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Is Darkfall a game for me? Some questions about Darkfall...
I must say I've been gaining interest in Darkfall over the past few months, but a recent tutorial video didn't really improve my view of the game much. I think this is a shame, because I was actually looking forward to giving this game a try in the future. I do have a couple of questions, though, which I would love to see answered. After all, as this game lacks a trial, I would like to know if it is the type of game I can appreciate, before going ahead and buying it outright.
The tutorial video raised some questions to me that I would like to see answered by somebody who has had a bit of experience playing Darkfall. The reason for this is that I am intrigued by the massive wars I have been seeing, but I am also strongly held back by all those negative reviews and posts you see hanging around on the internet:
- Is the game really about running back and forth killing goblins, banking the money and items you make in the process? I realise there's more to it than that, for instance in the form of sieges, but is there anything besides sieges? Can I, for instance, if I rather would, become a crafter and craft complicated, expensive items for a profit, and if I choose to do so, will that also mean that, BECAUSE I focus on crafting, I will be a better crafter and be able to craft significantly better products than somebody who mostly focuses on combat and does crafting on the side? Or can a character excel at everything, eventually probably leading to that same repetitive gameplay of gearing up and going for sieges?
- Does the game's combat system shoe-horn you into a particular play style? From what I can see, one has to take up magic on the side and focus on melee skills. Is it a viable option for me to only focus on melee, to only focus on ranged, or to only focus on magic? By this, I mean to ask whether I could choose to ignore melee, for instance, focus on magic instead, and still have a fairly equal chance (obviously depending on personal skill) of beating an equally skilled opponent who has opted for melee. Despite not liking class systems very much, can I actually BE a DPSer who relies on magic, a tank who excels at slowing his opponents and being on the frontlines, a warlord type of character who is particularly good at increasing his allies' capabilities, etcetera? Or are we all paladins with magic for seasoning?
I guess the bottom line of my questions is: to what extent is this game really a sand-box rather than a MMOFPS with some RPG elements like skills and stats tacked on?
Let me reinforce that I do not aim to belittle Darkfall here. The question mostly boils down to a matter of taste, and mine simply is not with constant siege warfare and IS with a full-fledged sand-box game. My reason for asking is that I appear to find it hard to really judge this game for what it is from the comments you read everywhere. Obviously, there's fanboys, and obviously, there are trolls, and it seems that even more official reviewers (see Eurogamer or Paragus' rants, for instance) can be counted under either group. What the internet seems to be lacking is a proper, objective review of Darkfall which tells the audience what to expect when they decide to start playing the game. I have no use of people only telling me what elements they found to be sorely missing, nor do comments that only state how awesome certain elements are help me much. I would like to see an account of the fun and the not-so-fun parts of Darkfall, its pros and its cons, etcetera. Can anybody provide?
Comments
With the lack of a cap on skills to learn you will forever be leveling your character. Leave the "must have max stats" mentality at the door. Just play the game how you want to play it. That's what I do and am having the time of my life. The guide you are referring to is an efficiency guide.
As to your crafting concern, yes if you focus on that you will be better than someone who does everything because you will advance quicker with your focus. The one character per account works great as well because you will make a name for yourself...for good or bad.
You can play Darkfall however you would like to.
Yes, you could focus on crafting, and make some really nice stuff...and make a nice profit. But at the same time if you needed a break, you could pick up a weapon or staff and go find a fight.
You can totally focus on Magic.....but you will probably need at least rudimentary melee skills to deal with certain situations. And the reverse is true as well...you can really focus on melee, with just a few utility spells that are kinda of necessary (such as the ability to heal yourself).
With the skill system the way it is, you can really just play the way you want to play, and your character will develop along those lines.
This game is honestly about doing whatever you want, and don't let anyone else ever tell you otherwise. All the people complaining about the grind "required" to be viable in the game are simply playing it incorrectly by my count. You don't have to grind to have fun, no matter what. These people have the WoW mentality that they have to blitz to endgame as fast as possible, meaning that they don't value character development at all. If they want to rush through developing your character as fast as possible in order to PVP (like they do), I recommend that they play WoW or Team Fortress, since there's little point in really differentiating the two at that point.
#1: If you focus on crafting you will be crafting enchanted high-rank weapons and armor much more quickly than someone who doesn't focus on it. This is a totally viable way to play and I know that early when the EU server came out, within a few weeks someone was selling very high ranked enchanted equipment because he focused on crafting. I don't think he had PVP skills at all. By the way, there's an upcoming expansion that's purportedly going to give crafters some serious love.
#2: None of the game's systems shoe-horn you into doing anything. You can focus 100% archery and be completely viable. Certain roles are (obviously) better for certain situations, but there's so much different stuff you'll encounter especially if you PVP that you don't ever have to conform to one specific mold unless you want to.
It is the most sandbox you'll get right now outside of second life. I've played a lot of MMORPGs, and Darkfall allows the player tons of freedom. But, you'll have to try it. Everyone has a different perspective on the game. Go in with an open mind and lose the traditional MMORPG mentality and you'll love it.
- Theguruofreason
I have to agree with the previous posters. I just started playing about 2 weeks ago (Only about 10 - 15 total hours playtime so far though), and I'm finding it highly enjoyable, and I'm possibly the worst PvP'er ever. A few statements:
1) The tutorial you saw was the Accelerated Character Development guide - It's called that for a reason. His intent was to show you the fastest way to make money and get your combat skills up, and it shows that well. He doesn't show things like mining, fishing, herb gathering, alchemy, woodworking, cooking, enchanting, or weapon/armor smithing because, well.. I'd be a dull movie! Fighting mobs and running to the bank constantly is the easiest way to ensure a steady gain in your combat skills, as well as minimize losses from other PK'ers and from dying in general.
And believe me, you will die.. A lot. That's more of sound advice for whatever way you decide to play - The more you bank, the less you lose when you DO die.
2) I've done a bit of goblin killing, but the Red's and PK's tend to wait there to stalk new players for easy kills. So instead, I've been focusing on my crafting and gathering skills first instead of my combat. I was going to focus mostly on crafting anyway, but I thought I would need more in the way of combat skills to ensure I could harvest with confidence. Thus far, I've barely left the starting area, and have more than enough to do from a crafting perspective.
3) As said, being a crafter can be quite profitable. instead of killing goblins and whatnot for gold, I intend to sell the items I craft to skill up to NPC merchants. Since I'm doing all the harvesting, even if the NPC's only buy it for half or less of what they sell, that's pure profit without even making items players actually want. When you can, you'll make much more money, and there are supposedly player vendors.. I think. I'm new, I've heard of them, but haven't seen one yet.
4) Get ready for the UI shock. It's really, really different and will take some getting used to. Hope you have quick fingers, because I sure don't.
Like everyone said, it's whatever you want to do. Personally, I'd advise you to be wary of joining clans at frist - Any clan can (and often does) declare war on any other clan and immediately kill members of that clan with impunity. At least by not being in a clan, you are not likely to be killed by blues, and more by reds and racial opponents. Ask questions in general, and often, you'll get an answer.
And also, be sure you have thick skin. Just like any MMO, there are a lot of good people out there, but they're not the ones always doing the talking. The loudest tend to be the most annoying or juvenille. You can still turn off chat, like anything else, of course, but sometimes you want to see some information like where reds are heading and whatnot.
Oh... And you'll die.. A lot. But honestly? This is the most fun I've had in an MMO in a very, very long time.
I wont say much because anything I would have said is already posted. :-)
I say give it a shot but be sure to go in with an open mind rather then comparing it to other MMOs. Too many people these days do nothing but pick at new MMOs rather then enjoy experience...its your money, take your time and enjoy it. The more friends you bring with you to Darkfall or meet ingame, the better your experience will be. I can almost garentee you wont be dissapointed.
"I play Tera for the gameplay"
I bought the game yesterday and after a weird setback (Had to change the system language to English otherwise the game wouldnt load) created a Human character and played for an hour or so. So far I like what I see, but I couldnt get into any sort of pvp yet. Well, someone accidentally hit me with magic but he invited me to party soon after. I'm following Valroth's youtube videos, they are pretty good at teaching the basics of gameplay.
Wow, thanks for all the answers, everybody! This really sounds like a game I ought to be playing. I'll probably be picking it up sometime soon :-)