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Beta has given me High Hopes!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 19
Date: December 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I must say that I have been having a great deal of fun testing this expansion!

Graphically, this expansion brings DAoC up to par (and in my opinion even surpases) with all the new games on the market. I love the way my character looks now, and all the little touches like breathing, wiggling individual fingers, and armour actually adding bulk instead of just being a skin pasted on is wonderful. And the character customization is much more complex now than it was before (although, some games still have better, but many have worse).

The new zones are all visually stunning (although the Viel Rift had the higfhest drool factor to me, I just sat and stared for about 10 minutes!). And they give you lots to explore and do.

The new classes are very interesting and challanging to play! I'll let you find out more when the game is released. ;)

The impact on RvR is minimal (unlike ToA). This is meant to be a PvE expansion, and it truly is. The only thing that will really effect RvR are the new classes. The new bonuses on the new loot is specifcally desinged to be PvE bonuses. They simply will not work in RvR.

I think the one thing that this expansion will really do is allow people new to the game to be able to enjoy the process of leveling up, without it being too frustrating. All the new quests, instanced dungeons, dungeon tasks, etc will make it so that leveling up isn't the chore it once was. Especially in the new areas! Catacombs was desinged for solo to one full group play, not massive armies like ToA.

Get this if you are new to the game, and for those who are long time players, you will never wat to look at the old models again after playing with the catacombs engine. Heck, lag is a lot less than the ToA engine, so you'll want it just for that! :)

Buy this Expansion!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 21
Date: July 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

After reading some of the reviews I felt this Expansion needed some explaining.
This Expansion is for ALL the realms within DAoC to enjoy not just the Albions as noted in a previous review. The reference to the name Catacombs just means that the game will now have Instanced Dungeons. This is something that was made popular with games like EverQuest. It just means that a group of people can have a undisturbed encounter in which just their group can participate in a dungeon adventure without another group stumbling into the encounter. The other reason to buy this and the most important is the character graphics upgrade. I feel it is the best look in the online games so far. To many times only the world is made to look realistic and the character suffers. Not here!! It will blow you away the detail made in a truly 3D rendering. So now not only does the world in DAoC look great due to the Trials of Atlantis expansion but now you can have a character thats looks like they fit in that world

(TWO THUMBS WAY UP!!!!)

Those who don't like MMORPGs should stick to Unreal & Quake

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: April 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC) is, arguably, the best MMORPG currently available due to its unique focus on 'realm' (i.e., large-scale player v. player - PVP) combat. It *loosely* weaves Arthurian, Celtic and Viking lore into a world in which the three are always in conflict. However, in its effort to combine character development (i.e., largely player v. environment - PVE) with PVP, it has attracted a core of players who want nothing more than to have the game become a first-person shooter - ala Unreal Tournament.

While most players aren't big PVE fans, we can understand appreciate the importance of 'investing' some time and effort to develop a persona in a MMORPG environment to progress to an end-game goal, which includes defending your lands (by slaying 'invaders' played by other people). It makes good business sense if you're trying to keep a monthly subscriber base.

It's a shame that the featured responses are panning a very good game and giving you a warped sense of its merit based solely upon their selfish desire to turn DAoC into yet another mindless first-person shooter game.

Mixed Review

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 14
Date: February 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I have played DarkAges since the first day of the games release, across 2 servers and 2 realms (I have not played Albion).

The Catacombs Expansion will give a solo or casual player a much less stressful time levelling and earning decent PvE gear. The instanced hunting can make for relatively fast levelling compared to the old zones.
All in all, it is a good expansion if you like the PvE content of the game. Its not if you only play for PvP.

Regardless, if you are new to the genre or DarkAges in particular there are a few things you should know...
Levelling may be quick with the Catacombs expansion (if you are casual or solo and dont have friends to powerlevel you), but that is less than half the battle. That is the only selling point.

The real flaw in the game comes from the amount of time required to farm gear - very much of it with poor drop rates (soon to be increased, though spawn times will be made even longer which is just robbing peter to pay paul) and excessive camping by people (including guilds that will log in as a mob spawns and steal it). These items however are 100% necessary to the completion of a character. Some characters, such as the warden, are almost useless if they have not done the full run of MasterLevels and ToA farming. The time for this farming is very intense.

All in all, there is a Very Steep entry level for starters.

On top of that, there is a confusing and easy to mess up specialization system, where you spend your skill points. Respecs (rechoosing your skills) for these points are rarely handed out by Mythic (once per year or less), and the stones you need to use to retrain your skills go for insanely high prices that nobody but the most dedicated and equipped players can afford. In a recent statement Mythic said they were happy with this system.
This means once you create a character it will have to stay like that. Once you have put in the time to level, gear out, masterlevel, and then begin the realmpoint treadmill - you will have put in hundreds upon hundreds of hours. If you made a mistake or found you do not like your specialization, or found it to be in poor demand, or would just like a change - you will be stuck with it for good.

The game is plagued with a poor interface, strict class selection for PvP (many classes are unwelcome), finicky PvP (as the interrupt system attests to), and Extremely Fast paced PvP. Literally there are classes that can kill you instantly, and there is almost no give and take in a battle.
The hallmark of the game is PvP, but the pace of it makes it very difficult to enjoy. It is faster than most FPS games. If you do not have a planned organized competitive group you will just be farmed & frustrated.

So in the end, even though I play it to this day, I have a powerful guild and support network to make levelling or getting gear tolerable, and PvP a success instead of being repeatedly killed over and over. Guilds like mine however, do not invite newcomers or people who play less than 6 hours per day.

I cannot, and do not, recommend this title for a beginner or a newcomer.
If you are a veteran DarkAges fan, you may enjoy the solo exp of Catacombs, or the change in appearances (though SI is still the superior PvP engine if you do not depend on healers helper, etc).

Rates are now increased to the same price as Warcraft, EQ2, etc. The President now only promises to support the game as long as the community does, and such a non-committal message does not bode well for the future.

I hope this review was helpful.

What EQ dreams of being someday...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 17
Date: April 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Having been a long time player of EQ, and having become completely fed up with the way that game is run. I came to Dark Age of Camelot and had to pinch myself a few times to ensure I was indeed not dreaming.

This game has eliminated all the worst elements of Everquest, and centered itself about the one portion of code no programmer at Sony can seem to comprehend... Player versus Player combat. In a way that makes sense and doesn't feel like the mindless butchery of Sullon Zek or Quake.

Not only are the classes and realms balanced, but the game play itself is much more optimized and exciting. No mindless button pushing on endless computer generated critters. Instead you need strategy and a good comprehension of HOW to play your character.

Overall the best Fantasy MMORPG I have seen, enjoyable even when you reach the highest levels, and it doesn't take months of play to get there.

DAOC BEST ONLINE RPG OUT THERE

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: May 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I love DAOC. Sure there are problems with bugs and such, but you can say that about ANY game out there. It doesn't take a computer genious to know that the only way to know and fix all known bugs is to actually test the product. I personally think that DAOC has worked hard and well trying to fix problems and issues. They have FREE expansion packs to try and satisfy the customers. They constantly take feedback and try and work with the gaming community. Alot of the things that people asked for is what TOA was all about. AND they are trying to fix problems with getting ML's done with smaller amounts of groups. I play on a small server and we have ML runs every night. The smallness of our server isn't the problem, the problem is when people don't work together. Personally, I play the game more for the people than I do for getting artifacts or quests. I can't wait for the new expansion and I personally think it's funny that the people that make all the complaints either don't play or are avid players but do nothing BUT complain and of course the ones that complain when they shut down the servers to fix problems they're complaining about. A++ to Mythic for at least trying. I played EQ and Mythic's customer service and repair of known bugs is outstanding compared to them. I recommend this game to ANYONE who likes to go online, make friends, and just relax and let off some steam every once in a while.

The best online game ever buy the expansion

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: July 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I been playing DAOC for about 1 year and 6 months and Mythic haven't disappointed me yet they came out with TOA and the graphics gotten ten times better than it first expansion SI. Then they made Realm VS Realm better with the New Frontier expansion that is free. The game is a great buy and you won't be disappointed trust me.

How can you....?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 12
Date: April 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

write a crappy review about an expansion that hasn't even been released or even announced by Mythic yet? You're probably both some 13 year old kids that think you know everything. Yes, ToA was a stupid expansion that they probably should have spent more time testing, but don't discount something before it comes out if you didn't like ToA. I'm an avid player of Daoc and have been for over 2 years now (soon I will be beta testing the next expansion for it), I've been frustrated at times, but I still get enjoyment out of the game. I'm not saying all this because I'm a fan boi, but rather because I think you should actually play the game before you give it a crappy review. I hate ToA.

This game Rocks!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: November 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have been playing DAOC for over 2 years now. I have characters in all 3 realms and on many different servers. I will admit that Mythic has messed up at times, but they seem to always redeem them selves. TOA is ok. (Dont like the combat under water) But the graphic's upgrade was awesome. New frontiers is a blast. Especially if your a Caster or a Stalker. I am looking forward to Catacombs. From what I have seen its a huge improvement on an already GREAT game.

Catacombs makes DAoC a new game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: September 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I played DAoC when it first came out but quit after about six months. Now ~2 years later, I reopend my account and upgraded to the Catacombs expansion. OMG! I am having so much fun. If you are thinking of comming back to DAoC you MUST get this expansion. Leveling is faster, instant tasks/dungons, traveling is easer...basicly a lot of the time/money sinks have been removed. So much content has been added it may take a year to see it all. Oh, the upgraded graphics are just fantastic!

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