(shorter version here)

I’m lagging behind here, the news is already a few days old. I was aware of it but certain parts of what I wanted to say are still rather open and I was unsure how to organize my comments and ideas.

The big news is that Mythic, once again, severely nerfed the Trial of Atlantis expansion (the title on mmorpgdot was hilarious: “DAoC: Monsters Nerfed in Upcoming Patch”).
This time for real:

– The locked versions of all artifacts will no longer drop from encounters. Players will now only need to have encounter credit and the scrolls to receive the unlocked artifact.

– The location requirements for leveling artifacts have been removed. All artifacts now earn experience from all enemy player and/or monster kills anywhere and anytime.

– Many artifacts now level at a faster rate.

– The drop rates for all scrolls have been increased and the rate is the same for scroll one, two, and three for each artifact.

– Artifact encounters that spawned less than twice a day have had their spawn frequency increased.

If you’re wondering when the next bit of 1.81 is going to Pendragon, the answer is next Tuesday. If you’re wondering when all this is going live, the answer is tentatively the second week of December. Subject to change without notice, of course.

All this along with lots more nerfs about specific encounters. They really went radical this time, or at least so it seems by reading the patch notes (it’s not the first time that the game then behaves differently from the impression you get by reading).

While the great majority of the players are rejoicing, the usual BoardWarrior doesn’t agree:

The game now has no challenges as of 1.81B. I see you’re going in the right direction, Mythic, but I think you have taken it too far on the changes making artifacts have no challenge. All of the GOOD players, which is the majority of the game’s playerbase, will now leave as their accomplishments mean nothing to anyone or anything anymore.

“Challenge”? And where is the challenge in the endless farming of DAoC’s dull PvE? CMN.

That was a *pretence* of challenge just obtained through nearly insurmountable accessibility barriers in order to qualify and differentiate the players between “have” and “have not”. A critical flaw in a PvP game. And a noob, critical overlook for Mythic.

These changes appeal me (despite the fact that the efficency of the RvR to level the artifacts should also receive a huge boost. And I mean from killing players, not dumb monster bashing). I think I loved ToA. Or better, I liked what was being offered but I definitely hated *how* it was offered. These changes are in fact about the modality more than the content and are finally a last attempt to solve the accessibility problems that were evident (to me) since day 1. ToA was and still is Mythic’s most ambitious and feature-rich expansion. It’s sad to see all that work wasted and the whole expansion removed to hype and launch the “classic” servers. It’s not acceptable even for me that I chose to play there. Still, it’s not enough to convince me to move back, even if I’d like to forget the classic server branching as a bad dream (btw, they ditched the “evolution server” idea, which is both a good and bad thing).

There are in fact other basic flaws that are still currently unaddressed and that I still consider game breaking. The first is about the buffbots, and the other is about the awful controls to use the effects on the artifacts. This on top of the damage scale that went through the roof and that made the combat simply unfun and too based on the use of this clumsy interface and special, situational powers (also known as I-WIN buttons).

So I feel like hanging between two worlds, both appealing for different reasons and both flawed. How this split was good for the game and the community? These changes arrive late and don’t resolve the situation. They just make harder the choice between the two server types and once again I wish Mythic took a decision back then, instead of splitting the problem without really addressing it in a way or another.

The patch in its entirety is starting to look rather interesting and daring, in fact the main focus won’t even be about ToA but about “Realm vs Realm and Class focus”. Too good to be true? What does this means? For now we have only a vague letter from the producer which left me with even more doubts. I won’t comment the class enhancements till they reaveal some actual details, but the changes to the RvR, in the way they are put, worry me a bit:

RvR Enhancements: We are implementing several new systems that will help to focus the players on larger RvR contributions to the realm, instead of small scale PvP. We already have a large number of rewards for PvP but your feedback has indicated that you want to see more rewards for other RvR activities. Activities such as siege engine destruction, and repairing walls and doors, are being looked at for Realm Point rewards (as well as many other activities).

I’m one of those strongly supporting some added incentives to the RvR but the hints given in these few lines aren’t so appealing. Realm Points given for siege engine destruction, repairing walls and doors? Well, how are these minor activities fun? How these minor incentives (I suppose) are going to support a more fun gameplay and have an impact on the game?

I’m all for them. Handing out some decent RPs for those activities makes sense and is a positive addition. But it’s also something minor that hasn’t in any way a true impact on what was required: “focus the players on larger RvR contributions to the realm, instead of small scale PvP”. To begin with, why they should do this? What are the reasons?

Two days ago I logged in Lamorak and had the most fun in a long while. It was because of a large battle right outside the central keep in Albion that kept shifting from the keep walls to the bridge and a Midgard tower at the other side of the river. It lasted more than a hour, with incessant, involving combat and almost zero downtime. Both factions had their moments and the RPs flowed (more than usual) for both. From more than one player I heard, “this reminds me why I play this game”. And it was true because the scope of that battle, the keeps and towers to support the line of the defence and the deployment of some siege engines between the waves, are definitely some of the unique traits of this game.

This was one rare (for me) example of an involving, exciting battle that had fun gameplay to offer for every player involved. Sadly this scenario isn’t as frequent as I’d like (it’s more like an exception) and the average RvR is often filled with endless downtimes and general boredom (running around, wait to organize, sit at a keep, endless “tennis games” between siege engines at long range and so on). Long ago I imputed the responsibility of these “flaws” to the immobility of the gameplay and a good step forward was done with the possibility to raze the towers. As I pointed at that time it was a positive step in the right direction.

I find the 8vs8 ganking squads scenario dull and boring. It’s a type of repetitive gameplay that doesn’t really add anything deeper than an efficient Realm Point farming. It’s fun as a diversion, but after a while it has nothing to offer. I believe, a bit presumptuously, that most players rinse and repeat this mostly because it’s the best pattern available to pile up Realm Points, the true “functional” purpose of the RvR (give a look to what happens in WoW, for another similar example, link below). This is why the reason to focus on the larger RvR scope is to underline and valorize those quality points that DAoC has. Or even:
“The best route should also be the most fun route.”

Repairing walls and doors and the siege engines destruction are an important part of the RvR and it’s right to reward the players for them. But they aren’t what makes this type of RvR “click”. It’s not where the fun really is and it’s not what should be truly valorized. The focus must be on something concrete, on the gameplay. Not just about adding yet another bonus. The whole point is about making this type of larger scale RvR more appealing and bring it closer to the 8vs8 RPs farming efficiency. The keeps must retain some value and become the true focus of the RvR instead of just a theme park for pick up groups. The game right now rewards the INDIFFERENCE toward RvR objectives and the elite guilds are as selfish and isolated as possible. It’s totally nocessary to leave them the possibility of this choice. But, and here is the core point, I don’t find good to let the game REWARD that type of attitude. Because the beauty of this game is about being part of a realm and play together for a bigger, shared goal. And not selfishly care for your own treadmill and static farming scenario to reiterate ad infinitum.

It’s a duty of the game (and the designers) to promote that gameplay where DAoC shines. And make it an habit and the norm, instead of a rare exception.

Those two “levels” of the game (8vs8 and actual RvR) will always exist. But it’s a good idea to start to balance them in an effective way so that the game can finally focus on what its most unique and precious traits are. In four years nothing new was really added and the appeal of this game is still basically the same. It may be late but it’s still important to focus and expand that potential that has been limited till now. Most of the server boards are completely filled with fights between the 8vs8 ganking squads and the “zergs”. The players almost overturn the actual purpose and rules of the game to form their own “code of conduct”. Does this remind something (+ here)? It’s not the only reason but this happened mostly because the game always rewarded and encouraged that type of 8vs8 gameplay. What happened is that the players magnified and standardized that pattern.

The players learnt from those rules and coded a behaviour that could fit at best with the context. But it’s the context that set the behaviour. Not the player, nor the “fun”.

This is why I believe that it’s fundamental to focus on the parts that are more relevant and give some more depth and dynamism to the actual RvR. A bonus for some side activities is a good thing but just glides on the surface and won’t truly affect the game in any way. It’s just a timid, forgettable “sop” for those players that have to perform those boring activities. The game shouldn’t only reward those. The game should reward and encourage (and, in a second time, develop) what is already fun and involving. Maximizing its value because this is what drives the fun and what keeps the players satisfied with a type of gameplay that is hard to find somewhere else.

Those, along with the dynamism, are the goals I consider important for the RvR. Finding the proper way to reach them may not be so easy and will require some other crazy brainstorming sessions. Still, I think that having the goals clearly set may help to find and focus on the effective solutions and ideas.