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DAOC FAQ 1.5 (w/ updated ToA info)
JulianDracos
Member UncommonPosts: 1,528
I am still not done, but I am on my 7th page and I have other things I should do so I will go ahead and post what I have and edit later. Enjoy.
1. Should I do the trial or by the 5th Aniversary?
In order to get a feel for the game you need to play at least 60 days. That is you need to get at least 1 or 2 characters into their 20’s. The trial is only 14 days long and you will be missing out on some great content. So if you cannot get to the store and want to play today then download the trial. If you can get to the store, then go buy the box set. For the record, I have only seen the box collection in a DVD pack so that might influence you if you only have a CDROM drive.
You can also download the trial, all of the free updates, and then purchase the two remaining expansions.
2. How do I get the trial/update the trial?
See the other sticky about all of that.
3. Where can I purchase the 5th Aniversary?
Most electronic of game stores will have it. Since EA purchased Mythic I have usually found a few sitting on the shelves at Best Buy. Wal-Mart carries the game. In fact it is $10.03 cheaper than almost any other store. You can get it for $29.96 at most Wal-Mart locations (Edit some reports not have it as $19.99 at Gamestop and Wal-Mart locations.)
4. What at the minimum requirements for DAOC?
Minimum Requirements:*
Pentium III 1.4GHz or AMD equivalent
512 MB RAM
Requires compatible 3D Acceleration card with 64 MB Video RAM
DirectX 9.0 or later
Internet Connection Required
Pentium 4 2.4GHz or AMD equivalent
1 GB RAM
Compatible 3D Acceleration card with 128 MB Video RAM
DirectX 9.0 or later
Shader 2.X or greater support
Internet Connection Required
Note that your video card needs to support directx9. So if you video card ends in MX, then you are out of luck.
If you run the latest client (LotM) then here are the following specs
Minimum: Pentium 4 2.0 GHz or equivalent – 512 MB RAM – 3.5 GB free hard drive space – Compatible 3D acceleration card with 64 MB video RAM – Directx 9.0c or later – Shader 1.1 or higher – Internet Connection Required
Preferred: Pentium 4 3.0 GHz or equivalent – 1 GB RAM – 256 MB ATI X800 or Nvidia GeForce 6800 series or higher – Direct X 9.0c or later – Shader 2.X or greater support
5. Can I still play if I do not meet the minimum/How will the game play be if I do not have the recommended?
It is possible to run the game with less than the required. However your game play will suffer and you will need to turn down some of the bells and whistles. Further, having a better video card will compensate for your CPU some and vice versa.
Your game play will depend on your type of connection, and your hardware. The most obvious place you will notice lag is in the front. Which to note is not a bad thing if it is minor at first because you know you are near a large group of people.
6. Is broadband required?
No, but highly recommended. Given my performance I believe the info sent to my computer is still at dialup speed. However, patches have become huge, so having a broadband connection is highly recommended.
7. Do I need a CC to play?
You need a CC for the trial, but you can pay for the cash by cash using paybycash.com If you play on the EU servers which are not controlled by Mythic then you do not need a CC for the trial.
8. How do I cancel?
You cancel via the client. It is not on a website so if you want to cancel please do it before you uninstall. If not then you will need to make a long distance call to get it canceled.
9. How long do I get free?
The trial is 14 days, if you buy the Epic edition it is 30 days free. You can do the 14 day trial and then buy the box set to 'upgrade'. You will get the 30 days free if you do this. However, just purchasing additional expansions will not result in anymore free time.
10. What realm/class should I play?
That depends on what you are looking for. While each realm is comparable to the other, they are unique. The layout, zones, classes, quests, etc. differ. In a sense, DAOC is like 3 mmorpgs put together because most of the content for the realms is different.
There are two ways to decide:
Method A: You pick the realm that you want and then find a class that you think will be enjoyable. Each realm will have tanks, casters, and healers. So all of the functions are covered. So you find the realm you think is most appealing and go from there. Midgard is Norse mythology, Albion is Arthurian, and Hibernia is Celt. Mid has a lot of snow and is rocky, Alb is filled with trees and have the British countryside look, Hib is lush and green with a great layout for getting around. Hib’s capital is one of the easier to get around in because it is one big circle.
Method B: You pick your class and that will let you know what realm you will be in. In a sense this is a good method insofar as you can understand a class on paper. I used this method when I got the game. Turns out my first toon was far more gimped than the box led me to believe. However, after playing the other realms I realized that I just liked my realm so much better even if I liked other classes.
If the “feel” of the game is more important to you, then go with method A. If having a certain character is the most important, then go with method B.
11. What are the different server types?
Regular server – these servers are the regular DAOC rules with 3 realms and you can only play one realm. Fighting other players is done in specific zones.
Co-Op – There is a PvE only server. You cannot kill other players. You can play characters from any realm.
PvP – Total PvP outside of a couple safe zones (capitals and housing). Instead of realms fighting each other it is alliances fighting each other. You can play any of the classes.
Classic – a bad term for a server type that is like the regular servers but if missing all ToA content. Further, there are distance restrictions on buffs to mitigate the impact of buffbots. Last there is no /level command
12. What server should I play on?
That depends on what you want. If you want a lot of interaction then one of the larger servers is best. This would be Gareth for Classic or Merlin for regular. Although I should note that clustering has helped out the smaller servers as well. It will be a little lonelier on those servers at low levels but they are still great servers I suggest you try out.
13. What class is best for a noob/new-player?
It depends on how new you are to the genre. In general, you will want an easy class to play. The easiest classes to play are the classes that are original to the game. Further, magic using classes are the easiest to learn, followed by tanks, and then healers/hybrids. To those new to the genre or will little experience then a mage or tank class for the original game is best. If you are familiar with the mechanics of the game, always want to group, then playing one of the hybrid/healer/support classes might be for you. Until you are familiar with the game, you should avoid the expansion classes.
For the record DAOC has 44 different classes to pick from!
14. How do I decide what class I should be/How do I train my character?
If you play a mage then you should only train one spell line. As for the other classes it starts to get more complicated. One of the best things you can do is to play your character some and get a feel for it. Then once you start playing ask other people for advice. Finally post questions on message boards.
15. What is /level?
If you play on a non-Classic server then it is a reward for getting a level 50 character. Essentially once you get 1 level 50 character then on any non-classic server you can make a character that starts off at level 20. This works with any non- Catacombs class. Once you have a level 50 and you start a Catacombs class then you get 50% bonus XP to make up for the loss of /level.
16. Where do I find quests?
Anytime you see someone with a yellow ring around their feet it means they have a quest for you to do. While there have been many changes to the original world, in terms of XP, the best place to find quests are in Catacomb zones.
17. How long does it take to reach level 50?
That depends on your class/realm and if you take advantage of the free levels. It depends on the server, but in general once every 7 days you will get a free level if you earned a level up to level 48.
You can reach level 50 in 72 hours if you work really hard at it and know what you are doing, are powerleveled, twink yourself, etc. If you are new to the game then expect 10 days played (240 hours) on average to reach level 50. Once you know what you are doing you will average around 7 days played.
If you spend a lot of time in the Battle Grounds then it could take 12+ days if you stay until you reach your max realm points.
18. Can I solo?
Yes you can solo most classes to 50. Some have any easier time than other. However, with the content added with the Catacombs expansion almost every class can solo to 50 easily. Although it is quicker/funner if you take a group
19. What are the Battle Grounds?
The Battle Grounds, or BG, are level specific RvR areas where you fight players of the other realms. The BG are approximately every 5 levels. There are now two mini RvR dungeons added as part of DF for levels 1-10.
20. When can I RvR/go out to the front?
You can go RvR at level 1 if you want, but people usually do not bother with it until level 45+ Honestly once you reach level 45 your time is better spent getting to 50 and getting quality gear and then go out at level 50. If you want RvR action before level 50 then you should go to one of the level specific battle grounds.
21. What are realm points?
When you kill enemy players after level 15 you get realm points. They are a type of experience. There are 13 realm ranks. Each realm rank is broken down into 10 levels. As you reach each level you get points to spend on realm abilities. Realm abilities you can get are determined by your class.
22. Can I level in the BG/RvR?
Yes. You get experience points for killing enemies. It will take longer to level this way because the more a person is killed the less they are worth. However it is possible to level yourself all the way to 50.
23. What is ToA?
ToA stands for Trials of Atlantis. It was DAOC 2nd paid expansion. The expansion adds in great looking zones, mobs that drop lots of coins, new quests, 10 "Master Levels" and extremely powerful items called artifacts. ToA, when launched, was confusing and most of what you had to do was Raid content. ToA is wrongly blamed for many things and rightly for some things. What ToA did was bring out the difference between many groups of players and polarized the DAOC community. For example, it brought about a noticeable difference between more casual players and 'hardcore' players. At the launch of ToA it took 50+ in game days played to reach level 50 and then you had to spend another 50+ days doing ToA. So for those that could play 14 hours a day, they had a huge advantage over those who didn't. Another issue are those who just wanted to RvR and were upset at the PvE content. The addition of essentially mandatory PvE content in order to RvR again greatly upset many people. The year before ToA Mythic made a commitment to player made goods being the best in the game. However, Mythic went back on this commitment with ToA when artifacts and many drops were added. This did huge destructive damage to the crafter community and the economy as a whole.
The response to ToA was slow to come but it finally had come. DAOC launched new servers without ToA content. Further, the last patch (1.81) addressed many of the issues with ToA. Essentially ToA has become a lot quicker to do. This has helped make it so that more people can get ToA items they need to compete.
In 1.89 ToA has been redesigned around groups. Almost every encounter can be done by a single group of less. Drops that used to happen from encounters that were not related to artificats or ML have been placed on new mobs that you can farm. These are elementals and Affritis.
The first tier of encounters, designed for solo players or duos (depending on class). The second tier, designed for small groups (3-6 players), is made up of the basic Afrit. The third tier, designed for full groups, is the Master Afrit. He waits safely outside the trial planes, using his bound servants to fight and steal for him. Note that camping the same spot you find one in isn't generally the best idea, as they may not always show themselves in the same place. When afrits from the new encounters are slain, they will drop portions of their essence along with their master level and artifact loot. Five of these essences can be combined into the reforming energies of an afrit and then traded to the "Trogo Zontanos Mageia" for loot from the ML/artifact encounter monster of your choosing.
In addition you can now use bountry points (earned from RvR kills) to purchase ML step credits and Scrolls. In theory, this allows someone to avoid doing ToA and earn the abilties from RvR.
So while not back to pre-ToA play style on the regular servers, changes are certainly for the better and those who do not remember the 'good ole days' should find the content easy to do and many will find it enjoyable as well.
24. What is an Artifact?
It is a powerful item you can get in ToA. You need to do an encounter and then find scrolls to activate the artifact. Then you must go level the artifact by killing. Artifacts gain different abilities per level. So often Artifacts that are level 1 are not as useful as a droped or crafted item. So getting Artifacts higher level is very important if you wish to use them to their full potential. You can now purchase credit and scrolls using bounty points earned in RvR.
25. What are Master Levels?
ML are rewards for completing the ToA content. You pick a patch and every time you earn a ML you gain access to a new power.
26. What are Champion Levels?
Champion Levels were added with Darkness Rising. They give you the ability to sub-class. For example a mage could learn to use a sword or a tank could get a minor heal. You earn champion levels starting at level 50 and after talking to your King. You get CLXP from anything that gives XP, although RvR seems to give the best CLXP.
27. What are Champion Quests?
These are great story driven quests starting at level 30 you can get by having Darkness Rising. They give great XP and some decent items. Further this is a way to earn a champion weapon. Champion weapons are powerful weapons granted to those who either reach Champion Level 5, or whom complete the Champion Quests. You get the weapon at the end of Chapter 2 and you get an additional weapon ability by finishing Chapter 3. Or you can reach CL 5 and you will also get the weapon and the powers. With LotM you can now reach Champion Level 10. Additional quests have also been added.
28. Can I get mounts in the game?
Yes. At level 30 you can purchase a horse for 350gp after doing a basic quest. If you purchase DR you can get faster and better looking horses starting at 1P. Depending on your Champion Level you can also equip your horse with saddles and barding. You CL level also determines the color/type of horse you can buy. The best looking horses you need to be CL5, do a quest, and then pay 15p for. If you think that 15P is too much then please send in feedback because I like you find that total BS.
29. How can I change my default configuration?
From the character selection screen click options. You will find all of the tools you need there to adjust graphics, mouse, sound, and command layout.
30. How do I find out what an ability or item does?
If you hover your mouse over something it will usually give you some info about it. You can right click the item and then hit shift-I to pull up detailed information. Especially useful for spells.
31. How do I use a spell/style?
Click on the icon in your character description. Then move the icon on to your quickbar. Click the icon on the quickbar to cast or do your combat style. Shift-right click will remove it from your quickbar.
32. I'm lost/how do I get around?
Type /map to pull up an in game map. It will also show you were your group members are on the map.
33. How is the community?
Generally good. It depends on your server/realm. Each has a different feeling to it. If you do not like a community, then try a different realm and/or server. Also, especially on the Classic server, join a real guild as quickly as possible because the starter guilds are filled with the worst community members in general.
34. Can I own a house?
Yes you can.
35. How is crafting/can it be my entire DAOC career?
Crafting in DAOC is optional. But for those that want to you can craft most items needed to equip your character. Here is a list of the possible tradeskills:
Armorcrafting - for making medium and heavy armor
Tailoring - for making cloth and leather armor
Fletching - makes staves, arrows, and bows
Weaponcrafting - makes all of your weapons except for staves/bows. Can also make shields
Basic - every new character now begins with basic tradeskills. It is meant to be an introduction to the above tradeskills. You are limited in how high your skill can be which will limit the level of the item you make.
Spellcrafting - enchants items with spell effects. You can actually decide how much bonus you want to a stat or resist with this tradeskill. You can also add a bonus to armor/weapon if you do not want to use the NPC that does it
Alchemy - creates dyes, poisons, potions, and procs. Procs add in a spell effect to the item. For example, a weapon proc when used against an enemy will have the chance to do extra damage. You can also add reactive procs to armor so that if you get hit there is a chance you might get healed. There are many different effects possible.
The game has been changed to allow a single character to learn every craft skill. You still need to speak to trainers to embark on the different crafting paths.
Crafting involves buying material from an NPC merchant. You then sit or stand in place. You click on the icon you want to make. If you make the item there is a chance that you will raise your skills. There are 100 points to each rank. When you make it to the next rank it opens up new items to make (or often just higher level items of the same item depending on the trade skill). Crafting is a secondary skill to your primary class. Crafting involves a significant monetary commitment and thus will make it difficult for a low level character to reach the top of the craft without help from others. Hence most crafters will wait until they have a level 50 to help fund their trade skill. Depending on your server it might be difficult to make a profit by crafting alone. Spellcrafting is generally regarded as the most profitable trade skill, however there are no quests for spell crafting. Thus, you will need to make a 12 plat investment in order to get your spell crafter to 1001.
Most players will require the use of LGM crafters. LGM stands for Legendary Grand Master which means the player has reach the final tier in their trade skill. This is the skill that is required in order to make the higher level gear. You will find that the supply/demand for items and what level of items will vary from server to server.
Crafters can sell their wares directly from a merchant they can place at their home if they choose to buy one.
36. How is weapon damage determined?
Each weapon has a speed and damage rating. Further your damage is determined by how fast you hit. So a slow weapon will hit for a lot more damage but you will hit less often. So a dagger will hit more often for less damage than a two-handed sword.
37. How does duel wield work?
Certain classes have the ability to use more than one weapon. Your "off" hand will hit based on how high you have trained your off-hand skill. The higher it is then the more often you will hit. Further, you will gain access to combat styles by training in those skills.
38. What does + to skills do?
It depends on the stat. For melee and spell skills it reduces the damage varience. The higher it is then the higher your average damage is going to be. For example, an Eld that has 50+12 in light will hit near max damage for his spec DD each time. On the other hand, having a 20 in light then there will be a greater range for the damage of the spell.
+ to envenom gives access to higher level poisons just as if you had trained in it. So having 38+12 gives you the same poisons as having 50 in envenom.
+to stealth works similarly to envenom. Having 38+12 is the same as having a 50 in stealth in terms of detection. However, there are some abilities (safe fall) that will only be gained if you actually train higher in stealth.
+ to some other abilities (any vamp spell line for example) does nothing for you. There are others, but I honestly do not remember them all.
39. What is the max bonus I can get from items?
For stats it is 1.5X your level. So at level 50 you can have +75 to your stats. For skills it is your level divided by 5 +1. So at level 50 you can have +11 to skills.
There are magic items that allow you to go above these caps. Also, each of the 13 rank ranks gives you + to your skills.
40. How does stealth work?
Stealth is more like invisiablity. The game checks your skill in stealth against the level of those around you. The higher your skill the less likely you are to be detected out of stealth. Further the less distance you will be seen while in stealth. The minimum distance, I believe, is 125 units. Within that distance any character has a chance to see the stealther. What this means is that if the player who is stealthed gets close enough and stands still long enough he will be seen. The game checks every few seconds, so an assassin needs to always be on the move to avoid detection if near enemies.
Assassins get detect stealth as an ability. This allows assassins to see other assassins and any other stealth class.
Mastery of Stealth gives assassins a bonus to movement speed and a bonus to detecting non-assassin classes in stealth. It also grants non assassin stealth classes the ability to now see assassins.
41. Who is Kunou/Why is he always answering my questions in a helpful manner?
Kunou works for the community relations department for DAOC/Mythic Entertainment. It is his job to deal with the community. Since he used to work for mmorpg.com and I guess enjoys helping people he comes here to answer people's questions. You will now see him on here listed as Richard_Mythic
42. Does Kunou ever sleep?
Since I am not him I do not know. But he did admit once to sleeping. Not sure if that is a common thing for him or not. But since he does post on here so often it makes me wonder when he has the time to play DAOC.
43. What is auto-training?
Auto-training was available to certain classes and was meant to prevent characters from "gimping" themselves. It becaue a tool for people to have a few extra points to spend. Because of this, certain classes such as archers and assassins are now all given free points in certain class defining skills so that everyone is on equal footing.
44. What are all of these aconyms?
DAOC - Dark age of Camelot - that is to say this game you are reading about
SI- Shrouded Isles - the frist paid DAOC expansion
ToA - Trials of Atlantis - the second paid expansion
Cats - Catacombs - the third paid expansion
DR - Darkness Rising - the fourth paid expansion.
LotM- Labrynth of the Minotaur - the 5th paid expansion
CM - consignment merchant - the merchant you can put at your house (if you buy one) to sell items for you.
PvE - Player versus Enviroment - it refers to Players killing game generated monsters, quests, or any other you versus the game.
PvP - player versus player - depends on who is using it as to what context is meant. Either one player fights another player, or it could refer to the PvP server.
RvR - Realm versus Realm - the name for DAOC uniquq form of PvP. It refers to consentual combat (consentual by you walking into zones where this is allowed) between players from each of the 3 realms
NF - New Frontiers - the term used to refer to the Frontiers where most of the RvR combat takes place. This is the new version of the front that takes the place of the original zones released with the game.
OF - Old Frontiers - the original frontiers of the game at release
Lab - Labrynth - the RvR dungeon added in LotM.
XP - Experience Points - used to gain level
MLXP - Master Level experience - used for ToA Master Levels
CLXP - post level 50 XP you can earn as a means of gaining champion levels - part of DR expansion
Alb - refers to Albion realm
Mid - refers to Midgard realm
Hib - refers to Hibernia realm
45. What is the Labrynth?
It is a huge RvR dungeon added with the last expansion. It is the largest dungeon in any mmo out to date. It is a place for fast paced and inside RvR action and to find mino-relics.
46. What are mino-relics?
Mino-relics are items found in the Lab. If a group does certain encounters in the Lab they can get a mino-relic. These relics grants different powers depending on what relic you got. If someone has a relic there will be a beam of light around him and you will see a bulls head on the map. It essentially makes you a target. If the person holding the relic is killed then it can be picked up. This makes for great games of capture the flag. People will sometimes use this in the Lab to get attention for their group so as to have a means of bringing RvR action to them.
47. What are some useful sites?
Offical Game Info Site
http://www.camelotherald.com/index.shtml
Class Builder/Forums
http://daoc.catacombs.com/index.cfm
Quest Walkthrough
http://camelot.allakhazam.com/quests.html
ToA info (some is outdated but still great info here)
http://www.visionofsages.net/toa/
Comments
While I appreciate all the hard work you put into this FAQ, and most answers are great, I would like to point out that several in there are very much based solely on your own personal opinion. Not saying you're wrong in your opinion or anything, just thought I needed to point that out for any potential new players reading the thread.
Richard J. Cox
"There were much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust."
Was going to say the same thing. If you're going to do a faq stick to the faqs man
Keep opinion out of it 
Especially the comment about 15 plat horses 
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
I added some more ones if you want to check Kunou. If you wish I will edit the answers you find objectionable.
Well I am essentially redoing an old FAQ I did way back before Kunou even worked for Mythic. I guess I could have just found it and bumped it but a lot of the info had changed. I figured for my time I will promote my causes.
1. I hate ToA raid content. There is way too much of it and it reminds of my why I loathe EQ. (Ironic that I do not play on the Classic servers isn't it?) So I am all for "nerfing" ToA to hell. Also people constantly ask why do people hate ToA so I gave them some common answers.
2. Crafting is horrible in DAOC. For me, it is the #1 thing that needs to be changed. I am crossing my fingers that crafting changes will be in 1.83.
3. The 15p horses I think is what pisses me off the most about the game. I am just one of those people that am more annoyed by the little things in life. So if I can encourage people to go send in feedback to help me out so I do not need to spellcraft for cash (see #2 as to why I do not want to do that) so I can get a pretty horse then all the power to me.
Lastly, I would like to point out that when possible I did phrase more "opinion" in terms of opinion such as I believe. Not always, but I did try
An opinion is always welcome for anyone checking a game.
Saddly for me, Gaheris is EQ in different clothings, I doesn't care for another raiding game (the Hamidon alone was to much in CoH, there is more than 1 raid target that drop better rewards) and PvP is definitely not for me. So here I am, the evil ghost roaming forums.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
Exactly. Ano, no game is ever going to make you happy if you continue to be sooo dang specific about what you want. You want to be able to solo and get raid gear -- that just isn't logical or even good. If you want to get raid gear you have to raid. If not just be happy with the gear you get grouping or soloing.
Sad thing is you're missing out on the best games: EQ2 and DAoC. WoW would be good for you as you can solo all the way to the end and even get really good gear. Trouble is it is BORING. Just play DAoC already on Gareth and be done with it. PVP is good for the soul.
Good FAQ btw julian, even if you do put your opinion in there. I for one happen to agree with it.
Thanks anarchyart
Anofalye I am not sure what you are looking for. I would recomend that you could try the regular servers. There are many who never do any PvP at all. There are at least 2 members of my guild who never do it. I honestly do not do it that often unless it is the BG because the classes I like to play are not that fun anymore for RvR - or I just suck at playing them out there
So if you want PvE there is plenty of it in DAOC. I am hoping for a good free expansion this summer and another great retail expansion this fall. Catacombs and DR were two best expansions so I am hoping for another good one.
/bump.
I will get around to adding more tomorrow I think
/
/bump for ToA info
Good stuff.
I still don't agree with the crafting bit. I'll be the first to admit it needs work, and fortunately it is due for that work in an upcoming patch. However I don't agree that it is the worst on the market, imo there are far worse out there...
And yeah, I sleep, occasionally, I do have a wife afterall.
Richard J. Cox
"There were much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust."
I edited the crafting answer. Still not sure it is as nice of an answer you would want, but I made it less harsh. You are correct in that EQ does have a worst crafting system
Not sure of any others thought. At least in DAOC your items are really good items once they have been spellcrafted.
Nice to hear you do sleep. I guess that is a good thing about marriage, your spouse makes sure you take care of yourself.
9. How long do I get free?
The trial is 14 days, if you but (buy) the Epic edition it is 30 days free. When you purchase expansions, you do not get any more time free.
Wow... is this true? So if a playter activates from trial and then goes out and buys the Epic edition he/she doesn't get an additional 30 days for free?
I errrr kinda must admit if that's the case then I've been informing plenty of people wrongly...
If you purchase the Epic Edition you are getting the 30 days free because of the core game, not the expansions. What Jul means is that if you say have everything except DR and buy DR, you won't get any free days with DR.
Richard J. Cox
"There were much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust."
Aaaah, ok, glad to know that I havent been misinforming peepz.
But.... didn't ToA include 30 days as well (or was it DAOC:Gold)?
I would change it to (if i may be so blades Jul):
9. How long can I play for free?
You get 14 days free with the trial and if you buy the Epic edition it comes with another 30 days free.
Had to have been the Gold or Platinum edition, as far as I'm aware none of the solo expansion boxes came with any free days, only the original game and the bundle boxes (gold, platinum, epic) because they have the core game bundled in.
Richard J. Cox
"There were much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust."
bump
some new people downloading do i thought this should go back on the first page.
Games that have worse crafting systems, just off the top of my head (Some newer, some older):
It's far from the worst. And on par with several out there. And it's one of the few that is workable and crafters make items that are highly desireable. EQ2 has a better crafting system but the market for most of the goods is pathetic.
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Boy ... I wish my head was more sponge-like instead of dead space ( hehehe ) there is alot to learn. I'm sure it helps playing other mmorpg before, least you have some idea whats going on when you start game play.
With the crafting issues, does that mean most items such as armor, weapons and spells are not in a large part crafted by players? just purchase from a broker of some sort?
Ignore the crafting part.
It's highly inaccurate due to the fact that the writer doesn't like the crafting system. The best items in the games asside from epic and artifact gear are made by players.
A more accurate statement about crafting would be:
Crafting in DAOC can be very boring but it is a very lucrative and profitable business for players if you take the time and invest the resources to become a top notch crafter. Asside from some epic items and artifacts the best equipment in the game is made by crafters. Master Crafters make a tidy profit on the items they create for other players across all the servers but the Classic servers, due to the lack of TOA content, are more profitable, by far, than the others.
DAOC's crafting system is very costly to learn, as such new players would be best advized to either wait till they have the resources to fund their crafting properly or join a guild that will subsidize them until their skill is high enough to be profitable.
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No offense El, but my statements are true. Dismissing a comment because of the attitidue of the author is fallacious reasoing. If you dispute the truth of the statements then specify what is incorrect and provide evidnce that those statements are false. I currently have armorcrafter at 1165, Fletcher at 560, Tailor at 1165, Spellcrafter 1011, Alchemists 1072, and a weaponcrafter at 200ish. So since I have tried most crafts and now have most of them at LGM status I would say that I have enough experience with crafters to have a good view of how things works.
You can argue over if it is "boring" or not, yet the profitablity of crafters is a huge issue. If you wish to dispute this I can waste countless hours posting threads from 2+ years ago to current about crafting issues. Those issues are usually fall into three categories - boredom, MP quality issues, and lack of profitablity.
1. crafted gear is worthless unless it has been enchanted. You are better off with droped gear
2. the current spellcrafting system makes it so that MP is what most players will want. You will have a few who will settle for 99%. Ironically I can craft almost anything that I want and I settle for 99% instead of MP most of the time.
3. there are a huge amount of crafters in this game. There are so many in fact that most crafters other than spellcrafters and alchemists will find it impossible to make a profit from crafting. Mundane crafters make profit by salvaging.
4. low level crafted gear is not worth the time to make so it is extremely hard to find unless you are friends with a crafter or your guild helps you out
Perhaps the Classic servers are so new that there are not too many crafters at the moment. I know that without ToA on those servers then Crafted gear is the best for those servers. Even on the regular servers spellcrafters are in huge demand for only a few pieces. Yet, because of the huge time involved, and how the crafting system is hooked up, people will find it difficult to find a spellcrafter. I think everytime I have logged on for more than 2 hours, someone in /as asks for a spellcrafter and then states how they have been waiting for 4 months to get a piece done and still no spellcrafter.
Yet, on the regular servers, crafted gear is regulated to only a few pieces. ToA bonuses can up your stat cap, they can increase casting range, they can decrease your casting time, and when you get to artifacts they have even more powerful effects that cannot be placed on by spellcrafting.
So for new players, yes you can make all of your armor and weapons. You can also have them enchanted with powerful magic. If you play on the Classic servers then these player made items will be the best you will find. If you play on any of the other servers then you will have the afore mentioned problems.
That's cool Julian. I can't speak to the 'normal' server crafters as I no longer play on one, and haven't since long before TOA came out. But on classic servers it's like the game is new again. Not many LGM anythings and crafters do make a hefty profit because PM gear is *the* best in the game, bar none. It's better even than the epic gear.
My point was that crafting is viable and profitable not a 'waste of time'. Especially on the classics. Even on the 'normal' servers the crafters I know, at least on igraine and iseult, state that crafting IS profitable, it's just 'boring'. Which I clearly stated that it *is* boring. I've got a fletcher, armor crafter, weaponsmith, tailor and a spellcrafter on Iseult. I don't *enjoy* crafting but it did cut me a profit when I did it.
And I fail to see how players wanting MP items (MP is MasterPiece, by the way 100% quality, for new players) is a problem. I *always* charged them 10% over total costs so I *always* cut a profit. And the profit goes up with every 99% piece I have to waste because they demand MP. If you AREN'T charging extra for MP gear then you're only hurting yourself. If someone wants MP gear then they should understand that it's going to cost significantly more unless they plan to provide the resources to get it.
Lastly: I don't understand your logic that crafting isn't profitable because there are too many crafters. How is this true when you go on to say that people wait months to get things spellcrafted? That tells me that there is a dire need for spellcrafters on your server and if someone made one they could clean up if they wanted to. If someone is waiting 4 months to get something spellcrafted then they OBVIOUSLY aren't using the server forums to find a spellcrafter. That or the server doesn't have enough spell crafters and they should be raking people over the coals, price wise, for their services. Heck, if I were on a server where the average player waited 4 months to get something SC'd as a spellcrafter I'd be charging 25% over costs for any non-guildie who wanted something done. I'd be one RICH spell crafter.
MMMM which server is that again? Maybe I'll do a plat transfer and make a char there and ramp upa sc'er just to make a fortune with
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I should rephrase that - mundane crafters have a difficult time making a profit ont he regular servers.
If you are willing to invest 12p on getting 1001 in Spellcrafting and you are willing to do overcharge orders then you can make a profit. Alchemists can also make a profit but the upper levels become very expensive on making procs over and over.
Classic servers I saw profit potential. I was over there crafting for awhile when it came out thinking of how much plat I could make. Then I saw so many other people with the same idea and then I decided it wasn't worth it. I guess that many of those never made it to LGM.
The issue with MP is when it takes so many remakes sometimes then it can be hard to make a profit and a profit that is worth your time. Often people will want a fixed cost. If the mateiral cost is 1p at 10% above that you only make 100 gp.
25% over cost as a spellcrafter (at least on the regular servers) would be the cheapest you will find. If for some reason I feel sorry enough to do a spellcraft order you will pay through the nose (and given what people tell me I am the cheapest on the server). I just pulled up an old Ranger set. I have no idea how long ago this way, but the material cost estimates 627gp for the cost. It is a 5pt OC on every piece. I charged this person 2 plat. I charge about 50% less than other people, given what people say. If I do 5 or more pieces I make 800 g - 1.5 profit off of it. I often get tipped another plat or two on top of that.
I will even go on to suggest that many crafters have stoped crafting or quit the game. Also the small population on the regular servers have helped make things easier. Yet, outside of spellcrafting, your time is better spent in ToA farming instead of crafting.