New expansion, new content
So how about the content then? Well, that’s had a major overhaul too, which has had a fairly drastic effect on the gameplay too, so I guess they go hand in hand. Rather than just throw in a load of new areas to explore but stick to the old way of doing them, Mythic have re-vamped the gameplay to take advantage of the new content. Dungeons are now instanced, in a very similar way to the instanced areas in WoW. As in WoW, this means that your party of adventurers are playing exclusively within your own area, so you all get the maximum benefit and experience while out on your travels. Though this feature has been around for a while now in other games, it certainly adds to the attraction of DAoC for new players as levelling up is far easier now.
The quest system has had a re-working too, with quests now being much less vague with the instructions you’re given and the direction you have to head off in. Here’s where WoW could learn a thing or two. DAoC’s quests are just about right, difficulty wise. They give you just enough information to keep the quest challenging and to keep you thinking without spoon feeding you info. WoW, on the hand, gives you far too little info, making quest completion something of a hit and miss affair at times.
Now, all that seems like a lot to be adding in, and it is, but Mythic haven’t stopped there. As well as improved graphics, instanced dungeons and clearer quests, you’ve got five new character classes too. It depends where you are as to what is available, so don’t expect to be able to get all five straight off. In Hibernia you get the Vampire and Banshee, Albion gives you the Heretic and Midguard delivers up a Warlock and the Valkyrie… so there’s plenty here for the novice and experienced player alike.
