Thursday 22 May 2003

Pic of the day: Paladin at 45. New doors open. (Screenshot from Dark Age of Camelot, as is good and proper.)

DAoC level 45

This may sound implausible, but it is true. Itlandsen the Paladin is my first DAoC character to reach level 45, or indeed level 40. Now, regular readers will know that I have played this game rather actively for nearly a year and a half ... since December 2001, less than two months after the game was officially launched. I must have played dozens of characters; in fact, I have played all except a few classes in all 3 realms, some of them (like paladin and enchanter) I have played on several different servers, even on both American and European servers. Probably it is just this curiosity that has kept me from sticking with any one character: There was always some new approach to be tested, another class or another specialization. Only assassin classes have I never had any interest in.

An important difference is that I now play on Gaheris, the only cooperative server. I detest player killing, even in the rather impersonal form it has in DAoC. Originally I bought EverQuest, not DAoC, which I found too violent. But despite my feverish attempts I never got EQ to run, and I even got violently ill while trying. I resigned to my fate, God's will or synchronicity, whichever it was that kept me from the game. So I played DAoC instead. But from ca level 20, you are expected to take an interest in your realm's defense. And just like in real life around 20, I objected. I guess some things do carry over.

The higher your character goes in level, the more the game is geared toward Realm vs. Realm. Except on Gaheris, where the advanced artificial intelligence is used to populate the border keeps with Forces of Evil. Also Darkness Falls, the vast Stygian dungeon, is open to all realms at all times. (The Shrouded Isles expansion pack also brings an attacking force of artificial intelligence to each of the realms, but this expansion was launched on the same day as Gaheris was opened.)

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Now you be the judge if this also carries over from real life, but in DAoC life starts to get really interesting at 45. OK, it is also interesting to play new classes all the time, to check out their strengths and weaknesses. But in the long run, you realize that you are seeing the same things from different angles. There is a lot of content aimed at high level players, especially such as was added after the game was first released. Since the maximum level is 50, you can definitely start to sample it around 45.

In truth, many of the monsters are far higher than level 50, so you will never be able to kill them alone, no matter how much you hone your skills and use the best equipment money can buy. Even a full group of 8 cannot venture safely everywhere. Yesterday we had two full groups of level 45-50 (well, I think there was one 43) and we were slaughtered by one single prince and his two summoned insectoids. The dragons notoriously require several dozen players, in effect the whole high- level population of one realm (or 1/3 of all 3 realms on Gaheris). Even so, it is not a sure kill. The rewards for such heroic fights is of course commensurably large, in terms of loot (and experience for those still not level 50).

At level 45, you can start to play with the big boys. Oh, a 45 paladin is certainly not the equal of a 50 paladin. And even after "maxing" at 50 you still acquire realm skills for a long while, and collect rare items that are found only in remote and dangerous places, or save up money to have crafted and enchanted armor and weapons with the benefits that you want. But a 45 paladin who specializes in shield can still block attacks and guard a friend better than a higher level paladin who has neglected his shield skill. And at 45, a paladin already has the highest heal and endurance chants available, if he specializes in chants. (My Archangel chant heals 45 points every 6 seconds, or 90 points per 8 seconds if I twist it. A level 50 paladin in my group had less than half that, because he had neglected his chants in favor of higher weapon skill. As a result, the most powerful monster singled out me as its arch enemy. Kinda flattering in a painful way…)

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The dream of all us 45ers is the "raids": These are organized attacks of several groups on a specific target. The original raids are the keep raids. On most servers, the target is a keep owned by a competing nation. You get realm points by killing players from opposing realms. But on Gaheris the keeps are held by Forces of Darkness, NPC races with a grudge, and you get realm points by being in the castle area when the keep lord dies. (Being there is a pretty good hint that you have taken part in the raid, as the area is normally patrolled by powerful AI opponents, emulating high-level human players of an enemy nation.)

Dragon raids are arguably the hardest, and need the most people. The reward for these raids is also the weirdest in the game: Respec stones. No, not respect, although I guess you get that too. Re-specialization. You cannot change your class, ever; but you can change your specialization within a class. In this case, you can re-spec your realm abilities and "career", whatever that is. Normally you cannot do that. But these glowing stones make it possible, and because people are an undecided lot, the price is bound to be good if you don't want the stones yourself.

The huge dungeon of Darkness Falls is a main source of wealth and a target for raids in its own right. There are varying degrees of raids. A "prince raid" can be done by two good groups, though it is probably a good idea to be three, especially if you want to take on the third and hardest prince. Then there is the Legion raid, which is on a level similar to that of the dragon. I have never seen a Legion raid on Gaheris, although I suppose they may take place in American prime time, when I sleep. The named monsters drop powerful loot, but in order to get there you also have to fight your way through high-level generic monsters which drop diamond seals, and less dangerous opponents that drop sapphire seals.

Sometimes a single group will do a "diamond loop", fighting the sapphire and diamond guardians but not challenge the actual rulers of the underground domains. Like the raids, these diamond groups tend to be 45+, although slightly younger characters may go with them if particularly useful or for old friendship's sake. For a level 45 character, such loops is an awesome way to get experience. I have made almost 9 bubbles in two evenings, taking part in one prince raid and one diamond loop. And of course there is the loot. (Diamond seals are used to buy level 50+ magic armor, which can be worn with pride or salvaged for the best materials. My sapphire armor is still orange-con to me, that is, higher than I can fully make use of. I don't even think about how good diamond armor must be ... I doubt you can fully use it before level 50 at all.)

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In conclusion then, life at 45 is good, at least in DAoC. You get to travel all over the map and take part in events. But it is also more and more a social life, as many of the activities require you to be part of a larger army. By now you realize the value of having made friends throughout your career, rather than insulting and cheating people. A player of good reputation will not simply be allowed into a high-level group. He will be asked. The system maintain a "/friends" function where you will be informed when a friend logs on or logs off, and where you can see at a glance who among your friends is online at the moment. If people remember you as a reliable and honest player with useful skills, they are likely to involve you in the most interesting raids. Of course, they are also likely to ask you for help to finish their most dangerous quests...