Most of the list has nothing to do with the success or failure of DAoC as a game. While there is a huge list of things Mythic did to harm DAoC, you do not list them here. Only one thing on your list actually contributed to the death of the game. The other things you list had almost no bearing on the long term health of the game.
Only #8 is a good point and “thinking the game can survive on RvR alone.†is something that was so detrimental it did help to kill the game. The other things on the list neither helped nor harmed the game.
Idealistgamer posted:
Reason 1. Catacombs features not able to stand up to anything in World of Warcraft back in 2004.
[color
urple] This is silly. The game began dieing about 9-12 months after launch and TOA drove huge spikes in the lid of the coffin.
Also, the concept that DAoC was competing against WoW is mostly faulty. While it is true that games do compete, it often is not direct competition because many players keep accounts open at more than one game. All a game needs to be is NOT F%*#$*G FRUSTRATING and have some fun and it is a huge plus if (like DAoC's endgame) it has some unique hook.
So while WoW is in competition with DAoC, in other ways it is not in direct competition because many WoW players also hold accounts with other games as long as the other game is more fun than it is frustrating.
DAoC never needed to beat WoW and DAoC never needed Catacombs to be better than WoW. What DAoC needed was to NOT FRUSTRATE ITS CUSTOMERS, and in that Mythic failed miserably.
DAoC is unique with its endgame. All Mythic needed to do was to eliminate some of the PvE frustration, eliminate the bugs, not promote the use of a bot, update the UI, provide mail, give players stacking pots without being caught lying about how it could not be coded, give players a personal mount within the first year after launch, fix the dungeon LOS problems, ensure that expansions did not make old world areas obsolete, get rid of /level the moment they knew it harmed the game rather than waiting more than half a decade, not promote Min/Max in an attempt to force players to purchase expansions, etc. . . . and DAoC would have more than a million subs . . even with WoW having 10 million if Mythic (MJ) had not been psychotic then DAoC would have more than a million subs today.
[/color]
Reason 2. Selling out to EA
[color
urple] This had nothing to do with the downfall of DAoC. . . absolutely nothing. If not for EAs money DAoC would be in the dustbin today.
The only fault that can be put on EA is that EA was oblivious to MJs psychosis and EA left MJ in charge when it should have been obvious that EAs first action should have been to get rid of MJ.[/color]
Reason 3. Last expansion was in 2006.
[color
urple] Games do need expansions but, each expansion that Mythic came out with caused as much harm to the game as it gave as benefit. Some expansions caused more harm than good. As Mythic had long ago killed off the PvE in DAoC, any expansions after 2006 would have been pointless so your point is pointless. [/color]
Reason 4. Making the minotaur a playable race and in all 3 realms at that.
[color
urple]This had nothing to do with what killed the game. Many games have shown that identical classes in opposing realms does not cause harm to a game. While there are things that Mythic did that caused harm to the game, there is proof in other games that this item is not as detrimental as you want to believe it is.[/color]
Reason 5. Not giving the Mauler class to Midgard only to balance out the classes.
[color
urple] Again, it has been shown in other games that what you think was detrimental actually should not have caused any harm.[/color]
Reason 6. Wasting all that money and technology on Warhammer Online,
when all the utilities and features could have been put into an expansion for DAOC.
[color
urple]Only in a round about way is there some strange bit of truth in this point.
MJ’s ineptitude lead to the wasteful spending and wasteful management on Imperator (Limperator) and the wasteful spending (wasteful management) continued on to WarHammer to the point that Mythic did not even have enough money to finish WH and had to sell to EA so that EA could fund WH.
MJ had been cannibalizing DAoC to keep WH going and it is true that the cannibalization did harm DAoC but based on MJ’s psychotic handling of DAoC up to that point, even if MJ had billions and billions it would have made no difference because if MJ had spent more money on DAoC, history shows that all the changes and things he would have had coded for DAoC would have driven DAoC farther into the ground.
So, while there is a small bit of truth to what you say in this point, the point is still pointless.[/color]
Reason 7. The refusal for evolution and constant crying by the playerbase.
[color
urple]This is an old and failed item. Players do not code and they never have. Mythic codes. Any wacko comment by a player that happened to become code, no player coded it. Mythic thought it over, discussed it, coded it, tested it, decided it was good and then put it in the game. Any psychotic thing that got into the game, Mythic put it there.
Also, there is ample proof though the responses to the TL reports, and through other things, that Mythic never much cared what players wanted.
With a few exceptions, any time some player request ended up being later put into the game, it was coincidental and had nothing to do with Mythic even listening. (exceptions do not invalidate a general rule).
[/color]
Reason 8. Stuart Zissu, Producer, Dark Age of Camelot thinking the game can survive on RvR alone.
Thats why Warhammer Online died so fast. The PvE system was total crap.
It would have taking a year or more to hit max level by PvE alone.
When someone hears the term MMORPG, they think of PvE. The RvR/PvP is a bonus.
PvE makes the game last over all. The PvP/RvR just helps drive the engine.
[color
urple] A very good point. [/color]
The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is.
Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can,
and keep moving. - Ulysses S. Grant
Only the dead have seen the end of war - Plato
rocketed to stardom. Most of us admit we were wrong. Yes, you are correct PvE is the name of the game and RvR has to feed off of that. Hopefully one day this will change. 
Maybe Wrath of Heroes will prove it can be done. 
Wouldn't that be a kick in the balls! 
