Dark Age of Camelot

[Roland]

I just picked this game up (Platinum Edition, $29.99 @ Gamestop), and am going to give it a whirl. Anyone still play this relic, or have people moved on?

Gonna try to go with a Briton Fighter - Paladin, on Albion. That's about all I know right now. :) We'll see what I think of the game!

[Taeme]

Hey Roland! Been a while :)


As to the game, not that I'm aware of.

[gekko]

An old friend from university would never shut up about that game. Unfortunately, there's no mac version (that I'm aware of), so I've never personally tried it. If I can get in touch with my buddy, I'll see if he's still playing -- he's a decent guy if you need someone to play with, and he's a pretty hardcore gamer, so he'd be available pretty much all the time.

Aside from that, do keep us posted. I'm curious to hear a second opinion on this game, and if it really stacks up to my friend's opinions.

gekko

[Guest]

Actually I hardly play anymore. But I suppose it could be quite fun if you were new to it.

My advice - play on one of the 3 RP servers(Percival, Nimue, Guinivere). The people are much more mature there, than on the regular servers, and quite friendly. They dont expect you to seriously roleplay, just dont use "dewd" language etc.

Race wont matter really so pick what you like. Paladins are a nice class for starting out, they are important to most all Albion groups.

[Nastie_Bowie]

I recently started playing this game after about 5 months playing Knight-Online/MY. A couple of friends and I got sick and tired of K-O's cheating tolerances.

It seems people are much more mature minded in this game. I have yet to meet a griefer and people are generous and helpful to noobs. The interface was quite a learning curve, for me, but worth the hassle to learn.

Mythic is still patching the game, we recieved a major patch last week. This patch was designed to help new players catch up with the mainstream. The servers are imbalanced by race, and the new patch is to promote the races that are less populous (Hibernia, Midguard)

I could only do so many Mephy/Pit runs, before D2 burned me out. I find DAoC to have the depth that makes me think. It is more than just a click-fest to kill and level. There are several different ways to gain experience, killing, questing and tasking. You also are able to craft good items, not just find them.

My friends and I are on the Pellinor server, Hibernian race. PM me if you start a toon there, and I will show you the ropes and spot you a little game cash for seed money.

NB :)

[Cuthlan]

I'm still playing it. I'm not exactly a regular here anymore, but oh well.

I play a Mercenary and a Paladin (the mercenary more often) in Albion on Percival. Most of my focus when I play is the pvp side of the game, but if you do wind up playing here (same realm/server as Ghoest) I'd be more than happy to lend you a hand with some equipment/money, maybe even join you with a lower level character.

Kenden is the name of my merc, Cuthlan is the name of my paladin.

My only suggestion is if you do come to Percival, don't go by Roland. There was a person that went by that name a long time ago there that was quite infamous for being a terminal moron.

-C

[Baajikiil]

I played it for a few months when it came out, and it was alot of fun for a while. A few friends and I played regularly, and it was a blast. Eventually though, we turned our sights on PvP, and I found the games pvp imbalances rather annoying. There must have been severe rebalancing since then, but I had already soured on the game.

[Mithrandir]

I played DAoC for over 2 years, but New Frontiers completely destroyed the game for my guild and I. Zerging and keeps were our two *least* favorite parts of RvR, and NF decided to put those two aspects at the forefront of the new RvR game. Bleh. NF ruined the game even more than ToA did... and that's saying a LOT. I bought this game for the RvR/PvP and then they released two PvE expansions and then turn RvR into an insta-porting keep-hugging zergfest. Yay.

I quit, Ebayed my accounts, and haven't looked back since. Competitive small-scale group verse group combat, while smashing a zerg every now and then, was the pinnacle of what I wanted out of a MMORPG. Nothing else offers that to my satisfaction, so I am content to spend my (considerably-lessened lately) game time playing NWN - which is still a fantastic game.

My old guild has rerolled on Mordred, which seems to be the only server left where 8v8 is still a respected form of combat. I hope they're happy there, but ToA and NF turned my favorite MMORPG into everything I hate about the industry. It's left me "sort of" sour about the whole genre.

[Guest]

My eyes are beleeding, I think the Lounge has morphed into VN :P

You know how little sense that first paragraph makes to an "outsider" :)

[Raven Vale]

Hiya

I played for around 18 months , Mainly Hibernia , had a few lvl 50 chars , also made a Grandmaster Tailor . I hated crafting , but the game became so repetetive that that was the only thing left to me . I became the best I could and left :P . For a new player , you will probably love it , I did , I loved every second of it for around 6-8 months , then it started to wane a little , especially the things like Mithrandir picked up on . Now I look back , I think I would have liked to join a roleplay server . I have'nt played for some time so cannot say what it is like atm , I left before the Atlantis expansion was released . Like I say , it will be all new to you , and everything will be amazing :D

Take care

[Mithrandir]

My eyes are beleeding, I think the Lounge has morphed into VN

So are you disputing anything I said? If so, what specifically?

You know how little sense that first paragraph makes to an "outsider"

Was this thread not addressed to people who play DAoC? A new player should have picked up on basic acronyms like "NF" and "ToA" and "RvR" very quickly. Nothing else appears overtyly confusing or difficult to understand for even a new DAoC player to me.

[Guest]

Feels even more like VN now.

Maybe you didnt realize all those emoticons meant i was kidding you. Although I really do suppose the paragraph just left Roland confused.

[Roland]

Noticed your face once or twice in the last few months. Seems like whenever I start to disappear into the background, all the old folks start coming out again. :)

[Roland]

The combat is very refreshing. Very similar to Diablo meets Morrowind, actually. 3rd person view combat, full of lots of different styles and spells. It's not a clickfest, but it can get a little boring during long fights. There's minimal interaction to combat - click on monster, hit attack (or lead with a spell to "pull" the monster), then just stand back and watch your "toon" (as they call it) go at it with the monster. Where the tactics come into play starts with the opening moves - pulling. The full-out tanks have no way of pulling a monster save by using a bow - not my cup of tea, so I haven't played one yet. But pulling a monster allows you to take it on one-on-one - otherwise, you could easily get slaughtered, and running rarely ever works. After that, it's a dance of combat styles and / or spells to try and disable and defeat your enemy. Instead of constant clicking (or holding down the mouse button) like in Diablo, the fighting is always going until one of you dies. But much like Diablo, you have to be involved by choosing your skills, when to use them, etc.

I've found tanks to be fun characters, at least when you mix Magic into them (Paladins, for example - I'll get to them later). Pure tanks, with no magical ability whatsoever so far don't appeal to me. I don't take to combat styles so much as I do magic, although pure casters aren't 100% my cup of tea, either. They are very fun, though. Going toe-to-toe with monsters is a blast, but it gets old without having something to liven it up. Fighting in groups, though, adds a whole new dimension. Some combat styles you can only do in certain positions, i.e. to the side or from behind. With one person maintaining aggro, this gives another person the ability to perform these moves in relative safety - and said moves can often make battle much easier. Spell casters, OTOH, typically have to attack from afar and then find some way to "root" the monster - immobilizing it. Otherwise, if they have them, they have to rely on pets to maintain aggro, or the caster will soon be dead. Hence why it's almost a necessity to have a tank to hold aggro, so you can blast away from afar.

A strong party will have a mix of healing / enhancement magic, pure damage magic, and a tank. After that, any additions are pure gravy. Partying is by far the most fun, but soloing can be fun too. Whenever I get tired of simple combat, I try to seek out a quest or task to do. This not only gives me a cash and experience boost, but it allows me to explore the continent far more, and see the sights of the land - as well as the monsters. :)

As for items, they have a very interesting system worked out. The worst stuff around is dropped by monsters, usually, with the exception being some of the higher-level monsters - I picked up two very nice pieces of armor, and a good weapon last night from a monster. Still not the best "quality" (will get into in a moment), but better than store-bought. The ranks usually go monster loot, store bought, player crafted, and finally rare quest items. As I said already, monster loot is usually pretty drab and damaged, having a low Quality rating (quality determines how strong an item is in comparison to its base values). Store bought items aren't much better, being always a solid 85% Quality (most starting monster loot is ~70% quality, but magical items range higher, even into 90% Quality). While you can survive with store bought items, you'll quickly want to upgrade to some magical piece of equipment, be it from a monster, a quest, or a crafted player item. Which brings us to player crafts - they rock. :) The system is fairly good, forcing you to focus on one specific style of crafting, and limiting your abilities in the rest of the fields. This forces player trading - can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending, but the economy seems pretty good thus far, and players are pretty generous, especially in the lower levels. The other great thing about player crafts, aside from being anywhere from 94% - 100% (Masterwork) quality, is that they can be imbued with magical bonuses via Spellcrafting (and Alchemy, I think, but not 100% sure). Spellcrafting is the art of fashioning magical gems that grant bonuses to items, and then inserting them into said items. There are a whole slew of different gems, etc. to craft, just as many as there are for any other main crafting line. And these magical bonuses really help (although there are caps on how high your stats can be raised through bonuses - no Diablo-style bonuses where even a Mage can tank). Then there's of course Quest loot, which is probably some of the best in the game. I know that I usually wear my quest gear well into the blue and green (colors are used to depict the "con" of things, or how well they match up to your level and abilities).

Items, NPCs, and Monsters all "con" in multiple different colors, from highest to lowest: Purple, Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Green, and Gray. Purple means the item or monster is way out of your league - don't even bother wearing it, and don't bother fighting it alone. Red items are the same - worthless to wear, as the further away from you an item is (Purple, Red, Orange), the quicker its Condition diminishes, and the less actual use you'll get out of it. Red monsters, OTOH, can be soloed if you're good enough (I do it all the time), but usually require a group to take down. Orange items can be worn, with some increased wear and some diminished use, but usually become yellow within a level or two, so it's typically alright, and sometimes even recommended, to wear orange items. Orange monsters are usually easy to solo for many classes, but some might find them too challenging without a group. Yellow gear is right where you want it to be - just above you, but quite usable with minimal wear. Yellow monsters are usually easy for anyone to solo, unless you're considerably weak, they're considerably strong, or both. Blue is right at or just below your level when it comes to items and monsters. They both will quickly turn to Green in a level or two, so it's best to be on the look out for new gear and prey, although sometimes they can still be worth your while. Green is definitely below you, and when it comes to monsters, they're a pushover. Gear that's Green isn't usually worth keeping, unless you have nothing else (Cain quest reward, anyone?). And when it hits Gray, you're wasting your time completely. You get NO experience for killing Gray monsters (minimal for Green, average for Blue, good for Yellow, great for Orange, and beyond that you hit the exp cap), and Gray gear is absolute junk compared to what you could have.

Speaking of items, I never did fully go into them. Items have several attributes: Condition, which is how intact the item is. When this goes down, the items abilities and usefulness go down with it, meaning you need to repair it. It's best to repair an item before the Condition gets below 90%. Quality, which is how good an item is overall. 85% Quality is about average - no better, no worse, while below that is reducing the items worth to the player, and above that increases it because it performs far better. A weapon at 85% Quality will deal far less damage than one at 100% Quality, or even 95%. Durability is how much an item can be repaired before it becomes unrepairable. Everytime you repair an item, it loses Durability permanently. Sometimes it loses none, sometimes a lot. I've seen items get repaired and go from 100% to 71%, and others stay at 100%. Needless to say, sooner or later everything breaks. However, most items throughout your career are constantly being replaced by newer, better items, so you'll hardly ever have to worry about being without gear. Besides, with player crafting, you can literally create an endless amount of items, provided you have the cash, time, and skill (all of which take a boat load of time). This, however, does keep the economy in check. The final attribute is Bonus. I don't know precisely what this does, I just know that all Magical items have it, and the more powerful the enchantments, the higher the %. Starting magic items are ~1%, with the next few levels being 5% and 10%. Suffice it to say, an item with a Bonus is a good thing. :)

And to get totally off track (simply because I've run out of things to say and want to get back to playing): as of the latest patch, you you start a new character, every week you gain a new level, you get a free level. That's right, so long as you level at least once a week, you will gain a free level each week. Gives the low characters quite a boost, and allows people like me to test out 8 different characters at once. ;) Now if only I could find a place with good cash that I could SURVIVE in. :P Oh, and the Platinum Edition, which has the full game and all expansions, is $30 in stores, probably less on Amazon. :)

Got to get back to playing now, but I'll come back when I have more to say (like about my favorite class thus far - the Paladin).