Good observations!
The bottom line in any PvP game is that There Can Only Be One!
I remember a server in Meridian59 getting shut down because there was only 1 player left - Hurricane was his name - He beat the game! - His guild killed everyone else in the game, and then he killed everyone else in his guild.
Kudos to DAoC for surviving so long, considering the advantage it gives to the stronger RvR players.
It's at a stage now where it might be wise to give some RvR encouragement to the weaker players.
If there's no fodder left, the wolves can only feed on each other.

Buff bots are a huge problem.

Mythic

/thread

 

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I miss realm pride.

 

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PvP centric MMOs appeal to a very very small segment of the gaming market. DAoC was originally successful because it combined stellar PvE AND PvP. At it's height, DAoC had a huge, active PvE population.

Mythic's full tilt towards PvP, combined with the advent of console gaming (where people can kill each other online without paying a monthly subscription) sealed DAoCs fate to the same as any other PvP centric MMO: niche player.

As much as the "elite" players hate them, PvE'ers are what pay the bills and bring in the $$. It's the only way an MMO can survive and continue to release content.

I can't tell you why players quit now, but I can tell you why I do not return to DAoC.


It is because the main attraction to the game, RvR and realm pride was gutted severely in my eyes.

I too like some regular PvP, but the thing that really kept playing and comming back ( even after NF and ToA ) was Realm Pride. If you can instantly switch sides when your side is losing then RvR looses all it's attraction and greatnes it once had.


It was an awesome game during the pre NF-ToA era, and I have yet to find so much fun and spirit in any other game.

arrogance from jacobs and the flat out lies from the rest of their lackeys.

I don't know about others but what always gets me in the end is the frontiers, they suck and they always have since they changed from OF to NF.

 

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Thing is this is also related to the frontiers design.

Honestly ask yourself how many really viable spots you regularly visit to prey on solos/small groups on a stealther. I bet your answer will be something like this:

Main keep
Main keep bridge
Main keep dock
Agramon bridges
RvR dungeon entrance/keep/bridge

Now obviously with a 2k population server enough people will have roughly the same ideas and the very limited spots get crowded..too many will go to these 'water holes' to get their fights.

Now in 3 out of 5 spots in this short list there are structures where casters, archers can sit in quite saftey (within guard agroo for enemys) and w8 for others to engage in fights for them to vulture on. Naturally alot of people will be doing this then since it is very effort effective, put nothing in get lots out, profit.

The response to this is to group up. After a certain nummber daoc is nothing else but a nummbers games when it comes to the unorganized "solo" player. So if decent "fair play" minded players are forced to group up to protect themselves vs the vultures then the "bads" will aswell. This spirals until you have a situation where making a stealth char equals to stealthzerging the hotspots. Adding on other peoples fights as a genuin strategy of obtaining rps.

Now add the fullgroups, the small groups and the zergs who also pass these areas in order to get to other places of more interest to them.

Compare this with OF where you really only had the milegates as these mandatory choke/hotspots where everyone was funneled through in order to get anywhere. In OF the landscape where alot more thought out, if a loner camped the way out from Druim Ligen he could place himself anywhere from right outside to the Giant, or just before one of the 2 valleys leading into emain. Multiple people could camp this route, not in one single place like in NF ( bridge, dock, agramon bridge and so on ) but the entire stretch.
If your getting run by you could either move up or down on this stretch to maximize your chances of an interception. If you got adds you could move away aswell and still be in the 'natural travling area' and have a good chance of getting an inc without friendly adds or enemy adds. Now even if you could not make your playstyle work in emain in busy hours you always had hadrians and odins.

NF as a frontier shoehorns people into very destructive playstyles where vulturing and adding is really the only way to not go insane. As you said getting killed by higher rr folks with less "skill" just b/c they are in a group is what makes people quit, especially if you do not have any other choice then to group up yourself and go back or /quit and try another day.

Since if we are gonna be honest here, who here would willingly take a boat to Brynja on a solo class and expect to get anything done but getting zerged by 4-5 hunters 2-3 sbs 2-3 wls, 2-5 bds some sms and a random thane the very second you step on that bridge/dock area/agramon bridge area etc.

Even if you are this sadomasochistic in nature ( ) you cannot ignore the constant reminder of deathspam everytime you rel and buffup and go to your own docks and see your own realm "buddy's" doing the same thing to the enemy's few solo players who dare to take a boat to your mainkeep/whatever area. I mean the only conclusion at this point would be "f this this game is shi...", all it reward is a cowards and vultures playstyle.

"The one who add last wins"

 

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The times I stopped playing this game had NOTHING to do with the game graphics, mechanics, bugs, etc .. it was because I have a real life and that takes precedence over a video game.