New Darkfall Players – Leave Your Civilization At The Door

Posted by Stropp on February 26, 2009

Today’s the big day. Well, it might have been yesterday… those timezone things can get tricky. Darkfall should be getting released provided nothing goes wrong. And so far, I haven’t heard of anymore problems. There were a few website and preorder issues the other day, but hopefully they won’t translate to release day blues.

Darkfall’s big selling point is that it is going to take players back in time to the days of extreme PvP. A time where PKers (Player Killers), Griefers, and Gankers roamed freely through the wilderness ready to smack down any player who dared step outside of town with extreme predjudice. In other words, they’re bringing us hardcore PvP.

Hardcore PvP is not your modern PvP. Warhammer Online for instance gives players a choice where and when, or should I say if and when, they decide to engage in combat with other players. Darkfall offers no such choice, and from what I’ve heard there are no safe zones, even towns are FFA. The only safe time is when you’ve logged off.

So here are a couple of tips for new players to Darkfalls Hardcore PvP to help you make the most of your gaming experience.

Leave Your Civilization At The Door.

Playing a hardcore PvP game requires a different attitude than does playing a predominantly PvE game like World of Warcraft or LotRO. Hardcore PvPers call non-hardcore PvEers Carebears for a reason, and that reason isn’t because Carebears are all soft and cuddly with rainbows shooting out all over the place. PvEers can be hardcore too, just in a different manner.

No. Hardcore PvPers are willing to endure the pain of harsh death penalties, losing everything they’re carrying, even as in the case of Eve Online, losing skill progress or vast amounts of equipment. And they’re willing, entirely willing, to inflict that pain on those around them. PvEers on the other hand prefer constant progress and don’t like harsh penalties when stuff happens. It doesn’t mean they don’t like  challenge, it’s a different sort of challenge.

To fit in with this harsh virtual lifestyle it’s necessary to leave that thin veneer of civilization at the door. As the saying goes, when in Rome…

If you are intending on playing Darkfall, realise that it’s a kill or be killed world. If someone comes into range when you’re fighting a mob, make sure you keep your eye on them. And always be ready for a surprise attack. If you’re not sure about someone, just kill them. Mercy is for the weak, and you can be sure your opponent will not be showing you any.

Darkfall is survival of the fittest baby!

Find Others Of Like Mind

A Hardcode PvP is not a solo friendly experience. Certainly it’s possible, but there’s not a lot of recourse when a gang of gankers show up while you are traveling between cities or are finishing off that quest mob. You’re simply going to die, and lose everything you’re carrying.

You won’t be able to retaliate later either. The gangs will stay in gangs. You won’t get close alone.

The trick here is to find a guild or player association that shares the same values as you do. Yes. You’re all playing a PvP game, but there are two types of PvP players. There are the PKers, and the Anti-PKers. PKers tend to be the Griefers and Gankers, the type of players who kill indiscriminately. The Anti-PKers are also motivated by PvP, but they tend to fight in a more honorable manner, and not when the other player is at their weakest.

Darktide, the Asheron’s Call FFA PvP server had a mixture of PK and Anti-PK guilds. Not surprisingly the two guild types tended to be enemies, with the Anti-PK guilds often defending un-aligned players from the PKers.

So decide what you want to be. Are you a PKer,  or would you prefer to be Anti-PK? Make sure you find like minded players and guilds and form relationships with them. That alone could make the difference between enjoying or hating Darkfall.

Get Your Head Right

Lastly, and perhaps the most important thing to do is to get your mindset right. Darkfall is going to be a hard, tough experience. From what I gather, it will be tougher than Asheron’s Call DT and with a lot more consequences.

If you are not prepared to lose all your shiny new equipment each and everytime you put it on then you shouldn’t be taking it out of the bank. Eve Online has a saying that a player shouldn’t be flying a ship that they can’t afford or aren’t prepared to lose. The same philosophy applies to Darkfall.

It should also be said that if you aren’t prepared to be killed the moment you create your character, or step into someone else’s path, and if you aren’t prepared for that behaviour over and over again. Then Darkfall probably isn’t the game for you, and you should cancel your preorder and get your money back.

Don’t assume that just because you think you can hold your own in a fight, that you will. Even if you think you are a good MMORPG PvPer, you might find that Darkfall’s twitch fighting style may confound you. Don’t assume that Darkfall is the game you think it is, or that you can play it the way you’d like. Don’t assume it is solo friendly, even if the Darkfall devs say it is.

If after all that you are still keen to see what all the fuss is about, good luck to you. I hope you enjoy your stay in Darkfall.