I'm trying the DAOC free trial...

[Sirc]

Just for kicks to get an idea of what the gameplay is like. Any advice on a class to start with? I know there's lots of info in these forums...too much info. Can someone just give me some quick advice to get started?

I basically just want to see what the UI is like, how toons first progress, how much grinding is involved, etc.

Sheesh, a 2GB download. Thank goodness for downloader programs. :)

[Sepra]

Well, since my accts have been closed I've been pretty bored. (as you can probably tell in my Warhammer thread rofl)

I do however still have my bot acct open in DAOC because my son has his toons on that one. Let me know when you're gonna play and I'll level up something with you from level 1 just for kicks.

My question for you though is, if you like it do you think you'll plan on buying the full version? I ask this because on regular servers such as Igraine where our mains are, it's really really tough to start out as a newbie there. They have a /level 20 reward if you have a current 50 on the account which automatically starts your toon at level 20. Most people powerlevel the rest of the way so homelands are like ghost towns. :( It's really new player unfriendly.

They had made Classic servers with no Trials of Atlantis but they don't have the /level 20 reward on those servers. In this aspect, these servers are flourishing with low level, leveling 'the old fashioned way'. The server is very productive with all level leveling and you can actually get groups to play with in PvE there where it's nonexistant on ToA servers.

If you don't care and never plan on going further than the free trial then Albion/Igraine is where we are.

If you're trying it to possibly get into the game, then I'd suggest Gareth server without a doubt.

Let me know what sounds more interesting to you and then you need to decide realm before class if you choose Gareth. (Midgard is teh win!)

P.S. The default UI sucks :P , most people use custom UI's. There are a ton of them out there.

[Sirc]

I went ahead and started a character before I read the replies here. :P

I didn't really expect anyone to get online with me and walk me through, I just wanted to play around to see what DAOC was like. I do appreciate the offers to help me though - very generous! :)

I just let the game choose for me which server to play on and ended up on Gareth, then chose Midgard for my realm. I also let the game choose my name (since apparently anything starting with "Sirc" was already taken :bawling: ), so I am Togi the level 4 Viking.

So far it's been pretty straightforward. I went through the training and stuff and didn't really have too many problems. I do tend to get lost easily though, lol. I noticed that there are A LOT of NPCs packed into towns and inside structures. That sounds like it makes NPCs easier to find, but it actually makes it more difficult, especially inside structures, because their names overlap and you have to move around a lot to figure out who is who.

Your right Sepra, the default interface does suck, lol, but I resized and moved a few things, and it's fine for the time being since I don't have a lot of weapon skills, etc. to deal with yet. I've seen screenies that you guys have posted, so I know you can have some really nice UI setups.

So far, as a brand newbie, I have the following comments:

1. Anyone with MMORPG experience shouldn't have much trouble getting started. Like I said, I get lost easily, but that's just a matter of getting used to the surroundings and the maps. One thing I noticed is that there doesn't appear to be a compass unless I've completely overlooked it. It makes it tough to tell which direction you're facing, so I leave the map up to help get my bearings.

2. The respawn rate seems to be really fast. It seems you can fight one mob, and then by the time you kill the next one, the first one has respawned. It can make aggro management kinda tricky. And forget about clearing a zone.

3. Don't attack a mob that cons purple (or red for that matter). Actually I knew that from the training, but I had to see what would happen. You die. :D

4. I have to say that I'm not thrilled with the endurance meter being there. This is the first MMORPG that I've played where you can get exhausted. And when you get exhausted in the middle of a fight, you're pretty much screwed because your endurance seems to stay at zero until you are out of combat and have a chance to rest. That's going to be a difficult adjustment for me because I like to go gonzo non-stop.

5. The low-level grind seems pretty typical. You farm for exp and money, and it takes a while before you have enough money to outfit yourself decently. It's not very clear to me yet which type of armor I should be wearing. Many cloth items appear to have the same stats as leather items, which doesn't make much sense, but this may just be a lowbie situation. I also assume that I'll eventually get some decent items from drops and quests.

6. They stick you in a guild by default. I thought this was sort of odd at first, but then I thought it may be a good idea since you have people to ask for help. Then I realized that there were a few irritating dipsh**s calling people noobs in the pre-made guild, so I don't really see what the point is.

7. There seems to be a lot of zoning. It was the same way in FFXI, but in WoW there is no zoning - everything is seamless (except for instances). I guess I'm kind of spoiled in that regard.

All in all, it's fun. I doubt that I'll play past the free trial period though. We'll see - I still have a lot to learn.

[Sepra]

If you plan on playing tonight let me know and I'll lvl with you just for fun. I'll make a shammy for heeeals! :D

[Sirc]

I'll be on in an hour or so (around 9-9:30ish PM). I can't help but think that I'm just going to irritate the heck out of you if we play together though. I tend to wander and explore and generally screw around a lot when first learning a game. I tend not to try to level as fast as possible because I think you miss a lot when you do that, especially since it's all brand new to me. Things that are obvious to you will not be obvious to me.

The other problem is that I hate having to constanly stop and type messages. That's mainly the reason I hate playing in pugs in WoW while doing quests. I could care less if someone screws up and wipes the group - I'm pretty mellow about stuff like that. You die, it's part of the game, get over it. The tough part for me having to stop and type in the middle of combat. I don't even know how people can do that. I suck at typing, lol.

This wasn't meant to judge you or anything - I'm not implying that you are impatiant (impatient?), I'm just making sure you realize you'll be playing with a total God-awful n00b. You've been warned, lol. It's up to you. :P

[Sepra]

Yeah, that's fine with me. :P Do you happen to have TS or Vent?

Also, I'm not sure if you can get into Demons Breach or not with the free download but it's a blast in there if there's enemies. It's a level 1-4 RvR dungeon and it's pretty fun :D

Bleh, I'm in DB now. I alt tabbed to write this and when I came back someone killed me :\ I thought I was hiding good enough lol

[Sirc]

I have Vent, but not TS.

I'm not not sure where I am. Well, I'm not on yet, but I think my toon is still in or around the newbie starting area. Are you going to roll a level 1 toon? Cause I don't wanna play with a level 1 noob.

:P:D

Just kidding! I'm willing to re-roll another toon. I pretty much chose the one I have at random and I really don't care what class I play.

[Slash]

Sirc, be sure to experience some rvr game play. That is the strength of DAOC- it's the best of any mmo to date. The pve is forgettable. Let term PL you something and give Thid a try. :thumbs:

[Sirc]

Sirc, be sure to experience some rvr game play. That is the strength of DAOC- it's the best of any mmo to date. The pve is forgettable. Let term PL you something and give Thid a try. :thumbs:

WoW has both PvE and PvP servers, and I play on a PvP server, so I've participated in 1v1, GvG, and raiding the opposing faction's cities. I think the latter is sort of like RvR although WoW doesn't have siege engines. I'm not expecting siege engines in a lvl 1-4 RvR battle though, lol.

The problem with power-leveling is I'd have no idea how to play my toon. Not that I do at level 4 either, but it would be much more apparent at level 20+ I think. I'm just not so sure that would be a pleasant experience.

EDIT: Besides I'm on a different server than Term is. :P

EDIT2: What is "Thid"?

[Sepra]

Thidranki/level 20-24 RvR

My ubertastic wannabe shammy is lvl 3 but I've been trying to kill a hib or two in DB but it's hard for my class :P

[Sirc]

Hey Sepra, is there a Vent server we can use, or should I just go ahead and jump in the game?

[Sirc]

I need to remember to take my GM account off of "hidden" so you can tell when I'm here. :rolleyes:

[Sirc]

I have a feeling Sepra is deep in battle. ;)

I'll be going online in about 5 minutes...

[Sirc]

Many thanks to Sepra for showing me around in DAOC last night. We laughed, we died, she ran for her life a lot because I sucked at pulling aggro off of her, it was fun! :D

Sepra even managed to sneak our little level 5 butts (okay I had a giant viking butt, not exactly stealthy) into a area where we could watch a tower being assaulted with a battering ram. Very cool. Thanks again Sepra! And sorry about the WoW chat at the end with the other guy on Vent with us.

[Sepra]

They're clustering the 3 classic servers tomorrow. It ALMOST makes me want to reactivate and play my shammy. :eek:

Sirc, go to Lamorak or Ector and create an Alb toon before tomorrow so you can play two realms on the same cluster! go go go! :D

[Sirc]

No one is going to want to play with a total n00b. You've worked a long time to get your toons to where thay are, and you (and everyone else) is going to want to play end game content. The only way it could possibly work is to PL me, and then I'd be a lvl 50 total n00b. I've seen this happen on WoW. It doesn't work to try to insert a brand new player into a high level situation. People will be calling me "Ebay", lol. It just won't work, and I'm pretty much a casual player, so I don't really have the time for 6 hour long sieges anyway. Which is why I've pretty much stopped playing WoW. End game is way too time consuming for me.

[Sirc]

How about this idea Sepra - if you are bored enough, I can set you up with a free trial version for WoW. I'd happily roll a new level 1 character and level with you. If you don't like it then that would be fine. If you'd want to stick with it for a while then that would be fine too. It'd be something different, and you could honestly say that you gave WoW a try. For free. :)

Lemme know.

[Sirc]

You should make a twink like all the other bored WoW 60s. :D

The big thing (at least on the Garithos server) is to level to 19, 29, or 39 and totally twink your toon with blues and all available enchants. I have a semi-twinked 19 mage, but I'm getting the impression that mages aren't the best class to try to twink at 19 because I still get WTFPwned in the BGs, so I may take her to 29 and see if I have better luck.

[Sepra]

Well, I'm actually enjoying my semi-MMO break right now. Yes, do get painfully bored and withdrawal-like at times but the crack seems to be leaving my veins more and more each week. I wouldn't mind leaching a free trial off of you though. I couldn't commit to nightly leveling and I can't guarantee that I'll want to finish off my toon, that's the only thing. :o

I'm trying really hard to not be tempted by DAOC's patch today. They clustered classic servers and opened up cross cluster character creation /drool (damn you Mythic)

[Sirc]

You don't have to commit to anything Sepra, you can play as much or a little as you want, with or without me. Whenever you want to party up just let me know and we'll set up a time.

It's a 10-day trial and I'll need you to PM me an email address to type into the guest pass form in my account. After that Blizzard should send you the download information and passkey.

I'm on the Garithos server, which is a PvP server. There are two factions (sorta like realms) - Horde and Alliance. My main is Horde, so you would have to select one of the Horde races since WoW doesn't allow having toons from both factions on the same server. Actually you could pick any server and be any faction you want, but if you play a Horde toon on Garithos then I can use my lvl 60 to help bankroll us for better equipment. It's always nice to have some gold in your pocket to help get things rolling. :)

I can have up to five 10-day passes active at the same time, so if Jag wants to give it a shot then PM me his email too.

[OUTLAWS Spike]

You should make a twink like all the other bored WoW 60s. :D

The big thing (at least on the Garithos server) is to level to 19, 29, or 39 and totally twink your toon with blues and all available enchants. I have a semi-twinked 19 mage, but I'm getting the impression that mages aren't the best class to try to twink at 19 because I still get WTFPwned in the BGs, so I may take her to 29 and see if I have better luck.

One word Sirc "Rogue" twink that bad boy out and you'll kick ass in the BG's :thumbs:

ps make a Nightelf rogue ftw