Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
My impressions of Darkfall
Praxus1874
Member Posts: 152
Let me start by saying that I'm a huge fan of sandbox MMO's in general. I love the open worlds, and I love the exploration. I had been itching to play Darkfall for months, and the recent trial offer was a way for me to do that without incurring wife aggro.
So I excitedly installed the client, and already had my plan of action ready from watching the awesome Character Development Guides on Youtube. I created my character, a dwarf, and set out into the world.
Now, since I had been following the game for months, I was prepared for the sub-par graphics and lack of any music/ambient sounds. Even so, it was a little jarring at first, but I got over it. I picked up the two starting quests, ran out, did them with little problem, came back, got my rewards, went out, died, lost my rewards. At this point, I was taken back to UO, and said "oh, right. My bad."
I did everything right from that point on. I banked regularly, was wary of spawns, rotated through my abilities to raise lesser magic, my two handed weapon of choice, and archery. The combat was fine, and I admit to being impressed by the mobs AI. It was nice to see a game where a mob wasn't on a leash with a predefined aggro radius. I picked up some new spells in time, and got a fairly sizable stockpile of goblin gear in my bank.
In the end, though, I was reminded of how far games had come since my time playing UO, EQ and Asheron's Call. I understand that the primary draw of the game is PvP, specifically group PvP, and I am sad to say I didn't get to participate in that. The bottom line is that I was grinding again, and I had forgotten what that felt like.
Honestly, it didn't feel good. I've been spoiled by games with a compelling story, rich with backstory, and a world that felt like it was more than just a series of spawn camps and random ganking. Turns out that I'm not willing to go back in time with my MMO's, which is what this felt like.
I understand the draw of the game for those who want large scale PvP, skill-based character development, and a world they can conquer for their own, but it's unfortunately not for me. I'm just not willing to grind my way through a game any more, which is something I didn't know when I downloaded the trial, but I can say it with some certainty now.
I would have been sold if the world was more conducive to exploration. I trekked for hours across the world, and there was just nothing compelling out there. It was small camps of mobs and towns, separated by miles of unimpressive terrain. I also might have been more impressed if the community on the game did more than talk about genitalia for hours on end. I mean, it was epic and all, but yeah, not for me.
At any rate, I just wanted to share my experience with this game here. Thanks for reading through my wall of text.
Prax
Comments
How long did you play?
Fair observation, It did seem you did everything right.
I admit, my 2 best friends wont even play the game. This game is old school. Its the closest feeling to eq1 ive ever had. In the end, you are either instantly hooked or gonna pass.
Darkfall feels nothing like EQ1...I wish it did.
Great observations, many of these were very similar to my own. I however like the game just for what it is, a basic grind with pvp being the big draw for the masses. I would add that DF needs to upgrade their crafting system. IMO this would increase the number of subscribers and long term playability quicker then most of the other issues.
awwww, that's too bad OP. I was hoping you'd enjoy it, you seemed to stoked to try it out. You had the right attitude going in, and the right kind of gaming background as well.
Personally, I LOVE the old-school feeling of the game. I'd rather sit at the same mob camp with some clan mates, killing the same mobs over and over until PVP happens (not that this is how I spend my time in game, just giving an example), than chase a trail of bread crumbs (quests) all day. But that's just me....I started off with the old school games, and none of these quest grinders have ever done it for me.
Sounds like your taste in games has changed with the times. It happens, man. At least you got to find out without actually buying the game, though.
Good luck in whatever game you decide to play.
I think the OP will be back in DF soon!
Last week there have been a lot of people saying they tryed DF, did alittle bit of everything and then stopped playing. They got back to thier normal themepark MMO.....but could not stop thinking about everything else they could do in DF.......so they return
There is still naval warfare, mounted combat, group combat, big scale exploring and so on.
I've been doing some thinking and I actually think that you touched on why I didn't enjoy the game as much as I wanted to. I didn't have anyone to hang out with at all. Sitting at a spawn alone is nowhere near as fun as doing it with someone else.
Methinks I need a clan....after all, I still have a few days left on this trial
Prax
I've been doing some thinking and I actually think that you touched on why I didn't enjoy the game as much as I wanted to. I didn't have anyone to hang out with at all. Sitting at a spawn alone is nowhere near as fun as doing it with someone else.
Methinks I need a clan....after all, I still have a few days left on this trial
Prax
There ya go!!!
OP, I felt a lot of what you are saying and recently I have joined a clan. The clan I joined has helped me out with groups and making the game a lot more enjoyable. pm me if you want me to introduce you to some others like us.
Thank you, OP.
I'm near the end of my one-week trial and my thoughts echo yours almost to a "T". It's clear after only a few days that it's going to take more grinding, and more time in general, to become less than useless than I'm prepared to put into an MMO at this point.
It was the same feeling I had when I started playing Aion -- yeah, the game might have a decent endgame, but I could never see myself getting there. I've just got too many other games I could be playing (non-MMO) that don't subject me to that sort of punishment.
The exploration was bland enough to make travel just between the starter towns and goblin spawns tedious. That's a bad way to start out in a game.
The community babble was about what I expected, which is unfortunate.
After 5 days I still can't get used to the control scheme either -- the very act of looting mobs, then trying to react to something hitting my back drove me nuts.
Maybe I'd get used to it, but I don't have to. Got too many other games to play, and Darkfall doesn't offer me enough incentive to stay plugged in.
I've been doing some thinking and I actually think that you touched on why I didn't enjoy the game as much as I wanted to. I didn't have anyone to hang out with at all. Sitting at a spawn alone is nowhere near as fun as doing it with someone else.
Methinks I need a clan....after all, I still have a few days left on this trial
Prax
Right on man, that's the kind of attitude that kept me compelled to not give up on EVE years ago. Thankfully I didn't because I ended up playing for 5 years.
For me, luckily, Darkfall just fit like a glove. For others it seems it can take some time to "decompress" from the usual lot of contemporary MMO"rpgs". Once you join a clan I'm sure you're going to see the game from a whole new perspective. Have fun man.
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
If you don't want to grind OP then you are totally in the wrong game. Darkfall is probably one of the most grind oriented games out atm. Also, yes you are correct, such a big world with very little to do in the way of PVE.
To whoever said this game reminds them of EQ1, did you even play EQ1? I mean seriously? No really, did you? Not sure what exactly your basing this statement on being Darkfall is about 90% PVP and EQ1 was about 100% PVE.
Currently Playing: Toying around with AoC and bored with Darkfall
Thinking of Playing: Fallen Earth or Darkfall after this months update.
Have Played: EQ1, EQ2, WoW, WAR, Vanguard, EvE, Requiem, PW, Lotro, Lineage2, AoC, SWG...
I've been doing some thinking and I actually think that you touched on why I didn't enjoy the game as much as I wanted to. I didn't have anyone to hang out with at all. Sitting at a spawn alone is nowhere near as fun as doing it with someone else.
Methinks I need a clan....after all, I still have a few days left on this trial
Prax
This pretty much echo's my experiences and thoughts, I did pretty much the same thing and gave-up. I tend not to join a clan/guild in a new MMO until I've played for a while since I'd like to have something to offer or at least know a little bit about what I'm doing. From everything I've read and thinking back, it seems that in Darkfall you should just join one right off the bat. I'm thinking about trying it out again, but I'm not there yet. On paper, the bullets that describe Darkfall are so compelling to me, but it just felt barren and empty to me, I'm guessing if I had joined a clan, I might have felt different.
Man, I didn't like it at first. You really must get a grip to it to really enjoy it. I think more time wouldve helped you
Pepsi1028
PEPSI!!!!!
Get out of your box already...
So which is it, then?? You claim it's a huge grind, but that there's very little PVE???
The world is heartily populated with mobs of all shapes and sizes. they all drop different things, are of varying levels of difficulty, and are not all grouped together by "level". There's plenty of PVE in Darkfall...SHOULD YOUR CHOOSE TO SEEK IT OUT.
You do not NEED to fight mobs, or grind them at all, for that matter. You could gather gear and regs off from players, and skill up from them as well. granted, as a new player you would need a group to do so, but hey....this is an MMOrpg after all.
So which is it, then?? You claim it's a huge grind, but that there's very little PVE???
The world is heartily populated with mobs of all shapes and sizes. they all drop different things, are of varying levels of difficulty, and are not all grouped together by "level". There's plenty of PVE in Darkfall...SHOULD YOUR CHOOSE TO SEEK IT OUT.
You do not NEED to fight mobs, or grind them at all, for that matter. You could gather gear and regs off from players, and skill up from them as well. granted, as a new player you would need a group to do so, but hey....this is an MMOrpg after all.
I think his definition of PvE is far more than just "Go out and kill 10,000 Goblins". At least, that's the way I read it.
~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!
Come Join us at www.globalequestria.com - Meet other fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!
So which is it, then?? You claim it's a huge grind, but that there's very little PVE???
The world is heartily populated with mobs of all shapes and sizes. they all drop different things, are of varying levels of difficulty, and are not all grouped together by "level". There's plenty of PVE in Darkfall...SHOULD YOUR CHOOSE TO SEEK IT OUT.
You do not NEED to fight mobs, or grind them at all, for that matter. You could gather gear and regs off from players, and skill up from them as well. granted, as a new player you would need a group to do so, but hey....this is an MMOrpg after all.
I think his definition of PvE is far more than just "Go out and kill 10,000 Goblins". At least, that's the way I read it.
~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!
It's his choice to do that, if he does. No one is forcing him to.
There are countless mob types scattered all over Agon. Want PVE?? Go find some.
So which is it, then?? You claim it's a huge grind, but that there's very little PVE???
The world is heartily populated with mobs of all shapes and sizes. they all drop different things, are of varying levels of difficulty, and are not all grouped together by "level". There's plenty of PVE in Darkfall...SHOULD YOUR CHOOSE TO SEEK IT OUT.
You do not NEED to fight mobs, or grind them at all, for that matter. You could gather gear and regs off from players, and skill up from them as well. granted, as a new player you would need a group to do so, but hey....this is an MMOrpg after all.
Dude you just need to quit sugar coating the game, I see you do it all day long. For a new player PVE comes in the form of goblins over and over and over and over. Then you move on to another mob of the same type over and over and over and over. For the first couple months you are on you will fight the same crap mobs over and over and over again until your completely and utterly bored with it. Oh and lets not forget the harvesting, OOOOOAHHHHOHHHHH lets sit for hours on end and watch a bar fill up. As for fighting other players and skilling up off them, LOL. As a new player in your first couple months you aren't going to be able to stand a chance in pvp verse the majority of the population that are primarily vets that ALOT have macro'd their grind. Also, all the mobs drop different things huh? Like what? The same old regs and same old armor over and over and over. The game has a weak number of armors and weapons when compared to other games. I guess tho this is how they get large scale pvp to work, with limited number of graphics on armor and weapons. This game is all about end game massive pvp and the grind is just to huge, boring and repetitive to get there, which is why the game doesn't retain new players like it should. Quests in the game are pretty much non-existent after the starting area which is another major problem. The truth is tho, I don't have to sit here and point out all the things wrong with the game that you like to sugar coat, the number of subs and the retention rate of the game speaks for itself. Yah, the game has potential, but it still needs ALOT of work and it's the type of work that people aren't going to wait around for while they waste $15 a month on it.
Currently Playing: Toying around with AoC and bored with Darkfall
Thinking of Playing: Fallen Earth or Darkfall after this months update.
Have Played: EQ1, EQ2, WoW, WAR, Vanguard, EvE, Requiem, PW, Lotro, Lineage2, AoC, SWG...
So which is it, then?? You claim it's a huge grind, but that there's very little PVE???
The world is heartily populated with mobs of all shapes and sizes. they all drop different things, are of varying levels of difficulty, and are not all grouped together by "level". There's plenty of PVE in Darkfall...SHOULD YOUR CHOOSE TO SEEK IT OUT.
You do not NEED to fight mobs, or grind them at all, for that matter. You could gather gear and regs off from players, and skill up from them as well. granted, as a new player you would need a group to do so, but hey....this is an MMOrpg after all.
I think his definition of PvE is far more than just "Go out and kill 10,000 Goblins". At least, that's the way I read it.
~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!
Exactly, killing the same thing over and over does not constitute PVE, well I guess it does by definition, but how boring and lame.
Currently Playing: Toying around with AoC and bored with Darkfall
Thinking of Playing: Fallen Earth or Darkfall after this months update.
Have Played: EQ1, EQ2, WoW, WAR, Vanguard, EvE, Requiem, PW, Lotro, Lineage2, AoC, SWG...
So which is it, then?? You claim it's a huge grind, but that there's very little PVE???
The world is heartily populated with mobs of all shapes and sizes. they all drop different things, are of varying levels of difficulty, and are not all grouped together by "level". There's plenty of PVE in Darkfall...SHOULD YOUR CHOOSE TO SEEK IT OUT.
You do not NEED to fight mobs, or grind them at all, for that matter. You could gather gear and regs off from players, and skill up from them as well. granted, as a new player you would need a group to do so, but hey....this is an MMOrpg after all.
I think his definition of PvE is far more than just "Go out and kill 10,000 Goblins". At least, that's the way I read it.
~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!
It's his choice to do that, if he does. No one is forcing him to.
There are countless mob types scattered all over Agon. Want PVE?? Go find some.
Maybe you can elaborate on this "PvE" instead of simply saying "Go find some". Maybe he needs some help building his sand castle in this sandbox of yours. Since it seems like grinding enemies isn't his idea of PvE and you seem to know a fair bit about the game; you should easily be able to help him out ^-^
~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!
Come Join us at www.globalequestria.com - Meet other fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!
Who says?? Just because the tutorial quests tell you to kill a few goblins, what makes it so that you HAVE to kill them??
get in a clan, get a group, go kill something else. Who's stopping you??
Don't harvest if you don't want to. Most mats drop off mobs as well, and you can always kill other players for their harvested mats.
Yeah....skill up on players. GET A GROUP.
Yeah....mobs drop different and interesting things. Have you killed a Raven Standard Officer?? Have you killed a Minotaur King? A Dark Dragon??
Yeah, there's a lack of quests. This isn't a quest based game. There are plenty of them on the market....if you NEED an NPC to give you orders all day long...NEED a trail of bread crumbs to follow, there are a plethora of games to choose from.
But don't blame Darkfall for your lack of imagination, and your attempts to play it like one of those other games, because you have only yourself to blame for this.
I've done so in multiple threads on this site. I get tired of repeating myself. These people want hand-holding, and it's not my job to do it, frankly.
They need an NPC to tell them what to do....a yellow brick road to follow to "end game". It's mentality ingrained from playing PVE games for years, and it doesn't APPLY to Darkfall, or the sandbox genre in general.
I know few guys who not started that long ago and did about same for first 2 days then they killed there own race becouse of fight for mobs and became red end up at chaostone and becouse with very lowstats and only starter weapon at first they whine alittle in general but we told them how to survive and go to enemy race starter area we told them the way how to reach it, we follow them in race alliance chat and they had a time of there life adventure exploring danger adraline and now there hooked.
What i mean to say is dont concentrate on progressing to much just play as it go grind some, craft some explore some pvp some and enjoy.
If you start thinking you must grind grind and grind then game will wear off fast and become boring if you hate that.
Dont think end game or follow some path becouse thats not what Darkfall is or have make your own story own adventure also take risks go into world sneak around try find players to kill.
You can also try join a clan they prolly have more to do for you.
Just open your mind and give Darkfall a new chance and FORGET GRIND its not there realy:)
Other wise good luck with whatever you gonne play next.
Games played:AC1-Darktide'99-2000-AC2-Darktide/dawnsong2003-2005,Lineage2-2005-2006 and now Darkfall-2009.....
In between WoW few months AoC few months and some f2p also all very short few weeks.
So which is it, then?? You claim it's a huge grind, but that there's very little PVE???
The world is heartily populated with mobs of all shapes and sizes. they all drop different things, are of varying levels of difficulty, and are not all grouped together by "level". There's plenty of PVE in Darkfall...SHOULD YOUR CHOOSE TO SEEK IT OUT.
You do not NEED to fight mobs, or grind them at all, for that matter. You could gather gear and regs off from players, and skill up from them as well. granted, as a new player you would need a group to do so, but hey....this is an MMOrpg after all.
I think his definition of PvE is far more than just "Go out and kill 10,000 Goblins". At least, that's the way I read it.
~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!
It's his choice to do that, if he does. No one is forcing him to.
There are countless mob types scattered all over Agon. Want PVE?? Go find some.
Maybe you can elaborate on this "PvE" instead of simply saying "Go find some". Maybe he needs some help building his sand castle in this sandbox of yours. Since it seems like grinding enemies isn't his idea of PvE and you seem to know a fair bit about the game; you should easily be able to help him out ^-^
~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!
Yes, please enlighten us on this massive amount of PVE you claim the game has for new players. I can name 3 maybe 4 types of mobs players will be capable of killing on their own within the first month or two. Also, PVE usually comes with quests, where are the quests after you leave the starter areas?
Now a question for you. If this game isn't such a grind, then why do a giant majority of the player base feel the need to afk macro? Going into a clan city and seeing 20+ people sitting afk on a wall (bloodwall) so they can afk stat gain is just lame. A game should be fun and shouldn't make you feel the need to sit afk so you can skill up and actually play the part of the game that is advertised, massive pvp.
Currently Playing: Toying around with AoC and bored with Darkfall
Thinking of Playing: Fallen Earth or Darkfall after this months update.
Have Played: EQ1, EQ2, WoW, WAR, Vanguard, EvE, Requiem, PW, Lotro, Lineage2, AoC, SWG...
Who says?? Just because the tutorial quests tell you to kill a few goblins, what makes it so that you HAVE to kill them??
get in a clan, get a group, go kill something else. Who's stopping you??
Don't harvest if you don't want to. Most mats drop off mobs as well, and you can always kill other players for their harvested mats.
Yeah....skill up on players. GET A GROUP.
Yeah....mobs drop different and interesting things. Have you killed a Raven Standard Officer?? Have you killed a Minotaur King? A Dark Dragon??
Yeah, there's a lack of quests. This isn't a quest based game. There are plenty of them on the market....if you NEED an NPC to give you orders all day long...NEED a trail of bread crumbs to follow, there are a plethora of games to choose from.
But don't blame Darkfall for your lack of imagination, and your attempts to play it like one of those other games, because you have only yourself to blame for this.
I read a lot of your comments regarding Darkfall and it seems you have a great passion for it. You also seem to feel that people who play Darkfall that find it dull and empty have no imagination. When you suggest things, you seem to do so in a condescending manner, as if the people you are explaining it to are not human beings worthy of joining you in this game.
Might I suggest you adopt a different approach? Keep in mind that the people you are talking to may some day support the very world you love so dearly. These people, for better or worse, come in all shades of color. Some more "carebear" than others.
As a dutiful player. it would probably be in the best interest of this game to be inviting to new players, just like "NEW" is doing.
Also, consider making bulleted lists, detailing what players can do who are interested in PvEing. Attacking someone with the "Lack of imagination" argument just seems like an attempt to promote a war on the forums.
For instance:
~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!
Come Join us at www.globalequestria.com - Meet other fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!