If you come here often or if you just pop in on occasion you may have noticed I have been in the process of doing some reviews on games you don't see many reviews for, or up to date reviews. Today I decided to go over Dark Age of Camelot. So lets get started!
Dark Age of Camelot
This game is not one you see in stores anymore. In 2007 I found this gem of a game in Best Buy. It was the only copy on the shelf, the only one I have seen since. I had always wanted to try it, I had just been too into Everquest when this game was more mainstream. So I decided to try it.
While writing this I have actually considered playing it again in the future, it was that good IMO. It is by no means a dead game, just because games may be older doesn't mean they are not any good and nobody plays them. Most of the players you find are dedicated people who know what they are doing. That is a good thing! Communities are closer and nicer for the most part.
Whats so good about DAoC?
First off I had heard it was RvR (realm versus Realm), specifically. Well no PvE for me right? Wrong. This game also has a Co-Op Server where the main focus is on PvE. If you like RvR or PvP it offers a lot towards that crowd too. Also there is a 'Classic' Server for the 'old timers', which I thought was pretty neat too.
Mounts! Everyone loves mounts. This game offered some of the best ideas I have seen in ANY game when it comes to mounts. Horses of molten rock, unicorns and so on. I just thought they were fantastic.
Player Housing along with guild housing. I loved the player housing! It was great, you could even store things in the house, extra armor, or your trophies. You could design the inside as well as the outside! Putting flowers and trees on your plot of land. You could stand outside and look at a house someone had taken time to transform into their liking.
Game Play
There are solo type dungeons, solo play to an extent, raids, groups and many different types of PvP (RvR).
PvE was quite fun. I joined a guild at the young level of 4 or so! I was very lucky that someone had taken me under their wing explaining my class to me in depth and offered to invite me to join the guild they were in. This guild made the game one of the most enjoyable game experience I have ever encountered. We went to dungeons, we traveled all over a vast amount of places in the process of my leveling. The world was a beautiful place. At times I miss this game.
Dungeons, we did a lot of those. We had DPS, tanks, healers, if we died we usually had a good laugh about it. It was just so much fun. I didn't quest in this game much due to being in a guild I grouped with all the time. It was much like my days of Everquest. There were quests to, solo dungeons, do this or that. So don't think the game is just a grind fest.
Something else worth mention would be once you hit the max level 50, you get a free level 20 character. So you get to skip a bit of leveling. This may not sound like a big deal but keep in mind that the level cap is not all that high considering the steep levels in most games today. You also gain ranks after the level cap, so there is something to work towards once you hit the cap.
Also there is an auction system which was very handy!
Classes and Races
Classes do have specific roles in this game. The game offers a truly massive amount of classes and diverse choice of races to pick from. Solo play was much much easier for some classes than others. I am not going to sugar coat it and say "Oh yes everyone can solo fine!", that wasn't the case. Specific classes such as the Necro it was cakewalk for. There also were some classes I have never seen in any game that really were very fun.
Listed here are the three Realms and the classes available to each, as you can see for yourself the list is large.
Races
Albion: Avalonian, Briton, Half-Ogre, Highlander, Inconnu, Saracen, and the Korazh.
Hibernia: Celt, Elf, Firbolg, Lurikeen, Shar, Sylvan, and the Graoch.
Midgard: Dwarf, Frostalf, Kobold, Norseman, Troll, Valkyn, and the Deifrang
Classes
Albion: Armsman, Cabalist, Cleric, Friar, Heretic, Infiltrator, Mauler, Mercenary, Minstrel, Necromancer, Paladin, Reaver, Scout, Sorcerer, Theurgist, and Wizard.
Hibernia: Animist, Bainshee, Bard, Blademaster, Champion, Druid, Eldritch, Enchanter, Hero, Mauler, Mentalist, Nightshade, Ranger, Warden, Valewalker, and Vampiir.
Midgard: Berserker, Bonedancer, Healer, Hunter, Mauler, Runemaster, Savage, Shadowblade, Shaman, Skald, Spiritmaster, Thane, Valkyrie, Warlock, and Warrior.
PvP offers group, battlegroup and solo. Realm versus Realm is the main focus of Dark Age of Camelot however on the Co-Op server you can opt out of this play style if you chose to.
Graphics
I want to go over the graphics even though I have mentioned them a bit. This game is older but it really does have lovely graphics. If you are into the Warcraft type look of a game it is similar to that. The castles were impressive, I wish I had all of my screen shots still to show off! My computer quit on me around this time and I lost everything.
Anyhow, the graphics of course can run on low end computers. Don't take this as the game looks like junk, it doesn't.
Community
Did I brag on the community enough yet? The people in this game were great. I feel bad that I lost out on such a wonderful game community when I quit playing. After my computer gave up on me I didn't play anything for many months. I just never made it back to Camelot.
The people were kind, helpful, and the guild I joined was so generous to me. However they spoon fed me so much that when I was close to reaching the top level I still didn't know my way around some places very well on my own. That took some learning, wandering around. So if you ever play, make sure to explore on your own also to get to know your way around. It's easy to get lost in this vast game.
Expansions and some thoughts.
The game offers seven expansions of which two are available to download free. No new expansions have come out in quite a few years.
This game has a rather older UI, if you can get past that it's pretty fun. The interface is dated, it's not unplayable, the game as a whole has a steep learning curve. Some classes more than others. You can get lost easily, learning the game and your way around takes some time. If you are as lucky as I you will meet people who can help you out with things, there are channels where you can ask questions also.
I thought this was a good solid game, it's at time a grind. What game isn't though? Travel in it is not too bad but you have to know where to go which sometimes can be confusing. Learning all this comes with time. If you are looking for something out of the norm, a good community with tons of charm you may want to give this one a try.
I like to talk about older less mainstream games that I think are worth mention, still worth playing. This is surely one of them. Mythic had some good direction with this game, it was definitely way before it's time in the way of PvP. While it is still updated regularly it seems it has fallen on the back burner at times. However it is still alive and kicking!
Interested? Some links to help you find your way!
Official Website
You can check out the website here if you are interested. There is a 14 day free trial, however if does require a valid credit card to be entered.
Class guide
Also one of the best class guides I have found would be Classes of Camelot.
Wiki
Also there is a Wiki which holds much information that I just wasn't able to cover. You can find it here.
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I probably won't be adding another review until late next week, keep checking in if you are interested in some older titles! -kaozz
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