Technicly I've played DAoC before (less than a month when it first came out) but functionally I'm new to the game. I basically am looking for advice on the 3 main decisions I need to make when starting my 14-day trial:
SERVER- I've read around that the Classic servers are best for new/casual players, but I really want to experience the entire game. Is experiencing relics, buffbots and the other stuff (some of which I don't understand) worth braving the established servers? Or are the classics really the best place to learn the game, group, RvR and level for a newbie like me?
REALM- When I briefly played years ago I was Hibernia. Initially I'm drawn most to the Nordic flair of Midgard though. Is one realm better for new players due to class selection of some other factor? Or is it more of a "go with your gut" sort of desicion?
CLASS- Obviously hinging on the above decision, but which classes are good for new players? I'm interested in all aspects of the game- solo, group, dungeons, RvR, crafting, etc. I'm also initially leaning toward a melee oriented character, but it's more important to me to have a nice, rounded class to get the hang of the game. Any suggestions?
I apologize for the vagueness of these questions, but I know so little. And I really just want to jump into the game and immerse myself int he world.
Thanks,
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Need help with the newbie decisionsFollow
I'm looking for the same info, hehe.
I logged in for the first time since 6 months after Day 1, and can't remember crap and the place is a ghost town. Beginning to wonder if /broadcast even works, lol.
In fact, if you're interested, I'll specifically go to the same server/realm you're going to, just so we noobs can hang out, hehe.
Edited, Dec 27th 2006 11:22am by Chaotecha
I logged in for the first time since 6 months after Day 1, and can't remember crap and the place is a ghost town. Beginning to wonder if /broadcast even works, lol.
In fact, if you're interested, I'll specifically go to the same server/realm you're going to, just so we noobs can hang out, hehe.
Edited, Dec 27th 2006 11:22am by Chaotecha
Here is my take on the above comments....and people may disagree and others may not...but thats life.
After four years or so...if you have stuck with the game you are probably at this point pretty advanced in one way or another...totally absorbed in the RVR aspect and rolling in realm points...or done everything you can in TOA and got all your artifacts leveled up and also perhaps done your master levels...and then there are the champ levels...and lots have done all three...
So the point is, I am finding out that I have started making new characters on different servers...classic or otherwise and I find myself pretty much totally alone...even if I run into people I know...they frankly dont want to spend a lot time helping you along...so for the new player..I am finding its task dungeons up to about level 20..then you play in Thid (battlegrounds 20-25).
Its still a fun game...but you dont have that very large group of new players that you had when it was new...so you dont see the same amount of good large groups of lower level players.
I personally, as a player that I know will probably be alone with a new toon, tend to go to Albion and play a chant paladin or something I know I have a chance of surviving.
Not going to get into what toon is good for farming and all that.
Anyway...thats it
After four years or so...if you have stuck with the game you are probably at this point pretty advanced in one way or another...totally absorbed in the RVR aspect and rolling in realm points...or done everything you can in TOA and got all your artifacts leveled up and also perhaps done your master levels...and then there are the champ levels...and lots have done all three...
So the point is, I am finding out that I have started making new characters on different servers...classic or otherwise and I find myself pretty much totally alone...even if I run into people I know...they frankly dont want to spend a lot time helping you along...so for the new player..I am finding its task dungeons up to about level 20..then you play in Thid (battlegrounds 20-25).
Its still a fun game...but you dont have that very large group of new players that you had when it was new...so you dont see the same amount of good large groups of lower level players.
I personally, as a player that I know will probably be alone with a new toon, tend to go to Albion and play a chant paladin or something I know I have a chance of surviving.
Not going to get into what toon is good for farming and all that.
Anyway...thats it
I feel bad for people starting, and that is what I always try to log in this site and answer questions.
I'll answer the original poster's questions to the best of my ability.
First off, classic servers and most of the other servers (Gaheris and Mordred are completely different) are nearly the same. The only differences of classics are the following:
1) No master levels (these are a series of 91 encounters you do not that unsimilar to quests, but that require many people to do). master Levels give characters extra abilities. For instance, a cleric can get Cure Nearsight and Group Cure Disease as Master Level abilities which are very useful. Pet charming classes or summoning classes have a Master Level ability that turns their pet into a huge version of it, many levels higher than what it normal was for a few minutes. Some of the Master Level abilities are incredibly powerful and definitely change the game.
2) No artifacts. Artifacts are some of the best gear to get. They have stat cap increases, and often have bonuses to melee or casting damage. They also regularly have /use or /use2 abilites which are very strong. These don't change the game as much as Master Level Abilities, but are also game changing
3) Buffs must be done in group. In ToA servers, most serious Realm vs. Realmers have a 2nd account in which their character is buffed. If you do not have access to a buff-bot, your character will perform much, much worse. In classics, if you buff someone and then drop from the group, the buffs also drop. It helps balance the playing field.
4) No /level to 20. On most servers, if you have a Level 50 on another server or your current one, you can automatically start at level 20 by typing /level when you speak to your trainer. This helps create the "ghost town" you are talking about. On classics, all toons start at Level 1. Unfortunately, power leveling is not that difficult in DAoC, so if you have multiple accounts or know someone, you can go to a high-con area grouped with other people and level much faster than you can doing it the way it was meant to be.
I guess a fifth difference is that the Trials of Atlantis areas don't exist in classics, but really the only reason to go to ToA areas is to do Master Levels, Artifact Encounters, or farm for scrolls.
Now, reasons to choose one or the other. The original poster is correct.....if you go classic, you will miss a portion of the game. The Master Levels and Artifact encounters are certainly entertaining, and as I said, game-changing. The reason people are swayed to classics is because you NEED the artifacts and Master Levels to compete. The gear is easier to get in classics. It is up to you to decide how dedicated you are. You CAN overcome your Newbiness and succeed in ToA servers, it just takes more work and patience.
Now, for what realm to go to, that is always a hard choice. You will experienced ghost towns in all of them, on all servers in the newb areas. Now, just today, I saw a group of six sub level 10's running around Mainland Alb on Caerleon. This was very surprising, because sub 20 toons are rare to say the least. The thing you have to remember is DAoC is about the end game, not the leveling game. People want to get to 50 as fast as possible so they can start playing the real game. The leveling is considered a grind to them. If either of you want some help, come to Lancelot (or any Caerleon server (iseult, pellinor, kay being the other three) on Albion and I will try to help you out. I will let you join our guild which is helpful to new people.
Now, for what classes to choose. That is difficult to say also, because some classes excel at PvE and can help get you financed easier, whereas other toons excel in RvR. All three realms heavy tanks are solid choices in that they are good PvE and PvP. Healing classes are always wanted, but good luck leveling a healing class (clerics, druids and healers) without someone to level with. I would say go Bonedancer in Midgard, Enchanter or Vampire in Hibernia, or Cabalist/Sorceror in Alb. That way you have a toon that is good in PvP and also is inexpensive in leveling (casters are cheaper to level up than tanks..tanks NEED good gear..the classes I recommended let their pets do the work and pets don't need gear). Albion is the realm considered most PvE friendly, and I can say many people in our guild could care less about RvR and just level up toons all the time.
The game has come a long way of at least explaining some of the way it works in game to help newbs, but there is still so many questions you must have. The new starter guilds sometimes are helpful to answering questions, but not always.
Anyway, feel free to ask more questions here, and I'll try to help you out.
I'll answer the original poster's questions to the best of my ability.
First off, classic servers and most of the other servers (Gaheris and Mordred are completely different) are nearly the same. The only differences of classics are the following:
1) No master levels (these are a series of 91 encounters you do not that unsimilar to quests, but that require many people to do). master Levels give characters extra abilities. For instance, a cleric can get Cure Nearsight and Group Cure Disease as Master Level abilities which are very useful. Pet charming classes or summoning classes have a Master Level ability that turns their pet into a huge version of it, many levels higher than what it normal was for a few minutes. Some of the Master Level abilities are incredibly powerful and definitely change the game.
2) No artifacts. Artifacts are some of the best gear to get. They have stat cap increases, and often have bonuses to melee or casting damage. They also regularly have /use or /use2 abilites which are very strong. These don't change the game as much as Master Level Abilities, but are also game changing
3) Buffs must be done in group. In ToA servers, most serious Realm vs. Realmers have a 2nd account in which their character is buffed. If you do not have access to a buff-bot, your character will perform much, much worse. In classics, if you buff someone and then drop from the group, the buffs also drop. It helps balance the playing field.
4) No /level to 20. On most servers, if you have a Level 50 on another server or your current one, you can automatically start at level 20 by typing /level when you speak to your trainer. This helps create the "ghost town" you are talking about. On classics, all toons start at Level 1. Unfortunately, power leveling is not that difficult in DAoC, so if you have multiple accounts or know someone, you can go to a high-con area grouped with other people and level much faster than you can doing it the way it was meant to be.
I guess a fifth difference is that the Trials of Atlantis areas don't exist in classics, but really the only reason to go to ToA areas is to do Master Levels, Artifact Encounters, or farm for scrolls.
Now, reasons to choose one or the other. The original poster is correct.....if you go classic, you will miss a portion of the game. The Master Levels and Artifact encounters are certainly entertaining, and as I said, game-changing. The reason people are swayed to classics is because you NEED the artifacts and Master Levels to compete. The gear is easier to get in classics. It is up to you to decide how dedicated you are. You CAN overcome your Newbiness and succeed in ToA servers, it just takes more work and patience.
Now, for what realm to go to, that is always a hard choice. You will experienced ghost towns in all of them, on all servers in the newb areas. Now, just today, I saw a group of six sub level 10's running around Mainland Alb on Caerleon. This was very surprising, because sub 20 toons are rare to say the least. The thing you have to remember is DAoC is about the end game, not the leveling game. People want to get to 50 as fast as possible so they can start playing the real game. The leveling is considered a grind to them. If either of you want some help, come to Lancelot (or any Caerleon server (iseult, pellinor, kay being the other three) on Albion and I will try to help you out. I will let you join our guild which is helpful to new people.
Now, for what classes to choose. That is difficult to say also, because some classes excel at PvE and can help get you financed easier, whereas other toons excel in RvR. All three realms heavy tanks are solid choices in that they are good PvE and PvP. Healing classes are always wanted, but good luck leveling a healing class (clerics, druids and healers) without someone to level with. I would say go Bonedancer in Midgard, Enchanter or Vampire in Hibernia, or Cabalist/Sorceror in Alb. That way you have a toon that is good in PvP and also is inexpensive in leveling (casters are cheaper to level up than tanks..tanks NEED good gear..the classes I recommended let their pets do the work and pets don't need gear). Albion is the realm considered most PvE friendly, and I can say many people in our guild could care less about RvR and just level up toons all the time.
The game has come a long way of at least explaining some of the way it works in game to help newbs, but there is still so many questions you must have. The new starter guilds sometimes are helpful to answering questions, but not always.
Anyway, feel free to ask more questions here, and I'll try to help you out.
Anyway, wanted to add one more thing. As SteveSaunders said, try out the level 20-24 battlegrounds. This is real RvR action, and regardless of if you are in classic or normal servers, are normally full of action nearly 24 hours a day. Most of the overpowered abilites are not available to toons yet (such as artifacts and Master levels), so they are similar in both ToA and classic servers (although the buff thing still exists in ToA servers). Grouping is not hard there, although you won't believe how fast the action is when you go first time. I know I felt so overwhelmed when I was there...targeting mobs was not difficult to that point b/c mobs in general don't move much....players act fast, and you will take a while to catch up, but after a few tries, I loved this place and was sorry I leveled past 24 and could no longer go.
Edited, Dec 27th 2006 4:24pm by thuri
Edited, Dec 27th 2006 4:24pm by thuri
I have been thinking og coming to Lancelot...also the Lovely Katie the one and only has also told me to come over.
Hate to leave my house, my game worldly goods and everything...come to Lancelot...do /level 20 and end up pennieless in the mean streets of Camelot.
What is the guild name you play in Thuri?
Steve
Hate to leave my house, my game worldly goods and everything...come to Lancelot...do /level 20 and end up pennieless in the mean streets of Camelot.
What is the guild name you play in Thuri?
Steve
I'm in Realm Royalty
2 posts
Thanks everyone for the replies...
Wow, Thuri, thanks alot for the offer. I've been playing around with Mid and have a 5 Thane and a 4 Rune/Bone (not sure) but I'd definately be interested in switching to Alb and coming over to Lancelot.
I'm certainly not looking for anyone to powerlevel me or outfit me, but it'd be really nice to have a community of people to interact with and help me learn about the game a bit. Is your name Thuri in game?
One thing I do need to mention, I'm one of those losers with a full time job, a wife and a 4-year-old (that has the uncanny ability to always press the most unfortunate buttons when she watches me play) so I can only be online a few hours, maybe 3 or 4 nights a week. It doesn't seem that your guild only takes people that are "hardcore" but I wanted to mention my limited play time just the same.
Well now I have a decision to make... Friar, Heretic, Armsman, Merc, Reaver, Minstrel, scout... way too many classes initially jump out at me. I'll have to think about this one. Any suggestions? Are there any particularly underpopulated classes?
Another question comes to mind... how are tradeskills in this game? Powerful? A pain? Worth taking up?
Wow, Thuri, thanks alot for the offer. I've been playing around with Mid and have a 5 Thane and a 4 Rune/Bone (not sure) but I'd definately be interested in switching to Alb and coming over to Lancelot.
I'm certainly not looking for anyone to powerlevel me or outfit me, but it'd be really nice to have a community of people to interact with and help me learn about the game a bit. Is your name Thuri in game?
One thing I do need to mention, I'm one of those losers with a full time job, a wife and a 4-year-old (that has the uncanny ability to always press the most unfortunate buttons when she watches me play) so I can only be online a few hours, maybe 3 or 4 nights a week. It doesn't seem that your guild only takes people that are "hardcore" but I wanted to mention my limited play time just the same.
Well now I have a decision to make... Friar, Heretic, Armsman, Merc, Reaver, Minstrel, scout... way too many classes initially jump out at me. I'll have to think about this one. Any suggestions? Are there any particularly underpopulated classes?
Another question comes to mind... how are tradeskills in this game? Powerful? A pain? Worth taking up?
I actually think the fact that you have a job, a wife and family and still want to play the game is great....I too am in the same situation....:)
If you also want to play in Alb/Merlin as well, look me up..MageOfShannara or Mauriac...I pop on almost every night for a little while, more on weekends.
And, if someone offers you clothing or weapons...take it, say thanks...but take it..:)
If you also want to play in Alb/Merlin as well, look me up..MageOfShannara or Mauriac...I pop on almost every night for a little while, more on weekends.
And, if someone offers you clothing or weapons...take it, say thanks...but take it..:)
Thanks for all the great replies!
If I'm not mistaken, I have an upcoming sorcerer on Lancelot already, named Hwaori. Still fumbling at relearning the controls, how to find things, etc.
Hope to see you folks online. :)
If I'm not mistaken, I have an upcoming sorcerer on Lancelot already, named Hwaori. Still fumbling at relearning the controls, how to find things, etc.
Hope to see you folks online. :)
Tradeskills right now are very difficult to do. They are changing that though, and beginning January 10th, they will be much more accessible to Legendary status. They are changing the frequency of how often you gain skill drastically.
The items made by crafters are some of the best. Armorcrafting and Spellcrafting are the most sought after, but tailors, Alchemists and to a lesser degree weapon crafters can make useful items. Fletching is not recommended as a craft, at least early on.
There are plenty of people like you that only play a few hours a day, only a few days a week. I have a job also. One of my in game toons names is Thuri, although I have a lot. I'll look for you also.
The hardest thing in this game is just getting started. Once you get started, things tend to pick up and the good points of the game start to shine.
The items made by crafters are some of the best. Armorcrafting and Spellcrafting are the most sought after, but tailors, Alchemists and to a lesser degree weapon crafters can make useful items. Fletching is not recommended as a craft, at least early on.
There are plenty of people like you that only play a few hours a day, only a few days a week. I have a job also. One of my in game toons names is Thuri, although I have a lot. I'll look for you also.
The hardest thing in this game is just getting started. Once you get started, things tend to pick up and the good points of the game start to shine.
6 posts
I have an alb/merlin and a mid/lance - still found my self alone alot so went back to my hibbies on a different cluster. Then I discovered - after 2 year - Gaheris - where I can play all 3 and learn the geography and find many friendly people. I still play my Toa server - cuz I know people there, and there is not PvP on Gaheris - still fn there and worth a visit there.
6 posts
OK i didnt see anyone else respond to the lvl 20-24 bg (aka thidranki (or better known as thid)) So im going to. No new player should ever be forced to see the thid bg untill they have experianced molvik or NF first. In thid Hibs are way more powerful then albs and mids combined (i play on merlin cluster). I was in thid yesterday and we had a bg running with 49 ppl in it and the entire bg got killed by 1 full group of hibs. now once you get to molvik (lvl 35-39 bg) things even out alot. figured i would put my little bit of info in on that subject.
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