thinking about coming back to DaoC

Vegalord

I was thinking about coming back to DaoC, and i'm curious as to whether or not I NEED ToA and catacombs? I have no clue as to whether I can make due without them, could anyone fill me in?

punkrock

yes you will ^_^

Vegalord

Damn, guess i'm not comin back then, heh. *sigh* Back to carebearedness!~.

JulianDracos

You do not need them.  You only need the original game and SI. 

There are some that think in order to compete in RvR you need to have ToA items (which you can simply buy from people if you want).  Catacombs gives you additional zones, graphics upgrade, and new classes.  It has no impact on RvR outside of the new classes. 

Popori

While ToA is great for artifacts (more powerful versions of normal armor/weapons, pain in the butt to get and level if you haven't heard) they're really not required in any way, shape, or form. So no, you don't need ToA.

Catacombs was basically a PvE expansion that, aside from the new classes and some decent item drops, has zero to do with RvR. It makes leveling a lot easier, but DAoC's leveling is about as easy as anyone could ask for as is, without a /level 50 command.

All in all, if you're really just wanting to RvR, then you'll find that Realm Levels and perhaps a guild will be the biggest requirements. The free level system, and consignment merchants will make getting gear and experience simple.

Server clustering, though many hate it, has made all the servers pretty active. The new Battlegrounds from levels 1-44 have also met a good response in letting people PvP their characters to 50 (though admittedly it does take some time, depending on activeness of the realms).

Overall, the one downfall many returning players met was a lack of lower level groups. On my servers (Lancelot which isn't clustered, and Nimue which is clustered) I've found many lower level parties to play around and goof off with.

So, depending really on what you want, you can make your own judgement. Didn't touch RvR as many people have different views on it. I personally like the new way.

Ogrelin

You don't "need" any expansions but they are good to have if u want better graphics ect.

pixiecrys

Depends on what you want to do, if you are primarily into RvR then ToA is very helpful (I do have ToA, but hardly ever go there, and only Master Level 1, and dont have alot of problems in RvR, but many claim it is needed)

Primarily into PvE and like to solo, then you are gonna want Catacombs (but keep in mind that ToA is needed to run Catacombs).  I dont know many that group in Catacombs, so if you always group, it is easy to get away without it, and I know many people that dont have it.

The Platnim edition of DAoC comes with DaOC, SI, and ToA and costs the same as just getting ToA by itself, so I recomend that, also easier to instal that way since it is just 3 disks for everything, unlike installing them seperatly with 5 disks (I think it is).

Kallisti

You don't NEED catacombs, but its useful. If you are levelling its second to none (unless you can get into some Modernagrav groups in Mid

ToA is a MUST - when you get to RvR you will NEED Master Levels and Artifacts. I'm afraid you can't just buy artifacts - you have to get encounter credit and you can only "activate" them in ToA. These are some of the BEST items in the game so you'll need those to compete.

Its a sad fact, but you HAVE to be TOA'd up to compete in modern RvR