Darkfall Release Impressions

[Tbone]

Obviously release got off to a rocky start. I mean, most of us still don't have an account yet. All the issues put aside, I figured I would discuss the game as it is when it is working.

All I can say is that I'm having a blast. In a way, I hate it, but I love to hate it. It's a real test in terms of handling situations. The short of it is that NOTHING is boring, because there is risk to everything. The other side to this is that things become very frustrating very quickly. This makes accomplishing something much more rewardable, though.

For instance, we need 10,000 gold for a clan shard. We have to farm Kobolts for the gold. In any other game, we just would have spent a few hours in the Kobolt spawn chopping the mobs down as they spawn, healing, chopping down. In this game, however, it's a big accomplishment if you get through the hour without getting completely ganked. While some of you will get pissed off at this...a lot...it makes you focus and go to alert when someone new comes by. It never become repetitive because you never know what situation you're going to be in. So we finally get 10,000 gold and feel really good. Now we have to get the clan shard to the city we want to claim. In a normal game, this would mean just taking it to the place. But for Darkfall, we have to send a scout ahead to make sure it is still unclaimed and check for enemies. We're halfway there with the shard when we get a report that the city has been taken and that there are Mahirim close by. We have to run back. But when we did finally claim a hamlet, it made it even more worth it.

The game takes teamwork. Even if you can kill a mob easily solo or with two people, a lot of people will see you as vulnerable and take advantage of it. Even killing easy mobs, it's wiser to roll with 5 or so people just so you have control of the grounds.

Here's the important thing to know and understand. You're all going to hate this game at some point. You're going to curse at it, say it's not fair, say it's all pointless, and wonder why you ever bothered. But as soon as you succeed at something, despite ridiculous odds, you'll find you're really enjoying it. And you'll have all these interesting stories to tell. Because it's not just "I killed Kobolts all day long today" but "I killed Kobolts until these Kill Cult showed up and tried to gank me, so I took two of them out, and then they came back with eight people just to kill me!". You'll be mad you lost the loot, but at least you won't be bored.

I played for 12 hours yesterday straight...I don't even think my eyes are working right now. I'm gonna log in again today for a good while. I'm going to take Monday night off, though, and it'll be a good break.

We still need to accomplish a lot, but if you're in the game currently, don't get too burned out and stressed. If you need to take a break and relax, we'll understand. Just remember it's just a game, you are going to lose everything probably at least once a day, and a bunch of people exploited there way to the top, yes, but just think of it like starting out 2 months after release instead of 2 hours. Lame, but other people are going to have to go through it. Ok, I'm gonna stop rambling for now. I'll be on after work (same time as yesterday). I'm gonna try to get a little more sleep tonight, though...I'm really starting to feel it..lol.