Future of Gaheris
As a long time Gaheris player I have been curious what the future holds for Gaheris. I play mostly in a timezone where there have been times I'm the only player on the server (that I can tell). I know that there have been discussions around server transfers in the past. Particularly when Mordred closed and Damien was working hard to keep both alternate rule sets alive there was talk about letting ywain to gaheris and gaheris to ywain transfers. I'm someone who disagrees with this notion. I had mordred characters and I'm truly sad that that server has gone. Sure the numbers were low and at times the population was often its own worst enemy however that aspect being gone has eliminated an element of DAOC that made DAOC the game it was in its prime.
Other than pve events or content like the relic keeps can you share anything that you believe will boost Gaheris's player base or its value to the greater daoc community?
Other than pve events or content like the relic keeps can you share anything that you believe will boost Gaheris's player base or its value to the greater daoc community?
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I would really like to see something done with the relics, that allowed some kind of timed bonus for the realm. I also think it would be great if you could actually take a keep, claim it and have that start some kind of encounter involving keep defense.
I played Gaheris ages ago, when there was actually some population there. I remember it being pretty fun when there were raids and more involvement. I just started playing there again a few weeks ago and have never seen more than 20 people on at once. I see a lot of potential to create some good content and generate some population on Gaheris.
I cannot also see any good reason that different trophies have the same appearance (eg, Barracuda & Voracious Barracuda) - even a difference in size or colour could be implemented.
I would also like to see some way of getting the original Yar and Maldahar trophies back.
I would add to this the Underground Forest/ Abandoned Mines/Darkspire etc etc. Closing them was a big mistake for solo players.
If you have the ability to port there (requires a previous visit) you can still port to the little town. most of the content is still there but some is gone. I can still get to underground forest and enter darkspire, but all the npc characters and the bind stone thing are gone there.
Gaharis is supposed to be (and is now) a PvE only ruleset. I've read on other game forums about the amount of Battle Arenas coming out, that most modern games (like Black Desert Online) force people into PvP even if they don't care for it. Do you know that BDO has a huge population of lvl 49s? Why? Because 49 and lower are protected from world pvp, and while there are a lot of folks who like pvp, the masses who don't care for it are floating out there, looking for a game they can go to the end of without killing other players. I should know, I'm one of them.
So, what is this solution?
1. You're not going to get anymore players with a hidden game. I say hidden because I can't find it anywhere beyond word of mouth. Do you think I can go on Origin and see DAoC advertised? Nope. Only the game time is sold there, but the link to the game's sales page doesn't exist on Origin. I do a search for Dark Age of Camelot, all I get are time codes being offered. Put in a sales landing page where gamers can check out the description, let them know that there are two rules sets, PvE and RvR and you may actually start building a player base again.
2. Stop relying on social media as a main course of awareness. Social Media alone may be a trend setter for politics and news, but this is a game, not a political trend or CNN. Get some visibility anywhere else there are people who play computer games, give them a chance to see it. Outdated game curse? Make it known what I just discovered. There is PvE questing, there is a non-RvR server, and it can be FUN again.
3. I've actually run into gamers who think **** is the only DAoC left. Not one, or five, but a guild of 450+ people who were shocked to beans to learn that DAoC Live got questing added back in. You see, most people who used to play, me included at one time, thought all PvE was stripped out and it was reduced to a RvR only game. With all the questing I've done on a few Ywain and on Gaharis, that isn't true. You NEED to tailor a campaign to reveal that to everyone else. They, like me only a week ago, didn't even know a tutorial island was put in!
4. A lot of people dislike EA, they have killed good games before. Earth and Beyond anybody? So I was surprised to see the Broadsword brand. That is actually what made me look into DAoC again, by the way. I stumbled across it by accident, doing a search to prove something to a friend that I used to play it, etc. So when I saw that landing page with my own surprised eyes, and I went there, I was like hmm. Keep relying on accidental re-discoveries, the game will vanish, I can assure you of that.
5. Stop talking about it in dark offices. Just go out and do it! Get a landing page on Origin! Get a landing page on Steam, GoG and anywhere else that will let you set a landing page, and get this thing in front of Gamers again! Write to IGN and tell them of the changes, invite them to play and ask them to review the newer quests out there. Some who played before will come back. Others who never played before will give it a try. Some may even stay and play! It won't happen unless you make it happen.
Fine, I know, it's a lot of effort and talk. Final challenge. I dare you to do it. Put the game out there beyond the barely findable website and go beyond social media. If you do not step out of the dark and into the light, you're not going to get new players, let alone returning ones. You have a brand. You're not promoting it properly. I would have LOVED to know there was still PvE content in the game, and that includes Gaharis.
Oh, FYI: Just to hear that "Gaharis is still alive" from anywhere gamers tend to shop would have brought me back YEARS ago.
Take a look at the comment above by @Xarduvik . I agree with absolutely everything he is saying as I too am a long time and returning year after year DAoC player. Recently, Gaheris has been my flavor as well being a HUGE PvE buff and the fact you never find that on the Ywain servers anymore. If you do see someone in PvE it's likely because they don't have a guild/alliance to help them level or it is only a guild group and they're going to farm/powerlevel or do Curse/Otherworld to obtain items for their temps and then right back into the Frontiers they go. There is SO MUCH MORE to this game still. Yes, it is one of the greatest PvP/RvR titles still to date in my opinion but there is a large group of us out here that still want PvE. With the way things have gone in this game since EAs takeover everything is now obtainable by BPs or traveling merchants and guess what the best way to grind plat is? Killing players at over 200-300g per kill. Lol! Outrageous to me. I think the best idea I've heard is to combine Gaheris with the free Endless Conquest server or strive to make Endless Conquest the most like Gaheris to get people into the full game, not just PvP/RvR, especially for the lovers of lore and fantasy and questing such as myself.
It was my sense of wonder and fun, returning to me as I wandered through the frontiers, following quest lines.
Yep, I'm back and happy to be here and hoping for more people that feel the same about Gaheris!
So, @Broadsword how about throwing us some info-bones??
However, I agree with the above that it's actually a great selling point for people considering DAOC. Not everyone is super competitive, and honestly, regular DAOC is a bit harsh if you aren't at least decent at understanding mechanics.
I just wish Gaheris was folded to Ywain so an idea is better then none
Second … there is a game based on the Tolkien trilogy, which is pure PvE and is very popular. Huge world, lots to do … not perfect, but a lot of people who used to be on Gaheris moved there. It has FtP and paid options, and both are viable (unlike here, where Endless Conquest is a dead end … after a while your characters cannot improve, your race and class options are severely truncated, guild formation and house ownership are impossible … )
Based on that experience, I know there is a market for a good PvE game. I think it is widely understood that DAoC has some of the best RvR/PvE out there. Gaheris offers the opportunity to expand DAoC’s market. DAoC has better lore, landscape, and game play than its competitors. It would be good if more people knew about it.
DAoC was my first choice for many\, many years, but once I got too old and slow to compete in high-level RvR (and didn’t have hours to spend each night keeping my skills honed) I moved to Gaheris and purely loved it. Access to all three realms, all the zones, all the classes and races …. Great stuff, and much lower pressure.
Eventually all my friends moved to that other game, and I followed … being guild master of a one-person guild isn’t a lot of fun. I always wanted to come back, but by now, I don’t have sufficient income to run two accounts full time, and often don’t have enough free hours to justify the cost (retirement isn’t all fun and games.)
What I tend to do with that other game is buy a couple of months at a time to enjoy the perks of paid membership, then go back to FtP. They are still making money off me, and I am still adding to the population, which keeps the game healthy, but I am not spending too much nor getting too little.
I had hoped to do the same with Endless Conquest—buy a month or two for a couple accounts, then switch back to free for a few months, rinse and repeat.
Unfortunately, there is too little offered with EC, and all benefits from a paid subscription go away after reverting to EC. I cannot make a savage, a chanter, any kind of archer …. Even a basic fire wizard is off-limits. If I were to make one on a pad subscription, I would lose when I went back to FtP … so why bother?
Also, even though I could pay and buy a house or two, I would lose access … so why bother?
Right now I am back playing DAoC, and loving it … but what incentive is there to give Broadsword any of my money?
If EC creates tens of thousands of new subscriptions, then Broadsword will probably be satisfied with EC as it stands, and I will keep playing for free until I am bored with lack of options and lack of progress.
If however, EC is only marginally successful …. Broadsword might want to look at what will help the game. And I think people on both the Ywains and Gaheris would say that the primary improvement would be Population.
There are a couple ways I can imagine which might open up EC and still keep benefits subscribers. One would be vouchers, purchasable from special merchants, unlocking higher, RR, Champ levels and abilities, and housing access. Players who wanted to grind away in-game for cash to buy upgrades would still be adding to the population.
Another would be micro-transactions for actual cash—Broadsword could sell an unlimited character slot for a certain fee, or a character slot with no race or class restrictions, and later RP and CL upgrades, to EC players. Similarly, EC players might be willing to buy a small house (and the benefits of the market) for a fee.
EC is a decent offering. It is just a bit too limiting for my tastes, but better than nothing. However, with some expansion, it might prove to be even more profitable for Broadsword.