think wars like the Iraqi war or Vietnam wars were evenly matched?

That being said, cheating sucks. But I blame AV for not being able to fix these exploits ~6 months after release.

Originally posted by Ionselon

Originally posted by korvass

Originally posted by junzo316

Are we actually promoting an article on MMORPG that condones a bannable offense?  Ummmm, just wow.....

 

Gotta agree with the dude above.. Kudos to Syndicate's 'uberness', organisational skills are hard to come by. If this is the kind of gaming that makes them happy, great. But why the heck is this an article? The only thing I read there as being positive was the work that goes into organising stuff.

C'mon, editors, doesn't this whole piece really scrape the borders of integrity? MMORPG.com, while remaining neutral in all things, should surely be working toward promoting MMO gaming from a positive angle? This whole article just smacks of all the things already described in earlier responses. AFK 'bloodwalls'?!?! Seriously.. even I know what one of those is, and I'm a bleedin' roleplayer fer fug's sake!

Or is the highlighting of bloodwalls (skilling up your character by hitting afk guildmembers) some sort of journalistic strategy to turn people away from Darkfall? Ooohh.. conspiracies! /sarcasm

It would be interesting to have someone from MMORPG.com comment on their decision to post this article.
 

Why should they not post it? Journalism just reports what other people do, it does not condone it. Censored journalism is no way to fight cheating, it just hides the fact that it exists.

AFK skill ups on Bloodwall, yeah no macros for sure there....must be leveling "Rest" skills...Admitted cheating in a MMORPG lead story, nice work all around. I am proud to say my character in Darkfall is 100% real, skilled up on Goblins/Kobolds only, in my book I have accomplished more than these cheaters in Darkfall.

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Ionselon

People have been rationalizing their behavior since time immortal.  I understand FFA PvP; I just don't understand bragging about winning against a much overmatched opponent.  Where is the challenge, the true accomplishment?  There is none.

Also, I didn't say anything against the planning and organization the guild demonstrated.  They are to be commended for that.  It's just that their planning and organizing was not really tested because of the uneven playing field that was stacked in their favor.  Again, there was no real accomplish gained through their planning and organizing.

Ion

Edit: grammar

They started off at zero, like the other players on the server. They played better and enjoyed success because of it. Sounds like they earned the privilege of bragging.

The challenge was at launch. They met that challenge - they took the first city on the server. Well done, I say.

They are probably the same people who beat up kids on the first day of school for their lunch money.  All the kids started at zero; there were just some who were better organized and better bullies.  LOL, sad.
 

Just when I was starting to think I was wrong about my "Here's the reason why I am unsubbing to DF" thread this article gets posted to show me just how right I was.

You've got a guild who thinks its fully OK to exploit and cheat their way through what little content there is in the game, so they can be at an advantage over everyone else, forcing them all to have to do it as well. While AV does nothing about it. Someone should forward this article to AV, I wouldn't mind seeing this whole guild banned from the game honestly. People like this destroy the game. I respect their competiveness but geez.. its just a game. Its not like you are trying to win the world series or superbowl. Your freaking paying to play for gods sake. Just play and have fun, and stop worrying about trying to be uber by whatever means nessecary, your not cool. You just look even more nerdy than the rest of us.