I was accepted into the last beta phase of Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC), but I wasn’t too excited about it so I never bothered to check it out. After the steaming pile of crap that we all know as the Anarchy Online launch, and the botched launch of WWII Online, I just wasn’t ready to get hyped about another online game coming out. That is until I heard the first reports that DAoC was having an incredibly smooth launch (mid October release), which caught my attention. To this date, only ONE other Massive Online Game, Asherons Call (AC), has had a smooth launch. Many will say that there wasn’t any real content to AC when it was first launched. That may be true, but I also think the fact that 100,000 rabid gamers didn’t rush to buy it on day one and also smart planning on the part Turbine and Microsoft really contributed to a smooth launch. Mythic followed this same proven path. DAoC was released in limited numbers for the first week. While this prevented numerous gamers from signing up on day 1, it allowed people who had pre-ordered and those lucky few who found that rare copy in the stores the first week, a chance to login and enjoy this brand new game. I was one of the lucky ones. I picked up my first copy on day 3. It was the last copy the store had. I picked up a second copy for a friend on day 6, also being the last copy that store currently had in stock. Mythic provided us with more servers as the existing servers filled up (peak was about 3000 players per server). There was no lag. None. Not even the infamous ‘lag bubbles’. Even reports from modem users were coming in saying the game was 100% playable and they experienced zero lag. The game worked. DAoC didn’t crash every 5 minutes, the servers were stable, and everyone who had the game was having a good time (for the most part). The launch was an enormous success! Mythic claimed to have 40,000 people online launch day, and had a total 16 tech support calls! (That is unconfirmed, but I am pretty sure a Mythic employee on one of the boards posted it)
DAoC feels and plays like Everquest. It has a touch of a Asherons Call to it but the EQ feel is definitely dominant. Yes it’s a leveling treadmill, I won’t lie to you. There is a very intricate craft system, which I will go into in a bit. The graphics are the best to date for any online game. You have two playable views. Over the shoulder (like AC), and first person (like EQ). The over the shoulder 3rd person view is adjustable in just about every way you could need. There is also a third view that locks your camera while your character continues to move in the direction you want. All onscreen windows can be made transparent (adjustable). You can also clear all the onscreen windows and see nothing but your character and the environment. The interface is unobtrusive and relatively easy to maneuver, it’s really a decent interface. Controls use a mix of keyboard and mouse. The default keyboard layout sucks, so be sure to re-map it. Your chat windows are all separately configurable, everything from what type of messages you want to see, to the color of those messages. You can move any window to any part of the screen. The client does a good job at remembering your window positions, but if you play in the 3rd person view, the view will reset every time you ‘zone’ which can get a bit annoying. Monsters and items “con” to you according to color. Grey, green, blue, yellow, orange, red and purple. From lowest/easiest to highest quality/most difficult. Blue to yellow equals around your level. Try to solo a monster that is higher, and you’ll likely die (unless you’re grouped). Try to use armor or weapons that con higher than you, and you will wear them out quicker and not receive their full benefit.
When you first install the game there is only a few minutes of patching (so far). The game is officially supported under Windows 9x and ME. It will run under Win2K and Windows XP (I run under XP), but there are a few gotchas. If you have a GeForce card you will need to make sure you are running compatible drivers. The 21.41 series or the 21.88 series both seem to work. I was running the 21.83 Detonator drivers and every time I’d quit out of DAoC, Windows XP would blue screen. I hopped on a DAoC message board and discovered the DAoC client doesn’t work properly with the 21.83 Detonator drivers and I should upgrade to the 21.88 beta drivers. Beta drivers from NVIDIA are usually just as good as release drivers (99% of the time) so I wasn’t worried. I found the drivers on a website (http://www.guru3d.com), installed em’ and it resolved the issue. DAoC was now 100% functional under Windows XP. At first people were telling me to downgrade to the 21.4x drivers but I absolutely refused to do so because it would be a performance decrease from the 21.8x drivers. It’s not the hardware vendor’s job to ensure every software title is compatible with their card; it’s the software company’s job to code proper support in for the hardware. You don’t develop a video card to play a certain game; you develop the game to work with the video cards! So far this is the only hardware incompatibility problem I’ve seen with DAoC. System requirements are the steepest of any online game to date. Minimum requirement is a P2 450+ with 256MB of memory and a 32 Meg Video card. If you have a P3 or P4, you only need 128MB of memory and a 16 Meg Video card. Installation is about 600 MB. Mythic recommends a 1Ghz CPU with 256MB of memory and a 32MB video card. If you have a 64MB GeForce 2 or better, it will run well on a P3 800 (133FSB) with 256MB of memory.
One of the most lacking aspects of the game is the in game CSR support (the Mythic people). It really stinks right now. Wait times to speak with a CSR are 4+ hours. However, you should rarely need to call for a CSR because there are numerous other methods of in game assistance. The most accessible is the Broad Chat Channel. 90% of the DAoC players I’ve encountered are very friendly and helpful. There is a real sense of community and I’ve seen many players that have gone out of their way to help others in need. The second form of in game support is the advice system. Experienced players can volunteer to be put on the “advice list” and answer questions for any other player who has questions about the game. This is where you can get a lot of your “How do I..” questions answered. I have chatted with many extremely helpful people through the “advice channel”. It’s really a great system because the people who volunteer aren’t only answering questions. They can play the game and answer questions at the same time, making it a more attractive program compared to other games with volunteer support programs. Then of course you can always stop by any number of public DAoC forums (I like the Camelot Vault at http://camelotvault.ign.com and WarCry at http://daoc.warcry.com). Even people on these forums have proven to be very helpful, although you will run into the occasional 12 year old flamer, it’s not NEARLY as bad as other game community forums. You cannot Alt-Tab out of the game though, so you’d have to logout to browse a website unless you have multiple computers. There are also some useful ingame commands such as /stuck which can help you if you get stuck on something (happens occasionally). It will be nice when you can get immediate (or just timely at this point) support from a CSR. Mythic has informed us all that they realize CSR response time stinks and they are working to resolve the long wait times. So in the meantime, hopefully one of these other resources I’ve mentioned can assist you with any troubles you may encounter. Mythic also has an extensive knowledge base of known issues and various problems on their web site. Kudos for that.
Account creation was quick and easy and your first month is free. Once you login you must select what server you wish to play on. There are 12 races and 36 classes in DAoC. That is awesome! There are also a couple “Role Playing” servers for those dedicated Role Playing types. Those servers are… quiet. It didn’t seem like there was a whole lot going on when I checked them out. The fact is they are available if you want to play on them. Expect to play “in character” 98% of the time. After you select your server, you are presented with the “Choose Realm” screen. You may pick one of three realms to play in on that server. You may select Hibernia: the land of powerful magic and frail Elven weaklings (hehehe), Albion: your typical ‘Briton Knights’ Camelot realm, or Midgard: the harsh and savage melee based Viking realm. Once you make your selection you may never play the other realms on that server unless you first delete every character in that realm/server. You then have the ability to choose a different realm upon your next login. This was done to keep the realms separate and eliminate ease dropping on other realms. There is no communication what so ever in game between each realm. The other two realms are your enemies! If you want to know what’s going on in another realm on your server then you will have to use a 3rd party form of communication outside of the game, or have a second account. While this whole idea of separated realms is a great idea, it also has a severe downside. Are you'r friends already playing DAoC? Well, guess what? Each realm has 4 races and 11 to 13 classes. So if your friends have already picked the realm they want to play in, then you’re character selection is cut down by 66%. Sure there is a total of 12 races and 36 classes, but unless you want to play AGAINST your friends, you don’t get to choose from all of those on that particular server. You will have to split your time up between multiple servers to experience every realm with your friends. If you are like me, you only have one “main” character that you will play often and get to a high level. Unless I want to quit my job, end my social life and become a hermit, I will never FULLY experience the other two realms anytime soon. I guess that isn’t a BAD thing, since it can help keep you interested in the game for a longer period of time. If you had your heart set on playing an Enchanter as your main character, you may not be able to unless you don’t mind having to ditch your buddies. That’s just an example, so keep that in mind. 4 Races and 11 to 13 classes is still a decent selection. Your ability to experience all three realms will depend on your style of play.
The realms are all beautiful and unique. Each realm has a distinct look and feel. The maps and landscapes are completely different. They really did a wonderful job on realm creation. One minor exception I want to point out here is with Midgard realm. Midgard was the last realm to be added and it looks like Mythic kind of rushed it. The textures don’t look as nice as in Hibernia and Albion. The capital city is not a city, it’s a donut run of a marketplace and the frame rate is horrid. Also, the animations in Midgard seem to be lacking in comparison to the other realms. It really looks like they rushed the Midgard realm. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe the “harsh Viking realm” is supposed to look this way. Continuing on, the realms are not that big, despite what some may tell you. Asherons Call mainland is about the size of all three realms combined in DAoC (or real close). Then remember you only have access to 1/3rd of that area (your single Realm) at a time. This does not include the frontier lands. Those seem to about 1/3rd the size of a realm in itself. Traveling on foot between towns usually takes no more than a few minutes. It could actually take you quite some time (30 to 60+ minutes) to travel from one end of the map to another, but the only reason it takes so long is because you run like a 1900’s era tank. Some classes have speed spells that can speed up your travel, or you can also rent a hairy taxi... (a horse) There are specified horse routes in between towns that expedite your travel by 10 fold. A stable master at each town can provide you with a horse ride from your current town, to usually 1 other town. You sometimes need to hopscotch to “connecting rides” to get where you want to go. Horse travel is 100% safe; you cannot be attacked or killed. Each trip costs only a few silver. You’ll see people on horses flying by on the roads as you are out hunting. I am not sure if Mythic plans to implement horses for players to buy and run around manually. The animations and art are all there, so I assume it wouldn’t be a huge task. The last thing I want to mention about the game world are the dungeons. I don’t have an exact number of dungeons but there is roughly 3-5 per realm. I’ve been to one, and the group I was in got totally wiped out.. oops. Dungeons aren’t that spectacular, and need some work. Mythic was working on dungeons at the time of this article. I expect to see major improvements in the next few patches. I don’t think the dungeons in DAoC will ever be as immense and cavernous as the dungeons in other online games though. ::frown:: This is probably one of the only downsides to DAoC that I think will linger long after release, at least until the first expansion pack is released (no, I don’t know when that will be).
One of the main attractions in DAoC is the PVP, or Realm vs. Realm as most call it. Bordering each realm is a frontier land. Keeps and gates separate the frontier lands. The opposing realms must push past in order to invade into another realm’s frontier. When you encounter players from another realm, it only lists their race type with the word “Defender” tagged after it. You cannot communicate with them, even during battle, you speak a different language! These frontiers are totally separate from the normal realm areas so if you don’t wish to participate in PVP, simply don’t go there. NPC guards roam around and inside the keeps and are only defeated by an organized group of invaders. “Keep Bosses” are another story. Not only do you have to fight past the initial guards, but also you have to be level 40+ just to consistently land hits on these bosses! There are also relics that can be captured in each frontier. If you capture a relic it’s suppose to slightly weaken the opponent’s realm. I am pretty sure it only affects the frontier areas because that would be totally unfair to the non-pvp players. I don’t know for sure yet because I’ve yet to see any mention of anyone capturing any relics! Once you capture a fort, your own NPC guards will spawn in place of the enemies’ guards, along with your own Keep Boss! Ouch! Taking back a captured keep can prove almost as difficult as capturing an enemy keep in their own territory. The reward in RvR (other than the horrendous trash talking that occurs on the various boards) is done in the way of Realm Points. As of right now, Realm Points serve no useful purpose in the game. If they actually DO, no one has figured it out yet. Unfortunately, RvR battles are rarely “even”. Usually one side has much larger numbers, or higher level characters. Attacks have been launched late at night and early in the morning, while a large number of defenders from the other realms are not online. All is fair in love and war I guess. If you are not into constantly getting your ass handed to you, I suggest only participating in RvR in large groups, or at level 40+. There is always going to be someone who’s higher level than you until you reach level 50, just keep that in mind. These higher level players have no qualms about killing lower level players. Still, RvR seems to be the rave in DAoC and many players, low and high level, are having tons of fun doing it. You do have to be at least level 15 to travel into an enemy frontier. The death penalty for RvR is Nil. No XP lost and no lost loot. The only thing you lose is the time it took you to travel to where you got waxed at. ::smirk::
Onward to the NON-PVP aspects of the game! DAoC provides equal access to the soloist and group player. I have not played a lot of different characters in the Hibernia or Albion realms, but over 3/4th of the Midgard classes are all viable soloists. I assume the other two realms have numerous classes that can solo as well. As far as grouping goes, almost every class in some way, can support a group. Some classes are obviously more valued in a group (such as Healers, rooters, pullers and tanks), but just about every class can bring something different to the table. The grouping system is excellent and well thought out. XP is split fairly, and loot is randomly split. Death is an inconvenience, but not the end of the world. You loose some temporary Constitution points (which can be bought back for coin) and a percentage of the XP needed to achieve your next level when you die, usually 5%, but less for your first two deaths of each level. If you get resurrected, that’s all the XP you loose and there is no Constitution penalty. If there are no other healer players around (or alive), you can wait around for your groups healer to come back or /release your corpse and appear back at your last bind point. A grave appears at the site of your death and you loose an additional percentage of XP (usually 5% again). You can run back to your grave and pray to gain back the lost experience from the release. You can only have one grave in existence at a time, so try not to die again before reaching your grave to pray or that chunk of XP is gone! You never loose any loot or equipment upon death. Like most games, you will probably get frustrated with DAoC at times, and death will probably be the number one cause. It’s really a pain in the ass - but not much more. I think Mythic gets a ‘Mission Accomplished’ for that one.
What about trade skills? Yes, DAoC has a very involved trade skill system. It’s theme based. Each class can select one major craft skill based on their class. Classes that are melee based will have access to Armor Craft and Weapon Craft. Archers can do Fletching. Classes that wear leather or lighter armors can pick Tailoring. Some classes can do everything! There are only four major Trade skills currently in the game, but there are rumors of more to come. All four trade skills can be used together to craft Siege Weapons to assist in invasions to other realms. Once you select one, you are stuck with it, so be careful. The only real problem with the trade system is the fact that they are theme based. Your favorite class may not have access to your favorite trade skill.
There are sub skills for each major craft as well, such as cloth working, metal working, etc. You can also still train in every major craft skill, despite what you select as your main skill, but your “secondary” craft skills cannot be as high as your main craft skill. They can usually be anywhere from 40-75% of your total skill level in your main craft skill. This is because the craft skills interweave with each other. You can use Tailoring to make the under-padded armor for chain mail, for example. You will never be as good as someone who picked Tailoring as his or her main craft skill. The higher your skill, the better quality items you can make. Better quality offers more protection, durability and higher damage output. It is also cheaper to buy items from players versus NPC’s. Player made items are also higher quality than NPC bought items, and con lower as well. To raise skill in your craft, you can run tasks for your craft’s guild master. This involves making a random item for an NPC in town and delivering it to them. You can raise your skill while making a profit at the same time. It does take quite a bit of time invested to become a highly skilled crafter. If you have a large supply of money, you can “powerlevel” your skill up quickly without running tasks, but it gets VERY expensive at higher levels. Coin is not abundant in the game, especially at lower levels. You can usually raise your craft skill to 100+ before you need to start running tasks. Items also have a durability rating. They eventually need to be repaired. Each time you repair and item, the durability will decrease until the item is not usable. This isn’t as bad as it sounds; trust me on this one. Players and NPC’s can repair items. You can safely drop it on the ground and another player can repair the item for you by targeting it. If you drop something, no one else can pick it up. The item will stay where you dropped it until you pick it up again, or it finally disappears.
Class balance in DAoC is superb, especially compared to other online games. There is only one class that is severely under-balanced (Rogues). There are a couple of classes that could use some minor tweaks. Berserkers just got a boost by making their Rage skill actually useful, although it could use a bit more tweaking. Mythic has promised to address all the remaining class balance issues. People on the boards have complained rather vocally about Rogues being underpowered and demanded, “why haven’t they fixed us yet!” Without trying to sound too much like a Fanboy, it’s my thought that Mythic is trying not to rush any issues regarding class balance so they don’t break the delicate level of balance they already have with the rest of the classes. Bringing a few unbalanced character classes into balance with 30+ OTHER classes is not something you can do overnight, or even in a couple weeks, especially when you just released the game. You have to remember that there are other issues to address as well. You may not agree with the priority in which these issues get addressed, but there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it, other than whine some more. ::wink::. If in another month from now, the Rogues are still “nerfed” and any other significant balance issues have gone unaddressed, then I think people will have a legit reason to complain. The game is brand new. I’m sure Mythic doesn’t want to break the balance of the game by offering a “quick solution” to a few balance issues. The last thing DAoC needs to turn into is a cookie-cutter character template game. Sit back and chill for a bit, play a different class, experience the game! It will still be there in a month or two from now, I am pretty damn sure of that!
As you’ve hopefully read through this entire review, you’ve noticed I’ve mentioned quite a bit wrong with the game. The game isn’t perfect, as I’ve listed numerous glitches, various other issues such as driver incompatibility and a few unbalanced areas of the game. However, once you start playing, you’ll see that all my complaints will have little bearing on the massive amounts of fun you will have in DAoC. In my 120+ hours of playing the game, and reading the various community boards, everything bad I’ve mentioned in this review is all I’ve been able to find wrong with the game. I know I haven’t been able to touch on every aspect of this massive game, but I think at this point you should have a good idea if DAoC is your type of game. DAoC is a fabulous game, despite the shortcomings and it’s only going to get better; I can almost promise you that. If you are getting bored with your other online games, or just looking for something new, even if you are new to massive online games, GO OUT AND BUY DARK AGE OF CAMELOT!
My final score is going to take into account the fact that DAoC is an online game. I really think online games need to be ranked in their own category, separate from other games. If I were to going to give DAoC an overall general rating, I’d still give it close to what I am about to give it for this review.
PC Games | Xbox | Sony PSP | Nintendo DS | Zodiac | Phantom | N-Gage | Playstation 2 | Playstation One | GameCube
Gameboy Advance | Nintendo 64 | Dreamcast | PC Demos | Forums | Cheaters Wanted | Search
Gamers Wanted is © Wewp! Entertainment | Terms of Use | About Us | Links | Advertise | XML RSS Feeds 
