Dark Age of Camelot

"A Review from an Experienced MMORPGer"

Ok first off, I started MMO's with Asheron's Call beta; moved off it into EverQuest... and somehow found DAoC... So I have been around, and since then I have tried many other MMOs just to see what is out there. This review will take off of those varied experiences.

PvE (Player vs. Enviroment) Gameplay - Over the 4 years that DAoC has existed the PvE gameplay has changed drastically. No longer do you always face the simple AI designs, many creatures use fairly annoying tactics in their attacks. Scout creatures will attempt to break off and return to their base camp to gather the rest of their kin, Caster creatures will attempt to root/mez/stun you and put distance between you and them before beginning the bolting spree, archer mobs try to keep it at ranged but swap out to melee when you close... Add in Trials of Atlantis, the Master Level trials are uniquely challenging (if you aren't in a group who read spoilers that is, even still they present a well built challenge). High end content has become wonderfully varied; artifact encounters, Caer Sidi and its ilk for other realms, Master Levels, Sewer Raids, and other great scale encounters. This game, unlike most others, firmly believes that leveling should not be difficult (having taken a character to 50 in under 80 hours), I believe they have done a great job of creating an easy leveling enviroment. Yes of course the leveling bogs down as you approach 50. Solo or group, there is some way that you can level and some classes will always solo better than others... I will not lie the PvE world will eventually get repetitive (especially for soloers), but PvE is not even a 1/3 of this game to me. Final Score: PvE Gameplay - 8

RvR (Realm vs. Realm) Gameplay - If you really want to say anything about this game, you really have to get to 50 and get out into the Frontiers... in 4 Years we have seen a veritable ground-up rebuild of the RvR Frontiers, inception of the Battlegrounds (small RvR zones for lower levels in 5 level increments starting at 5-9, ending at 40-44), and the release of Realm Abilities. Each kill you make of an Enemy realm member, you recieve Realm Points (RvR xp essentially), Bounty points (RvR currency), Experience, and Coin. As you progress in Realm points (RPs) you progress in Realm Levels and eventually Realm Ranks. 10 levels to a rank, currently 13 ranks in the game. Each Realm level gives you a realm skill point that can be used to buy class based abilities... RAs (realm Abilities) can make your character, or if on the recieving end, break your character. There are some balance issues with Realm Vs. Realm, but Mythic does try to address the needs of its player base, and addresses them in Patches as testing is completed. The biggest issue, and most uncontrollable, is population... numbers always matter... Overall, the Realm vs. realm is what has kept me coming back to this game everytime over the past 4 years, No game has ever even came close to the feel of it. Final Score: RvR Gameplay - 10

Controls - With an ingame system constantly evolving, customizable User interfaces, optional information windows, and even modifiable positioning/transparency on almost all windows... the visual aspect of the controls is as awesome as you want it to be, even as the base set up it is easy to use. Keyboard controls are completely setable from in the game now, and according to your play style you can swap them about. Multiple Quickbars have been added in since the beginning, and thankfully so; fast swapping between bars to use spells stored on backup lists used to be a chore, now with the usage of shift, alt, or ctrl keys in conjunction with number keys I can access a possible 10 x 10 x 30, or 300 quickbar slots. Which is nice for the ability to tailor a single bar for a specific purpose, RvR/PvE/Crafting ect. By the way I have noticed a lot of people complain about 'boring combat', yes F6 is attack, but if you are playing a fighter type you had better be using attack styles... and most fighters will be watching combat closely to monitor what styles are best used and where... to me the most bored person in the combat is the Healer, because they aren't usually doing anything busily until people start to die on them. Final Score: Controls - 9

Graphics - I have never been a gamer that *needed* graphics to enjoy a game, but DAoC has some wonderfuly beautiful graphics. I personally tone down the graphics engine settings for more performance, but when you have it on full settings the world of Dark Age is a wondrous place. Water shows your reflections, Players going by have detailed armor and faces, horses and weapons visual effects glow and shimmer... magic bursts in color and sound... the only reason I would knock the graphics on DAoC is that they are a bit too much, Graphics overload is one of the big lag causing points. Hence why in RvR people tone down the graphics in exchange for more speed. Unless you have a high-end machine, the graphics on here will keep your computer busy. Final Score: Graphics - 7

Audio - Not much to comment here, rain patters, thunder booms, fireworks pop, spells make noises that sometimes can get you to jump. The one thing that is kind of morbidly satisfying, is the death cries of some of the non-human races; I personally love the sound Lurikeens make when they croak... its wierd but its something relaxing to me... Audio is basic for most MMOs, you get hit you make a sound, you hit something it makes a sound. Ambient effects are nice, but get annoying after a long repitition, and the in game music is fitting to the genre. Personally, music goes off, ambient effects tone down, sound effects (combat & spells) stays up there, and I play... Final Score: Audio - 7

Replay Value - I have played this game off and on for 4 years... That speaks for itself... but for the hard to convince... 3 Realms, changing realms makes for the feeling of a new game, each realm has 6 base races, and a good spread of final classes. The quests change from class to class, so they dont get bad too fast, unless all you play is one class... And Realm Vs Realm is never the same game... something is always changing in RvR to keep it interesting.

Ending Notes: The game is worth a play, I, and thousands of others, have enjoyed it for 4 years. It like any other MMO is a constant work in progress, that no one can change until the game just dies. Customer service is good (/stuck doesnt undo all of your work, it merely Resets you character Location and isnt even used much anymore due to automatic systems to prevent 'falling through the world'). Finally there is a class for just about everyone, except maybe the 'I have to be The Greatest' people... who really shouldn't play competitive games due to the obvious need for social interaction... Anyway, give the game a try on the 14 day free trial, if you are in the market for a solid MMO, come and see us at Dark Age of Camelot... I do not think we are going anywhere for a while.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/14/05