Tuesday 3 June 2003

Pic of the day: The raid is on! Actually this screenshot from Dark Age of Camelot is from an earlier raid led by Trinity Alliance superstar Dhanna Carlahu. We had no skeletal crew this time.

DAoC superstars

My latest big gaming event must be my first keep raid on the cooperative DAoC server. Although I have heard about them, read about them and participated in a couple on RvR servers, this was a first of its kind. It was early, American time, so not easy to fill up groups. I managed to sneak a spot on a single-group keep raid. In fact, we were only 7 when we took the first keep! Admittedly, the other 6 were level 50, and not just any level 50 either. They were top players in our alliance, people like Dhanna and Sorcie and Paeth. Trinity Alliance superstars.

Stardom is relative, is it not? You have never heard about any of these; but then again I hadn't heard about Avril Lavigne until I met her in The Sims Superstar. OK, not a very good comparison: Dhanna has perhaps a couple hundred "fans", Avril a couple hundred million. Still, my experience with The Sims Superstar has made me think. Perhaps this "layering" of society is instinctive, or at least deeply rooted in our culture ... in all civilizations.

***

In DAoC, there are only 50 levels. For each level it gets harder to advance to the next, at least alone. So reaching level 50 is something of an achievement, but not spectacular. Certainly not cause for even local fame.

At level 50, you are supposed to have reached your prime. Your skills and attributes will not increase ... well, not directly. There are also something called "realm rank". There are ten of these, and each has ten "realm levels". Each of these give a point which can be used to buy realm abilities. These may add to your skills, like my "mastery of blocking" or to your stats like "augmented dexterity". (For some reason, "demented austerity" is not on the list...)

Each realm level is also harder to get than the last, and you can only get them in the borderlands. On standard DAoC servers you get realm points by killing player characters from the opposing realm. Kinda like real world military: The point is not to die for your country, but to make the other bloke die for his. (I forgot who said that.) On Gaheris the cooperative server the enemy is the Forces of Evil that have taken over the borderlands and occupied the keeps. Killing the usurper keep lord will cause him to drop dreaded seals, which is usually divided among the raiders and can be converted to realm points. The higher your level, the more realm points for each seal, since you are supposed to have done more damage (or healing, or buffing up) than the younger tag-alongs.

Theoretically you can rise in realm ranks before level 50, but it is not likely that you will come far. Realm leveling is a slow process (but quite fun, in my opinion) and far from all servers have anyone at all who has gained all 99 realm levels. That would certainly be cause for fame, but not the only one.

***

To become famous in Superstar, you have to do 2 things: Talk and perform. Talk to the famous people and talk to the fans. Perform when you have the skills and the energy to pull it through. Well, it is the same in DAoC.

Our guild may have lost some members, but the alliance is still fairly large. Alliance chat is a good place to listen. A relevant question at the right time - or even better, an answer - is a good way to make yourself known. Don't try to banter with the regulars until they are familiar with your name. You may ask for groups - or better, make it an offer of your services - but don't spam the channel. If they don't need a friar, they sure don't need a spammer. Show interest in other people's progress, and work on your own. Rivalry is an accepted form of friendship; and if you are losing by a hair, so much the better. But don't slack off: If you are gone for a while, people quickly learn to live without you.

Now it is time to perform. Just like in Superstar, you need to have the skills before you start. Be realistic. "Level 40 looking for keep or diamond group" is pretty much the same as "Please power-level me and give me money". People just might feel generous, but don't expect it; and don't get known as a beggar. At level 40 there are useful things you can do in the dungeons; and the friends you win there will remember you when they grow up (but not for long, unless you hang around). Develop your skills, observe and learn what to do and what not to do. Always think of others. For instance as a warrior type, shield is far more important than parry. With shield you can guard yourself and another player, while parry helps only yourself. As a paladin, maximize your chants: Chants affect the whole group, while your weapon skill can be replaced by any random damage dealer. Of course you can solo all the way to 50, but few will notice. If you help them get to 50, they will remember and talk about you.

***

OK, you are high level and have useful skills. Now is the time to become famous for real. What do you do now? The same as every night: Try to take over the world! First check out whether there is already a raid, diamond loop or epic quest going on. Don't compete and divide the resources, but offer to help any event already in progress or soon to launch. If there are none, you are free to start organizing. You may try to make a guild or alliance event, or call in your friends from other guilds. Perhaps some of them are already preparing for another event, but if not, you may have a small core group. Now you can start to announce (within reason) the upcoming event. It may all fall apart, but some people are still likely to think of you as a leader.

Of course, I wouldn't actually do that. I hate being a leader and I don't much like being famous. As famous as I get by people reading this journal, that's just fine for me.