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Over the last few years we have seen the creation and rapid expansion of the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game genre. Although Ultima Online didn’t really start the genre, it did a lot to popularize the idea of a virtual world where many people could congregate online and interact with each other. As if a game of this kind wasn’t addictive enough for some people, the transition from a 2D world to a 3D one surely made it so. The phenomenally popular EverQuest eventually became the de facto standard for the genre (despite its flaws) and held that title for awhile despite strong competition from Microsoft’s Asheron’s Call. Presently, the third generation of MMORPGs (all promising to be even more addictive than their predecessors) is in the process of being released with the result of EQ and AC both scrambling to keep their player bases from these upstarts by releasing expansion packs.

One of the games that EQ and AC are scared of happens to be Mythic Entertainment’s Dark Age of Camelot. Selling strongly ever since it went live in early October, one can only assume that Mythic is doing something right with their new game. Friends of mine who have been avid EQ addicts appear to have been wholly converted to Mythic’s game and, curious as to why they have had a sudden change of heart as well as wanting to try something new, I picked up the game.

Installation was hassle-free and it was a pleasant surprise to find that a credit card number isn’t required off the bat in order to start a new account. In addition, there is an option to pay by cash too. Players are presented a choice between the three Realms in the game: Albion, Hibernia, and Midgard. Each Realm has different races to play, and each leans towards a different kind of playing style. Albion appears to be a Realm that strikes a balance between magic and melee classes while Hibernia heavily favours spellcasters and at the other end of the spectrum Midgard favours melee-based classes. After picking Midgard and selecting the Palomides server, I created a kobold rogue. What is unusual about classes in DAoC is that a further class sub-specialization is possible after a certain level is reached. In my case, I had to be level 5 before I could sub-specialize myself into a Shadowblade.

Depending on the class and race that you choose for your character, you will start at one of several towns scattered all over your realm’s map. Of course, this means that you will have to designate a meeting point if you and your friends start the game at the same time, since you will start in different places. Transportation across the realm comes in the form of horses that are hired at a stablemaster that is present in most towns. The routes that these horses follow are somewhat limited to trans-continental routes that have no stops in between but fortunately these trips are relatively cheap (at 5 sp each). Luckily each realm itself is rather small in size and doesn’t take too long to traverse from one end to another by foot if you choose. This can be annoying of course, if you respawn at a bind point that is far away from where you died…

Which brings us to the topic of how DAoC handles player death in the game. Every player in the game can set their bind points at any one of the bind points conveniently located in the centre of most towns. Once a player dies, they respawn at the last bind point that they set. Thus, it’s common sense to bind at a town that is close to where you are hunting. Players will also find the XP penalties for dying to be rather lenient in comparison to EQ (which would explain why there are already level 50 players in the game). Upon death, 5% of the XP needed to level up are taken away permanently. A further 5% is taken away as well, but is recoverable by the player should he/she decide to return to their gravestone (erected at the site of death). Fortunately, you will never lose any levels gained which will be great news for players who get frustrated when all their hard work disappears with a few bad encounters. Nobody can ever loot your body since there is only a gravestone, and all of your items respawn with you so it’s not really necessary to trek to your death site in order to recover items. A big plus of course, is the fact that players will not lose any XP when dying from PvP (or in this game, RvR since only players from other Realms can kill you). You will not gain any XP of course, but instead you are awarded Realm Points, which unfortunately go towards yet to be specified rewards at this time.

The big draw to RvR of course, is the spectacle of vast armies of players fighting at once on the battlefield. The sounds of combat fill the air, mixing the screams of the dying with the clashing of metal and the sounds of magic. There are also forts that can be claimed by the various Realms and, once captured, become vital staging points for inter-Realm invasions. Manned by very powerful NPC guards, these forts are quite difficult to capture, even with large parties of people so teamwork is essential. Furthermore, there are Relics that are placed in various locations that, if stolen by your Realm, give everyone in your Realm bonuses. With this in mind, I figured that my rogue-like Shadowblade would come in handy but unfortunately here is where I must make a couple of comments regarding class balance.

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