MMORPGs have been fickle for me. I have played almost every major commercial one I can think of, dating back to the very first MUDs. It has taken me several years of these games to find what I can consider as much as home as the MUDs I remember, but I have settled my packs in the world of Hibernia on Guinevere. I was disinterested in most of the games I was playing at the time, and the guild I had been a part of in another game had fallen apart. So I started off in search of a game to pass the time. I downloaded the 14 day free trial of a game I had heard some co-workers speaking about, but had not yet taken the bait myself: Dark Age of Camelot.
What I found was a rich world that had a lot of space for growth. It did not carry top of the line graphics at that time, and an expansion called Trials of Atlantis had recently been released. It only took half of the two week trial before I headed out to Best Buy, collecting a copy containing both the core game and the two expansions. This also included an update to the graphics, although I found this aspect to be fairly minimal. The ability to customize the game's user interface was also included. I was sold, lock stock and barrel. The sound quality rivaled that of any other on-line game at the time, whilst with the launch of the Catacombs expansion several months ago, the graphics have been stepped up and look simply amazing. There was a vast improvement on the character models, and overall look of the lands. Additionally, the graphics offered a hint of realism that has always impressed me. On the surface, this game has about all I could ask for.
One spot I was unsure of was the Realm vs. Realm combat offered by game. I had a experienced a touch of this in the past, but had not really gotten deeply into it. In Camelot you are not forced to do so, but it does enrich the experience by spades. There is nothing as fun as testing how well you are versus another thinking person, and the three-realm system Mythic choose is an excellent choice for this. I have yet to experience a dull moment when wandering the frontiers of any of the realms. Even during some of the low population times, there still remains something to find or some trouble to enter into around just about every corner. A more standard brand of play is offered, though, in the form of Player versus Enemy. This allows you to test yourself versus the digital opponents of your own realm. Catacombs has seen the addition of instanced dungeons, allowing people to level their characters either solo, or with a group of up to eight players. Bonuses are offered for full groups within those instances. This rewards teamwork in my opinion, and anything that gets people to work together cohesively wins. Still present (save for on the Classic servers opened mid-July) are large scale events called Master Levels. These are completed by groups of players, and grant you both further skills based upon the class you are and special items known as Artifacts. Both of these are removed from the three Classic servers, allowing for a totally different game play experience if desired.
Those who have read my blog will know that to me, the relationships between players are the most important part of any MMOG, and this is something that the developers can not create. The Dark Age of Camelot players have been the best group I have ever had the chance to play with. They're always willing to help or lend a hand to someone in need and happy to promote teamwork throughout the realm of Hibernia on the server. Personal thanks go to these folks: Schnellore, Esana, and Larian for just outright being there at a time when I was not sure of where I was going, and helping me make that choice to stick with it.
Overall my, my request to Mythic is to stay on course. I see no large mistakes made in the Dark Age of Camelot you have given us, and can only look forward to the chance to see what else you are going to bring to us come the next expansion, Darkness Rising!
Failte Armyn,
Gramalkin 50 Celt Valewalker Guinevere
