Darkfall activity report hints at game-changing expansion

It's been pretty quiet in Darkfall land since the first of the year, and whether that's because the devs have been hunting wabbits or hard at work on the game's next patch is a question that is addressed in the latest Aventurine activity report. There's a new patch in the works, tentatively scheduled for sometime next week, and it's bringing "significant changes" to the offline leveling system that was introduced late last year. How significant? For starters, additional skills will be available for meditation and the overall gains will see a substantial increase according to Aventurine's Tasos Flambouras.

Aside from the patch, the dev team continues to forge ahead with Darkfall's next expansion, and it is shaping up to be (quite literally) a world-changer. Flambouras outlines the team's high-level approach which "involves a complete overhaul and dramatic streamlining of the world and complete redistribution of all its features," as well as a "completely level playing field for all players." Details on these sweeping statements are vague at this point, but Darkfall will clearly be undergoing some huge changes when the expansion debuts in the second quarter of 2011.

Finally, the activity report touches on long-standing issues like the grind, character progression, endgame content, and the alignment system. If that's not enough for you, there's also a hint about a drop rate increase on books, scrolls, and stat potions, leading us to conclude that big things are afoot in the world of Agon. Stay tuned.

Reader Comments (17)

And crickets. Shame too, the PvP could have been done so much better. Now the whole game is in shambles and the devs are scrambling to revamp the whole game to make it accessible to others.

Heck, they can't even rassle up the Warhammer people to take the plunge, and that's bad.

The UI is what they should work on.

Before i get flamed to oblivion, i did try Darkfall and enjoyed the trial, and my favorite MMO ever is EQ1 so... i'm not asking for a 2011-polished UI but at least something better.

Some of the changes they made since I tried it - back at launch - sound good, including a few of these. But I have the impression that the game still lacks coherence and the fact that they're only now looking at these 'long-standing issues' is pretty bad.

I am curious to see how they try to fix the alignment system but I doubt my curiosity will stretch to actually resubbing.

I am most interested in the "even playing field" concept. What does this mean? How does it related to grind?

If they actually put in a level playing field I'd resub.

I thought Darkfall had NO leveling ?

@winterborn I see what you did there!

Also, I'll believe it when I see it.

Ill try it if they add PVE servers w/ Battle ground/designated PVP areas.
otherwise..nah nty

@warpax This.

It does sound like it defeats the entire point of a full PVP game but honestly, that's the problem to begin with. The PVP being full loot is awesome, but the PVP being everywhere is very harsh on new players and too rewarding for anyone wanting to gank people.

@(Unverified)

That's the problem. Individually those game elements could each be great but put high skill grind + full open pvp + full looting + staggered launch with no wipe together...

... and you get the majority of the game running around completely naked and struggling to catch up while older, more powerful players zerg everything they see.

And I think warpax is right. Even though I think with some changes the current PvP server could become a great game, offering a PvE server could have made them bucketloads of money.

The PvE side of the game really is excellent. FPS + mobs who behave intelligently makes PvE challenging and interesting, rather than just a matter of point-clicking and then playing UI whack-a-mole as various powers cycle though their cooldowns.

Can't really expect too much from a small MMO company.

@Jade Effect. Lol! They're doing a better job than Square Enix and other well known game companies.

@Jade Effect

CCP were small once.

Just sayin'.

I like Darkfall. I love the skill and combat system. My biggest peeve, and the reason I'm not subbed is that there is little to do once you have a developed character in fairly short bursts of time. If I have an hour to play, there's nothing meaningful to do. Really the only aspect of the game that has any "meaning" is sieges.

It's the kind of game where unless you have 2-3 hours straight, and a group of people to team up with online there's nothing to do but grind cash or skills, which neither are very fun. I wish the game had meaningful PvE content, or Arena based PvP, or team skirmishes or something along those lines. But lacking it, there just isn't much to do.

I had a blast in this game when It was new and there were people everywhere. But after about 2 months the population really started to die off. The game revolves so much around other players that having no one around really makes it pointless.

I tried heading back with one of my rl friends on a trial account to see what everyone was doing, and outside of a handful of small guilds running around, the game was even worst than when i left it.

It's a shame too.. the game really had some awesome potential.

Maybe if they throw it on steam or something it would garner some interest. Those 300vs300 sieges were way too amazing to not have a future.

@Sethisto

"The game revolves so much around other players that having no one around really makes it pointless."

The Achilles heel of sandbox design :(

Hey, Jef. I've been kind of MMO hopping for a few months now, and reading your Choose My Adventure columns got me interested in giving Darkfall a shot.

I'm not opposed to PvP, but for me it doesn't make an exciting core prospect. I like it as flavor or an alternative to other experiences in the same game. I like the outlook you've spelled out on dealing with ganking in the game, but I'm still a bit curious on what draws you in. As someone who started out with "themepark MMOs," but who read and dreamt about Ultima Online as a child, what can Darkfall offer me? I yearn for more freedom in my MMO experience, but is that represented exclusively by the addition of FFA PVP, or is there more to it?

Darkfall activity report hints at game-changing expansion

Reader Comments (17)

Posted: Jan 22nd 2011 8:29PM TheNexxuvas said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2011 8:31PM Krelian said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2011 8:47PM DancingCow said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2011 9:44PM xBludx said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2011 10:04PM 32ndLaw said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2011 10:38PM winterborn said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2011 10:47PM Song7 said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2011 11:17PM warpax said

Posted: Jan 23rd 2011 12:38AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 23rd 2011 3:00PM DancingCow said

Posted: Jan 23rd 2011 12:15AM Jade Effect said

Posted: Jan 23rd 2011 5:05AM Drunken Irish Sniper said

Posted: Jan 23rd 2011 5:54AM Dril said

Posted: Jan 23rd 2011 2:47AM Nucleon said

Posted: Jan 23rd 2011 4:42PM Sethisto said

Posted: Jan 24th 2011 8:03AM DancingCow said

Posted: Jan 25th 2011 4:03PM Evil Sagan said

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