DAoC: The best forgotten game

Zalaber

Dark Ages of Camelot has been on the top game list since i first played it a year and a half ago.  In all of the top games, it is the most fun.  It has new things as you get higher in levels, like amazing RvR, you can buy your own house and build it up, interactive guilds which are better than most games, and another thing is groups are usually easy to find! Throughout the game, you keep going to new parts of your realm and see something new all the time.  Back to the point of it being fun, how fun it is should matter most, if graphics really mattered than WoW wouldn't be as popular as it is, and DAoC also has little lag compared to most games! So why is it not popular, is it because it's old? Anyway I hope that everyone who left DAoC will come back to Mythic when Warhammer is released. 

Epeen

It is going to be tough to have faith in mythic since they were responsible for the demon that was ToA... the very expansion pack  that killed  off 30%+ of Daocs fanbase.

Ciredric

Who are you kidding.  DAoC died some time ago.  Servers are so empty it is pathetic.

Have to love this quote : "another thing is groups are usually easy to find".  Now that is a flat out lie.  I was bored and reupped.  I could not find groups on any of the many servers I have characters on.  I just stopped playing after a week, I don't enjoy soloing that much.

Trials of Atlantis killed that game, they have not had a decent playerbase since then. 

That should serve as a important point for anyone doing a pvp based game.  By all means do not provide the capability by which power gamers can completely dominate everyone else, it will just insure that the majority of the playerbase will leave.

Jetrpg

Originally posted by Epeen

It is going to be tough to have faith in mythic since they were responsible for the demon that was ToA... the very expansion pack  that killed  off 30%+ of Daocs fanbase.

If you ask me this was just an excuse TOA was even funish.





But at anyrate , i just started playing daoc again its wonderful, its graphics are as good as many of the mmos comign out .. most of the mmos coming out .. which is sad for those new mmos.



At anyrate the game is just so darn fun combat and class diversity is so great keeps me playing and having fun... i have pvp lvls 4-24 so far... thats right. I exped some too but every few levels ill rvr it up some so darn fun.



"Servers are so empty it is pathetic." -- they are why can i get a group at anytime i want... oh i know your problem your one of those lazy people who want people to build a group for you... get off your ass and starting inviting people to exp or rvr and youll never be without a group.



For the last 3 weeks i ahve played daoc ... when ever i wanted a group i had it then and their 1 -2 minutes max. Amazing huh. .. sometimes id start them sometimes they would be groups already formed.



"... do not provide the capability by which power gamers can completely dominate everyone else" And how do they in DAoc .. just wonderign becuase i have rarly had this problem... I have been out skilled in daoc tho , potion poping item usign fruits who totaly out played me. I have ran with pugs and got own by guild groups ... but what game will that not happen in. I have been outnumbered... oh it sucks right they have 2x the numbers as we do.... not really lrean to play all that mean is more kills for me and my group .... PUG thid  just yesterday my 8 man vs 16hibs ... we won with 3 standing... with a pug im sure they were a pug too but still in daoc no toon can be too eleet to kill.  Thsi si even more true on classic servers.



FASA has it right if you ask me ... it simply that most of the players of the game already played it soo much that well it was time to move on. (i know that is the reason why i left). But still the game offers more fun than many other games so im back to have soem fun for a bit.

Zalaber

Just as jetrpg said, I can find a group whenever i want, and i can usually find one fast, im goin to keep playin DAoC until Warhammer comes out, i think in 2008

Carl132p

Originally posted by Jetrpg





But at anyrate , i just started playing daoc again its wonderful, its graphics are as good as many of the mmos comign out .. most of the mmos coming out .. which is sad for those new mmos.

hehe not so much not that it matters but daocs graphics arent as good as the games out now let alone the ones coming up. I heard someone claim this about everquest too its not true at all. They are still Amazing games you just cant claim any kind of competition graphic wise

newbinator

I love DAOC, one of my favorite games of all time. But yea, it is old, and I can only play a game for so long before it just gets boring. Still the best PvP game on the market though IMO

Epeen

The game died when ToA came out.

CheValim

Hello there,

Played DAoC since beta for 3 years. Played SWG, EVE, and EQ2 since, only have EQ2 subs now, and for me, DAoC was the best one of the lot. Have such fond memories.

Reason was the end game PvP, they just done it fantastic  managed to get to Realm Rank 8 before i quit.

Why did i quit? It was not even so much TOA, what finished it for me was Artifacts . I remeber days in Emain Machs and Darkness Falls, had a Hibbie Hero. I use to stand a real chance for winning not just 1v1, but even 2 or 3 if i played tactics right

With Albs i would always killed the casters, then then healers. With Mids i would take the healer, then caster and mop up hehe. I was fully druid buffed with second account and great items and armor . But after the artifacts, i found the tactics were no longer useful, 3 or more guys all running around as dogs, or little bugs, i had no idea who was who, and what classes. I felt the artifacts added to much strange things to game, and messed it up for me. Was a sad day when the PvP was no longer fun.

Anyway, my rant over.. i have never spoke of this since i quit heh.

Che.

 

Jetrpg

Originally posted by Carl132p

Originally posted by Jetrpg





But at anyrate , i just started playing daoc again its wonderful, its graphics are as good as many of the mmos comign out .. most of the mmos coming out .. which is sad for those new mmos.

hehe not so much not that it matters but daocs graphics arent as good as the games out now let alone the ones coming up. I heard someone claim this about everquest too its not true at all. They are still Amazing games you just cant claim any kind of competition graphic wise Really look at fallen earth , dungeon runners, Tabula rasam G& H , heros journy, PotBS, hmm maybe its not my my words that do not hold weight? What do you think really go look these games up ... mythos too there is another one.



These are yet to be released games mind you.. and daoc's graphics are equal or better.... . Now if you are comparing them to the best looking mmos coming out you are right , but that not what i said at all.



"Lies, lies and more lies about finding a group.  What is it, Mythic running some kind of special to promote the game?"

Ill send pics to anyone willing to host them if they wish to see my in a  full group within the last few days.

Zalaber

RvR at the end was great fun, no dout, but the thing i best remember was Darkness Falls (ill call it DF).  There was just something about it. I liked it best because I  would get a little RvR action, get in the most fun groups, or just being chased out by an overpowering monster, DF was, in my opinion, the best place in Dark Ages of Camelot .

Ciredric

Lies, lies and more lies about finding a group.  What is it, Mythic running some kind of special to promote the game?

Go ahead set up your looking for group, you will play for hours without getting a response.  The game is truely dead.

xPaladin

DAoC is a great game no doubt. Last I played was well after Darkness Rising came out (~ Q2 - Q3 2006) and I found much of the OPs points true. Classic servers are definitely the way to go. I distinctly remember veteran players mention that the grind for artifact stuff is significantly reduced from what it used to be.



Ultimately I canceled to make room for WoW:BC -- I didn't want to play it again, but a RL buddy bought it for me for my birthday -- and I'd have still kept playing DAoC if not for that. I may scout it out again and see if it's lively enough to try and get my buddies playing.



I played Gareth when i came back (Classic). I only had minimal problems finding groups and leveling was REALLY easy. I leveled a character to mid 40ish within a two and a half weeks, thanks largely to catacombs runs. I even found a guild to join.



Granted, it's Q2 2007 and I'd expect things are a little more diminished these days what with WoW:BC and LoTRO out.



My only beef was that RvR wasn't as large scale as it used to be. There's more emphasis on 8v8 rather than larger scale combat.

Lonewolf

Definitely the best PvP orientated MMORPG out there, in fact I think it still is the only true PvP endgame orientated western MMORPG

War_Dancer

Originally posted by Zalaber

So why is it not popular, is it because it's old? Anyway I hope that everyone who left DAoC will come back to Mythic when Warhammer is released. 

I can't say why it is not popular now (but didn't it do pretty well back at it's height?) as I'm no expert on DAoC, so all I can say is why I didn't like it. When it first came out the setting as well as the focus on RvR put me off. When I eventualy tried a trial for it after the NGE hit SWG, I just didn't find it fun enough for me to want to keep playing and I was playing with friends that I have played online with for years.

Amalaric

Originally posted by Epeen

The game died when ToA came out.

Why did Trials of Atlantis kill the game?

What was so bad about that expansion?

culley65

Here is why DAoC is now dead:



They simply alienated any future for new players to start playing. You get RR12's with full ML's that run over you then you have to spend 45 minutes trucking back through new frontiers looking for a new fight.. BAM it happens again.. RR12 run over you again.Rinse, repeat.



They shot themselves in the foot. You allow players to become so overpowered the more they play that it makes any possible new players get scared away by getting pumbled to death over and over. Also ToA killed the game simply for the fact that in order to become usefull in PVP you need to farm artifacts... farm books.... lvl artifacts.... THEN level your ML's

 FINALLY you can go out and pvp.



PEOPLE JUST WANT TO KILL EACH OTHER!

Jixx

Really the expansions really change the game evertime a new one comes out.  With the exception of Catacombs and the Housing expansion Mid/Alb/Hib already ends up with a retarded advantage that annoyes people.  Really the only way they've been able to make that game balanced is the time each realm spends being overpowered.  Seems like it changes about every 4 or 5 months. 

 

 

Amalaric

I must say that it's very nice of Mystic that they keep this game up and running since I have yet to see the combined european servers reach 10k people logged in at the same time.

Even so when you keep in mind that Turbine did shutdown their MMO successor: Asherons Call 2, because it never reached the expected 35k subscriptions.

xpowderx

Well , All I can say is I am currently subbed to DAOC. I came back after playing WOW for 2 years. I play strictly on classic servers(No TOA).

I have alot of fun, and was very easy to get back into the game even with starting new characters. The game is very fun especially the rvr/bgs. I never really have problems getting groups nor have a hassle in RVR.



I do not mind trolls whos only reference point of DAOC is the game 1.5 years ago. Why?? Because they do not know. Alot of elitist types left the game after alchemy came out. Now alot of newer players play DAOC. Why did the elitists leave? Because potions are the lowbie way of getting uber stats that normally come from gear. So makes battlefields more or less even.



Leveling up in DAOC is fairly easy as well. Lots of quests, lots of mobs, lots of things to do. Only time population seems a bit low is at 3-4 am in the morning. Other than that it isnt a issue. always people to group with or do things with.



I tend to agree with the OP. DAOC is a damn good game!

Redline65

My only experience with DAoC was a free trial where I made it to about lvl 15. I loved the questing, environments, music, and the fact that you could PvP at such low levels in the dungeons. All around I felt like it's a great game that seems to offer a lot for everybody. I came pretty close to subscribing, but in the end it was just kind of hard to pull the trigger on it because the world just felt kind of empty of players. Plus since it has been around so long, I didn't want to commit to it because I was uncertain about how much longer it will last. I'm a fairly casual MMO player who enjoys the journey more than the end game, so I probably would have wanted a few years to see everything the game has to offer.

What could a well-established game like DAoC do to increase the player base at this point? Innovative new gameplay? Graphics and animation upgrade? Free to play (charge for expansions), or maybe lower the monthly fee?

ghoul31

Originally posted by Lonewolf

Definitely the best PvP orientated MMORPG out there, in fact I think it still is the only true PvP endgame orientated western MMORPG

Umm, ever hear of Shadowbane? Shadowbane has better pvp and no grind

 

 

xPaladin

Originally posted by Redline65


... Plus since it has been around so long, I didn't want to commit to it because I was uncertain about how much longer it will last. I'm a fairly casual MMO player who enjoys the journey more than the end game, so I probably would have wanted a few years to see everything the game has to offer.
What could a well-established game like DAoC do to increase the player base at this point? Innovative new gameplay? Graphics and animation upgrade? Free to play (charge for expansions), or maybe lower the monthly fee?

Actually the first comment poses a good question that I'll probably steal and make another (more general) thread with: what makes you feel that it won't be around much longer?



As for your second set of questions, one thing I'd noticed Mythic is doing with DAoC is the introduction of a storyline arc called "A Dragon's Revenge" on a fairly large scale: 6 month storyline with biweekly updates. That's actually a more intense schedule than any other story arc I've known of, including Asheron's Call.



The Funcom model would actually work pretty well for DAoC. The expansions offer the most efficient leveling and gear and are definitely good incentives for purchase.

Zalaber

I like those ideas, lowering monthly prices and making expansions hold more advance equipment.  They would possibly make up lost money from monthly prices from expansions, and all the new people would gain them more money then they're making now, however, making the game free would make it like Runescape, and that's not at all good.  Something else DAoC could do is really adveertise their great PvP, i know some people are looking for a good PvP game, and DAoC is still the best PvP out there. 

chriswsm

 

Originally posted by Epeen

It is going to be tough to have faith in mythic since they were responsible for the demon that was ToA... the very expansion pack  that killed  off 30%+ of Daocs fanbase.

Agreed.   I didnt even wait for it to come out.  I read about it and had such a bad gut feeling that I move onto pastures new.

 

Fun while it lasted tho.   Hibernia Rules

Zalaber

Another thing that I think might have killed DAoC, was overwhelming amounts of Albs, and seemingly no Hibs.  I personally had 1 toon in Alb (lvl 32), 1 in Mid (lvl 60), and four in Hib (lvls 22, 49, 60, 60).  For me though, being out numbered in PvP was great fun and it pulled me to the Hib side, but i always was irritated at the difficulty to find group in Hib, i always could find one if i really wanted, but i gained an avg of 20 lvls soloing (wth my lvl 60's).  My brother left Hib cause of lack of people, yet hated Alb cause of too many people.  So i think this might be a reason of DAoC's downfall.