How is this game ?

zaltar

DOAC is one game that I have not tried yet and recently I have been taking a look at it ,as I see that they are offering a 2 week trial.

I am a pvp oriented player and am curently over at EQ 2 , which is a pretty good game but lacks knowledgable management about pvp mmorpg`s , thus resulting in an unsupervised environment that for the most part enables bands of kids to roam around harrassing pople into canceling thier accounts due to a lack of consequence for player killing , which as a rule exists in most mmorpg`s .

Every game Ive played always gives players a choice , If you attack someone and they choose not to fight back and you kill them , it counts as player killing with some degree of consequence over time depending on how many people you murder. If they do fight back and choose to engage . it`s considered a fair fight and becomes player versus player. Honorable kills / Dis Honorable kills . Simple rule. Hey if you want to be the bad guy in an rpg and murder your free to do so but you have to accept some sort of consequence along with it.  Sony awards points for griefing / player killing which can then be used to purchase superior equipment , armor , weapons etc.

Another case of people not understanding the difference between pvp- player versus player and pk- player killing including SOE , who rewards bad player behavior rather than implement any type of system that would focus on maintaining a healthy pvp server population , it`s sort of the nasty thing that is kept in the basement that they don`t want to think about , out of sight out of mind , since the majoriy of thier player base is focused on pve. This unfortunately , is why thier pvp servers are like a revolving door with people coming and going on a regular basis. most experienced gamers don`t care to put up with this kind of nonsense.

My question about DAOC is , what type of pvp system do they have in place and how well is it run ?

I`m hearing alot of talk about the game thinning out , is it a sinking ship or is it still popular ?

Is it a solo or group oriented game , I enjoy both types of gameplay ?

How is the environment , big , small , seamless etc?

I like the graphics from what Ive seen so far , it looks like a really nice game. I`m waiting for WAR like many other people but don`t know if I can stand EQ 2 until it`s out. Thanks in advance for any input .

JulianDracos

DAOC is an RvR game and not a PvP game, outside of one server, and this is an important distinction to keep in mind.  You play one of 3 realms and you cannot kill your realm mates.  You can "duel" them if they consent, but it is pretty meaningless.  Killing players of other realms happens in certain zones.  The main zone is the Frontiers that have keeps and towers to take.  Any person who enters a RvR zone is subject to be attacked and killed by players of the other realms.  By entering the zones, you have consented to this.

Players are rewarded for killing other players with realm points and bounty points.  Realm points earn realm ranks that can will allow players to purchase additional abilities, stats, resists, etc.  BP can be used for minor things like to pay rent on your house, buy a potion, or buy some credit for certain PvE encounters (only on some servers).

Mordred is the PvP server.  On this server you can play any race/class available from all three realms.  Anyone can kill anyone else pretty much at any time - there are a couple of safe areas.  You earn realm points just like the other servers do for killing other players.  You cannot kill members of your guild or alliance, but anyone else is free game.  Essentially it is set up where alliances are the ones that fight over things instead of realms and almost every spot in the game is a place where you can kill other players. 

Most areas are seamless - that is the original areas of the game are just one open area with the only zoning being to the capital cities, dungeons, or the frontiers.  You can then zone to one of the next two expansions and those expansion areas are seamless.  The frontier zones and all together.  So you will not be hitting any zone loading lines as you are walking through the game.

Leveling is very solo friendly, RvR on the other hand is not the case.  There are roaming armies and groups so you will get killed if you are solo.  Of course there are stealth classes that are played solo because they can avoid the larger groups.

Also, WAR is going to be an RvR game.  The game will be different, but it will have two realms fighting and you will be only able to fight in certain areas of the game unless you are playing on a specialty server. 

Nierro

If you want to have a chance at doing something effective in PvP in this game, you need to template. Which means you need to know what gear combined maxes you out and prays that you obtain it.

Czzarre

DOc is a fun game. I recommend giving the trial account (14d) a go and see how you like it. Its very unique and not at all like a PvP game. This game is about groups and large forces of people.

Torrential