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Dark Age of Camelot Review: 2011 Re-Review - Edit
7.5
| Pros |
 Active Player Base Excellent PvP Plenty of Classes / Races Respectable Graphics |
| Cons |
 Challenging Interface Confusing for Newcomers Top Heavy |
As someone who cut her teeth on the once revolutionary creation that is Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC), revisiting this aging MMORPG is akin to coming home. The familiar lands of Hibernia, Albion and Midgard have received a steady stream of graphic updates over the years, but fundamentally the virtual world remains the same. Despite the old adage, you can go home to DAoC—but is there something here for new players, also? With October marking the 10 year anniversary of this MMMORPG, it seemed like the perfect time to take yet another look at what Dark Age of Camelot offers gamers, and whether or not it keeps up with more modern MMORPGS.
Three Realms Full Of Options
In case you’ve never given Dark Age of Camelot a try, let me lay out the abundant options available as far as races and classes: Players can choose to play Albion, which is based on Arthurian Legend; Midgard is the rough, wintery land out of Norse mythology; Hibernia is the green rolling hills of Celtic legend. Back in the height of DAoC’s popularity, players were limited to one of the three realms per server, and characters were server-specific. Each of the realms offers a different assortment of class options, which basically fall into the tank/stealther/mage/healer overviews, with multiple races available for each class. Add in the multiple choices in ability specialization, and DAoC continues to offer a considerable amount of variety despite being a nearly decade-old MMORPG.
A few years ago, Mythic decided to merge the remaining servers into one cluster in order to resolve the dwindling population on many of the original server options. This has created a much more abundant amount of interaction available throughout the Ywain cluster, and it also removed the stipulation that players could only have one realm per server. There is now a 5 minute cool-down timer when switching realms.
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Countless debates have last the entire 9-year existence of DAoC, regarding the realms being “balanced.” The trio of lands each offer similar classes, such as a primary healer or the melee rogue, with enough differences between the three realms to give players a unique experience in each pair of shoes. Unfortunately, that has lead to a lot of arguments over whether or not the three similar roles are balanced and equal in advantages/disadvantages. Over all, Albion enjoys the most popularity, and has arguably the strongest classes in terms of skill points and optimal features, with Midgard and Hibernia requiring a bit more patience and networking to get the job done.
Top Notch PvP, With Access at Level 1
Dark Age of Camelot has a very satisfying PvP system, dubbed Realm vs. Realm due to the three opposing lands, and players can get a taste of this feature as early as level 1—though many players refrain until the level 20-24 Battlegrounds. Several of these Battlegrounds are highly active, and more than a few players have leveled-up exclusively in these mini-RvR zones, which allow players to quickly sate their curiosity regarding the PvP system. Gaining Realm Rank allows players to purchase bonus abilities and advantages, and a limited amount of Realm Points can be obtained in the pre-50 Battlegrounds. Some of these abilities can be advantageous during the 1-50 level grind, though the vast majority of abilities are useful exclusively during RvR.
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Without a doubt, DAoC’s PvP system is the biggest lure to potential new players and wizened veterans of the three realms. It is active, especially since the server merge, and surprisingly challenging even to experienced MMORPG players. While it may seem complex and overwhelming at first, spending a few hours in several of the Battlegrounds during the level 1-50 grind can quickly equip new players for true RvR in the elaborate Frontier zones.
Graphics and Game Play
DAoC enjoys a surprisingly impressive graphics engine, which has been routinely upgraded in various expansions. Compared to many brand-new MMORPGs, DAoC looks up-to-par when the graphics are at full throttle. The user interface is terribly clunky, and at level 1 new players are greeted with a bunch of pre-set macros and ability icons in the hot bar which they may or may not figure out how to remove during their first attempt. During PvP, the awkward UI makes efficient spell casting and combo moves challenging unless the player is willing to have 3-5 hot bars scattered across the screen.
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DaoC allows groups of up to 8 players, which give tremendous flexibility in party structure as opposed to the common 5 or 6-man teams in other MMORPGs. This flexibility is especially critical during RvR, when party balance can make or break your group. Many dungeons can accommodate a group of 4-8, though solo game-play or even duo gaming can be a challenge depending on the participating classes and their specialization. Buff bots are commonplace in DAoC RvR, but PvE also has plenty of idle characters standing vigil over active party members like lurking ghosts doomed to only observe.
DAoC Game Play: Levels 1-49
One legitimate complaint that both newcomers to DAoC and veteran players returning with new characters share is the lack of attention paid to level 1-49. Major overhauls to the questing system years ago, in addition to fairly frequent graphics engine upgrades, are the biggest changes to the level 1-49 grind in recent memory. The tutorial segment is blessedly brief, and questing in that zone offers fairly impressive rewards. However, once new players are unleashed on the original lands—beginning in Mag Mell in Hibernia, for example—the quests stumble and leave players without much guidance. When leveling, the specialization lines aren’t adequately explained, leading to many players searching for fan sites with more in-depth information about the spells and combat styles received in each option.
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With the update to the questing system several years ago, players can now choose to either level grind in the traditional kill-everything-which-moves method, or spend their time questing to receive reasonable rewards in addition to experience. Years ago, before newer MMORPGs lured away the majority of the DAoC fan base, players had the choice between camping monster spawns and completing agonizingly dull quests. It appears that the majority of players who return to DAoC do so for the sole purpose of PvP rather than the enjoyment of the PvE zones. Newcomers will quickly find that this emphasis on the level 50 game play leads to hasty leveling and an overall ignorance of the elaborate lands in the three realms for many rushed-to-level new players.
The Labyrinth of the Minotaur is the latest expansion DAoC has seen, and it is available for a free trial but remains the only pay-to-play expansion; Catacombs, Darkness Rising, Trials of Atlantis and Shrouded Isles are all included with the basic retail purchase. With most expansions, Mythic introduced at least one new race and class to each of the realms; Labyrinth of the Minotaur gave the Minotaur race and the Mauler class to all three lands. Unfortunately, both Darkness Rising and Labyrinth of the Minotaur primarily focused on the level 50 game play, and the previous Trials of Atlantis expansion introduced zones really only appropriate for 30+ level characters. If Mythic decides to release yet another expansion, perhaps new features for the level 1-29 characters is worth considering.
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The Level 50 End Game
To say DAoC has, over the near decade of its existence, become a primarily end-game MMORPG is an understatement to say the least. Although PvE groups can be found, the vast majority of them are guild mates helping to level a member’s new character or the rare an elusive actually-new player. Epic level raids are almost mandatory to keep up with the latest and greatest equipment, which can give you a notable advantage during RvR. As with all MMORPGs, the hot items from former expansions are obsolete, so returning players can expect to be greeted with whole new templates for their characters.
Several expansions in DAoC have been devoted entirely to enhancing the level 50 end game, and a few have added bonus content to levels 40+. With so much attention to the upper levels, it’s no wonder that DAoC is daunting to the novice. However, the level grind to 50 has become remarkably short, and the lack of attention to PvE means that those precious camps full of the best monsters which used to take days to claim years ago are now vacant ghost towns of available kills.
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Dark Age of Camelot: Worth a Trial Download?
DAoC continues to offer one of the best PvP systems of any MMORPG, and if players take the time to explore one or all of the three realms they will be rewarded with elaborate maps, satisfying graphics and a true variety in monsters. The DAoC community continues to be helpful, active and encouraging; plenty of guilds are happy to take both newcomers and returning players. If you are looking for a flawless UI, look elsewhere; if you want satisfying PvE, bring a few friends to the game. But if you are looking for fantastic PvP with a refreshing twist, definitely give DAoC at least a free trial download’s worth of time.
Maybe I played a different DOAC trial, because I found it severly dated and couldnt stand it for more than 10 minutes.
make this 1 f2p just for fun, and im back in action.
Now i have to play regnum online :(
Aye, i also found it severaly dated with the comeback trial and after 30 minutes also had to drop out. Back in its hayday it was a great game but thesedays graphically it does not cut it anymore.
I will stick with memories of closed/open betsa and then 2yrs of play (comeback trial i did was 2-3yrs ago for myself) but a friend tried it several months back and dropped it because graphically the game sucked.
Mythic gutted the very concept of the game( RVR )when they allowed unfettered realm switching. Realms exist IN NAME ONLY...since a players can play on any and all realms on the same server with just a few minutes between realm changing.This totally unbalanced the game,since many play the realm with the largest population and resulting largest number of relics.
Mythic reduced servers to one ...with the Atlantis artifacts.Now to compete on the frontier you must be fully TOA equipped ....with a very expensive set of equippent. And then ther are the bots. A second character a % of the players have to heal and buff them(to the detrement of all who don't have one).
All in all DAOC is a sad disfigured remnant of what was once a great game.
Some of the comments are just unfair.
1. The graphics are at least passable. The game supports all sorts of graphics enhancement options. You can crank it up to max resolution and affects and it looks decent. It isn't Aion but it isn't horrible either. You probably have a bad rig if you think it is that bad. Someone mentioned playing Regnum online. I've played that game and DAOC's graphics are 100times better.
2. The TOA artys and MLs can all be purchased with bounty points now. You don't need to do the encounters or farm the artys at all. RVR and you can earn points to buy them. It is extremely easy. When I was last playing I was able to fully deck out my character in no time.
3. Buff Bot - it's been that way since the release of the game. Nothing that mythic changed or gutted. If you don't have one you can use a friends. A buffbot can typically buff 3 people. Not to mention some people carry 3 accounts so they have 2 different buff bots. Also, if you are 8v8ing you will get buffs from your healers anyway. Not a big deal. Been dealing with it since like 2003.
4. Realm switching - not a big deal. Gives people flexibility and options. I don't see how this really hurts the game.
I'm not currently playing DAOC but I've played on and off for many many years. I've also played on Ywain. Still the best PVP game out there.
This is still the best PVP game out there period. The fact that people are still playing this game and paying monthly fees at that shows that the concept and design of this game are great.
So many of the new MMO's obviously look better and out perform in every area is really due more to the updated technology. Yet even with that technology look at how many end up going f2p and yet here we are 10 years later and DAOC is still going.
Now if someone could buy a clue and actually do the same concept, 3 factions, no cross talk, objective based PVP that offers even carebears safe haven...sign me up.
The classes, PVP gameplay and the setting still makes this game great.
The fact that noone has released another quality 3 faction based PVP game shows that the gaming companies / developers / studios are just plain stupid. It's an untapped gold mine.
Spikex ,like you i'm stunned that some one has just not copied and updated this great classic...that has no competition.
Best RvR in Dekade!!!
So that makes it ok? If Mythic had done something about the problem. (And YES buffbots in a PvP/RvR game are a problem) It wouldn't have progressed to the point. Where people just gave up and tolerate it. Buffbots have no place in RvR game unless they are being played full time by a person.
Gutting the very concept of the game REALM VS REALM warfare by allowing cross realming is not something that is trivial.It's has destroyed the very fabric of the game.
Imagine a pro football game that you are required to pay for in order to watch. Now imagine that on every play the players decide which team they will play on for that play ! Thats todays DAOC.
....whats wrong with this picture
Great review Lori! Makes me want to play this again!
Same here. Except it's not just the graphics, screensots can make it look passable, but something about actually playing just feels much worse. Could be due to the lack of a modern UI, or the animations, or even just how desolate the game is. Especially going back to old areas I remember, like Fort Atla or Ardee. Places that might be obsolete, but still very close to where new players get dropped after the godawful tutorial.
Seems to me they could have worked a bit harder at updating the new player experience over the years, but it's obvious they gave up hope of getting new players long ago.
A re-review for a game that is this old is silly. The game needs to go f2p at this point. Last time I tried playing this, the server was empty except for those at high level. And yes, the graphics are dated so between dated graphics and low pop, this needs to go f2p to revitalize it.
this game is so old is this game still alive
Great game in its day , but a re review is totally pointless ( Unless you know something we dont and its going free to play ) ... the game is all but but dead now except for the die hard fans.
Old game in sleep mode mythic are part of the borg now and WAR failed.
I wanted to like this game awhile back when giving it a try, but atleast for me the graphics were too far below what I am used to. The pics included in this article look good, but that is not what I saw when i logged in to the game. The landscape seemed very uninteresting and sparse, and the animals were walking around and their movement did not match the ground so it looked like they were sliding around. I messed around in the game for the free month and it was always the same so I don't think it was connection. I was playing other mmo's at the time and not having any similar problems. Avatars also were terrible to look at.
Maybe they've made some graphical improvements though, I don't know. This was a couple years back.
Still the #1 pvp mmo. Nothing has came close nor sustained it. Please don't even try to say wow, you'll be laughed right off the board. Pillar humping arena != pvp Anyhow, this was my first game. I still miss it, nothing has ever compared... Guild wars 2 is supposed to take some of the similarities of DAOC, however if i am not mistaken guild wars 2's 3 faction system is pre determined and only happens once a week, correct?
Ive heard the fanatics of daoc proclaim on many occasions how this is the best pvp ever created, just like the vanguard fanatics do the same for vg pve. I couldnt disagree more with either group.
This game has everything that removes skill from the equation. Buffbots that make the stealth classes 1v1 gods, if you're slightly higher level you get huge bonus damage and if you're slighly lower level you get huge penalties to hit and damage,cc being the deciding factor in nearly every single encounter,many classes that are dead weight on the battlefield,someone 3 football fields away looking at you funny so you cant cast a spell or shoot a bow,etc.
Oddly enough i think the pve is much more interesting. The positional attacks,reactionary styles,combat chains,unique spells like the pulsing "bubbles", etc were all quite revolutionary when this game released.
Now many would try to argue rvr abilities like purge mititgate the cc aspect and the rvr nature of the game mitigate the stealth god status but i simply disagree. Especially at this stage of the game when population is so low, getting to fully equiped level 50 and finding a solid 8man group or more is highly frustrating.
Creating in effect one server and allowing everyone to move between the three realms is the worse decision since toa and master levels.
I think its because those are screenshots of the most recent content or expansions. Problem is, as a new player, you don't see that. You don't see Atlantis or Catacombs even. For most of the game's lifespan, they've neglected the lower level content, and even made sweeping changes to eliminate it as the game got so top-heavy. I understand why, but by doing that, they cut off any chance the game had of continued growth. It's become complete garbage to wade through for new players, and the vast majority just aren't going to have the patience for it.
At this point, they should just set all characters to level 50, upgrade all mobs everywhere to lv.45-55, maybe toss some interesting drops all over the old maps to encourage exploration for those that might appreciate it, and revamp the starting experience to dump players into RvR almost immediately.
The closest thing I have seen is GuildWars 2 where everyone has access to the same classes but its World Vs World Vs World. Basically 3 servers all going head to head........to head :)
30 minutes are not enogh.
I started the trail several times, and stoped after some minutes. But the last time I gave it a chance and after some hours the game had me back. I leveled to 20 and had some fun at thidraki (pvp).
The bottom of line, you have to give the game some time. Read the tutorial, explore the world, do not haste and try to to link to the comminity.
Here we are again.. the graphics rant.
I resubbed DAoC over WAR because of the mature and friendly community and the game offered the most non taxing PvE content. Yes there are grind on glass, scales etc but that can be done casually where RvR is where you do it hardcore.
Despite the dated graphic engine, DAoC offered the most relaxing no-nonsense graphics. Who cares about dynamic shadows, bloom, specular, displacement maps or even movement physics in RvR? You dont survive by looking at pwning graphics, you die to it as you stare too much on how leet your character looks :)
Nice to see a re-review on one of my favorite mmo's! Not sure I understand the graphic complaints. Personally, I think the world is beautiful and I actually like the models better than Warhammer. The armor sets are some of the prettiest I've seen in any game, as are the mounts.
any one who has a character over rr3 knows that daoc is and always will be die hard pvp. ppl who love daoc dont care about graphics or pve content. We want to grind 1-50 in 6 hours in POC. To all you first timers i just wish you had tried it long enough to get bitten by the real pvp bug so i could farm you all for easy rp's. Now shut up and leave this fanbois game alone.
Wanted to retry it but ,could never get in running in windows 7 64 bit,even in compat. mode.
I actually found the graphics quite acceptable. One has the choice of the original avatar graphics (which are not acceptable) or a newer designed avatar graphic.
One can lose themselves in the world if they allow themselves that pleasure.
My issue with the game came more from the skills. For the short time I tried the game I couldn't quite figure out what my skills were actually doing. So I ended up spamming skills as they came available.
It was also a little difficult for me to assign points. I think initially I assigned some points to single handed sword abilities when it wasn't needed for my chanpion.
still, one would see announcements of x keep being taken so there is a group of die hard fans playing this game.
I have to totally disagree with you. Being able to swap factions/realms is a bad idea. It ruins the sense of loyalty from the game. Makes players less dedicated to their faction. Look at how it effected WoW in the last couple years when they allowed "both " faction play on pvp servers and paid faction changes. The player base became even more unbearable in how they interact socially with others and the sense of loyalty to a faction is a rare concept anymore.
I'm shocked even MYTHIC themselves failed to copy their own successful formula. Instead they took an IP that lended itself PERFECTLY to multiple factions (Warhammer) and turned it into a 2-faction game.
Ah, the memories. Back when DAoC was still vibrant the level grind to 50 was brutal. I remember when I hit level 45 or so and it was time to grind out those last couple of levels I would come home from work and sit down and start grinding mobs repeatedly until bed time. It still took me from Monday until like Saturday to get those few levels done. Of course, I ran solo 90% of the time and just chatted with my guild while I killed things. Still, that was painful.
It was worth it though. I played for around 6 years or so, right through the last expansion and had a blast. All my friends had long since left and moved on to WoW, but I stayed way past DAoC's prime. It wasn't until I was standing around in the RVR zones looking for someone to kill that it ocurred to me that I had seen everything and done everything there was to do. It was then that I finally bid a fond farewell to Hibernia and moved on.
I tried going back a few years ago, but while the graphics still aren't that terrible, the terrain and UI haven't aged so well. I wandered around a bit for old times sake, but as much as I loved that game, I feel like it is really really outdated now and the changes that have been made have really hollowed out all of the enjoyable parts of the game except the RVR.
Still, there are some things that have never been duplicated. The 3 realm RVR with unique classes and races per realm and the awesome combo system are probably the best examples. Also, Darkness Falls and the excitement when it changed hands is unforgettable. I still remember being in there and the albs or mids taking control of it. We would all huddle around the Hibernian entrance and wait for their kill squads to arrive. As they came through we would see the death spam and could tell how close they were getting, like a countdown to doom. We knew we would die, but we always held out as long as we could and took down as many of them with us as we could.
DAoC has one of the simplest and easiest to use UIs in the history of MMOs. What's more, its FULLY MODDABLE. So how is that a con? And a 10 year old game being top heavy... er.. kind of obvious. And not being noob friendly?? The gameplay has depth, I guess in this day and age that's unheard of, but the game holds you by the hand all the way to level 10 with all the revamps they've done to the newbie experience.
I guess these days unless your UI is a clone of WoW's and the mechanics are dirt simple, then its not good enough...
Sadly, I think Mythic created a masterpiece by mistake. They didn't know what they were doing. Because from launch, every expansion made the game steadily worse. And even when they promised a relaunch classic server, they said there'd be a few changes. The changes they listed were all game breaking, but they saw nothing wrong with them. Then WAR crashed and burned so that Mythic got absorbed by Bioware and EA, and canned the classic server project.
I mean really, look.
Mythic starts releasing expansions that launch overpowered classes to encourage sales then nerf them months later.
Mythic introduces /level 20 reward for people with level 50s. This makes all battlegrounds except the level 20 battleground empty, kills the noob population because there are no more vets to show them the ropes/leveling up with them, and sets the game on a path to death.
Releases ToA, breaking the perfect balance between crafted gear, raid gear, and PvP, turning the game into a raid focused PvE grind game.
Releases Catacombs which adds instances and further shrinks the world, making it so that you can never find random groups of people anymore, everyones in an instance. Also adds in WoW style quest grind that kills all grouping in the game and makes everyone solo.
Remove ladders. Change the archery system to make archers mages...
For every brilliant innovation Mythic brought to MMOs, there was a knife they drove into their own game.
That's the only thing I needed to know. Glad I never bothered with this game.
Now, if we could just have a good developer make a good similar 3-faction game that's NOT a gear grind...
The game wasn't originally a gear grind. For those that liked raiding, that was an option. For those that didn't, you could pay crafters to make you masterpiece gear. It wasn't as flashy but it was just as good, but expensive. It was the perfect balance. I did many raids just for the fun of it, getting an item at the end was an unexpected bonus. Groups of 200 alliance friends trying to take on the dragon wasn't uncommon, it was just fun.
The reason this game faded from popularity was because of needing to do epic level raids to compete in RvR.
However, Mythic has since gone back and mitigated that, you don't need to do many raids for gear anymore, not as much as you used to, but the damage is done.
I think its the mmo generational gap when the graphics complaint comes up.Me I am on the side of gameplay-fun will ALWAYS trump graphics.Take a game like the new FF mmo beautiful graphics wise gameplay wise sucks I doubt you will find many ppl who would not sacrifice that graphic quality for a fun experience.having said that I was in daoc beta I member first beta was all of 800 ppl which back then prob was everyone who applied lol.I never could get into the game though I def tried I guess because I wasn't heavy into pvp.
Does this game still have an active playerbase, it looks like something i would seriously be interested in playing.
Very much so, yes. It's not the glowing pinnacle of perfection that it used to be, but it still has a very active healthy server population.
DAoC is the best RvR game ever.
By far I loved a coordinated keeptake, or camping a road in the frontiers.
I didnt mind the ToA grind tho it got tedious at some point. Nowadays you can purchase all artifacts with bounty points which are obtained in RvR.
I tried to play it again, but the interface and handling feels old and slow.
Perhaps Mythic ressurects it some day with a new interface and gfx engine. In terms of gameplay they shouldnt change a bit, it was perfect.
Last Updated: 5/10/11 02:38 A
just go to the camelot herald whatever time is primetime for you and see for yourself.
I thought GOA had closed its servers and DAOC was only run from stateside?
I played DAOC and went on to drink the poisioned chalice that was WoW. WoW itself was not that bad, it had many improvements over DAOC, but it heralded the start of easymode MMO's and there is no going back now.
Weeeeeell thats not 100% true
For as long as there was gear to get there was a gear grind. But until Artifacts you could decide how you wanted to grind for it. As long as you had enough no items were unobtainable. And with item decay Crafters and Farmers always had customers.
And there was usually something for everyone on raids.. Might not be what they wanted.. but if you were patient enough to stick around to the end of the loot lottos you could go home with quite a pile of loot to trade for what you did want..
Yes I sat 2 hours doing /roll 100... Im a loot whore :P
And now I hear you can get Artifacts for bounty points. So that only leaves rading for the Master levels. And provided anyone is running them it should be possible to get it over with in the course of 2 weekends.
So there is still a gear grind.. but you arent limited in the way you grind it.. And you arent a slave to a random number generator. REALLY SUCKS when you get the same Bind on Pickup Pants for the 7th time in other games..
I was kind of surprised to see this a 7.5 with a game that might have a player base the size of vanguard.
I did not know daoc was still up and running. I thought most folks I new had left daoc a very very long time ago.
Same here...why Mythic didn't follow DAoC's template with WAR baffles me to this very day. To me WAR will always be the game with the most potential that failed miserably...
I also cannot fathom why no one has figured this out...including EA Mythic. How incredibly stupid. I would quit every other game to play on an updated, next gen MMORPG that utilized 3 factions.
I have played EQ since beta and have tried to play DAOC several times, my main issue when DAOC first came out was playability the controls and the UI even when the game first came out simply wasent there. Now 10 years later the game still has I think the best concept as even though its RvR if you truly didn't want to pvp you didn't have to and you could still enjoy the game. So me who thrives on PVP could still play and exp with my wife who does not.
About 6 months ago I did the free trial again and I found the game decent in terms of graphics, but in terms of population it was a ghost town. So after a week or so I stopped playing. I would however return if DAOC had some content for the lower levels to get more people to return to the game. From everything I am reading and with my own thoughts DAOC isnt really for a "new" player.
I would hope people at mytic would take this article and post to heart and come up with some solid contect for the lower levels and then hit the various blogs and forums (they are free) and get new and old people to come back since I cant be the only person who is looking for a decent mmo who loves pvp but isnt a fan of WOW. I have tried WAR, AION, VANGUARD, and may others and to be honest they fall flat, I even looked at DARKFALL but in seeing the tons and tons of hackers I simply never tried it. Everquest now is so watered down that makes playing on the pvp server simply stupid.
I dunno maybe it was because I was on classic and got steam rolled into the mega toa server but...
You were also able to buy ML's over in Atlantis lands with bp's. In fact at the time of the merge there was a lot of spamming "looking to buy ML xp".. because the MLxp scrolls could be traded. So the only thing I would have actually had to "xp" was my artifacts (the actual level on the artifact to unlock abilities).
My two "mains" were a Ranger and a Heretic and easily had the bp's for ML10 and all the arti's I could have wanted on both. I don't think I had a 50 that didn't have enough bp's to be honest. So it wasn't really that hard to get setup, I just really didn't want to play TOA so I quit.
Unlike many who played DAoC, I have always through the 3 realms was a mistake. That is another debate tho really.
agree
It's a steep learning curve, but the skills in DAOC have way more depth and skill requirement than any other game I've played since. Unfortunately after DAOC every thing is WoW GCD's...even WAR went that route. Skills build off of each other in chains, you have reactional skills, positional skills....it was very complex, but beat the hell out of the "1,2,3,4" you get now.
DAoC is still the best PvP game...nothing else comes remotely close. It still boggles my mind how noone in the world of game development has tried to copy the template set forth by DAoC. 3 realms, open world pvp, keep seiges, battlegrounds, lots of classes/races, lots of character customization....is it really that hard? Just copy DAoC word for word and just leave out ToA...you'll have 20 million subscribers (Blizzard eat your heart out :P)
I think most people discount DAoC because of it's age, but it's still the best when it comes to PvP. If you haven't played level 50 keep seiging, you're missing out bigtime!
If they started a new server I would give it a go, but I hate joining old communities in an ancient game and playing catch up.
One of the key processesin ongoing MMORPGs should be merging old servers to open a fresh one once a year (or with every expack). I am sure it is the lack of a fresh 'equal' start that puts many off starting these games late, or even returning to them after a long break.
lol so funny that this is posted. Myself and a small group of friends just went back to this game as it far outshines anything on the market atm. We just ended our free 10 days they give you after being away from the game for 90 days. So if youve had an active account in the past no need to get the free trial, you can activate your account for 10 days free with all your old characters. The old servers have been archived so at the start up screen you click the archived servers button , all the old servers will appear. You then log into your old toon and just type /freexfer ywain# as ywain is the name of all the new servers. The number part will be from ywain1 to ywain10. Also you can have all three realms on one server there is a realm button now that allows you to switch. There is a timer though , to prevent crossrealming. The transfer took about 15 mins .
So we just finished our 10 free days and are moving forward to subscribe once again. This is one of the few mmorpgs out there that I can not help but return to every time a newer game disapoints the hell out of me.
Mark Jacobs need to go buy the IP rights back and form a new company, with some of the previous talents that used to work on DAOC, and give us a real DAOC 2.
I don't know why companies suck at making sequels, especially sequels for old classic games. Is it really that hard to live up to people's expectations? Turbine made AC2, completely changed the game, so they never got the support of AC1 players. It bombed. SOE made EQ2, completed changed the game so it was nothing like EQ1, they never got the support of EQ1 players. While it didn't bomb or get shutdown, it never reached half of EQ1's peak subscription. Mythic made WAR, something that was half WoW, half DAOC. It turned out to be half as good as WoW in PvE, and half as good as DAOC in RvR. It bombed hardcore.
Why can't these companies just make revamps of the classics, better engine, better graphics, better UI, better AI. But change less of the core concept of the originals, less is more, less is better! I'd jump in DAOC right now if it was given a facelift while retaining the same gameplay, just as I'd jump in AC right now if it was given a facelift while retaining the same lore & gameplay.
I'll cut them some slack, sequels are never easy to make. Look at movies, a lot of the sequels of good movies turned out really horrible. But every once in awhile you'll find a sequel of a movie that is better than the first. I don't know if we've seen that happen in MMO's yet.
/agree w Mardy - I think about that all the time, dream even. DAoC with updated graphics and flawless ai oldschool frontiers no Atlantis expansion.
and one other that comes to mind is Shadowbane jeez i would pay dearly for a remake of that with the facelift we speak of.
It's a real catch 22.
Start the free trial.....why? The fact is, as pointed out in the same article no-one plays 1-49 anymore. So if you get the free trial you will be soloing and then facing sc'd twinks in the lower BG's.....zero fun and a HUGE pointless (and now severeley dated) grind.
This is why DAoC is in such a terrible state, it's ALWAYS been unfriendly to new players and as such, they rarely stay.
Plus im not sure how anything positive can be said about the current state of the game, 1 server with TOA, about 3k players playing a game abandoned by Mythic...oh, wait, Mythic no longer exists.
Yes, it WAS a great game but it's dead now, let it rest in peace. If it went F2P it'd explode in population, but it's just not worth a sub anymore.
I played this years ago and loved it for a good while. I always liked that the Realms were exclusive and I think realm switching has probably done for any lingering interest I had for going back for a couple of months.
First off the graphics are not that bad. At least you don't see skimpy female armor running all over.
The game does have two major issues, far too much overpowered CC and stealth. Of course it has always been that way.
Agree with you 100% Mardy. As much as I love the original Camelot.. I'll always be pushing for a DAoC2.
I don't know about you guys.. maybe it's due to my DAoC origins.. but these new WoW based MMO's are a real turn-off for me. Hell, I recently tried Regnum Online/Realms Online since it officially released for NA... and it felt "decade-old", and that .. was a good thing. I still hop into this game more often then the number of "fancy-new-WoW-models" that get released. (Won't point any fingers)
Voice your opinion over at http://daoc2.com
DAoC needs to go F2P before it dies, give it one last hope
And i think the only reason DAoC is alive right now is because of Bots, giving them double the subscription fees, since everyone and there mother seems to own one
BEST PVP EXPERIENCE EVER and I hate pvp. I do hate the GUI. The interface needs an overhaul.
I think these "re-reviews" are done as advertisement.
This.
One reason why I quit was due to buffbots.
Just for your information...there is still an European Cluster too. I know it is not listed at the "State of Realm", maybe Mythic thinks they can that way forget about us easier, but it is still there and has something about 300-600 Players.
That said, wasn't there a rereview already, how many do you like to do?
I used to love this game, but returning now would just make me sad. Besides any of the other issues mentioned I might agree with I lost my character's housing long ago along with their trophies and such since you had to pay rent each week and only some items were protected from that.
I still get homesick for DAoC.. and have gone back more than once.. as much as I love this game it just doesn't hold the same magic... DAoC II please... developed by someone that won't run the game into the ground again..
this game is good.
just for fun
I can live with less than state-of-the-art graphics as long as the gameplay is good. DAoC's melee system is by far the best I have come across. Unfortunately, as everyone became botted casters became the king of the game. There are many other issues that should have been dealt with long ago.
The New Frontier was a travesty of design. The towers which were supposed to be defensive bastions turned out to be tools for the attackers. The keep designs were so boring and generic compared to OF's keeps, and the worst were the new relic keeps which made no sense.
While I long for a DAoC2, I fear it will dissappoint me.
I still think Daoc has great graphics. The world is beautiful, a place i enjoy spending a lot of time. The gameplay in RvR is so fun and exciting after 9 years i still have a blast.
3 things keep me from playing Daoc right now, 1 is summer, 2 is my GF who thinks i play too much, (shes right), and three is buff bots.
Its hard for me to stomach that i have to pay 30 dollars a month to play a game that is almost 10 years old, even if it is still the best game out there.
Having said that, i must say that Daoc is special in so many ways that other games are not. I love the Epic mobs in Daoc. I like how they each have their own unique tactics to defeat them, and i like that i can kill some pretty uber mobs with only a couple people using tactics.
There is nothing in any other game like RvR. The fact that it is in a seperate zone, which does contain some pve with higher rewards, but is mainly for PVP, and completely unecessary for PVE unless you want the bonus.
Spam and fame. When you kill someone in Daoc everyone sees it. After you have been around for a while and achieved a decent realm rank, you will get to know your enemies, and they will know you. It makes it so much more fun when you have hated enemies. In games like Rift, you fight people from other servers, you usually have no idea who anyone is, and likely you will never see them again. In Daoc you will be known.
For me this is what makes RvR seem special. If i get a clean kill on a hated enemy it is much more than just some arps and a little gold. If i die to said enemy it is just more fuel for my fire.
Best game i have ever played by a mile and a half.
I agree with the casters being the kings of the game, but as a stealther they were my bread and butter, nothing like 1 shotting a caster with my SB, but what i found messed up was how fast casters could kill tanks, it was pretty rediculous i mean seeing a caster nuke down a tank with 4-5 spells is just wrong...
There is now a 5 minute cool-down timer when cross-realming.
There, I fixed that sentence for you.
The DAoC community continues to be packed with internet trolls; most guilds and players don't want anything to do with you if you're under Realm Rank 5.
There; fixed another sentence that was grossly misleading for you.
I never played DOAC but one of my loving PvP, Realm vs Realm games of all time is RF Online (Rising Force Online) like DOAC 3 races, one HUGE War for a resource spot for upgrading your equipment... NUKES, COOL BATTLES and REALLY FUN.
But the community have fallen soo deep is SAD....
GW2 will have big 3-faction combat, and it certainly won't be a gear grind. On the other hand, you'll be rotating the "faction" (read: server) you're fighting every week, so it's not exactly the same thing, but they have said that the servers will be ranked and paired up with similarly-ranked servers, so it might crystallize to a point where the same very few servers rotate in competition with each other constantly.
I find it amazing people complain about buff bots, anyone who does has not played since they made the realm buff NPC, the buffs are very close to bot buffs (not exactly the same but if you are paying for a second account you should get the best) and on top of that have you not heard the complaining about buff shearing. download the DAoC charplanner and look at the difference you get in buffs between the npc and a buff bot, that complaint isnt even worth posting and just shows how out of the loop or how bad the player is at the game. also its zerg vs zerg or 8v8 and if you are 8v8 your healer will be able to give field buffs and if they are setup correctly all you will be missing is 5 strength and 5 con from a 50 enhance with 25% bonus, my cleric is 40 enhance and buffs for 150 str, 150 con, 155 dex, 92 qui as field buffs and if you know what toons need what buffs you can pretty much cover the group with the basic requirements anyways
Planetside has also 3 factions :) I always thought it was like a futuristic DAoC :D
*eternal fan of DAoC*
DAOC was a lot of fun, PVE was challenging and offered a lot, game world was large and interesting, tons of races and classes to choose from. I tried all 3 sides on different servers and I think Hibernia was my favorite. With Ranger being my favorite class.
I tried coming back a few years ago, the game was dead. Empty zones, rarely see another player at any time of day or night. I think it would be a lot more fun with lots of people and groups. So picking a solo class is very important now.
PVP... can be fun. DAOC has some great concepts I wish more games had, the keep sieges, breaking down the walls, using war machines. The problems I have with it are well known - a stealther gets the jump on you, you die. There is no counterplay. A ranged unit starts firing on you, you die. You get CCed, you die. It is all about who gets the jump on who, and they win. In any other game, a ranged 10 second AOE Stun would be considered insane. Entire groups blindsided and wiped out without a single chance to fight back. And then you need about 5 to 15 minutes after dying to re-buff and run ALL THE WAY BACK to where you were... often to get ROLFSTOMPED right away once you reach your destination or as you try to make your way over. So then you spend YET ANOTHER 5-15 minutes rebuffing and running ALL THE WAY BACK to the keep or wherever else you're trying to go.
So I have issues with people saying this games PVP is the best there ever was. Bullcrap. I'm sure the elite players who crushed all the other players thought it was great. For everyone else, not so much. Unbalanced and highly flawed, for elite hardcore players only. Casual players and newcomers waste their time trying to get into it.
That's why games like WOW and even WAR got more subscriptions - they toned down the BS CC, balanced the classes (stealthers and casters aren't OP vs others), and streamlined the play so you weren't out of the action for a quarter of an hour after each death, and you didn't need buffbots to be competitive.
DAOC did a lot of things right, and deserves Kudos, and even a sequel. But the elite hardcore fanboys need to put down the crack pipe, stop drinking the koolaid, and take off the rose colored glasses. This is not the best game ever or the best PVP ever.
It is the best pvp game ever but not because of solo play. It is the best pvp game because of the group play. Solo play was not the games balancing point. This was a Realm vs realm game so saying it's not because of how 1v1 worked is taking the game out of the context it was designed for.
The word "grind". I refuse to play any MMO that has a "grind". Content, not mindnumbing keystrokes. This was okay 10 years ago when we were all stupid.
During it's peak DAoC was best MMORPG ever. Nothing else is even close to DAoCs versatility and depth of classes, PvP, group play, atmosphere, game mechanism - as long as you like competitive MMORPGs.
Unfortunately many bad (and some good) changes were done that made DAoC something different than it was years ago. Now UI is also dated and hard to master for newcommers that are used to WoW, RIFT or any newer MMORPGs.
I spent my BEST gaming years playing with many great people on Lancelot (greetings to Tarqan and his wife ;) ) and Gareth servers (greetings to Milan, other Czech crew, and last but not least Legacy Of Fallen guild). It was great great great times but they are over and will never be back :(
I couldn't say it better. Mythic killed their game with expansions and patches.
PlanetSide? That game rips DAoC up in to little shreds - it has real combat not EQ clone shite.
DAoC was an OK game - nothing special really.
It most certainly is NOT the best PvP game out there - that title goes to PlanetSide by a long way.
Loved this game for many years. Loved the lore of midgard.
so many memories of ML10 spiritmaster with ml10 shaman bot.
so many memories of one shot kills with a 2h kobold shadowblade some of them unboted, but mostly before toa.
have to love the feel of the skald, racing away from 8 man groups as you purge there mezz and disease.
Big troll warrior with shield taken arrows and blocking npc guards as bait while the stealth sneak inside.
getting appeals cause many people didn't know a healer who spec'ed in augmentation had a speed enhancement.
Albion yes 3 archers can hold back 50 plus people
starts getting depressing as try to rvr with a necro.
and I still remember alot of the encounters where I have to say (that was a cheat) main reason for leaving.
but to recommend a class would say skald for midgard, cleric for albion, and enchanter for hibernia.
Here Let me fix it again for you. Come to Mid Ywain and message me. We have a guild that is and will be helpful to you. Problem fixed.
People want their hand held to the kill 12 wolves quest near the abbey. This is not that game. This is a solid pvp mmorpg divided by more realms and classes and races than any game ever has or will have (arguably).
DAoC was the best PVP game, i still don't think there is a game that has PVP any where near what DAoC had
i dont know but the guy posting on youtube from daoc site should learn to do it properly or not put up any video cause the game doesnt even remotly looks that bad! how ever you cut it!