Isoke wrote:
"
A few comments through the lens of someone who's been away for a long time (I left right after ToA, then returned for a brief and glorious stint on the Classic servers): It's been interesting to me as a former dedicated DAOC player to see how very difficult it's been for my little group (including myself) to make the transition back."
Lol...that is exactly what I did...
I know what you mean about getting started again. You mentioned "
qbind" - I played a couple of *months* before someone finally mentioned it, and I was like OMG I forgot about that - how could I be playing w/o it!!! Another one was "
groundset" - I almost went nuts figuring out not only the command, but how to move that dang yellow/black square - everyone kept saying just use the cursor keys to move it, and mine wouldn't move for love nor money. Finally, someone said oh, you have to hold down the F5 key while you use the cursor keys to move it. Doh...now it works fine, but oh, the angst and frustration!!
DAoC is easily the hardest game to play well that I have ever played. After having been back for 4 months or so, I still spend a couple of hours most days just reading on the boards and researching things that are giving me problems or that I am having trouble doing or remembering (I have put in probably 12-15 hours over this past weekend on archer specs - I have a 50 in each realm, and spent a *huge* amount of time figuring out the difference between, and the finer points of spec'ing,
Hybrid vs.
Sniper, not to mention 50 Bow vs. 48 Bow vs. 47 Bow).
Couple of things I left out in my first post:
1. After making perhaps 10 new toons since I returned, I just found out a week or so ago that you should go to the 3rd town in the starter area (yes, I saw it on the map, but just never went there). Not only are there some more quests, making it even easier to get to 10 (or even better, 11, so that when you go to the first BG, everything won't be red to you), but you will also get your
free horse there, so you don't have to do the run-around quest in the cap city to get it.
2. Get
CharPlan - it has all the info about skills, RAs, styles, etc, built in.
www.classesofcamelot is also really good for this info, esp. spell lines and expansion info (Champion stuff, for example).
3. Don't forget to do the "
Saving Zarees" quest between level 7 and 10. It gives you the
Foil Hat of Swirling Thoughts, which will teleport you to SI, and it has no CD (RuT) - if the GIGANTIC usefulness of that doesn't impress you now, get one and start to use it and you will understand. The ability to port any time you want to a place that has speed, portal, trainers, merchants, teleport NPCs, and a complete crafting area cannot be explained - it must be experienced. Playing the game w/o the Hat is not just more trouble, it is downright stupid!!
4. It's pretty hard to cover spec'ing in one place. Some classes are easy - most casters just pick one line and put all points in it till you start getting mini-dings at 40.5. Sorcs are an exception, since you have to know exactly how much to put into Mind to continue to be able to charm mobs as you level up (I found my old 3-ring notebook I made from original DAoC, and it still had my notes on Sorc leveling, which saved me on that class). Some classes are a pain, like assassins. It also makes a big diff whether you level solo or with friends - if solo, you might wanna level a Shammy pure Cave, then when you hit 40 or 50, respec him to his end-game configuration. I solo-leveled a Mid Healer in the old days by spec'ing her pure Aug on the way up - it was painful, but I did it. But rather than getting universal guidelines in a thread like this, it is best to approach each class separately as you need the info, then ask here plus the in-game sources, plus your own research on the Net, even asking a 50 of that class in-game if you have to. I guess it depends on your personality - some people will find that process irritating, but I find it challenging and fun. I don't understand people that want to rush to 50...I enjoy the leveling and the class research as a part of the game which is as much fun in its own way as the end-game is.
In closing, be persistent with your questions - I usually ask in /
advice first, then /
region if no help. Get in a good, friendly guild - in addition to all the obvious perks, having /
as to ask your questions in is a big help, and usually faster, more friendly, and more accurate than the other two sources. If you are an Alb,
Adventurers of old DAoC will be glad to take you - we were formed by a returning couple, and returning players are our specialty.
Good luck - hope to see you in-game!!!
