How's the PVE?

Pantastic

I'm thinking about picking up DAOC since I've heard so much good stuff about the PVP game in it. One thing that's got me hesitant is the PVE side, that I'll be spending a good chunk of time on before I'm leveled/geared for PVP. How fun is the leveling up side of the game? I'm not interested in spending days on end grinding challengeless mobs or camping spawn spots, and I've heard some kind of bad things about the game. I'll be on a classic server if that makes any difference (I hate raiding).

Evelknievel

Classic server, go Gareth. You will enjoy it. Alot of people and alot

of BG's from 1 thru 50. Leveling is simple thru Task Dungeons (which is the most

popular) to level. But there are many other ways to level as well.

Buy the EPIC Edition of DAoC and you will be set.

Leveling 1 thru 30 thru TD can be done fairly fast. Get your mount a LvL 35 and your

off to enjoy the game. I hear when you hit level 40, is when the game gets interesting.

JonMichael

I've been playing DAoC for a few months now and my highest toon is a level 40 Vampiir on the Gaharis server (which is Co-op- no RvR or PvP except for dueling), so most of my in game experience has been with PvE.

PvE in DAoC is AWESOME!!  The world is immense and the variety of mobs is fantastic.  Some mobs will run away when you attack, some will call for help for other nearby mobs... it's always a learning experience as to what mobs act what way. 

There are dungeons, instances, zones and plenty of interesting quests to do in your early levels.  The game *really* opens up for you at 40 with the Champion and Master Levels. 

I've been totally satisfied with the PvE aspect so far... I can only imagine what RvR and PvP are like, since they seem to be the most highly rated aspects of the game.

Enjoy!

 

JulianDracos

If you play the Classic servers there is no ToA so no massive raid content. There is still some optional raid content like dragon slaying. The best droped gear in the game comes from Darkspire and you can only take 1 Full group in of people there.

If you hate grinding you will not want to do Task Dungeons. That is just a 30 min grind factory. they have their purpose, but if you do not want to grind then you can avoid them. There are great quests in catacombs you can do in less time for more XP anyway.

There are some good quests/encounters/instances you can do that are interesting and good XP.

You can go to the battlegrounds and kill other players for XP. This is make leveling a lot more fun.

Even if you spend time in the battlegrounds, you will most likely be level 50 in 160-240 hours played. With help, you could get it done in 72-96 hours. I would not suggest rushing the first time. Besides not learning how to play your class well, you will have missed out on realm points in the battlegrounds and this will place you at a disadvantage at level 50.

I honeslty found levels 1-30 a lot more interesting than after level 40. You have one more battleground level 40-45. It is not as well populated as some of the other ones, but is decent. Leveling starts to take a lot longer. At level 48 you no longer get a free level so you are forced to grind through two long levels. People often save quests for this part to make them go faster. You have to wait until 50 I think for the Circle of 5. Once you hit level 45 there is nothing to look forward to except building your level 50 template and getting to 50. Neither I think are the high points of the game in terms of PvE.

As for buying a horse, I have found them worthless to have. You can teleport almost anyplace you want to go. Most people do not want you to use them in RvR. People want horses for the coolness factor, but in order to get the best looking horses you need to be level 50, champion level 5, and have 40 plat set aside for a horse that is no better than the ugly brown horse you can get earlier!

Sorry horses are just my pet peve. They are only there for looks really, but their price guide was meant to only benefit the farmers of this world.

Maxzius

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Originally posted by JulianDracos

Even if you spend time in the battlegrounds, you will most likely be level 50 in 160-240 hours played. With help, you could get it done in 72-96 hours. I would not suggest rushing the first time. Besides not learning how to play your class well, you will have missed out on realm points in the battlegrounds and this will place you at a disadvantage at level 50.

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Well said, and very important. I can not stress this enough.

brihtwulf

The only problem with the PvE in DAoC is that most players are obsessed with doing the Task Dungeons.  So most people never leave them.  The world is vast and some parts are quite beautiful, but you likely won't see anyone else out there as you're exploring.  I wandered around fighting at several of the camps throughout areas when I played, and I literally never saw anyone unless I was by a TD or a portal.  Now, you CAN get groups to go out with you, but you have to be the one to make the groups, and often people won't want to because the TDs are just easier and often faster exp.  So for me, the PvE was very poor in my opinion unless you like to solo everything or if you don't mind scrounging for a group to come with you.

The game's a very good game, but they shot themselves in the foot with TDs and all the catering to veteran players they have done.  They should really do something to encourage players to go back out into the world and explore more.  You can only grind TDs for so long before it will bore you to tears...

JonMichael

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Originally posted by brihtwulf

The only problem with the PvE in DAoC is that most players are obsessed with doing the Task Dungeons.  So most people never leave them.  The world is vast and some parts are quite beautiful, but you likely won't see anyone else out there as you're exploring.  I wandered around fighting at several of the camps throughout areas when I played, and I literally never saw anyone unless I was by a TD or a portal.  Now, you CAN get groups to go out with you, but you have to be the one to make the groups, and often people won't want to because the TDs are just easier and often faster exp.  So for me, the PvE was very poor in my opinion unless you like to solo everything or if you don't mind scrounging for a group to come with you.
The game's a very good game, but they shot themselves in the foot with TDs and all the catering to veteran players they have done.  They should really do something to encourage players to go back out into the world and explore more.  You can only grind TDs for so long before it will bore you to tears...

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brihtwulf,

What server are you on? 

I am actually finding the exact opposite.  I play on Gaharis (small, co-op server) and Merlin and although there are some people who I see go back and forth to the DT, the majority of people are out and about, adventuring.

Gaharis usually only has a few hundred people online at one time, and I am always amazed that even in the most remote areas, I tend to see a few people in small groups or soloing.  The other night I was in Darkness Falls, and it was LOADED with people and groups.  Most of the other dungeons that I have explored usually have at least a few groups adventuring inside. If I'm in a dungeon solo'ing and there are groups around, I usually get an invite to join them. I can solo or group with others if I want to... and if there is a task or quest that I need help with, my guild is usually ready to help whenever I ask.

While I'm sure there are people who just want to grind to 50 for RvR doing DT's, there are plently out there who are enjoying the whole game.  A good guild and some community chatter would probably change your outlook. 

brihtwulf

I played on the Gareth server, and most of the players I saw were doing TDs though some were in catacombs also.  As far as the rest of the world, I would only rarely see another person out.  I got tired of doing TDs or trying to solo by myself out in the middle of a world I was unfamiliar with.  It's the main reason I quit playing.  Otherwise, it's a great game.  Unfortunately my exprience wasn't that good.  I just got the feeling that the TDs were so accessible and such quick exp it was a deterrent to go elsewhere.  The PvP was a lot of fun though.