[GAMES] 'Origins' Server Type Overview

[WiZe^]

General Overview:

This server type is intended to be untangled from the many free and retail expansion packs that have been introduced over the years, which have significantly altered the original design of the game. Beyond the changes highlighted in the poll itself (no buff bots, no Master Levels, etc.), we are also taking the following measures ONLY on this new ‘Origins’ server:

- Equalizing the number of classes in each realm to 11. This will require that one class in Albion be merged with other classes and/or removed altogether, and that one additional class be granted to Midgard. Keeping balance in mind, and bearing in mind that we are still closely examining this aspect of Origins (which means this may be subject to change), here is what we are considering:

o Removal of the Theurgist class from Albion. This very unique ‘pet spam’ class has historically been one of the most difficult to balance. Removal of this class will allow us to better balance the realms against each other, as opposed to attempting to balance specific classes against other realms or realms against specific classes. Note that we are looking at ‘key’ abilities this class offers (other than the pets) in order to transfer unique abilities to other characters in the realm.

o Addition of the Valkyrie class to Midgard. The Valkyrie class, introduced with Catacombs, provides a unique flavor to Midgard without introducing increased challenges to balance. As it is now, it would be considered a powerful class for this server type, but please keep in mind that we are also retuning balance of all three realms across the board (more on this later). With its melee and mending skills, we believe the Valkyrie will round out Midgard’s abilities fairly well by adding a third healer with heavy melee damage potential to the realm. This will balance the healing capacity between all three realms, whereas before Midgard had only two healing classes and the other two realms each had three. Furthermore, this class will complement Midgard’s strong melee capabilities. In hindsight, this would have been a good class to release when we launched the game in 2001. This is why it was chosen.

- Adding new strategic elements to RvR to include additional RvR objectives. Along with the return of the original Frontiers lands, we will be introducing new gameplay objectives for all players level 20 and above. This means that a level 20 player can enter the Frontiers in order to help his or her realm achieve victory. Here are some of the highlights to this element of RvR:

o No battlegrounds. The focus of this server will be on world RvR. By encouraging players of all levels to participate in RvR, and providing rewards and a stake in the outcome for doing so, we will be able to introduce lesser experienced players to RvR much more effectively. However, we have learned a few things about this type of gameplay over the years and we will add some components to the game based on what we have learned, such as:

§ Grief Protection. Because we are focusing on world RvR, we want to give players who are at least level 20 the opportunity to participate in World RvR events without fear of complete annihilation by players who are significantly higher in level. We are still working through the details of this system, but our goal is to prevent players who are the equivalent of a red or purple con from attacking lower level players unless the lower level player initiates combat first. We are also examining ways to protect lower level RvR objectives and hunting grounds from being ‘griefed’ by higher level enemies.

o New strategic ‘hotspots’. Along with the original keep and relic structures, this server will also provide capturable camps, small towers, and outposts to players who wish to gain access to unique NPCs with unique items and/or quests. Hotspots will be level-range-based in order to encourage players of the appropriate level to capture the hotspots with items and quests they can use. We are also considering adding a village or two to each Realm’s RvR region, as additional objectives for higher level players, which also offer unique items and quests.

o Modified monster camps to accommodate participation and leveling by lower level players.



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F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions):


Will archery be reverted to the old system?

No, archery will not be reverted to the old system. This would require technical hurdles we are not prepared to overcome. Both archery systems have their inherent flaws, but I do believe that the newer system, aside from some quirks, is the better system.


Are you going to include Shrouded Isles on this server?

No, unfortunately, we are not launching Shrouded Isles on this server … just yet. We would certainly like to launch SI on this server, and so we are tossing around some ideas internally about what we can do with SI to make it even more compelling than the first round (SI being our best expansion ever). But because we’d like for this particular project to benefit all servers (not just Origins), it will take some time to work on.


Are you going to be doing something about crowd control?

Yes, we are looking at crowd control. Our goal is to set it up so that the longest mez spell in the game is no longer than 20 to 25 seconds. This is still in discussion, and we welcome feedback.


When is this server going to be launched?

Our schedule requires around four to five months of development. This means that since the server has been in development for two months already, we still have another two to three months before it’s ready for primetime. Right now, launch is slated for the August/September timeframe. However, this is also subject to change. Ideally, I want the server to receive at least one month of testing, but preferably six to eight weeks to allow us time to react to feedback and make changes or additions that will provide for the best play experience possible. This is also why your involvement as a Community is critical to us.




Will there be a /level 20 command?

The /level 20 command will be disabled for this server type.


Which races will be available?

All races with the exception of the Minotaur will be available. Here is a list of the races for each realm:



Albion: Briton, Avalonian, Saracen, Highlander, Inconnu, and Half Ogre.
Hibernia: Celt, Elf, Lurikeen, Firbolg, Shar, and Sylvan.
Midgard: Norseman, Dwarf, Kobold, Troll, Valkyn, and Frostalf.



What classes can I play?

This is still under discussion and we are considering each class type very carefully so that we can decide which to include in the new server type.


Will we be able to transfer our current characters to the new server?

No, you will need to start a new character.


Will Realm Abilities go back to the way they were before New Frontiers?

The Realm Ability (RA) system will resemble the current form. The system will be modified and some of the Realm Abilities may be supplanted with some Old Frontier Realm Abilities.


Will there still be personal, group and realm tasks on 'Origins?' (Added 06/13/08)

There were no realm missions in OF. They are not being added and the current ones in NF would not work in OF. Instead, we will have hotspots of activity where you can find some action that are similar to missions in rewards.





Will all of the siege weapons in the live server be transferred, such as siege towers and all of the various siege weapon levels? (Added 06/13/08)

No. There will be no siegecraft. The old keeps were not designed to accommodate them and it would change the playstyle that the OF fostered for keep takes.


Will the /level command which allows for a free level every 7 days be available on Origins? What about resting XP? (Added 06/13/08)

Rest XP will remain. The population bonus free level system will not apply on this ruleset.

Taken from The Camelot Herald

[WiZe^]

43 view's and no comment(s) ?

[Downanael]

Originally Posted by WiZe^

43 view's and no comment(s) ?

New archery is still in

OT: Mass Effect soundtrack rocks!

OT2: Captain Haddock rocks aswell!

[WiZe^]

OT: screw this! am off to the pub. . .

[- English -]

looking forward to this tbh

[WiZe^]

Originally Posted by - English -

looking forward to this tbh

so..... idient geat any pidydtdt ... haåpppuyy id

[- English -]

qq give beer, im on a 10 week fitness program so staying off it

[Patriarch<>Matriarch]

All in all I think what Mythic are trying to achieve with the Origin server is the best move they made since 2003.


But I think they are trying too hard. The basic concept that where in OF / SI time between 2001 and 2003 was when the game peaked, both in gameplay, balance and over-all funness.

- Many will say and claim that we are all wearing pink glasses, but the statistics does speak their clear language, people left the game when ToA and NF came, the populations stopped to grow, yet there came no NEW game that would replace DAoC.

- Might say WoW replaced it but I'm of a diffrent idea, if you had a ferrarri there is no way you would all of sudden go with an Audi r8/rc, even if it is "similar" at first look, both are sportscars. Point beeing the games do not compete with eachother in the deeper context, they are too diffrent to attract the exact same people.



***

Hopefully they will see to the players to find out what worked best since after all, no one month or 6 weeks of testing will give you any information as valuable as the customers opinions who played the game from 2000/1.

- One example is the archer classes, wich where as most fun with the old concept, the new one is probably "a better system" when looking from a coding persepctive but it is NOT more fun. I played 2x scouts, 2x hunters and one ranger since the game came, and the "old" system was superior when it came to realism and funness.

- The scout was better with the bow, and with numb/slam could kill people very effective ( had rr5 and rr8 scout ). I can admit that the scout was pritty worthless in melee until TOA and the DW nerf, after that they were borderling OP'ed VS some classes.

- The ranger was OK with bow and had highest DPS in melee ( if specced for it), also with items had great survivability, both OF times and ToA times. ( Was litterally destroyed by the DW nerf, became a leech and add char, almost like scouts and rangers changed roles ;<)

- The hunter was the weaker one when it came to ranged fighting, but had the highest burst damage and could sustain a high DPS both with 2h swords and spears when specced for it, and their pet wich might been OP'ed in NF due to water did work well, it was as annoying as it should have been ( in the latter part of the game where pets got buffed).

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( No idea if Mythic are looking to the "official English community " DAoC forums for feedback aswell as on IGN boards, I hope they do ).

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When it comes to the removing of classes, I think that could create problems as well, even removing buffbots could create problems, at least for the 8 man groups wich was a good portion of the community and did bring something to the endgame, even for casual players and roleplayers.

- Having no buffbots will make it hard for the Albion realm to get full benefits of buffs in group situations, wich in fact makes a class more fun to play since it gets better at what it is supposed to do, now you could argue that if all are equally "crappy" it is even, but you could argue the other way, if everyone is equally "opted" it is also even, and imo more fun.

* Removing theug will take away a good portion of Albions interruption and kite engine ( ice pets, aoe root ). The way DAoC developed with; interruption and good kite is what together with RRs, Items, RAs and positioning, what wins a fight.

Even though 'BACK THEN' neither of this was present, it is a fact that the competative game and tactics around it has evolved and players did discover how important these things where, even more so then nummbers - wich in my book is a fair tradeoff, skills or tactics, awareness of the game is what should matter in RvR/PvP/8v8.


- Implementing Valkyrie as a class for midgard, while tweaking / removing theugs is probably something that will create huge imbalance.

Fact is Valkyrie is a very strong interruption class ( played one to rr7 on Bossiney in set group ), and together with a paccer, shaman you will have a very very strong interrupt and kite engine. Since valk both works in a hybrid and a full tank group this will create a huge problem when it comes to balance in 8v8 RvR.
Further more, valks do alot of damage, my rr7 valk on the US classic server using the -100 value AF debuff 2h sword from the Battleground (45-49 ) hit casters and support constantly for over 1000 dmg during celerity. ( ragnar proc included, though it was nerfed now but still does same damage but in 2 part chain ). Point beeing removing a very strong class for Albion while introducing a strong class for Midgard might become a problem.



**

In my book, the most important thing will be to balance caster VS melee damage, if they want to bring back some of what we HAD in OF times, when a caster single handly could not nuke you to shreds in 3-4 seconds doing 850x4 dmg on you. I think this is the part that needs the most balancing.

- As first introduced and used in 8v8, RvR..casters did do damage but they where weak and needed some sort of mindfullness to play well. As in you do your dps when you can and in short bursts to help your tanks overcome the heals comming from the enemy support. This resulted over all in lower DPS vs health ratio then we have today, and might been a reason to why people liked the Zerg rvr, the 8v8 and small group rvr so much - fights where longer, everyone did less damage and casters did probably 50% less damage, but still had close to same utility as today.

Having the sort of survivability, utlity and burst damage as caster have today is just not in line with that the class orginially was "intended" (as I interperate the caster role in DAoC) for. A good caster or two good casters in a group should be the tip of the spear, if they play well, use all their utility, and do some dps to help their tanks/light armored tanks the fight should tip in their favor. And not as it is today when an unattended caster will kill your support in matter of seconds while only using a very little portion of the classes potential, seems wrong imo.

Anyway, this is just my idea and that is aswell subject to change ..

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What do others think about the fact they are thinking about removing Theugs but puttin Valks into the game?

What do people think about Old archer system VS new archer system?

What do people think about NO buffbots? ( this is one of the hardest questions imo ).

What do people think about Caster VS Melee dps? ( hard one aswell imo ).

[Faeldawn]

It's old info and has been posted many times before, probably people have looked, expecting to read something they didn't know, but only found the Herald information reposted and so no-one has replied.

[Faeldawn]

Originally Posted by Patriarch<>Matriarch

What do others think about the fact they are thinking about removing Theugs but puttin Valks into the game?

What do people think about Old archer system VS new archer system?

What do people think about NO buffbots? ( this is one of the hardest questions imo ).

What do people think about Caster VS Melee dps? ( hard one aswell imo ).

No buffbots is a winner, who wants to pay for 2 accounts if they don't need too? The real question is how will they balance the self-buffing classes.

[WiZe^]

Originally Posted by Faeldawn

No buffbots is a winner, who wants to pay for 2 accounts if they don't need too? The real question is how will they balance the self-buffing classes.

Probably the same as on classic

[Patriarch<>Matriarch]

Originally Posted by Faeldawn

No buffbots is a winner, who wants to pay for 2 accounts if they don't need too? The real question is how will they balance the self-buffing classes.

Well 3 ppl can share a buffbot, pay one sub each every 3 months. I know it is a bad system but atleast I am used to relying on BBs. It enchances your char in a way that makes it more fun, even if everyone has a BB (wich ppl on TOA servers have ) it was just so much smoother then running around with Pots as on classic servers.

Also when it comes to the grping scenario, albions can not make a group with only 2 clerics and buff everyone full, not possible. ( only with + conc items wich only exists on ToA? And they are very bugged ).

Beeing forced to use ( imo ) gimped friar on an Origin server and not beeing able to role theugs QQ.

Where OF (pre NF ) Theugs that awesome? They ran out of power quite rapidly and you could easily pbaoe kill their pets.

- I'm not rooting for some godmode alb thing here, I will play Hib, if I play at all but just want balance.

[Mabs]

Originally Posted by Patriarch<>Matriarch

- One example is the archer classes, wich where as most fun with the old concept, the new one is probably "a better system" when looking from a coding persepctive but it is NOT more fun. I played 2x scouts, 2x hunters and one ranger since the game came, and the "old" system was superior when it came to realism and funness.



- Having no buffbots will make it hard for the Albion realm to get full benefits of buffs in group situations, wich in fact makes a class more fun to play since it gets better at what it is supposed to do, now you could argue that if all are equally "crappy" it is even, but you could argue the other way, if everyone is equally "opted" it is also even, and imo more fun.



* Removing theug will take away a good portion of Albions interruption and kite engine ( ice pets, aoe root ). The way DAoC developed with; interruption and good kite is what together with RRs, Items, RAs and positioning, what wins a fight.


- Implementing Valkyrie as a class for midgard, while tweaking / removing theugs is probably something that will create huge imbalance.

What do others think about the fact they are thinking about removing Theugs but puttin Valks into the game?

What do people think about Old archer system VS new archer system?

What do people think about NO buffbots? ( this is one of the hardest questions imo ).

What do people think about Caster VS Melee dps? ( hard one aswell imo ).

"fun" is based on perception, im sure the NF archers shooting people with longbows from out of clip range were having "fun"...

odd, people always managed to group with healing classes that were speced for buffs before the bots came in, wonder how they will ever survive now...

your seriously saying that alb will auto lose cos they cant kite with a theurg ? er, ok. and they are moving BT to something (paly someone said?!)

valk is melee hybrid healer. as is the friar, they serve the same roll. ok the valk has more interupt, but then the classes arent copies of each other.

[Patriarch<>Matriarch]

Originally Posted by Mabs

"fun" is based on perception, im sure the NF archers shooting people with longbows from out of clip range were having "fun"...

odd, people always managed to group with healing classes that were speced for buffs before the bots came in, wonder how they will ever survive now...

your seriously saying that alb will auto lose cos they cant kite with a theurg ? er, ok. and they are moving BT to something (paly someone said?!)

valk is melee hybrid healer. as is the friar, they serve the same roll. ok the valk has more interupt, but then the classes arent copies of each other.

Well that was b/c height effected the range of wich an arrow could travel, and also there where special types of arrows that gave alot of + range. Regardless, that was taken away before the overhaul of the archery system, if you played an archer you'd know that aswell.

Regarding the fun factor, I think the old archery system was alot more fun, and realistic..more so then "casting" magic spells with a bow is.


About the auto loose thing. I never said that. I said I think for balancing issues removing Theug wich has been albions nr1 interrupt and kite engine class for years will tilt things alot. I'm sure many of you guys would have won several encounters vs albion 8 mans if it wasn't for "that damn ice theug who locked you down", it is indeed a needed class I think.

I played a valkyrie to rr7lx in a set group on Bossiney and Valkyries are a very very powerful class when it comes to snaring tanks, interrupt casters and support, and aoe snaring people hitting your csters/support/kiting away from you.
One valk can perma snare 2x tanks who is chasing your support easily, just spam pin, and for an offensive mid push group nothing is sweeter then having a valk doing the rupts before a mezz lands, making all support and casters having to constantly reposition.

- Also as a sider, my valk was on a classic server, had 860 AF, ~2900 hp, did 2h 750-1200 dmg/1h 350-550 with ragnar spam on casters and support. I had perma interrupt, shears, charge3, purge3, perma snare on tanks with pin spam, and caoe snare. A friar is nothing like it, not a fair comparision.
- Now I know the classic servers ain't 100% classic, I had +con and hits bonus, but no friar on a classic server would have that kind of stats and dmg output either.

I think it will be alot of Hibs and Mids playing on Origin, hope they adress the whole theug business.

[Ctuchik]

Originally Posted by Patriarch<>Matriarch