How is DAoC different from WAR?

Capn23 · January 2009

I played WAR at release and it didn't feel right to me.

What is the big difference between the two? I know that everyone talks about Origin servers and if they ever did make them I would come and try out this game.

Right now I just want to know what was the big differences between DAoC and WAR.

Illius · January 2009

This is hard to answer because I think everybody will tell you something different.

For me the main differences are:

Lack of 3 realms. This provided an unique situation where the fight was always random and off balance. You never knew what you were going to go against and whenever you're engaged in a battle there was always the possibility of the 3rd realm coming and throwing a wrench into the works. It was a better dynamic that I think suited me best.

I actually found the PvE more enjoyable in DAoC for various reasons. The community was more community oriented as well. People were more interdependent and inclined to fight for the realm. Everybody had a sense of ownership of the realms respective keeps and relics and fought hard to keep them and were enthusiastic about going and trying to take the keeps and relics from the other realms.

The battle grounds for lower level PvP were persistent and without a limit on participants. There were no set numbers of people per side and there was a keep in the middle that could be claimed by either of the 3 realms for experience, realm points and just bragging rights and a place to focus on when the fighting breaks out.

The classes were not all mirrored across realms. For instance the Warden in Hibernia was a hybrid healer/buffer/fighter with blade turn that no other realm had in this configuration. The Albion Paladin was unique as well with healing chants and minor buffs and good combat abilities that other realms again didn't have in this configuration. There were "speed" classes that had movement enhancing chants/songs/buffs and in the 3 realms they all played differently.

The game itself took more effort to play which in turn made it more interesting to me. I had to know what kind of effects my chosen weapons (slash/pierce/crush) would have on the different armors I was fighting against (cloth/leather/studded/chain mail/scale mail/plate mail) and all these armors behaved differently when exposed to the variety of spells composed of different elemental as well as other damage types such as spirit damage and some other unique ones I can't recall right now. All of this applied to monster you fight as well. They had their own resistances/vulnerabilities and depending what kind of damage output you were doing you'd have either an easier time or a harder time in killing. It could mean that one kind of monster you could kill that was 3 or even 4 levels higher then you with relative easye and little or no danger while others could be only 1 level higher and be highly resistant and give you a really hard time with nail biting, heart pounding moments where you wonder if you'll have to do a run back to your grave stone and dread the exp loss. This could all apply to the PVP as well. Players depending on their class would wear different kinds of armor, use different kinds of weapons/magic and their resistances would be varied as well so more often then not you could fight 2 warriors with different specializations and have a completely different fight on your hands.

These are just some of the things that jump out at me. Sorry for the giant block of text.

Edit: Oh and the crafting actually mattered. You'd make usefull armor and weapons as well as enchants and other magical stuff rather then the stupid shiny little baubles that WAR calls crafting.

Scorchien · January 2009

Originally posted by Illius

This is hard to answer because I think everybody will tell you something different.
For me the main differences are:
Lack of 3 realms. This provided an unique situation where the fight was always random and off balance. You never knew what you were going to go against and whenever you're engaged in a battle there was always the possibility of the 3rd realm coming and throwing a wrench into the works. It was a better dynamic that I think suited me best.
I actually found the PvE more enjoyable in DAoC for various reasons. The community was more community oriented as well. People were more interdependent and inclined to fight for the realm. Everybody had a sense of ownership of the realms respective keeps and relics and fought hard to keep them and were enthusiastic about going and trying to take the keeps and relics from the other realms.
The battle grounds for lower level PvP were persistent and without a limit on participants. There were no set numbers of people per side and there was a keep in the middle that could be claimed by either of the 3 realms for experience, realm points and just bragging rights and a place to focus on when the fighting breaks out.
The classes were not all mirrored across realms. For instance the Warden in Hibernia was a hybrid healer/buffer/fighter with blade turn that no other realm had in this configuration. The Albion Paladin was unique as well with healing chants and minor buffs and good combat abilities that other realms again didn't have in this configuration. There were "speed" classes that had movement enhancing chants/songs/buffs and in the 3 realms they all played differently.
The game itself took more effort to play which in turn made it more interesting to me. I had to know what kind of effects my chosen weapons (slash/pierce/crush) would have on the different armors I was fighting against (cloth/leather/studded/chain mail/scale mail/plate mail) and all these armors behaved differently when exposed to the variety of spells composed of different elemental as well as other damage types such as spirit damage and some other unique ones I can't recall right now. All of this applied to monster you fight as well. They had their own resistances/vulnerabilities and depending what kind of damage output you were doing you'd have either an easier time or a harder time in killing. It could mean that one kind of monster you could kill that was 3 or even 4 levels higher then you with relative easye and little or no danger while others could be only 1 level higher and be highly resistant and give you a really hard time with nail biting, heart pounding moments where you wonder if you'll have to do a run back to your grave stone and dread the exp loss. This could all apply to the PVP as well. Players depending on their class would wear different kinds of armor, use different kinds of weapons/magic and their resistances would be varied as well so more often then not you could fight 2 warriors with different specializations and have a completely different fight on your hands.
These are just some of the things that jump out at me. Sorry for the giant block of text.
Edit: Oh and the crafting actually mattered. You'd make usefull armor and weapons as well as enchants and other magical stuff rather then the stupid shiny little baubles that WAR calls crafting.

Nice write up , couple things ill add real quick .. Siege weapons were not Static locations the Ability to place them where you wanted and move some of them mnade things more dynamic.. Stealther abilities to climb walls always kept on yer toes ....Knockin holes in walls also added another dynamic that War lacks..

And most of all , yes Much better unique classes thru the 3 realms ... Always kept ya thinkin

popinjay · January 2009

Originally posted by Illius
This is hard to answer because I think everybody will tell you something different.
For me the main differences are:
Lack of 3 realms. This provided an unique situation where the fight was always random and off balance. You never knew what you were going to go against and whenever you're engaged in a battle there was always the possibility of the 3rd realm coming and throwing a wrench into the works. It was a better dynamic that I think suited me best.
I actually found the PvE more enjoyable in DAoC for various reasons. The community was more community oriented as well. People were more interdependent and inclined to fight for the realm. Everybody had a sense of ownership of the realms respective keeps and relics and fought hard to keep them and were enthusiastic about going and trying to take the keeps and relics from the other realms.
The battle grounds for lower level PvP were persistent and without a limit on participants. There were no set numbers of people per side and there was a keep in the middle that could be claimed by either of the 3 realms for experience, realm points and just bragging rights and a place to focus on when the fighting breaks out.
The classes were not all mirrored across realms. For instance the Warden in Hibernia was a hybrid healer/buffer/fighter with blade turn that no other realm had in this configuration. The Albion Paladin was unique as well with healing chants and minor buffs and good combat abilities that other realms again didn't have in this configuration. There were "speed" classes that had movement enhancing chants/songs/buffs and in the 3 realms they all played differently.
The game itself took more effort to play which in turn made it more interesting to me. I had to know what kind of effects my chosen weapons (slash/pierce/crush) would have on the different armors I was fighting against (cloth/leather/studded/chain mail/scale mail/plate mail) and all these armors behaved differently when exposed to the variety of spells composed of different elemental as well as other damage types such as spirit damage and some other unique ones I can't recall right now. All of this applied to monster you fight as well. They had their own resistances/vulnerabilities and depending what kind of damage output you were doing you'd have either an easier time or a harder time in killing. It could mean that one kind of monster you could kill that was 3 or even 4 levels higher then you with relative easye and little or no danger while others could be only 1 level higher and be highly resistant and give you a really hard time with nail biting, heart pounding moments where you wonder if you'll have to do a run back to your grave stone and dread the exp loss. This could all apply to the PVP as well. Players depending on their class would wear different kinds of armor, use different kinds of weapons/magic and their resistances would be varied as well so more often then not you could fight 2 warriors with different specializations and have a completely different fight on your hands.
These are just some of the things that jump out at me. Sorry for the giant block of text.
Edit: Oh and the crafting actually mattered. You'd make usefull armor and weapons as well as enchants and other magical stuff rather then the stupid shiny little baubles that WAR calls crafting.

Player housing:

DAoC: Yes?
Warhammer: No?

Illius · January 2009

I was going to add a lot more stuff to my original post but it was starting to get a bit long and I was afraid I'd chase people away before they managed to get past 1/3 of it.

Yeah there was the player housing. It would have been more interesting if it was somehow made part of the regular zones instead of having it's own but something is better then nothing.

Having the ability to place siege equipment where ever we please was something I enjoyed a lot. I used to haul a ballista out to the rvr zone, hide it in the woods near a path where people would walk by and wait for straglers or duos and peg them with it. It would hurt plenty and would give my warrior the ranged damage he normally lacks due to his class. That or I'd just leave it there after I shoot some people and walk away a bit and hide and watch the stealthers look around and when they couldn't find me they'd try and destroy it so that I couldn't come back only to have me run in, slam them with my shield and proceed to Ragnarok them to death.

I think DAoC was a lot more open and gave you the ability to do interesting and unusual things to make the game your own and just that much better and more enjoyable.

OnAdayPass · January 2009

DAoC had better graphics ,and for the most part it was seemless.the pvp rewards were also alot better in DAoC.

CamV · January 2009

DAoC was and is the better game in my mind..i cant really give a reason why unlike Illius who could give us a small book on what he likes about the game and still have more to say

I have played WAR for i think its been 2 weeks now...and the "feel" just isnt there...you know that feeling you get when you sit down and really get into a good MMO and your like "yeah this is fun i really enjoy this" and your hooked to the game. I dont get that when playing WAR i get the feeling that yeah ok its fun and stuff but i normally find myself turning the game off the second i die coz i get bored of it.

Im not saying WAR is boring or anything im just saying it is to me and all the stuff you could do in DAoC just appeals more to me as the better game.

neonwire · January 2009

Originally posted by Illius

This is hard to answer because I think everybody will tell you something different.
For me the main differences are:
Lack of 3 realms. This provided an unique situation where the fight was always random and off balance. You never knew what you were going to go against and whenever you're engaged in a battle there was always the possibility of the 3rd realm coming and throwing a wrench into the works. It was a better dynamic that I think suited me best.
I actually found the PvE more enjoyable in DAoC for various reasons. The community was more community oriented as well. People were more interdependent and inclined to fight for the realm. Everybody had a sense of ownership of the realms respective keeps and relics and fought hard to keep them and were enthusiastic about going and trying to take the keeps and relics from the other realms.
The battle grounds for lower level PvP were persistent and without a limit on participants. There were no set numbers of people per side and there was a keep in the middle that could be claimed by either of the 3 realms for experience, realm points and just bragging rights and a place to focus on when the fighting breaks out.
The classes were not all mirrored across realms. For instance the Warden in Hibernia was a hybrid healer/buffer/fighter with blade turn that no other realm had in this configuration. The Albion Paladin was unique as well with healing chants and minor buffs and good combat abilities that other realms again didn't have in this configuration. There were "speed" classes that had movement enhancing chants/songs/buffs and in the 3 realms they all played differently.
The game itself took more effort to play which in turn made it more interesting to me. I had to know what kind of effects my chosen weapons (slash/pierce/crush) would have on the different armors I was fighting against (cloth/leather/studded/chain mail/scale mail/plate mail) and all these armors behaved differently when exposed to the variety of spells composed of different elemental as well as other damage types such as spirit damage and some other unique ones I can't recall right now. All of this applied to monster you fight as well. They had their own resistances/vulnerabilities and depending what kind of damage output you were doing you'd have either an easier time or a harder time in killing. It could mean that one kind of monster you could kill that was 3 or even 4 levels higher then you with relative easye and little or no danger while others could be only 1 level higher and be highly resistant and give you a really hard time with nail biting, heart pounding moments where you wonder if you'll have to do a run back to your grave stone and dread the exp loss. This could all apply to the PVP as well. Players depending on their class would wear different kinds of armor, use different kinds of weapons/magic and their resistances would be varied as well so more often then not you could fight 2 warriors with different specializations and have a completely different fight on your hands.
These are just some of the things that jump out at me. Sorry for the giant block of text.
Edit: Oh and the crafting actually mattered. You'd make usefull armor and weapons as well as enchants and other magical stuff rather then the stupid shiny little baubles that WAR calls crafting.

This is a brilliant description! Reading it all brought back the feelings I had when I used to play that game. The simple fact that there were 3 realms instead of 2 made a HUGE difference and add to that the fact that they were very well thought out and designed. I remember playing as a mercenary for Albion and I really felt like I was part of my realm unlike in WAR. Each realm had its own distinct theme and every class was very different and unique.

However there is a very easy way to explain why DAoC is a much superior game to WAR and here it is......

WoW did not exist. DAoC was its own game which followed its own rules. Mythic was focused on creating a unique game and clearly took pride in their work. In contrast WAR is the complete opposite of that as they didnt put any effort into designing their own game at all and instead just copied WoW which is why their game is a complete load of boring crap.

I'm not totally sure but I can only assume that an entirely different group of people were involved in making crappy old WAR. The banner of Mythic may fly over both of the games but it really seems like the same people were not involved. May as well have been a completely different company. In fact I wonder if some employees from Blizzard left and went to work for Mythic.

DAoC crushes WAR in every possible way. Its graphics were much better as well. Its just a shame that DAoC is now so old.

SignusM · January 2009

For anyone who played it, even old vets who have played AC, UO, and EQ, believe it had the best PvP to date, and you could make a case that it was very close to the best MMO of all time. Most games these days take their ideas directly from DAoC, its the unsung hero of MMOs, and the fourh pioneer (EQ, UO, AC, DAoC)

From the massive relic raids and ship blockades, to the battlegrounds, to 200 man fights against the dragon, it was truly an epic game. The best feautre, 3 realms. Genius idea. Each of them distinct, with their own lore that made you hate the other two realms.

DeathTripp · January 2009

Yep I agree with pretty much everything has been said, although I don't think DAOC's graphics were very much superior if at all

SignusM · January 2009

Originally posted by deathtripp

Yep I agree with pretty much everything has been said, although I don't think DAOC's graphics were very much superior if at all

I don't know... for an 8 year old game....

http://www.darkageofcamelot.com/DarknessRising/ss2/ss13.jpg

http://www.mysticgd.com/site2007/media/360.jpg

neonwire · January 2009

Originally posted by SignusM

Originally posted by deathtripp

Yep I agree with pretty much everything has been said, although I don't think DAOC's graphics were very much superior if at all

I don't know... for an 8 year old game....

http://www.darkageofcamelot.com/DarknessRising/ss2/ss13.jpg

http://www.mysticgd.com/site2007/media/360.jpg

Exactly. The graphics were fantastic for its time.

neonwire · January 2009

......actually those screenshots look a hell of a lot better than what WAR is currently offering. The detail looks awesome. Damn it why couldnt Mythic have focused on making DAoC 2 instead of making WoW 2?

OnAdayPass · January 2009

So where the heck is the DAoC replacement . I can down a case reminissing about DAoC.Is Darkfall the last hope?

neonwire · January 2009

Originally posted by OnAdayPass

So where the heck is the DAoC replacement . I can down a case reminissing about DAoC.Is Darkfall the last hope?

For now yes DAoC is indeed the last hope

SignusM · January 2009

Yes, Darkfall IS the last hope, until Mythic escapes from EA.

neonwire · January 2009

Originally posted by neonwire

Originally posted by OnAdayPass

So where the heck is the DAoC replacement . I can down a case reminissing about DAoC.Is Darkfall the last hope?

For now yes DAoC is indeed the last hope

Sorry for some reason my faulty brain replaced the word Darkfall with DAoC. Oddly enough my mistype actually makes more sense as currently DAoC has the better PvP features available than any other game apart from EVE.

I'm certainly not pinning any hopes at all on Darkfall though. In fact even just the mention of that game gives me this tired bored feeling deep down inside. A few years ago I remember feeling excited when I read about it but now though I'm just not expecting anything from it. I hope it will be brilliant but I have really severe doubts about that now. I mean its supposed to be released in 11 days time and yet we havent seen any previews or heard much at all about it while information about all the other games is freely available. Even their website hasnt been updated.

I have much higher hopes for Earthrise which is due out later this year. The company behind that seem a lot more solid and "normal" than weird old Aventurine. Crusades is another one but thats a lot further off in the future so its details are very hazy.

MMORPDEATH · January 2009

Originally posted by Capn23

I played WAR at release and it didn't feel right to me.

What is the big difference between the two? I know that everyone talks about Origin servers and if they ever did make them I would come and try out this game.

Right now I just want to know what was the big differences between DAoC and WAR.

I'll do a comparison of what each game does right versus the other(I like both, but DAOC a little more).

DAOC:

3 is better than 2. War's RVR is a repetitive tug of war, while DAOC always had that third wheel that could come in an cause mayhem. Three sides is harder to balance but much more fun.

Lore: DAOC had more mature and realistic lore in my opinion, while War looks too much like WOW and it just doesnt grab me as far as immersion goes.

RVR map design: I only played new frontiers, but an open ended map like that is much better than basically three separate hallways which is what war RVR zones can seem like.

Classes: DAOC had way more classes and they were mostly all interesting. WAR does a good job too but not as good.

Music was better in DAOC

Quests: Yes, old-ass DAOC had a few more innovative and immersive quests (legacy) plus catacombs than WAR.

Graphics: Call me crazy, but the more interesting lore led to some more intruguing graphics in DAOC, especially after the graphics update.

WAR:

Population: duh. more ppl means you can more easily justify the typical mmo timesink because the game wont have its plug pulled any time soon. This is the main reason why I play it.

Lag: War really doesnt lag that badly compared to DAOC IMO, although large battles still do.

Combat: DAOC combat was hell. WAR is pretty solid.

Scenarios: Yes, they are annoying and I wish they were not put in, buit DAOC had its own annoyance that sucked people out of the game. Its called Task Dungeons, and they are a lot more mindless and irritating than scenarios.

Open Parties: takes the awkwardness out of PUG's.

Public quests: great! but they could be a bit more clever as far as design goes.

Less dead content: Dead content like 90% of DAOC's overland and shrouded isles is pretty annoying to me, EQ2 has the same problem. It just makes things less immersive, but is probably inevitable in the typical expansion model that mmo's use.

Both games do pvp better than any other(unless you like guild v guild style open pvp or gank pvp)

Both games have shitty animations, especially at a distance.

Timberwolf0 · January 2009

Good answer there, green text man

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