When was DAoC at it's best?

[Ovi]

thats what i miss in other games, that community spirit.
In WoW there isnt any spirit

That's the one thing I really miss the most, whatever game I have gone to has been lacking the spirit that I first found on Prydwen. In a way think DAoC has spoily MMORPGs for me, because I will never experience that again

[Wyst]

I didnt vote as I dont feel qualified, having only started playing DaoC after ToA had been out about a month or two (I know, I know, for some it seems like Ive been around forever, seems that way to me now as well since I got my Elder title about 2 weeks ago which makes me feel like some sort of OAP)

The best times for me, and probably for most I guess, were when it was all new and there were always new things to try and do and places to go.

There were always new people to meet as well which was a lot of the fun, particularly once I got over the awe factor of virtually everyone else in the game knowing about everything compared to me as a noob and realising that a whole load of folks didnt actually know everything, just a lot more than me:)

The community was still strong as far as I could tell beyond the introduction of NF, although the cracks were showing at times. The clustering of the servers did more damage to the community as a whole than any other issue perhaps with the exception of artifact farming and BBs meaning that folks didnt need much help with anything and could sort themselves out independantly.

Optimised specs and uber templates are still the bugbear of the game for me as one of the few who have posted who are still active, even when I started getting Wyst to 40+ I could get an rvr group, but it wasnt long after that that being a warden wasnt good enough anymore, had to be ML8+, had to have twf3, had to have this arti etc etc, wtf is up with your heat resist ffs!

Everyone ended up with different reasons for playing after a while and as numbers reduced slowly the people with similar aims to yourself started to make it more of a compromise for everyone as there werent enough folks with similar enough goals to prevent the occasional conflict of interests.

The end game of RvR is now the only thing left in the game as everything else has been made so easy there is either no challenge to it or no worthwhile reward. While this is fine for a fair proportion of the community, it has certainly driven some away as it has turned the game and the atitudes in the game into a far more confrontational and competitive place. Getting some idiots logging in to hib on new toons purely to slag you off for killing them or having your realm mates pm you with abuse over something you did/didnt do has made the place too much like an ingame version of FH, a place Ive generally despised for the kiddie playground atitude.

The golden age of MMORPGs in general is probably gone for good from a community perspective as we have all evolved to different playstyles/expectations through our experiences. As long as we can all look back on various times in DaoC with a fondness, then I imagine there are lots of people who were able to contribute to those good memories rather than the game overall being good, bad, indifferent at different stages, if that wasnt the case we would all still be playing single player offline games.

For me every new expansion brought something new to do and therefore brought me some enjoyment, but as for which was the best period for me, it will always be the first 6 or 12 months when the plethora of new things, people and places was at its greatest

Sorry for the essay, as per usual I rambled on and off topic as random thoughts occured to me so I hope if you feel you wasted time reading my drivel you wont hold it against me.

Wyst
(Living on the edge of finally quitting)

[Lieva]

Wyst
(Living on the edge of finally quitting)

[OohhoO]

I'll second that

[Belisar]

Got to agree with a lot of the sentiment expressed here.

I came in just before SI - I still remember someone having to explain to me a healer could give you your con loss back after I died for the 5th time. I remember taking a horse to Tir Uphost and seeing TNN for the first time (then trying to walk back to it and being mashed by mist wraiths -I think I nearly poo'd myself in real life I was so nervous at that time).

I also remember the nice people I quickly met. I remember how accomodating they were, how patient and how generous with their time (some of the old KotG still play).

I liked SI as it was somewhere new to go. Offered different mobs, different places and the dungeons were a challenge for groups. At the time it came out the OP classes were not much of a realisation and nor were templates.

I think ToA brough greed and a level of leetism in the way the arti drops worked originally. There were still some generous people about but it was only then that I became aware of certain people and guilds who could ruin things by selfishness and from there on it was downhill to an extent.

Expansions did have good and bad points but it is hard to think beyond the times when the game was new, interesting and spirited.

[<ankh>]

The answer is easy but not an avaible option in the poll.
It should be "when Ankh was playing!"

/Ankh

[Lieva]

The answer is easy but not an avaible option in the poll.
It should be "when Ankh was playing!" ]/Ankh[/B]

You were the only animist in a corset...

[<ankh>]

You were the only animist in a corset...

Ofc - and I looked damn good!

/Ankh

[Seanpaul]

regardless of best and worst times. if anyone feels the urge to use their 8 days. throw me a PM. i've reopened for a while and i'll help and accomodate anyone that needs help, wants some RvR or may even want to level another character.

[OohhoO]

8 days?