DAoC rvr patch/expansion going live

[Signe]

I love bards and I don't think they're fruity at all.  They are poetic and sensitive to the needs of a woman.  They're usually quite handsome, too.

The fact that you can trade clothes is just an added bonus.

[Nebu]

People play minstrels and skalds because they are fairly low skill classes.  I've seen skilled players able to solo kill 4-5 players with a skald (Mid version of the minstrel/bard).  Bards are a different story as they are more designed for a support role.

I think your choice of scout is a good one.  They are a challenge and fun to play (coupled to ranged/stealth utility) as well as making the early BG's interesting.  I HIGHLY recommend that you either get fletching to 500 to be able to amke some good arrows and a bow or play on a server with someone that can get you set up.

The level appropriate stuff will have you dying all over the place.

[eldaec]

I left DAoC for a number of reasons, one of which being the direction the game was taking and the complete lack of balance between many classes in RvR.  Granted, their attempts at balance were supposedly from a group vs. group vision rather than indivual players, but even the group dynamics have been distorted with Fronteirs.  

What class do you play?

I played a cleric - so to be fair, what the team was doing was usually just scenery to me.

[eldaec]

Q: I am getting the promised 8X experience in RVR (compared to pre-New Frontiers). However, my artifacts are not leveling faster.

A: The experience boost is just for your level, not the artifact level.

How very depressing.

[HaemishM]

Motherfucker.

That's all I can say. I am a weak weak man. I just went out and bought the gold box (with DAoC and Shrouded Isles) and have reupped.

Since I was playing on a borrowed account, I realized I could do /level up to 20 and get a good taste of RVR Battleground action, since no one seems to be in the lower level battlegrounds. I participated in a battleground siege over the weekend as a chump level 20 with no crafted gear, no spell resists, etc.

And I fucking loved it.

Yeah, it's going to take leveling, and no, the PVE, while not terrible is much slower and less interesting than CoH. I picked a scout because I don't want to have to depend on a group/guild for RVR action, nor do I want to feel the need to catass my life away because of any obligation to a guild. Maybe it'll only last a month.

I didn't get ToA because I'm not sure my computer can run it, and because I KNOW that requires much catassing.

It's definitely a better game than when I left it over 2 years ago. Luckily, I never left because of burnout with this particular game so much as the soul-draining responsibilities of guild leadership killed me. I'm enjoying it.

God help me, I'm enjoying it. I'm keeping CoH as well, because I can pickup that game anytime and play.

[Rasix]

Somewhere an angel lost its wings...

[eldaec]

I didn't get ToA because I'm not sure my computer can run it

If you can run NF - you should be able to run ToA. Everyone got the ToA engine as part of NF.

That said, you don't need ToA till you are 40+ anyway.

(And contrary to popular belief, you *can* do some ToA stuff without epic catassing. You just have to be careful what you go for - none of the MLs require significantly greater catassery than a CoH TF.)

[Krakrok]

I ended up downloading the 7 day free trial (being a cheapscate and not wanting to pay $10 to reup my old account or pay for SI) to check out the new RvR.

I picked a skald this time because running slow sucks and everyone likes fast run in their group.

The PvE still sucks. However, it was relatively easy to level doing PvP only (post lvl 4). There wasn't much action in the lvl 1-4 battleground so I did have to group PvE to get to level 5. After I got to 5 I joined the 5-10 battleground and leveled to 9 only doing PvP. There were plenty of players to kill on Merlin in the battleground.

I seemed to level faster at the lower end range of the 5-10 because most everyone was a higher level. Getting lucky breaks and killing red and purple players was giving 1.5k-3k per player (even with bunk gear). Being a melee class against ranged wasn't that great but if you can get in close to a caster or a stealther and wack the shit out of them they die pretty quick.

I also took my lvl 2 toon out to check out a siege in the frontiers. Midgard was using a catapult, a ram, and a ballista on a tower that Albion had taken over. The tower was dumping boiling oil on the ram and shooting a ballista out into the attackers. It seemed to take forever and I died before they re-took the tower but overall it seemed pretty cool (except the towers, they look like legos).

All the new teleporting functions really help as well. You respawn in the battleground, you can teleport to your trainer, and you can teleport from the starting city to the battlegrounds.

---

Hrose's(?) suggestion of having the battlegrounds from all the servers be the same seems like a good idea as well. Only issue I can think of is naming conflicts and that should be solvable by tacking the server name on to it.

The battlegrounds are instances already so they would need to cap the max players and when it is near full add a new instance. Make which instance you're in selectable ala GW or CoH and you're good to go.

[ClydeJr]

Anyone know where to get some decent screenshots of the different sized keeps? I saw some pictures in some video but they were small and grainy shots. I'd really love to see the difference between a level 1 keep, level 5 keep, and level 10 keep.

Maybe when i get bored of CoH, I'll reup and bring my gimpmaster and non-buffbot druid out of retirement.

[Nebu]

Well...

I have toons on Guin (50 hero, 32 ranger), Lancelot (several in Mid), and a wide assortment of others.  If you guys want to get a small group of regulars playing, I'd be happy to help.   I'd be willing to reactivate for a month to check out the new expansion on the live servers.  I just don't want to try and do it in pick-up groups again.

Keep me posted!

[addryc]

Well I also re-upped to daoc last week as part of NF - it gave me an excuse to catch up with old guild-mates I hadnt been able to lure away to other games with promises of 'teh shiny' (More likely I have less willpower than them!) - and so far I've been having a good time!

I'm also in Hibernia on Guinevere - I have a level 50 Warden there, as well as numerous level 21 and below toons.

The BG experience from what I have seen hasn't changed too substantially from back in the day they were introduced - obviously the exp is more - but the BGs were always the most fun part of DAoC RvR for me!  A smaller area means more flashpoints, instead of a massive frontier where you're spread all over the place.

[addryc]

As if by magic, the Herald posted a link to Here - looks good for those of you who are currently cancelled and want to give New Frontiers a try!

[Numtini]

I hate Mythic. I know they're just going to do it to me again.

[Mesozoic]

As if by magic, the Herald posted a link to Here - looks good for those of you who are currently cancelled and want to give New Frontiers a try!

...thus spawning 12,000 OMG is Mystic dieing?!? posts at VN.

Of course, for the people here, 14 days is enough time to reinstall, play, quit, and download porn for 13 days straight.

[Ezdaar]

I haven't played DAOC since shortly after launch. I now find myself being dragged back to check out the new changes that look neat. Go go marketing team!

[Mesozoic]

Mythic to Meso:

Stay Away From Camelot!

No free trial for me.  The fine print makes it clear that the trial is only for those who quit before March.  So for sticking with it longer than the rest - and paying all the way - I'd have to pay MORE money to see all the new stuff.

Nice.  I guess I'll pass.

[WayAbvPar]

I tried no less than 6 fucking times to get the downloaded file to install with no luck over the weekend. I tried shutting off all AV and firewall software, I downloaded from different sites, etc. No dice. Every time I went to install, I got an I/O error somewhere between the 29% and 44% installed mark.

Anyone else have this issue? Any thoughts? I emailed support, but I am guessing they were a bit busy over the holiday weekend, so I haven't heard from them yet.

[Kenrick]

Worked fine for me.

I'm having a bit of fun in my 2-week return trial.  I only played for a month back 2 years ago when I bought it, and only got to 17 with my armsman.  I'm already up to 24 in one week and have meet some pretty cool people.  I tried the Battlegrounds thing but it's not very fun when you're in the low 20's.

Kenrick McLennan
24 Armsman - Lancelot

:) Haven't been able to write an MMOG sig in a while.

[Rasix]

I tried no less than 6 fucking times to get the downloaded file to install with no luck over the weekend. I tried shutting off all AV and firewall software, I downloaded from different sites, etc. No dice. Every time I went to install, I got an I/O error somewhere between the 29% and 44% installed mark.

Anyone else have this issue? Any thoughts? I emailed support, but I am guessing they were a bit busy over the holiday weekend, so I haven't heard from them yet.

Heh, had similar experiences with the Dawn of War beta.  I couldn't get that damn thing to install.  I/O error every single time.

[Anonymous]

Worked fine for me.

I'm having a bit of fun in my 2-week return trial.  I only played for a month back 2 years ago when I bought it, and only got to 17 with my armsman.  I'm already up to 24 in one week and have meet some pretty cool people.  I tried the Battlegrounds thing but it's not very fun when you're in the low 20's.

Kenrick McLennan
24 Armsman - Lancelot

:) Haven't been able to write an MMOG sig in a while.

If you are not having fun in Thid, I'm going to offer you some advice.

1.  Reroll.  Armsmen SUCK.  I suggest a scout.
1a. Start carrying siege.  Expect to do this forever when you are out in RvR.
1b. If you can, respec to 24 shield, and put guard and intercept on a caster.  Stand by caster.  Hit anyone who gets too close to the caster.  On occasion, charge the healer (if you see one.)  Expect to die.  A lot.
2.  Quit.  Particularly if you insist on playing an armsman.  RvR only gets worse from here on out.

[WayAbvPar]

I tried no less than 6 fucking times to get the downloaded file to install with no luck over the weekend. I tried shutting off all AV and firewall software, I downloaded from different sites, etc. No dice. Every time I went to install, I got an I/O error somewhere between the 29% and 44% installed mark.

Anyone else have this issue? Any thoughts? I emailed support, but I am guessing they were a bit busy over the holiday weekend, so I haven't heard from them yet.

Heh, had similar experiences with the Dawn of War beta.  I couldn't get that damn thing to install.  I/O error every single time.

I did it from both FilePlanet and from Nvidia with similar results...hmm. Be nice if Mythic hosted the server themselves so they could help me troubleshoot (I got the standard "I cannot help thee with that" response from Mythic CS...huge surprise). I wanted to check it out, but I am not sure I can justify buying a new box to get shit installed correctly. I already wasted several hours of my life trying to get the downloaded files to install.

Oh well. Pretty sure Mythic won't miss my potential $15 a month =)

[Soukyan]

If you are not having fun in Thid, I'm going to offer you some advice.

1.  Reroll.  Armsmen SUCK.  I suggest a scout.

And if DAoC had the PvE treadmill speed of SB, this wouldn't be a problem, but the fact that it takes a long time to level a character makes class nerfs all the worse. Granted, the battlegrounds are fun, but if you get to level 50 only to realize your class sucks in RvR, you sure as hell don't want to go back to the battlegrounds when you've tasted high level RvR. But take what I say about DAoC with a grain of salt. I've reached "EQ burnout" level with it so it just doesn't draw me in at all like it used to. In fact, the last time I went back to check it out, I was disgusted; however, it is a well made game with some great systems. I just can't catass there no mo'. :\

[Zephyr]

Yeah, I am not sure what the point of Armsmen are anymore.  If you want to be a defensive tank go for Paladin, if you want to be an offensive tank roll a Merc.  With all tanks able to get determination now, there is no real point to playing an Arms, unless you like polearms.  :P

[HaemishM]

This is why I went Scout. I knew armsmen were nothing more than meatshields, so despite my predilection for gigantic 2-handed swords, kilts and plate armor, I decided to go sneaky.

I am about to hit 20, which is about the minimum level for there to be ANY activity whatsoever in the battlegrounds. The levels 1-19 battlegrounds have been ghost towns everytime I've been there.

[Rasix]

I tried no less than 6 fucking times to get the downloaded file to install with no luck over the weekend. I tried shutting off all AV and firewall software, I downloaded from different sites, etc. No dice. Every time I went to install, I got an I/O error somewhere between the 29% and 44% installed mark.

Anyone else have this issue? Any thoughts? I emailed support, but I am guessing they were a bit busy over the holiday weekend, so I haven't heard from them yet.

Heh, had similar experiences with the Dawn of War beta.  I couldn't get that damn thing to install.  I/O error every single time.

Just incase anyone has problems like I did installing large files, it may be bad ram. It's not a corrupt download.

http://hcidesign.com/memtest/

That one's a windows based test that works pretty much just as well as any of the boot up ones.   Hope this helps anyone that's been dealing with similar non-intuitive bullshit.

[HaemishM]

After hitting 20 last night, I tipped into Thidranki (level 20-24 Battleground) right before I was going to go to bed. Big mistake... I stayed up an hour past when I wanted to go to bed, enjoying the yummy PVP goodness. Despite my inexperience, I managed to get 5 realm points (about 1 per kill/assisted kill), including at least one kill I got entirely on my own. I'm still meat in melee, but I'm liking the sniper aspect. In addition to the RP's, I managed about half a bubble of experience just on PVP kills as well.

We won't mention how many deaths I had. :)

I think I'll keep it for a while.

[HaemishM]

I made the mistake of crusing the Vault DAoC boards this morning, to see if anyone had bitched about them adding portal merchants to most all the big places in the world, but only planning on doing it for Pendragon.

Unfortunately, no one could notice that through the sheer mist of whiny spittle emanating from the mouths of incompetent, drooling crotchsniffers that post on those boards. Jesus Fucking Christ Jumped Up On A Stick, I know it's been said before, but it bears repeating. There is no larger collection of completely useless fucksticks as congregate on the Vault boards. Is it the software that compels them? The ad banners frying their tiny little minds? Are there that many people who only know how to post with their dick in the hand that's hitting the keyboards and someone else's dick in their ill-formed piehole?

FUCK, IT GETS ME STABBY.

[WayAbvPar]

Any free public  board goes south in a hurry (although not quite as bad as the Vault). I tried reading the CoH official boards the other day for entertainment, and the sheer stupidity and whinging on and on nearly drove me to drink.

To steal from the famous Bash.org quote- I will be rich and famous when I invent a device that allows you to stab people in the face through the Internet.

[HRose]

Where you play Haemish?

[HaemishM]

I'm the Scout Maercus on Pellinor, currently ganking and getting ganked in the beautiful glade of Thidranki.

[NiX]

I've be willing to start fresh on another server with a bunch of F13 people. I can easily /level my way back up. We could start a guild and what not. I just wish mythic would really give /level people money. 1G would make me happy. Can't take a fucking horse or get into BG's without begging. It annoys me because my main has lots of cash on him too.

But, back on topic, we starting a group?

[WayAbvPar]

You fuckers. If you start a guild, I might have to go buy the goddamned expansion and play. I have been toying with the idea anyway, but that would push me over the top.

[schild]

No amount of moneys can get me back into that game. Unless someone has free copies and a few free months they can give me.

[Nebu]

I hate to admit this, but I've started playing again and am actually enjoying it.  Sure the game is broken in too many ways to name, but I'm having fun just screwing around.  I have characters all over the place and would happily join you guys if you decide to form a guild somewhere.  I left the first time 2 months after release due to lack of content.   I tried it again 6 months ago and left because pick-up rvr sucks.  I've gone back a third time (damn you evil Mythic) to check out NF.

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?

My 2 cents.

EDIT: spelling and punctuation still wtfpwn me

[Nebu]

You fuckers. If you start a guild, I might have to go buy the goddamned expansion and play. I have been toying with the idea anyway, but that would push me over the top.

For anyone interested, DAoC just released a Platinum box edition with basic, SI, ToA, and the 2 free expansions (NF and Housing) for like $30.  If you play a month, I think it's a decent deal.