Dark Age of
Camelot has been an enormous hit in the MMORPG world. If you dont know
what it is, then youve been living under a virtual rock (perhaps
camping way too long in Everquest). The cool thing about DAoC is that it
has grown from a relatively small development house to take over the
whole world. It is a true success story, so its no wonder that fans
have been eagerly anticipating Shrouded Isles, the first major DAoC
upgrade. Featuring improvements like new races, classes and continents,
as well as a graphical overhaul, Shrouded Isles should renew Camelots
grip on your life.
First up: New
continents in each realm. Albion gets the island of Avalon, the
historical home of King Arthur, which has been laid to waste by the evil
Drakoran and Morgana. Hibernia will see the legendary land of HyBrasil
for the first time, a wooded paradise that has been laid to waste by the
evil Fomorians. Midgard welcomes Aegir to the realm, a land previously
only known in myth, but which has been terrorized (and laid to waste) by
the Morvalt, who are not all bad, but mostly.
The new
races correspond to (and come from) these new continents. The Inconnu
are from Avalon, and have historically served Arawn, the "old world"
lord of the underworld. Of course, Morgana has really caused some
problems for Arawn and the Inconnu (what with laying their land to waste
and all), so the Inconnu seek out the other inhabitants of Albion to
create an alliance to regain their homeland. The Sylvan are a race from
HyBrasil, and they have been driven from their homeland by the Fomorians,
who have systematically hunted down and destroyed Sylvan people and
lands. The Sylvan hope the Hibernians will help them get HyBrasil back.
The Valkyn are a "domesticated" splinter group of the Morvalt, who have
taken over the historical Troll Fathers homeland of Aegir in Midgard.
They have allied with the Troll Fathers to destroy the Morvalt occupying
Aegir.
So a lot
is happening in the game these days, and to help you get through it, or
get into it, are six new classes. There are two new classes per realm,
adding quite a bit of variety to the game. In Albion there will now be
Necromancers and Reavers. The Necromancer class is still being ironed
out, but the Reavers are fairly rounded out. They are hybrid fighters
(somewhere between Champion and Thane) who protect Arawn and get all
kinds of spiffy abilities. Hibernia will see the Animist and Valewalker.
The Animist is a sort of natural medicine mage, and they can animate
plants and heal and whatnot. The interesting thing about Animists is
that rather than wanting to protect nature they actually want to
become nature. The Valewalker is a sort of combat mage who wields a
large Scythe. Sounds spooky. Midgard receives the Bonedancer and Savage
classes. The Bonedancer is a sort of pre-Norse necromancer type who can
reanimate the bones of dead animals to do his bidding. The Savage is a
brawling machine, eschewing edged weapons in favor of hand-to-hand
combat.
And to
bring all of this together in a nice package, Mythic has undertaken a
whole revision of the graphics engine for Shrouded Isles. The framerate
has been increased, textures are higer resolution, and steps have been
taken to eliminate "fry" or "sparkling" in the game. New reflection and
shadowing techniques mean that shiny surfaces will look much better and
shadows will cast on everything in the game objects, environment and
characters alike. Other enhancements, like water that wakes as you move
through it, will add to the detail of the game, making an overall much
prettier experience.
In a nice
move by Mythic, players who have stopped playing Dark Age of Camelot are
invited and enticed to return. Mythic has maintained a character
database throughout the lifespan of DAoC, so even if your account has
been closed for a very long time, you can re-activate your old
characters and pick up where you left off. This is a nice move that
reflects how dedicated Mythic has been to their players.
Expect Dark Age of Camelot: Shrouded Isles later this year, and
expect it to be great.