TheNinjaBoy assumes this situation can equate easily with the "pvp xp" exploits back in 1.4 (I think it was then) when lots of players got to pvp level 5 by doing something illegitimate. Funcom responded by rolling back the levels by many players. The problem now is that pvp level 10 can be obtained by just farming, doing little to no pvp, so it's basically even worse than that exploited months back. And now this is, of course, completely legitimate, Funcom will do no re-rolls.

The figures could be up to 10k downloads, for all I care. What I do care and am suspicious of is the total absence of ANY reaction from these supposed beta downloaders. Indifference an inherent trait of anyone who plays AoC before release?

Originally posted by cyphers

... and another hater trying to camouflage it by seemingly "reasonable" arguments.

 

'Why is Aoc not like WoW'? 'Why isn't Funcom doing things like Activision Blizzard'? 'Why aren't Funcom handling their expansion release like Activision Blizzard does'? 'Why, why, WHY' ?!?!?

I suggest you wait for a few weeks and cool off from your constant anti-AoC rage in the meantime, you could use the break.

 

The truth is, that you actually do have a point with saying the NDA is very strict compared to other MMO's and that FC is keeping its cards very close to the chest. And it's common sense to not dive into the hype too deep (any hype of any MMO actually), but to wait and see a few weeks after launch if they've learnt their lesson from the AoC launch.

 

But that's not what this is about, is it? What will you do when after a few weeks it seems the expansion is stabler and far less buggy than AoC launch was and the majority of the people are actually enjoying themselves in the expansion, having fun? Will you start thinking that apparently FC has learnt their lesson this time and risen to the occasion and that the expansion seems to be a good thing for the game and the player population? And will you post stuff like that?

Very probably not. You'll probably continue trying to find other arguments to keep talking AoC into the ground, keeping the anti-AoC flames burning in your posts and unwilling to hear that there could be anything good about AoC.

My point is wholly valid and you are just being presumptuous and rude, not to mention this whole "hater" policy seems to stem from you, in fact.

This pre-launch NDA policy of Funcom is a paradigm of the company's continuous failure to develop a stable and functional MMO. No proper feedback and public access to tier 4 equals broken endgame and post-launch vicious cycle of patches. There's absolutely nothing that can be gained by holding the NDA days before launch. But what really surprises me is the total lack of everything following this distribution of free beta keys - who is actually playing the game? Is this open beta now? Where's the sneak peak?

Are you telling me it's perfectly justified that I know nothing about the actual state of the expansion days before launch, even though I preordered the game and got charged already? As a customer I'm not entitled to see ONE SCREENSHOT of the Tier 4 raid? Of this is so, then why am I entitled to all those things as a Blizzard customer (SC2 beta, WotLK beta, Cataclysm alpha, to name a few). Why was I able to view the actual tier 7 WotLK raids from players months before the game got launched and I can't see a single screenshot of tier 4 RotGS raid?

Originally posted by Aceundor

Is there any feeback from players on how its like (both playwise and technical)? Would love to hear som first impressions from players.

The lack of proper feedback from both AoC updates on testlive and this expansion is disturbing, to say the least.

There's more feedback during Cataclysm alpha than RotGS one week before launch, and that should tell you a lot.

Yeah, unfortunately, PvP's been rescheduled... indefinitely. For now there's Bori, if you like farming a lot.

Yep, not even one Khitai-based mini-game in the expansion, PvE all the way. Funcom once more infuriating the already-distraught PvP players (mostly situated on the Fury server).

We'll see if they are really focusing on pvp content after the expansion, I bet we'll see House of Crom long before that.

If it's any consolation, the new AA system brings some additional skills and advancements for character when it comes to pvp.

Maybe now's the time to drop the stupid NDA?

Once upon a time it took a genocide to get to pvp level 5. I quit long before I managed to accumulate so much, the grind was absolutely horrible for me. My guildies and forum dwellers even announced (partly due to Funcom's initial plans) that 5 more levels would come and that after level 5 your xp would go down if you lost to your opponent. A friend of mine even boasted about this supposed plan, saying how AoC will soon have an unmatched pvp system, totally hardcore!

Along comes 1.7 and it is now possible to get to pvp level 3 by doing 2 pvp kills. If this isn't a joke, then I don't know what is...

But then again, I don't care anymore about the pvp. The expansion is pure pve and I'm sure they didn't screw it up in toto. And since I'm such a sucker for gear, I also welcome the accumulation of pvp gear sets by doing as little pvp as possible :D

The main problem for me is not the grind itself, but how it is implemented. Do we really need skill grind on EVERYTHING, like goddamn crouching, running, riding, seriously? There are so many skills to grind it's just absurd. And why oh why do I need to raise harvesting skills in such a lame manner that I have to stare at my character's back for hours and hours... on a monthly basis? It would be acceptable for me if I had to stare at my character's back for just one harvesting skill, but for ALL... are you kidding me? Harvesting/crafting alone in this game just begs you to do some serious botting/macroing because... what's the alternative here - staring mindlessly at the screen for days?!

Saddest thing of all is that the lamest means to obtain HP and STR, important pvp stats, is mindlessly staring at your character's back! So, to be competitive in pvp you literally need to... STARE until your eyes bleed out. What a joke!

Originally posted by Jimmy562

Originally posted by Krewel

Originally posted by Evile

AoC rocks. Servers I am on are solid populations. I wouldn't care what the population is. AoC deserves it's "Most Improved MMO for 2009" award.

Why? Becuase it took them 2 years to fill the levelling gap and and add tier 3 which is actually mechanically cocblocked? Or maybe because after 2 years full dx10 implementation and "rivetting" sieges are still missing?

So many other MMOs have in this time implemented so much it's quite ridiculous to call AoC improved, let alone "best" in this category. WotLK expansion alone added, improved and fixed in 2 years so much (not just for pve, but also tons of stuff for pvp), it makes AoC look like an amateur MMO.

Sorry but AoC does deserve the award. Most people can agree AoC was a mess at launch. They have improved it to no end and nowadays its something people are willing to go back and give it a try (Not many MMOs can attract players back after such a poor launch).

Most of the trialists decide not to opt for the full version, the 2 comebacks FC introduced didn't actually increase population substantially, so what's your point? Does this category of "most improved" count only for all the people that opt for the trial?

Originally posted by Sevenwind

Originally posted by Krewel

Originally posted by Evile

AoC runs sweet on my ATI 5770. Very solid card.

Try 25 man raids and 48 man sieges, then be a wise-guy. My Geforce 9600GT runs perfectly well when staring at a wall in Tortage too, you know.

Well see if you actually played the game for those 3-4 months instead of staring at a wall in Tortage you might have actually enjoyed the game.

Erm, I did 25 man pve raids and 48 man sieges, yeah. Tier 1, tier 2 raids and about a dozen sieges, plus Kheshatta zergs. The real question, did you? Because if you had done that, you would know by now that AoC requires a NASA comp to run mentioned raids at full graphics.

But, like I said, AoC works perfectly when staring at walls; in raids it sux balls.

OP, I recommend Crom for you (if you're on EU), you'll at least be able to experience ALL dungeons while levelling and missing out on those is missing half of AoC content. Stay away from Fury :D

The problem isn't the experience after Tortage, but at endgame. You'll find very little to do if you're not in an organized guild. But if you don't fret about that, I'm sure the experience is nice while levelling. I mean, it should be, they've focused 2 years on that!

Well, if AV wants to resume their fascist and conservative "grind while sleep or die during the day" policy, then at least let them implement an EvE-like mechanics of off-line progression. Or they could actually add some content to the game, reduce grind and let the game be fun most of the time. As it stands, the game is losing players not because it's tough or cruel or any of that macho crap, but simply because it's a boring grindfest that resembles a gulag concentration camp.

AV, so young and stupid, maybe in a few years they'll realize like Blizzard did that allowing the majority of people to have fun is the way to go.

"Just the lamentings of spoilt children and WoW vacationers really, those who aren't used to the thrill of risk vs reward and a harsh world."

You hear that, kids? DFO makes you tough.

Originally posted by Evile

AoC runs sweet on my ATI 5770. Very solid card.

Try 25 man raids and 48 man sieges, then be a wise-guy. My Geforce 9600GT runs perfectly well when staring at a wall in Tortage too, you know.

It's amazing what kind of rocket science hardware is required from an average player that wants to tackle AoC while other MMOs just require a "normal" rig and that's it, you enjoy the game and never bother and write doctoral dissertations about hardware again.

I remember when I was frequenting the Futilez vent how everyone was talking about circumventing the memory leaks by having Vista and some special RAM configuration, and where you can obtain this and that hardware. And people were mostly talking about pure hardware stuff just so they could compensate for the lack of AoC's graphics engine in terms of optimization.

Originally posted by Evile

AoC rocks. Servers I am on are solid populations. I wouldn't care what the population is. AoC deserves it's "Most Improved MMO for 2009" award.

Why? Becuase it took them 2 years to fill the levelling gap and and add tier 3 which is actually mechanically cocblocked? Or maybe because after 2 years full dx10 implementation and "rivetting" sieges are still missing?

So many other MMOs have in this time implemented so much it's quite ridiculous to call AoC improved, let alone "best" in this category. WotLK expansion alone added, improved and fixed in 2 years so much (not just for pve, but also tons of stuff for pvp), it makes AoC look like an amateur MMO.

This veteran elite is only logical to exist in a game like this, DFO is the mother of niche games and as such brings along players with more conservatism than Tories.

A year of such grind (I hear it was even worse before the exp) HAS to scramble your cognitive abilities and sensory perception and telling people that have been grinding since day one that the grind is absolutely horrible is like convincing Tasos to spend more money on advertising DFO.

rwitmaack - I bow to you :D