Been a while, updated some out of date information and made some changes based on feedback in the thread :)  Been away from MMORPG.COM for a while so I figured this probably needed an update.  Glad to see folks still love this game!  Even if it is getting a bit on the 'older' side :)

I was pleased to find out that the trial for the game has been totally reworked since I originally wrote this guide and includes all the current graphics in the game (at the time of original writing you had to jump through a few hoops to get updated graphics on the trial client).  If you haven't tried the game in a long time it might be worth taking a spin on a trial as the graphics were updated in 2006 and are much much better than they were in the original game.

Official Sites to download trials from:
US Site:  http://www.darkageofcamelot.com
European Site:  http://daoc.goa.com/en/

Note:  If you download from the US site you will only be able to use US servers.  If you download from the European site you will only be able to play on the European servers.  The clients are incompatible so make sure you download from the correct site for the region you wish to play in.

CD Key: See the following URL for CD Keys in case you forgot which one to use:
http://www.darkageofcamelot.com/downloads/

Useful Websites for new (and veteran) players:
DAOC OFFICIAL SITE: http://www.darkageofcamelot.com - The official website.
Camelot Herald: http://www.camelotherald.com - The site where the Communications team keeps us players up to date.  TONS of information on here.
DAOC Catacombs:  http://daoc.catacombs.com - Character buildters, class forums, maps, etc.
Allakhazam: http://camelot.allakhazam.com/ - Quest information, some other information as well.
DAOC Stratics: http://www.stratics.com/content/portals/camelot/ - Excellent knowledge repository.

Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: The Trial requires a credit card, do I get charged for it?
A: To get around this once you register the trial *immediately* cancel it.  You will still get the 14 days and have no risk of accidental billing if you forget to cancel prior to day 14 this way.  This is a "free trial best practice" for ANY MMO that requires a Credit Card for their free trial.

Q: Is it worth playing?
A: Yes, it's worth giving the free trial a spin.  After all... it's free.  Whether it's worth paying for?  After 14 days you should be able to answer that yourself.  Which is really the only honest answer you will ever get.

Q: OK!  I tried it and like the game... if I buy it do I have to make new characters all over again?
A: Nope, you can add the full game to it without much hassle.  Most here will recommend you buy the 5th Anniversary box which you can get at most stores or online.

Q: I'm from Europe/USA can I play on the US/European Trial? 
A: Yes you can.  The US Trial will work for european players but they will only be able to play on US servers.  Likewise for US players who decide to play on the GOA Europe trial.  If they use that trial they can only play on the European servers.  The trials only work for their respective region (as do the game clients for the retail version).  But you can use either trial to get a feel for the game.

Q: How do I cancel my subscription?
A: You can't!!!  Muahahaha!  Ok... Ok... yes you can... are you sure you want to though?  Really?  I mean... really sure?   Oh well, I'm not going to try to talk you out of it then.... Still sure?  Ok here's how:  Just log into the game but do not select your character.  Go to the 'Edit Billing' option.  In the interface that brings up there is an option to cancel your subscription... If you're still sure that is??? :)

Q: When running the game I get an error message and the game won't launch.  (Typically this fix is for "Render Creation Error" but it will fix other issues with the game as well if they're related to corrupt files.)
A:  There are two likely causes.  The first if you video card and the second is a corrupt file.  In the first case make sure that you have a fully directx 9 supported video card and the latest drivers.

If it is a file that is causing the problem, you just need to find it and delete it and have the patcher fix the problem.  Here are the instructions on that:

This may be the result of a file that was downloaded improperly (truncated or damaged).

Please perform the following steps to address this:

Bring up your debug.log file (located in c:\mythic\camelot) in Wordpad. Scroll to the very bottom of the file. Usually, there will be a file listed at the bottom with the text ERROR next to it. For example:

Error Loading NIF #151 (effects/mid_darkblast_hit.nif)!

Go through the log and DELETE all lines with the word error attached to them (you can jump to these lines by going to EDIT -> FIND and typing the word "error" in the "find" window). As you delete lines, locate the files listed in those lines from your c:\mythic\camelot directory and delete them as well. Bear in mind that some files will be in separate folders within this directory. For example, the listing "effects/mid_darkblast_hit.nif" refers to the file named "mid_darkblast_hit.nif" inside of the "effects" subfolder within c:\mythic\camelot.

The newly-deleted files will be redownloaded when you reconnect to DAoC.

If you have other problems that this doesn't fix you will want to call Mythic support.  Their number is available on their website.

NOTE: To activate the full game with your free trial ACCOUNT if you bought the epic box do the following:

1. Un-install the trial  (Not absolutely necessary but it's a good idea just to make sure it's a clean install).
2. Install the full game
3. Log into the game engine with your trial account information, when prompted for your CD Key put in the CD Key that came with the epic edition.

If you run into problems contact Mythic's Customer Support.  They are very helpful and you won't have a very long phone wait.  Their number can be found on the Herald or the Official site (See links above).

For more FAQ questions please see the FAQ thread.  This brief faq is only to cover questions regarding the trial.  The FAQ thread covers far more issues than this thread is designed to deal with.

Excellent post Elnator. I explain this to a lot of newbies in-game as well when I'm on an alt and in the newbie guild. Agreed, a sticky would be nice and most certainly very helpful.

Decimus Legio
Hibernia
Gareth

Good luck at it being made into a sticky. Month ago or maybe even a year ago I did a full FAQ that covered this and all of the other issues that get asked every couple of days. It was never made into a sticky, but maybe they will be nice and do it for you.

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Originally posted by Dravenath
Is there a place to get the Catacombs graphics update for the European version of the trial? The website doesn't give the same options as the US site. I don't want to fuck up the big install i just did.

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Sorry, that I do not know.... maybe a euro player can answer?

If you download the EU version - the one from the GOA webstie and not here or anyplace else - then it should have the Catacombs game engine with it automatically when you download it.

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Originally posted by JulianDracos
If you download the EU version - the one from the GOA webstie and not here or anyplace else - then it should have the Catacombs game engine with it automatically when you download it.

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Thanks Julian :)

Hey El, I can download the expansion "Darkness Rising" and install it while I'm on the free trial period too right or just the "standard" stuff + Catacombs?

Thanks again.

Joe

double post sorry

In the 14 day trial period u can only play the original DAoC and the first expansion but with the Catacombs graphics.

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Originally posted by joejccva
Hey El, I can download the expansion "Darkness Rising" and install it while I'm on the free trial period too right or just the "standard" stuff + Catacombs?
Thanks again.
Joe

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Just the original game + Shrouded Isles and Trials of Atlantis.

The only aspect of Catacombs available on the free trial is the graphics (if you download them separately and install them), not the content.
And no, can't use Darkness Rising *at all* on the trial.. it's the newest expansion.

Hey El.. I called tech support and they said that when I click on the Catacombs option and then click on "I am playing the 14 day free trial", that this downloads the actually Catacombs expansion (not just the engine) and that expansion was $19.99. They pointed me to a different link to get the Catacombs engine. This is just crazy. Apparently when I did this I ended up downloading the free trial and using the reg key to activate it, then I downloaded the actual Catacombs expansion and installed that. I guess thats why when I click on the Catacombs icon I get this window that requires another reg key to activate the expansion or something.

The site isn't clear. I did exactly what you said to do and I downloaded the actual catacombs expansion and not just the engine. Ugh. LOL.

Apparently I need to go to: http://www.darkageofcamelot.com/patches/ and then scroll down to "Shrouded Isles or Gold Edition" and click on the Fileplanet link and download that file. The filename is called "isles_catacombs_engine-update.exe", which in turn is the catacombs engine I assume. The file on the expansions part of the site (where you click on the Catacombs option) is called "trial_to_catacombs_setup.exe" which installs the actual Catacombs expansion that requires $19.99. They must have changed the site or something from the time you originated this post. That would be my only assumption.

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Originally posted by joejccva
Hey El.. I called tech support and they said that when I click on the Catacombs option and then click on "I am playing the 14 day free trial", that this downloads the actually Catacombs expansion (not just the engine) and that expansion was $19.99. They pointed me to a different link to get the Catacombs engine. This is just crazy. Apparently when I did this I ended up downloading the free trial and using the reg key to activate it, then I downloaded the actual Catacombs expansion and installed that. I guess thats why when I click on the Catacombs icon I get this window that requires another reg key to activate the expansion or something.

The site isn't clear. I did exactly what you said to do and I downloaded the actual catacombs expansion and not just the engine. Ugh. LOL.

Apparently I need to go to: http://www.darkageofcamelot.com/patches/ and then scroll down to "Shrouded Isles or Gold Edition" and click on the Fileplanet link and download that file. The filename is called "isles_catacombs_engine-update.exe", which in turn is the catacombs engine I assume. The file on the expansions part of the site (where you click on the Catacombs option) is called "trial_to_catacombs_setup.exe" which installs the actual Catacombs expansion that requires $19.99. They must have changed the site or something from the time you originated this post. That would be my only assumption.

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Thanks! Corrected my directions!

<bump>

Bump bump bump... back to the top you go.

Bumpety bump! To the top you go

This really needs to be stickied.

Stuck!

Thanks Admin. :)