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what is it like?
thunderbolt1
Member Posts: 28
I have been eyeballing this game. Looks like it has alot of history behind it. I like the look and style but I have a few concerns maybe you guys can help me out with.
- What is the grind like? Since the game is endgame focused, how long is it going to take me to get to level cap?
- Since its an older game what are the pops like? Especially in the starter areas? I like a decent amount of people around.
- Since its older, whats the endgame population like? Are there massive battles? A friend was telling me he use see hundreds of people during a "relic raid" Is this still happening? I'm only in it for the massive battles, I want to knock gates down and capture castles. This still going on????
- PvP balanced?
- PvE any fun? What is the downtime like? Again my friend said that downtime was really bad as in a lot of it.
- I don't see much on raids, are there raids? Is the game raid / loot centered like WoW??? I hope not.
- Are bots and farmers a problem?
- any other pros/cons???
Thanks
Comments
- Ive only been to about lvl 30, but DAMN it took as long to get from 20-30 as it did from 1-20. Its pretty bad, particularly considering everyone was huddled around task dungeons and no one uses the vast leveling resource known as Darkness Falls. Ive heard now that there is extra xp for grinding on the overworld too now though.
- Since its an older game what are the pops like? Especially in the starter areas? I like a decent amount of people around.
-Only good on one server, Gareth.- Since its older, whats the endgame population like? Are there massive battles? A friend was telling me he use see hundreds of people during a "relic raid" Is this still happening? I'm only in it for the massive battles, I want to knock gates down and capture castles. This still going on????
-wouldnt know, though the battleground at lvl 20 is packed(the ones before then arent though)- PvP balanced?
- Not too bad, but a lot of classes are worthless. Some of the good classes like mine(heretic) are extremely boring in PVE because they just get the same spells over and over just with a little bit more power each time. Gets kinda repetitive. HOWEVER, as a Shadowbane player also(if you want pure pvp get that, its free and lvling is lightning fast) I understand what can happen when you have too many options with youre first toon, you get completely messed up with speccing the toon.- PvE any fun? What is the downtime like? Again my friend said that downtime was really bad as in a lot of it.
-Some interesting dungeons, great lore and presentation(intro music pumps me up). I really dont think its as bad as ppl say. The grind is too slow though for a PVP based game. Its not a fluff game like EQ2 where they trick you into thinking pve is "deep" and "immersive" and but you end up doing like 20 quests at a time that all want the same thing done in different places.- I don't see much on raids, are there raids? Is the game raid / loot centered like WoW??? I hope not.
-there are, but not many people do them. People like to solo. The best raids though are on the non-classic servers, which are loot centered.- Are bots and farmers a problem?
-not on classic servers- any other pros/cons???
-If theres an MMO I go back to(right now im playing AO and Shadowbane) it'll probably be DAOC.Extremism in the defense of Liberty is no vice.
if you havent got a Buffbot you wont compete in RvR, unless you play on the classis servers ( those without the ToA expansion ), the pop is rather low, especially on EU server. the endgame is RvR focused ( though with much PvE content ViA ToA expansion ). The classes is fairly balanced, not that there isnt problems, they just arent that big anymore. Afraid you wont see any big scale RvR fights anymore, most ive seen in a while is for relic raids which normally doesnt meen more then 2-3 grps of each realm present at same time. the most fun you get is by Grp Vs Grp encounters thought, were it realy goes down who has the best tactics win
long time since ive lvled at char, but the grind shouldent be so hard as it used to be. expecially since the Downtime isnt as hardcore as it used to be.
+ great graphics for an old MMO
+ great communuty
+ best PvP in any game ( my oppinion )
- Its old, playerbase is low
- Getting your template ( equipment ) ready is hard and takes ALOT of money, which
is nessesary if you wanna compete in RvR
- Getting master lvls ( lvls you can gain after lvl 50, which gives you some
great and nessesary skills/abilitys) is a timeconsumer also
1. not as bad as it used to be in the beginning, 1-40 can be zipped through once you get to know the good lvling/farming spots (the catacombs instances/questlines make it possible in less than a week) you can also lvl much slower by bgs since pvp kills get you xp but most bgs are relatively empty.
2. depends on the server
3.Your friend gave you a pretty fair assessment of relic raids, they can be huge and the keep/castle/tower sieges are a blast.
4. pretty good balance considering the multitude of classes/specs available.
5. I personally enjoyed the pve aspect. Tip : READ the lore associated with the quests!!!
6. There are/were pretty much 2 types of raids. Dragon and TOA. unlike other games when you go on them there is a point. with Dragon raids they drop enough for everyone to come away with something. Even if its just a respec stone. With Trials of atlantis you are completing a questline on those raids, they're long but they are actually just a starting point, you have to get scrolls etc. Of course on classic you don't have to worry about ToA artifacts.
7. Bots, not so bad as before. Farmers.. shrug.
8.Its an older game, but imo it still stands as one of the better examples of what a good MMO should do. DAoC has one of the best if not the best examples of pvp with a point.
Ok my main concern at this point is populations, I'm not to sure on that. So there are two types of servers classic and TOA? I'll look that up whatever that means.
One plus is from what I'm gathering is raids are not so popular? So is the game equipment based? Crafted, quest items or what???
From what I understand there are battlefields AND a frontier where everyone meets and fights? How big is it??? How does it work???
The grind doesn't sound to attractive. How long does it take on average to get to 50?
I'm picking up a mixed message on the "relic raids" one guy says they are not happening the other says yes its what my buddy said. I would hate to get all hyped about a game and invest a bunch of time only to find it dead at the end where its suppose to be the open war.
I don't get it, screenshots look good, raiding not required and the PvP sounds very interesting and you guys are saying the balance is more or less ok.....so whats the problem with the populations??? Is it just because its an older game? Or is the grind that hard like Lineage II?
Is there a free trial? I'm getting more interested.
The last time I played DAoC was in December. I played DAoC for a total of 4 years before that though, starting in Sept of 2002. Classic servers are the newest server available and were created because they won the poll that Mythic put out on which type of server people wanted the most. People that roll on Classic server tend to dislike all the raiding, scroll collecting for powerful artifacts, and the rest of the PvE offered in ToA, because they would rather just get to 50 asap and start PvPing. People who dislike bots also roll on the Classic server because there are buff restriction in place that for the most part prevents them. Farming in DAoC is nothing like that in Lineage 2. You really don't see farmers running around and you probably won't considering the age of the game.
You are getting conflicting reports on how RvR is because it differs on each server. Gareth, which is the Classic server will have the most people playing in the Frontiers. Depending on which alliance you join and the time of day you play, you might or might not get into large raids. Large raids are the privelage of joining an alliance with good leaders and also playing at the time of a large raid. Anyone can fight in the Frontiers and in my alliance (one of the good ones) all levels were welcomed. In fact, I gained a lot of levels just helping my alliance in RvR. Sure you can't do much, but it is a distraction for the enemy and it is helpfull in its own way.
Population is subject to server. The server with the highest population is Gareth and at peek times it hosts around 2500 people out of a possible 3000 for server load. So population is good, you just have to be social enough to find groups and the willingness to explore a little to find a good xp per hour place. But most people should be willing to point you in the right direction. If you are coming from Lineage 2, which it sounds like you are, DAoC is a big step up for you. By the way, winning is based on skill, which class you are and which you are fighting, and what type of gear you have. The best gear is both crafter made and dropped from dungeons. So you don't need to raid if you don't want. Raiding is nothing like WoW in DaoC
MMORPG's w/ Max level characters: DAoC, SWG, & WoW
Currently Playing: WAR
Preferred Playstyle: Roleplay/adventurous, in a sandbox game.
Actually no, I'm not coming from LineageII I was using it as a referance for grinding.
What would make DAoC a "big step" vs L2 anyway? I have played L2 in the past and I know how the game works. It doesn't sound like DAoC is going to measure up in terms of mass PvP. Its a gear based game but so are they all so far, there is no "skill" in MMOs like in other types of games. They are all about items you have and what level you are. You are saying that DAoC is different? So bascally what you guys are saying is there is one highly populated server. The raiding part sounds good.
Whats the best website for more in depth info?
Try the 14-day trial and find out yourself
All I can say is that this is one hell of a game!
http://www.darkageofcamelot.com/
I bet you'll like it!
and choose a Classic server
I leveled a Heretic from 7 - 29 this evening. no /level avail for a Heretic even if I wanted to. I was playing a ToA server - not classic and found plenty of people to group with. I decided to skip Thid - and go for Molvik instead. I dont care much for the way some play thid and Molvik is a blast - I can turn xp off and stay there until my rps are capped for Molvik and have a great time too. Then I'll worry about the other levels to 50 --
I like pve - but found it a better idea to make a couple chars on Gaheris for that - Thats the ruleset for there anyway and all are very friendly.
There are some farmers -- I find many of them kinda courteous.
There are bots on all servers - yes even Classic - they just put them on auto follow in groups - I have played for several years without a bot and do fine -- grouping and a good guild make the difference there. I like playing healer type toons best - and find that many like having a 'live healer' in a group.
Ultimately you need to decide for yourself - get the trial and give it a try -- you dont really get an unbiased answer here all the time ... ppl want to promote their playstyle or fave server. Check it out and I'm pretty sure you'll like it.
I'm not sure, because it is hard to convey tone over written word, but it sounds like you are getting argumentive with me and others. Keep in mind that we are here helping you. Hell, I don't even play this game anymore, but I help you because I know this game like the back of my hand and it is great. If you are not being argumentive, then ignore the first couple of sentences.
"The grind" as you call it can be done within a couple weeks. That of course means no stopping for BG's for too long or stopping and exploring the scenery. I found the PvE very fun. This was my first game, so I was trained to find grouping with others and grinding, dungeon crawling, and doing PvE and PVP raids fun. I enjoyed every aspect and didn't feel any of it was a grind.
DAoC takes skill to play and you will soon find that out as you get pwned in the BG's. The skill I speak of is knowing each class in the game, their weaknesses and their strengths, and which skills or spells can beat which ones. Learning how to play your character takes skill too. Knowing which class is resistant, neutral, and weak to crush, slash, pierce, fire, ice, matter etc etc. takes some time.
Keep in mind that reading a how to guide written by a person with skill can ruin it for you. Of course a game doesn't take skill if you read the guide on how to beat everybody. It's like buying a cheat code for a console game instead of learning how to beat the game yourself. Anyways, I agree with what another said. Try the trial and see for yourself. Population levels feel different on different games. Plus you can see how the PvP is on your own, since you can PvP at lvl 1. And yes people actually PvP at lvl 1-5, because of the 1-5 PvP dungeon right by the starting town. The BG for 5-9 is very active too on the Classic server. Oh, one more thing. On ToA servers, gear is very important, whereas on the Classic servers it is more dependant on Realm Rank, class played, and skill. Of course your resists really help too.
MMORPG's w/ Max level characters: DAoC, SWG, & WoW
Currently Playing: WAR
Preferred Playstyle: Roleplay/adventurous, in a sandbox game.
Alright lad I'll give you my opinion since I just started really. I leveled from 1-22 in 3 days of hardly any play, wasn't hard and it was a blast. There are what're called Battlegrounds and these are PvP areas with players that're your level they're the PvP you goto on your way to about 40 from what I know. They're a blast too I leveled from 17 to 22 in them. On the Classic cluster there's plenty of RvR int the frontiers from what I've heard from guildies so don't worry about it being abandonded. Over all this game's a blast and I would give the free trial a shot if you still aren't sure.
P.S. if you go onto the classic cluster PLEASE GOD don't play as Hibernia they waaaay outnumber the others from what I've seen.
You will find that going to RVR at 50 without a 100 plat template and all the superduper items all you will be is free rps for the lifers.If you wanna pay $15 a month to do that then have fun .You will go to bigboy rvr at RR5 max if u stay in cathalvalley to rr5 even then the lifers who are rr9-10+ will wipe the floor with you and get their free rps.Thanks for playing daoc and it is working as intended.Find a new game u can get in on the ground floor.The game has little to zero new players and the new ones after getting wiped horribly by the templated out lifers just cancel.But HEY me and the other 75% of their population that has quit cant be wrong .When i first started playing 5 yrs ago Pelinor was a low population server wth 1800+ a night now they cluster 3-5 servers depending on cluster to get 1300 or so people.People can whine but the numbers are pretty accurate.
I hate to say - there is some merit to what he says here about the high rr people. Mythic has catered to them for some time now. I suppose partly cuz they are so loud and outspoken about 'their' way.
I don't have a great deal of respect for - some - of the quitters though - quit fine- but no need to continue rants everywhere else after you are gone. LOL and then wonder why new people dont want to come try it out.
There have been some big changes lately and more to come -- come back and see for real instead of the same old rhetoric. The do read the feedback - form is on the Herald. Dont say it doesnt work - you possibly never tried that approach - and then again - we all cant always have our way...
I still enjoy the game. When I get tired of the RvR - I go do something else.
As far as raids and population, a lot of naysayers here are idiots. Was a crazy battle last night in NF with mids and albs both posting good numbers in hibland trying to take their relics back on the classic server. OOn toa servers where I have 50's there's always NF action you just have to be willing to find it. One thing to remember, you can't be lazy and expect the battle to come to whatever keep you decided to port into. Join a chat group and ask. It blows me away how many people here will cry about something that becomes a complete non-issue with almost no effort. Asking will get you almost everything you need in this game. The problem is, instead of giving new players like yourself the tools to get what you need., they would rather convince you there is no hope. /who is a command that does wonders. Want a group for pve? Do a /who level where level is the number of the level of people you want to explore with. Most people in this game are smart enough to know that more people working towards a goal, the faster you will get there and are usually happy to have another hand in pve. /who cg and /who bg will tell you the names of every player on your cluster that has started a chat group or a battlegroup. These are a way of connecting more than just one group and cg's bg's are the two ways that you can instantly find people who share the same goals as yourself. Only you actually have to type 7 characters to find this information. I know typing 7 characters into your keyboard is a nigh impossible task if you listen to some people on here, but its worth it. You won't be solo and will have a blast.
As far as high RR toons go the realm ranks only get you so much. Just don't leave Molvik at least until you cap your rps there. Once you hit RR 3 you're on you're way to making a little bit of balance against your foes. What the people that are crying about getting owned by high RR people aren't telling the newer players is that the best abilities are on 10-15 minute timers. Most of the abilities you can get, even at RR 8 aren't going to pile up into an unstoppable toon unless you are solo and run into another solo. And in large scale battles, the chance of you being at the end of an RA dump is slim. Sure reavers save their bombs for the best possible times, but they can only use them once. They can't spam these abilities over and over.
If you stay in the starter guild you will also have a lot of other people at lower levels who are always happy to have another person along. If you stay there until you are knowledgable enough about the game to use the tools there to find more people on your own, you shouldn't have any problems. As far as having a good template goes, all the tricks you can get with /use items are great, but there are tons of drops in this game that are easy to get and will temp a toon nicely if combined with player crafted gear. But again, this takes effort because you actually have to go to the capitol cities and talk to other players....
-More then half the classes in the game are useless and you will rarely if ever find any kind of group in RvR with them.
-RVR is basically 8 vs 8 groups running around. There are no keep siegse (thanks to animists) as nobody is willing to put up with the bullshit when there is no reward, and rarely any relic raids. You will rarely see large zerg battles like you would see constantly back in the day.
-If you don't play a specific class / spec you will rarely get into a half decent group that won't get destroyed in 10 seconds. If you don't, you will sit in a keep for hours spamming LFG in chat
-Leveling is much faster then before but still rather dull and uninteresting. There is too much grinding involved for a PvP focused game.
-Population is very unbalanced. Don't ever play on mid, there aren't enough people around to accomplish anything compared to the other two realms.
If you do happen to join make sure you play a very group friendly support class so you can get into groups and do something. If you don't you will sit there spamming chat and just be ignored. There are enough casters and tanks around, and unless you have incredibly good gear and high RR you will rarely be invited.
Don't bother joining this game if your an anti-social basterd....all it takes to get friendly answers is beeing friendly yourself. If you want to play alone, make sure to choose a stelther(the days when you just had to be 50 to get a group is LOOONG gone.
"I actually cook my meat with nothing but my burning hatred for vegetables"
So do I.
I wouldn't listen to most of what this guy says, because he is only half way telling the truth. More than likely, this person never left the newb guild and wanders why he can't find a group. This game is very group focused from about lvl 40 + and it is really easy to find groups if you know how to open your mouth and talk to people. Spamming a channel isn't being social, it is just being an asshole. When you join a guild with a good alliance you rarely every find it hard to find a group or raid group. At least that was my experience every time I play this game.
To sum this up, what he says is true if you are anti-social and stick to the newb guild or no guild at all. But you can find a group no matter what class or spec you play if you join a decent guild. No good guild will turn a willing and able body away either, so there is no excuse not to join one.
MMORPG's w/ Max level characters: DAoC, SWG, & WoW
Currently Playing: WAR
Preferred Playstyle: Roleplay/adventurous, in a sandbox game.
WELL I TRIED IT....
Lord it sucks.......lol.........just kidding
Actually not bad at all so far. The people in the newbie guild where very helpful and nice. The graphics are pretty nice although some of the movments seem slide around a bit, nothing serious. It has a nice realistic look to it. I hate to say it but the game looks better in some ways then the new game Vanguard. I went on the "classic" server and it seems pretty populated. I wouldn't brag about it but there are people. I find this really odd, I did some reading up on it and it looks like it has much of what new games don't have or are trying to add.
It has player boats???, housing, world PvP, player mounts, PvE feels a bit slow paced, huge amount of races and weapons and the 3 realms are all different. Did I read there are flying mounts also?
So whats up with this game? Why is it so under populated? What dark secrets does it hold?
ToA expansion is one of the main reasons, it makes the PvP end game way too gear centric and dependant on what timered abilities are up. Even with it made easier, many people still dont like it.
Other reason is balance issues, some people get frustrated that their class/realm isnt powerful enough and quit....It's true to some extent, but there's no one class that cannot kill anyone or anything like that.
Last reason is WoWs advertising blitz, and a lack of advertising by Mythic...If it didnt draw players away, it just didnt lead to new players joining the game.
Glad you like it!
I don't know about any dark secrets...but! I think EA/Mythic has failed in advertising against other mmorpgs and released one bad expansion (ToA)
I didn't mind ToA much but loads of others didn't like it at all. But since you now choosed a classic server that expansion won't be any issue for you since it's simply not on those servers.
Lets hope DAoC keeps you entertained for along time, I know it has been for me the last five years.
Unfortunately, every MMORPG starts to lose traction, and I have yet to see a company that has found a good formula to retain some semblence of their client base. It might not be possible...people like new things...and once they tire of them, they rarely go back....
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
"I actually cook my meat with nothing but my burning hatred for vegetables"
I read the post mde by SpeedyBanana on VN General boards and I'm not too surprised about his attitude after the "Oh So Leets" got done having their fun at his expense so I am not too surprised at his tone here...
Sorry your experience's have been poor - but the game is better than that.
Not all the toons you made were group "un-friendly" / Yes it is true that you can spend a lot of time trying to get a group in RvR- and tht is true for all servers - sometimes. The best advice I have to offer is to get to know a few people and get into a good guild. On The Herald there is a feature once a week for Guild News and you can find guilds that are actively recruiting there. That changes from week to week too --
If I had had your experiences I might feel the same -- try again - you might like it.