DAoC rvr patch/expansion going live

[Rof]

The latest (test) patch just made it so that kills in RvR are worth gold, Mordred-style. Depending on how much they drop, that may remove one of the last barriers to leveling up via RvR: before, you'd never be able to afford equipment without doing a certain amount of PvE grinding.

[Rasix]

Thank god ESPN NFL 2K5 and Chaos League are coming out soon.  Or I might be dumb enough to try this game for a third time.  The PVE is just too painful.

Of course leveling on nothing but PVP would be pretty interesting if I think still somewhat of a pipe dream (I can't imagine low level battlegrounds being very highly populated).

[HaemishM]

Low level battlegrounds on Pellinor weren't populated at all. It wasn't until I hit 20 that I was able to get some PVP action. A bit boring, though kill tasks helped.

Shit, gold drops for PVP kills would make it the bomb. Don't ever make me have to PVE except for the occasional quest or item and I'll be happy. Right now I'm looking at having to do some leveling just to get some gold to upgrade gear.

[NiX]

If you guys start something, I recommend it be Hib or Mid.  EVERY server has more Albions than anything and it would be fun to mess up the zerg mentality.  Besides, who doesn't love being the underdog?

Agreed. I play Alb/Lance and despise it. I don't know what it is about Albion but it's just filled with pricks. I've never gone a day in Alb RvR AND PvE where at least 5-10 people ream someone for their own mistake.

Also, are we going to? All my buddies left DAoC. So, I'd move to any server just so I can play with people I know.. of.

[HRose]

I /leveled a sorcer on that server just to fiddle around. Got the standard equipment and went in the bg. Well, it wasn't really fun.

My char has 280 hp and an hib archer does to me from 310 to 380 dmg. I die without knowing about it. Repeatedly. No fun.

I also get graphic lags and general stutters, it's hard to forget all this when you have played in WoW for a few days, you really feel the difference.

[Nebu]

Well...

You guys pick the server and the realm and I'm there.  I am playing with a couple of friends now on mid/gawaine, but wouldn't hesitate to move for some solid rvr.  I have a 50 on Hib/guinivere and many 20-35 scattered about as well.  I think the only place I played Albion was on nimue and I ran into some idiots on day 3.

Keep me posted.

[HRose]

My toons are on Merlin/Albion lol
If we want to fiddle with Haemish it's ok for me. But even if I'm a long time player I still suck..

He's on Pellinor/Albion one of the more critically underpopulated.

[eldaec]

Someone was complaing earlier that all melee players can do in siege was brace doors, damage doors, operate siege machinery, kill npc guards, guard ranged players, manage npc guards or go out to scout the area surrounding the keep. Mythic posted something on the subject yesterday...

It has been three and a half weeks since the launch of New Frontiers, and your feedback has really helped us make the launch smooth and the expansion a success. As with any project this enormous, we’ve been carefully observing the general ebb and flow of battle, and reading your thoughtful comments now that you’ve had a chance to fully experience much of what the expansion has to offer. One of the top requests of our community was that we provide more siege options for character classes without much range capability. We have greatly increased the emphasis on siege warfare in the new expansion, and we appreciate that many of our “tank” players want a more active role in that.

Today’s “recall” addition is the first of two steps in our plan. (By swearing fealty to the lord or captain of a besieged structure, a player can benefit by having his body recalled to that lord or captain.) The purpose of this addition is to provide our players with limited or no range capability to leave the structure and engage in combat without entirely sacrificing the support of his comrades in arms.

The next step works hand in hand with the recall feature – more postern doors. In patch notes to come in the near future, we will be adding postern (small “back”) doors to towers upgraded to level four or better. At the same time, we plan to add more postern doors to all of the keeps, and at a lower level than before. The intent is that the postern door feature be available more often, and easier to acquire.

As you can see, the two features will allow our close range combatants to seek out the enemy on the field. It will still be dangerous, and require great courage – but it will no longer require a total sacrifice.

We look forward to feedback on the features when they are both on Pendragon.

Seems basically the idea is to allow you to sally out and attempt to break siege without being trapped in unrezzable positions should you die.

Not entirely sure why additional doors are necessary mind you?

[NiX]

The postern doors help alleviate the problem with tanks being ganked by stealthers as they leave key doors. As it is the BG keep only has 2 doors. 1 on the CK tower and another on the CK outer walls. Not much a tank can do except jump off the tower/walls. That's just stupid as you'll just be cannon fodder due to losing 30-50% of your health.

[WayAbvPar]

Had the DAOC Platinum edition box in my hands Friday night...I was THIS close to picking it up. Instead, I wandered over to the Xbox section and saw that they had a single copy of NCAA 2k5, so I picked that up instead.

[Rasix]

Had the DAOC Platinum edition box in my hands Friday night...I was THIS close to picking it up. Instead, I wandered over to the Xbox section and saw that they had a single copy of NCAA 2k5, so I picked that up instead.

You must buy ESPN NFL 2K5 so I can crush you in online play after I demolish you in FF (I like setting myself up for an eventual let down).

In more topic related news, I downloaded the client, and after about half an hour of the always fun "Guess That Password!" I was reupped for the free 14.  Unfortuantely my SI CD has a giant fucking scratch in it and won't install.  So, I doubt I'll be playing as I'd rather play a one of the newer classes.  

It was fun talking with my friend about the game though. He still hates Mythic, thinks the balance in the game is still shot, and doesn't enjoy playing 90% of the time (hello master levels). But he's still playing.  His take on me thinking about playing again, "man, you're out. Stay that way, no reason to get sucked back into this stupid game."

[WayAbvPar]

You must buy ESPN NFL 2K5 so I can crush you in online play after I demolish you in FF (I like setting myself up for an eventual let down).

Oh I will...for $20 I can't pass it up. I will probably break down and buy Madden too, but perhaps not. Also need to dig through all the boxes in my computer room and find my router so I can get XBL set up.

I will probably try DAOC again soon too (against my better judgment). I blame everyone here who is recommending it- when I quit, I was certain that there was no way in hell I would ever go back (and this was 2 months after release when they nerfed the ever-living fuck out of group XP).

[HRose]

Right now what I HATE more in DAoC is not Mythic but the players. 95% of the gameplay in Frontier is to wait. Then port to another keep and wait. And again.

Noone seems to be willingly to do anything aside waiting. You join a group and you can be sure that half of it will be spreaded between all the zones. Noone takes the initiative and the only action is when the target is about retaking a near tower with a zerg of 200 peoples against 10 defenders.

Everyone brags tons of RPs. I can stay logged 3-4 hours and see nearly nothing because I finish only in broken groups sitting in a keep or walking with a zerg with zero aim or purpose.

Then there's the fact that after 10 minutes the client starts to lag as hell.

[HaemishM]

Update: I got my first taste of RVR after they added in the coin drops on PVP kills.

At lunch time, with about 35-40 minutes of playing time in a pickup group, I managed about 1 bubble of experience, 30 or so realm points and 2 gold. I did this while actually having fun, as opposed to farming the shit out of boring mobs in Tepok's Mines for money.

I'm not sure what Hrose is running into, but I'm having a blast.

[HRose]

I was commenting level 50 and above.

But I played a bit on your server and at your level without having fun.

My sorc has 280 hitpoints and gets shoot for 300-380. Dunno if it's an archer or siege but I don't even notice when I die. Too weak, dying too fast and always meeting completely umbalanced and organized groups.

[WayAbvPar]

Maybe it was Haemish that was sniping you? That would amuse me to no end =)

[HRose]

No, we are on the same side :D

[hkgoh]

Since you guys seems to solo, and do not have the requisite numbers for a gank group... why not roll up a char on Modred?

My friends and I just rolled up a group there... and so far its been a blast.

Money is hard to earn, so heavily twinked alternate lower lvl chars are quite uncommon. Peeps go around in free gear / drops, quite unlike battlegrounds on RVR servers where the players there are frequently twinked and buffed to the teeth.

Theres no Portal Keeps and no safe zones to park buff bots so groups have to carry the bot if they want to use it - and the opposing group can actually target and kill the buff bot if they wants to for once.

In Modred its actually also possible to find non stealthers for 1 v 1 or 3 v 3 combat. 8 v 8 is more common as you move up, and zergs are quite infrequent and smaller sized as compared to the regular servers.

Anytime, anywhere one can find a fight. Downside of course is that anytime anywhere others can engage you too.

When Modred first launched there's quite a large number of grey gankers amongst the hardcore elite that rushed up the lvls, but as I have seen - grey ganking is now alot less common. On the flip side, attacking higher con players risky but potentially very rewarding - killing a purple caster that got too careless can give you several bubbles plus some gold at one shot.

[eldaec]

My sorc

You seem to be playing a support caster without a group (or with a pickup group - which is basically the same as no group).

....

DAoC has always limited how classes can play effectively (solo vs grouped). You can argue this is a game weakness, but you can't really extrapolate the amount of fun playing a sorceror with fucktards for groupmates to amount of fun playing a sorceror with a proper group, or to just playing a solo class either with the zerg or on your own.

[Soukyan]

My sorc

You seem to be playing a support caster without a group (or with a pickup group - which is basically the same as no group).

....

DAoC has always limited how classes can play effectively (solo vs grouped). You can argue this is a game weakness, but you can't really extrapolate the amount of fun playing a sorceror with fucktards for groupmates to amount of fun playing a sorceror with a proper group, or to just playing a solo class either with the zerg or on your own.

I used to play my Sorc solo in Thidranki on Nimue and owned the living shit out of people. Pets + CC + run speed + lifetap = rawr! ;)

[Mr Samsa]

I went back and tried the free resub.  While the chance to level via rvr was nice, I'd have to say it was of limited use to my 38 Champ.  Everytime I headed out to the bg it seemed it was always the same 15 or so people from each realm, all of whom had already been farmed to death, so they weren't worth much xp, or rp.  And many of the same class and realm imbalances were still there.  The last time I played, I got perfed by an SB with a 2h axe for half of my hp, which was capped at 1200ish.

Frankly, I've had more fun playing with a friends copy of the WoW server emulator.

[HaemishM]

Hrose, I'm not sure who was hitting you at level 20 for over 300 damage, but in my time in the level 20's BG, I've made exactly 1 hit for over 300 damage with archery, one hit for around 240, and nothing else above 170-180. Granted, I'm not using fletcher made arrows, but I'm decently equipped. As for sorcerers, my wife made a /level 20 sorcerer on my brother-in-law's account last night.  We played together and she had a blast. YMMV

The biggest problem I have in RVR is the number of fucking nightshades and shadowblades who unstealth behind me like goddamn Klingon Birds of Prey and perforate/poison my ass for half my hit points before I can blink. Usually against casters I'm about 50/50, depending on if I can tag them before they can mez me, or get off enough shots to interrupt their spellcasting before they can interrupt my bowshots.

[HRose]

Everytime I headed out to the bg it seemed it was always the same 15 or so people from each realm, all of whom had already been farmed to death, so they weren't worth much xp, or rp.

Yes, this is another of the biggest problems and one that I strongly criticized when it was still in the planning stage.

I even wrote a long letter about a better design alternative. They didn't accept it.

Basically it was a new system to gain RPs. As you kill peoples you build up a bonus with a diminished return, softcapped at 2.5x. So it's a multiplier for the RPs you gain. The more RPs you gain the more the multiplier goes up. It vanishes only if you leave the PvP zone OR if 50% of your group is wiped. Obviously the more the bonus goes up the more you are worth RPs.

This system was aimed to reward the survival forcing the players to plan more their action instead of charging, dying and repeating. Without applying res sickness, maluses or timesinks.

And it rewared also the teamwork since the bonus remains alive if you are able to keep alive 51% of your group.

[HRose]

Okay, look this:

[NiX]

I have no idea why you're getting hit for so much. My sorc has been 1 shotted too many times to remember but it's usually for around 200-250. Odd times you get the person with a lvl 50 who can twink their /lvl toons out the ass and you get 400 dmg hits. I love how bladeturn is utterly useless unless you're fighting someone as gimped as you. I've seen 90% of the bow classes kill me on the first shot. Meanwhile my archer was twinked out the ass (max bow skill w/ + items) and couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with his crit shot.

Haemish - Keep moving. Never stop for a long enough that a stealther can come up behind you. Get Falcons Eye and Mastery of Stealth. Being able to move faster stealthed makes it harder for them to catch up when you're moving around. Always remember they can see you WAY before you can see them. I made it a habit to circl strafe randomly. Helped me offset numerous sb's and ns'. Quite a few times I got rat fang off and was able to stealth+crit. BUt, that was on a rare occasion. If they ever put me into a melee fight, I'm fucked. Utterly fucked. Though I have to say it's rewarding if I ever kill someone melee.

[HaemishM]

I got Mastery of Stealth 1 (only level 22, RR1L3), but not Falcon's Eye. Is it really that good? Before I have to leave Thidranki, I'll be getting another skill point, which I was planning on saving to get Physical Defense 2, but if FE is decent I might get level 1 of that instead.

My two biggest problems are that I tend not to move once I've got a good target, just continually popping arrows into them, and the fact I've played a warrior class so long, I tend to try to go toe-to-toe too many times. I'm aggressive and impatient, and yet somehow still enjoy the scout class. Who knew?

[Soukyan]

I got Mastery of Stealth 1 (only level 22, RR1L3), but not Falcon's Eye. Is it really that good? Before I have to leave Thidranki, I'll be getting another skill point, which I was planning on saving to get Physical Defense 2, but if FE is decent I might get level 1 of that instead.

My two biggest problems are that I tend not to move once I've got a good target, just continually popping arrows into them, and the fact I've played a warrior class so long, I tend to try to go toe-to-toe too many times. I'm aggressive and impatient, and yet somehow still enjoy the scout class. Who knew?

At higher levels, assassins will get you every single time and there are tons of them in RvR. Learn to strike (and kill) and move. An advantageous spot only lasts a short while until the other players figure out where you are.

[Nebu]

At higher levels, assassins will get you every single time and there are tons of them in RvR. Learn to strike (and kill) and move. An advantageous spot only lasts a short while until the other players figure out where you are.

Great point... one other thing you should consider: About 20-30% of people that frequent RvR cheat.  There is a radar app that shows where stealthers (and enemy players) are on screen.  Granted, Mythic claims that they are making an effort to ban people for this, but some alliances encourage it.  One friend of mine said that they saw someone IN GAME tell another player how to get and use this app.  

So, keep moving and pick your targets wisely.  

Another fun tip: If your realm holds DF (darkness falls) it can be fun to camp in there before you log.  When you log in, it is often held by an opposing realm and you can plunk people a while until they catch you.  When I played my Hib archer I found this to be amusing.  If you catch higher level casters sitting down to heal you can often 1-shot them.  Nice RP's when you can find them.

[HRose]

Where damn I can get equipment?

I searched the market for a cloak from level 20 to 30
result
zero

Searched other parts with still zero result.

[Soukyan]

Where damn I can get equipment?

I searched the market for a cloak from level 20 to 30
result
zero

Searched other parts with still zero result.

That's another downfall. You'll only find level 50+ equipment for sale because it's not profitable to sell lower level wares. At least I never found anyone who really bothered with them. Find yourself a crafter and have them make the stuff for you though. On larger servers you can still find a fair amount of crafters. On smaller ones, like Palomides, most Legendary GM crafters are just guild bots, so you may need to talk to some of the guilds and see what you can find.

[HRose]

That's another downfall. You'll only find level 50+ equipment for sale because it's not profitable to sell lower level wares. At least I never found anyone who really bothered with them. Find yourself a crafter and have them make the stuff for you though. On larger servers you can still find a fair amount of crafters. On smaller ones, like Palomides, most Legendary GM crafters are just guild bots, so you may need to talk to some of the guilds and see what you can find.

I'm really trying hard to play the game. I cannot hang around for a few hours to wait a tailor to do my armor and then spellcraft everything with 5 gold I gained in the PvP.

So I logged on my 50 toon on Merlin and tried every way possible to RvR. Nothing. Cannot find a group. If I do I finish with four peoples, each playing in a different zone.

I passed two years in this game and now I cannot play anymore. No matter how hard I try.

[hkgoh]

Great point... one other thing you should consider: About 20-30% of people that frequent RvR cheat.  There is a radar app that shows where stealthers (and enemy players) are on screen.  Granted, Mythic claims that they are making an effort to ban people for this, but some alliances encourage it.  One friend of mine said that they saw someone IN GAME tell another player how to get and use this app.  

Actually I believe it's the opposite. Radar can show all players - even their lvl and class.... all except the stealthers. The only time radar can detect a stealther is when they are unstealthed.

Have been well documented before on other forums, and have even spoke with a couple of radar users which I know.

[hkgoh]

Okay, look this:

Are you wearing yellow con armor? Is your self AF buff on, and that you are using the highest AF buff available to you? If the AF buff is off, it will instantly reduce your AF greatly- and increase the amount of physical damage you will receive.

Are you seated when you are being hit? Seated = zero AF. Thats how  archers / assasins can one shot casters thats higher lvl than them.

Commonly its one of the above that allows an archer or assasin to hit for very large numbers against a cloth caster.

[hkgoh]

Actually daoc warcry offers a very good list of quests that one can complete within one's realm for equipment. Simply doing a few SI quests can reward a player with pretty good gear.

Alternatively as one approach 30, one can farm or puchase emerald seals for buying DF equipment - which although is inferior to SCed eq, is still pretty good stuff.

Tailoring is the craft which requires the lowest cost to push up. And by pushing metal working one can soon be able to salvage gear for tinkering into hinges - which can be resold at high value.

[eldaec]

20-30% using radar/other hacks is a massive overestimate.

It's the sort of wailing and gnashing of teeth that keeps Mythic comfortable ignoring the real problems.

By which I mean buffbots, the fact that 1-50 isn't fun, and the fact that even with the recently promised changes, starting the game from scratch without a guild has enormous barriers to entry.