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New Player (A Few Simple Questions)
Darkened
Member Posts: 183
Evening all,
After years of passing DAoC by, I finally decided to give it a shot.
I am a huge fan of PvP games, and the RvR aspect of DAoC is very intrigueing to say the least, I'm left with a few questions:
(1) For a North American player, which server would be the best choice for optimal performance (latency)?
(2) I enjoy playing Stealth Melee and Ranged classes, are DAoC's Stealthers and Rangers viable for decent solo pvp? I specifically mention solo because I tend to go out as abit of a lone wolf, not that I don't enjoy good guild chat or the company of friends cause I certainly do.
(3) Estimated time to 50 for a new player with 4-6 hours a day playtime on weekdays?(weekends 8+)
(4) Able to become competitive with players who are veterans within the game? (I dont mean "instant gratification", I'm refering to after a player has invested time and dedication in learning there class and honing there skills).
(5) General tips and advice? things you wish you knew when you started that might help a new player?
(6) Helpful Fansites and Fan Forums?
Thanks in advance for any and all replies, DAoC really seems to be the diamond in the rough that I have been seeking, and I want to start off on the best possible course of action - arming myself with knowledge!
Comments
(1) All the US servers are located in the same place so pretty much any will be ok. I play from Finland and my latency is around 200ms so that's not bad.
(2) They work well solo, but I would recommend grouping with other stealthers. Don't expect to get an invite to a 'visible' group tho.
(3) Depends on the amount of powerleveling really. In midgard my Spiritmaster was 50 at /played time 5 hours so, but that was a HC modernagrav PL group so. If you solo I'd say a week from which adjusting to the game is 1 or 2 days. I recommend you keep the advice and lfg channel open.
(4) Thankfully skill still plays a part in DAoC unlike in more recent 'pvp' mmorpg releases, but Realm Abilities which you get after you've played pvp a while will play big part in combats between equally skilled. I recommend you research RA's before you train them. Also specializations matter a lot. Getting a respec for skills as a new player is not always easy so I recommend you plan your trainings. http://daoctb.sourceforge.net/ is a handy tool planning your char.
(5) As sad as it sounds I'd recommend to buy 2 accounts to begin with and level a 'buffbot' on the second one. Unless you decide to roll on Classic server (see classic server specs from www.camelotherald.com) where you'll do just fine using buff potions which are quite cheap since everyone use them.
(6) vnboards.ign.com, www.camelotherald.com (official community pages)
1) Classic servers are your best bet. Don't choose Gareth however since its the most crowded its expensive to buy house lots...(which you'll want one day). Ector is a good alternative. Besides having the most players Classic servers don't require you to have a 2nd account to buff your character with. (buff-botting)
2) Stealh classes are viable, but you will really have to make sure you get their spec correct, right down to the gear you wear and the points you spec in (both from leveling and killing folks). This is not unique to stealthers, but mage classes are more forgiving. As mentioned though, you will rarely be invited to groups except from other stealthers...especially 8 mans which are considered the epitome of PVP in DAOC by some.
3) With your play time.... won't take more than a few weeks.... less if you can find someone like a VAMP willing to help powerlevel you.... look for a good guild early....
4) Weeeellll... how patient are you? The key to success in PVP is you must earn enough gold to get your gear close to on par with the rest of top players..... (and its a lot of gold) and more importantly, (and significantly more time consuming) is you must get your realm rank to 5 L0 before you really will be competitive. (its a virtual level 51 in a game where one level between players makes a big difference)
And the truth is...while getting to 5L0 makes you competitive, you will still be destroyed by the few players out there who might be really high up there.... say RR 8L0 and higher...and those ranks take a hella long time to achieve. (this assumes they are good at their class however, and not everyone is)
5) Honestly....my first level 50 was a stealther (Infiltrator) and it wasn't a good move.... your better bet is to start one of the characters that are fabulous in PVE leveling/farming, say a Vamp or Necro and use it to fund your 2nd character, which can be a stealther..... now, if you plan on buying gold then this isn't so important....but otherwise, DAOC is a game you need to win economically (as with most games) to be competitive, best to start out there first IMO.
6) Fansites have really gone down hill over the years from the glory days, however VNBoards is still a good source of information and a place you can ask people questions about the game.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
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Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
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"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
Which would be better for money a Vampiir or a Necromance?
Well nowadays you get money so easily it's hardly a problem (for example you can nowadays quest yourself from 39 to 50 and from those quests you get around 13 platinum pieces)
Both can lvl to 50 under a week easily...
Just think about which stealter class you want to select after you have some ca$h(plats)... Choose Hib/Alb/Mid first
Many play in the BG's ........BATTLE GROUNDS...and never leave.
Very sound advice, thank you so much for that write up - I will be rolling a Vampiir on a Classic Server as my first character.
I have no intention of buying gold (didn't even realise DAoC had a RMT industry), so what you've said makes perfect sense to me.
Much appreciated sir
I fail to see your point.
What does this have to do with anything mentioned in my questions? nothing that I can see, possibly trying to deter me from playing the game?
If your trying to troll I suggest you stop, unless you enjoy suspensions from the site, cause I report trolls in my threads instantly.
1. Doesn't matter. I would only go Classic if you are going to play an Archer. If not, then play on the most populated regular cluster.
2. Do not play an assassin unless you only want to hunt other assassins. Archers are given an ability that allows then to see assassin classes at a distance and shoot at them. This Archers will always keep assassins out of battles. Archers for assassins to become glorified tanks because once you see an archer 99% of the time your only choice is to flee if he hasn't seen you or drop your stealth and sprint for him. The only other option for an assassin is to go to the Lab (RvR dungeon) because the close distances often negate most of the advantages archers have. Both classes are more solo or group with your own kind. Archers can get groups outside of this if they want, assassins only get pitty because they bring nothing to a group, and Archers are better scouts because not only can they now see all stealthed classes, but they can shoot them as well.
3. So you will spend 36 hours a week playing. You can do it in 72 hours, so two weeks. To make yourself more viable by at least earning realm ranks, then it might take you 3 into 4 weeks to get max level and everything you want - armor, weapons, champion levels, ML abilties, and most importanly Realm Abilties.
4. There are those highly dedicated players that have played their class for years and have special set ups, and are Realm Rank 10+. You will die without a chance against these groups. Now, with that said, there are not lots of these groups around. If you get to RR3 which you can do pretty easily before reaching 50, then you will be at a slight disadvantage compared with your "average" verteran player mostly because your character is not as strong as theirs. Once you played for awhile longer and get to Realm Rank 5, then you will be on par with most players in the game in terms of power and skill. Most people have multiple characters that they play and do not because ubermasters of their class.
5. The game is not much like when it started so not much I can tell you. If you want to group, then playing something else besides a stealth class?
I fail to see your point.
What does this have to do with anything mentioned in my questions? nothing that I can see, possibly trying to deter me from playing the game?
If your trying to troll I suggest you stop, unless you enjoy suspensions from the site, cause I report trolls in my threads instantly.
He's not tryint to deter you from playing, he's just telling you about one of the aspects of DAoC. A good chunk of people that are left, at least on the classic server, play just in the battle grounds. They tend to level up different characters and spend a majority of their time in the battle grounds partaking in pvp at a lower level. One of the reasons is that this removes the "veteran" aspect where the people who have been plaing for the entire life of DAoC have a sizable advantage due to the staggering ammount of realm points they've accumulated and have spent them on all the realm abilities that give them a significant edge in battle versus the people who are of lower rank. Another reason people play in the battle grounds is because getting to level 24, 34, and 49 wich are the highest alowed int he bg's they represent are a lot easyer to get to then 50. Ok well maybe not 49 but you get the point. This means that if you decide you do not like the toon you made, or you would perhaps like to try a different spec or use different weapons or just try something funky that doesen't sound like it would work but would be fun to try, you can do it in a relatively short time.As you level in DAoC you will want to go to the Battle Grounds yourself. The exp gained from killing the mobs found in there is greater then the normal areas but as you stated before that you are there for the pvp you will want to kill the other players because they yield the most exp of all. Killing people from other realms will give you the most exp anywhere, and will be a lot of fun to boot and you will not realise how much time you've spent playing and the boredom factor if there is any will be almost non-existant. There are Battle Grounds for all levels starting at 1. They are set up in level ranges starting at 1-4, 5-9,10-14, 15-19 and so on.... Are you seeing the pattern? The most popular of the BG's will be Thidranki, the 20-24 bg, the 35-39 one of which I can't remember the name of and the last one Cathal Valley wich is from 45-49 and resembles the area of Old Emain and simulates Mile Gate combat.
Each of thse battle grounds is open to anybody in the appropriate level range. You can come and go as you please. There are no stupid objectives like capture the flag or controll resource points like some other game has. I won't say it's name but I'm pretty sure you know it
. There is however a Keep right in the middle of it and any of the 3 realms can controll it. You can use it as a place to attack from or a place to run to if you're being chased or you can lay siege to it and blow holes in it's walls and ram down doors with battering rams. If you do not controll said keep you will want to. Capturing it will grant you at least half of a level of exp along with the killing of enemies that are preventing you from capturing it wich is exp in itself.
Also, each BG has a named mob that spawns in it. Killing it will give you an item that is pretty good. It's got some interesting atributes and I think most of them now come with a spell that regens or heals part of your power pool (mana) if you're a caster, or regens/heals endurance if you're a melee/archer toon or I think some of them have an actual hp regen/heal which comes in handy now and again.
I realise I'm not going by your format of your original post but this is my favorite part of DAoC. It's what I know most and what I did the most. Towards the end of my time as a DAoC player, all I did was fight int he bg's for hours on end. I however don't play it anymore. All of my real life friends have moved on and so have I, but every so often I get the urge to load it up agian and play.
Hope this helps you out a bit. If you plan to go to 50, save your platinum and buy yourself a player made 100% quality suit of armor for your class, and have another player that is an enchanter (crafter not class) add the proper bonuses you need to survive. This ensures you get the most out of your gear without having stats that are lacking or nonexistant all together. Then have an alchemist put a bunch of procs on it and then just go out and kill till you can't kill no more. When that happens go kill! because you can never kill enough albs in DAoC
Midgard forever!
No required quests! And if I decide I want to be an assassin-cartographer-dancer-pastry chef who lives only to stalk and kill interior decorators, then that's who I want to be, even if it takes me four years to max all the skills and everyone else thinks I'm freaking nuts. -Madimorga-