WarCry FAQ
1. Introduction
This is unofficial FAQ which was created by Darkfall Warcry staff from the bits and pieces of knowledge available about the game. Its not guaranteed to be 100% accurate, and a lot of questions will change over time as more information about the game becomes available.
Official Darkfall FAQ can be found here
Darkfall is a MMORPG (massively-multi-player-online-role-playing-game) currently in development by Razorwax AS. It is following in the footsteps of genre enhancing games such as Ultima Online, Everquest, and Asherons call. However, unlike previous MMORPGs, Darkfall will be heavily influenced by PvP, or player vs. player combat.
Taking place in the expansive world of Darkfall, lands will be conquered, held, and lost as guilds war each other for territory.
For more specific questions, see questions below.
A Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game is an online game in which thousands of simultaneous players control characters in a persistent world.
As mentioned above, Darkfall will be fully PvP without any safe zones.
You can find more information on this in the combat section.
Yes, you must be online to play. You will need an internet connection, through which you will connect to the Darkfall world. Once connected, you will be able to fight against and alongside thousands of other players simultaneosly.
DarkFall will support 56k but DSL/cable is preferred.
Razorwax is a Norway based game development company which is developing a 3d generation MMORPG called Darkfall. In an open letter from the developers, they had this to say:
Razorwax AS was founded in July 2000 by Claus Grovdal (design), Ricki Sickenger (tools/game logic programming) and Kjetil Helland (3D engine programming). In addition Erik Sperling Johansen joined the team fulltime as a server programmer, and Henning Ludvigsen joined part time as art director.
Our vision was from day one to create amazingly addictive online roleplaying games using our 100% inhouse developed 3D/client, server and tools technology.
The above was taken from the old Darkfall site. Here is an update:
Razorwax was founded the 4th of July 2000 in Oslo, Norway by Kjetil Helland, Ricki Sickenger and Claus Grovdal. Their mission statement was to create amazingly addictive online games.
After working in secrecy on their technology and the design of their first game, Darkfall was officially announced in August 2001.
Razorwax signed with Greek publisher and developer Aventurine SA in November 2002, and moved development from a cold and dank basement in Oslo, Norway to bright and modern offices in sunny Athens, Greece.
Aventurine and Razorwax now employ more than 20 people working hard on finishing the groundbreaking MMORPG - Darkfall.
You can find out more about them here.
Some of you may have heard of a mysterious pink bike, property of Kjetil. The infamous artifact has had its moments of popularity both on the official boards and in the IRC channel. The reason? Apparently the bike's tires are pink, even though the owner is set on quite the opposite.
Now you can yourself witness the bike in its full glory.
Soon(tm)
... Or rather whenever it's done. There have been many release dates for Darkfall floating around, but our guess is that you will see Darkfall hit store shelves in late 2006
Darkfall is currently in Pre-Alpha stage, with open beta scheduled to be held in Q2 2006.
Due to the nature of the gaming industry, these dates are subject to change, so check back often to see its status!
The game is currently in internal pre-alpha testing, and the open beta test is not scheduled to begin until around Q2 2006.
But you can still have impact on the development of the game. Developers spend quite some time in both official forums and the IRC channel and do listen to what the masses have to say.
Darkfallonline.com to visit the official forums.
If you want to join the official chat room, start up your IRC client and connect to irc.stratics.com, channel #darkfall
We are hoping for a open beta test of Darkfall in Q4 2002. The word Delay is very common in the game development industry though, so we can only hope and guess at this stage.
(Taken from the old website, the dates have changed since then)
So you want to test the game before it hits public beta?
Yes, it is possible, but you have to be a part of the community: whether its posting in the official forums, idling in the IRC channel, or making your own Darkfall fansite. Desire to make your system crash often is required too.
So if you really want to help to test the game, get involved
In order to participate in the future beta, your system will require a PIII 800mzh, 256mb RAM, and a Gforce 2 card. The system requirements for final release have yet to be determined, but you can expect the requirements to decrease as Darkfall is optimized.
The alpha engine runs on a PIII 800mzh, with 256mb RAM and a Gforce 2 card. Obviously the retail version will be optimized alot, but this is a very demanding game. We are just not sure what system we should recommend just yet.
These requirements are very old and we don't know anything else about the system requirements but check back for updates.
Darkfall will not support Mac. The following quote by developer Ricki will explain why.
The reason we are not making a Mac version of Darkfall is that we are a small company, and therefore we don`t have the capacity do make multiple versions of the same game. Also, last time we checked, Mac games do not sell
too well either.
Unfortunately the same goes for Linux.
Yes, you can find the video here
The cost will be similar to other MMORPGs currently on the market: That is you pay a set amount for the game (around $50), and then around $10 a month.
We have no idea yet, probably the same as other MMORPGs on the market - $50 for the CD, first month free, then $10 each month. Well see
2. Gameplay/Engine
Claus, the lead designer has put it quite necely:
In every game yes, it is inevitable people WILL cheat. Some will try some will succeed but no matter who it is the developers have many ways of tracking it down, sure it is inevitable that they will cheat, but it is also inevitable that they will be caught.
We have spent alot of resources preparing to prevent and catch cheaters. Our system is extremely sophisticated.
If - no, make it WHEN - we catch someone cheating, we will come down on them like a ton of bricks.
-Claus
Darkfall is using an advanced graphics engine coded by Razorwax, the developers of the game.
The engine will allow a lot of things which are kept in secret as of now, but what is known is that its using DirectX 8.1, allows deformable terrain, realistic 3d grass and weather effects.
The game will also support numerous features of GeforceIII, although a lot of eyecandy will look good even in lower end graphics cards.
There is plans to support 10,000-13,000 characters simultaneous on one server but this may change in the future.
Definitely.
Since the game is optimized for the first-person view, the developers are doing everything in their power to make the sounds as realistic as possible, and rumors say that 3D sound has already been implemented.
Thats a game design issue, but yes. Since we are going 1. person, we will try to capture the unique feel you can get from 1. person view, and sound makes up a large part of that.
DarkFall will use a third/first person view. This means that when you pull a combat weapon out you will go in a tight third person view. If you use a staff(Magic), a ranged weapon, or a thrown Weapon you will stay in first person view.
It is said it will take six hours to cross from one end to the other. This makes mounts very important to the game
There will be snow, rain, fog, ect.. Weather will lower your visibility which may hurt your clan during a siege.
Darkfall will include a weather map showing weather patterns and their direction of movement.
If you're tired from watching your character move like a turtle, this might be good news for you. The gameplay should be as dynamic as in Asherons Call, same goes for run speeds.
Here is a quote from Claus, lead designer:
Darkfall is faster than EQ/AO, and alot faster than DaoC.
Yes, you will walk slower in the water, for example, than on the roads.
There isn't much info to what extent different terrain will slow the movement down, but assured that travelling through the desert will be much slower than through the grasslands.
Yes, there will be a climbing feature. There's not one piece of land in Agon that can not be reached.
Yes, there will be player owned houses! Players will be able to choose from various designs. Not only that, but it will be possible for players to build small cottages/houses, manors, and even castles and citadels!
You will be able to tame animals and SOME monsters, as well as summon monsters/animals to help you. Summoned creatures are automatically tame.
Yes, everyone wants a huge fire-breathing dragon to defend their city against enemy invasions. Claus addresses this matter himself. The following is a hint about taming a dragon to an extent but with its limitations:
No, a dragon cant be fooled into sitting around all day, guarding a city.
She would get bored pretty fast, and destroy the city instead.. you know, just for fun..Dragons cant be trusted
-Claus
Yes, swimming will be allowed in Darkfall, if your character learns how to swim that is.
Apparently not, otherwise there would be quite a number of warriors running around with screeching armor!
No, your armor won't rust when it gets wet. Its one of those things that would probably be more annoying than cool over time, so we decided that it wasnt worth having in the game.
...swimming in acid on the other hand...
-Claus
3. Character Development
As it is right now, you will be allowed to have one race per server, with a number of characters (3 to 5 we're guessing). And as explained by Claus they will all share the same last name.
The way it is right now, is that you pick a first name and a last name for your first character.
Then when you make a new character, you pick a new first name, but the last name sticks. Last names are kept locked to limit griefing. This may change though.
-Claus
There will be six races in Darkfall: Dwarves, Orks, Mirdain, Alfar, Humans, and Mahrim. Dwarves are a short statured, hardy people who excel at mining and smithing. The Orks of Korse are a barbaric race of fierce warriors. Mirdain, or elves, are an agile and ancient race of forest dwellers, who are adept at the bow and handling magics. The evil Alfar, pale skinned cousins to the Mirdain, live in underground caverns where they nurse their hate for the surface races.
No, Races won't have different languages.
We will not have different languages for different races. While it may be realistic with different languages, it is not very realistic to rely on people not to communicate outside of the game. The only thing a language barrier is going to do is give power gamers an edge over everyone that doesn't use 3rd-party chat programs (i.e. irc) for communication. Inter-racial talk will be allowed through tells and clan/party chat. Not sure about public talk, though it is most likely. People like the ability to taunt each other...
-Claus
No you cannot. This is something we have discussed at length, and we believe that it would allow for easy spying, taking away from the gaming experience. If you play an Alfar, for example, you may log on your Elf scout just to check if the Elven town of Charybdis is well defended at the moment or not.
Darkfall is being created by a Norwegian development company. "Ork" is the Norwegian spelling of "Orc".
Yes, you will be able to group with friends if they are of another race. Although there might be a slight problem of shopping in the same town, since in some towns members of a different race will be killed on sight.
But it definitely will be possible.
Character looks will be very customizable, from a wide variety of body types and face features to dyed clothing and unique clan emblems.
Unlike many current MMORPGS, Darkfall will be completely skill based. This means that the common method of "leveling" through constant hours of hacking away at monsters will not exist. Instead, characters will raise their skills through their use. This allows for greater customization of characters.
Skills will be purchased by an NPC or another player, then raised through use. For example, you might purchase the fletching skill from an NPC, and raise your skill through making arrows. When Darkfall is released for retail, there will be around 500 spells and 500 skills that can be learned by players. However, there will be a few race specific skills, and some skills will be unavailable to certain races.
Some skills are race specific, so not all skills will be available to learn. Also, some races are better suited to certain skills, and will be able to raise them higher. Elves, who are adept at magic, will be able to raise magic skills higher than dwarves, for example.
Here is an excerpt from the official faq:
Some skills and spells are race specific, meaning you can not learn them unless you are of the appropriate race. The races also have limits on what they can and cant learn. The dwarves for instance, are better at melee fighting than they are at magic, so they can master some awesome melee techniques, but they can not learn some of the most advanced spells. Dwarves are however the best smiths in the world, so they can make magical armor that is alot better than those smiths of other races make. This somewhat makes up for them being a little weak at actual spellcasting.
We also has some special skills and spells for the prestige classes that members of the appropriate prestige class can learn.
Playing a lot will help you develop a stronger character, it will help you to improve your character handling skills, and it will familiarize you better with the world and the way it works. However, this game is not all about individual skill, and there will be a skill cap so characters can develop up to a point. There are many elements that come into play in Darkfall, and a casual player can have as much fun playing the game, and possibly be more successful than a hard core gamer, in some fields.
Yes. You won't be forced to keep a skill if you no longer want it.
No. Every skill has a certain "weight" that is applied when calculating your skill cap. Skills like baking and tailoring will count less than skills like parry and fire magic.
No, Darkfall will not have classes. The game is totally skill based, meaning that your skills will only improve through use. However, there will be Prestige classes.
From the official FAQ:
The rule is that there are no traditional character classes, or templates. We want to give the players total control of what and how they want to play. Customize your own character to suit your playing style best, without traditional templates to limit you. If you want to be an axe wielding Dwarven fighter you simply pick up the Axe skill, Axe Mastery, Parry, Dodge, Cleave and other linked skills. If you later decide that some magic would be nice as support, you pick up a few magic skills and spells as well. The same goes for trade skills. Want to be able to create weapons? Pick up Smithing and Weapon Crafting. Want to make clothing or work as a tailor for a while? Pick up Tailoring. No need to re-roll your character.
There is no way to "gimp" your character by picking the "wrong" skills or spells.
Get what you want, play as you want.
That being said - There is an option available to follow a class system: the Prestige classes described below.
Prestige Classes are special classes. These can take forms such as an Assasin, Gladiator, Paldin, etc. You are not required to pick a Prestigue Class for your character, it is completely optional. If you do choose a Prestigue Class, then you may be able to learn a few special skills or spells. However, you may incurr some penelties as well.
Prestigue classes cannot be chosen by anyone however. These are special groups, with certain requirements. For instance, if you wanted to be a Paladin, your alignment will have to be good in order to enlist. As we get more information on the requirements for the Prestigue classes, well let you know!
The following is from the official FAQ:
Prestige classes are special classes, like Paladin, Assassin, Gladiator, Enchanter etc. and it's an optional path that you may choose for your character to follow. Picking a prestige class will in most cases give you a few special skills, a few special spells, and you will have a certain status. There are limitations, tradeoffs and restrictions playing a prestige class character. Druids for example may never use metal armor after they are initiated, and Paladins have to give half of their earnings to their church.
Prestige classes may be interesting to some players, and some classes may give you an extra reason to role-play, or maybe give you an edge in combat or crafting. There will be a lot of interesting prestige classes for you to try out.
Picking a prestige class is not final - you can change class later, with some minor penalties. The easy route would have been to make picking a prestige class final, but we want to keep Darkfall as open ended as possible.
From the old official FAQ:
The prestige classes are something you have an option of becoming, after certain requirements have been met.
The requirements may be completing a certian quest, or having a certain level of fame or proficiency. We have a few other ideas too, and are looking for input on what would be cool requirements (except for the obvious skill-lvl X ..)
No, choosing a Prestige class is not final. It will be possible to change at a later time, although some minor penalties will be incurred, such as a waiting period.
Some will give you bonuses and special skills. However, there are tradeoffs. For example, if you were an assassin, you might not be able to wear armor better than leather.
4. Combat
The details of the combat system are not yet know, due to the early stages of the game. We do know that both PvP and PvE will be supported. As the game progresses in its development and the combat system details become known, we will post them here.
Although detailed information is not available, Claus had this to say:
About the combat engine: We are trying to make a system that lets actual player skill shine through. Think of it as something in between AC and Quake, with lots of UO and Diablo added in. Oh and a healthy dose of Magestorm, if anyone played that game.
That said, you do not have to be a Quake/Counterstrike god to have fun in Darkfall. Teaming up with friends, and being good at team coordination can lead to success on the battlefield.
Be sure to check back often for updates!
There will be many recognizable weapons in the world of Darkfall, such as swords, shields, bows, ect. However, expect to see a few unique weapons. We'll provide more details on this when they are known.
There will be five main weapon styles that will be available in the world of Darkfall. Each style has its advantages and disadvantages. Experiment with all the syltes, and pick one that best fits the way you play.
1. Single weapon: You can wield a single one-handed weapon, such as a sword, which will free up another hand for magical or non-magical items. Using one sword only gives you greater speed and stability compared to other styles, but its lack of defense might cause problems.
2. Sword and shield: Arguably the most popular style, you hold a sword in one hand, and a shield in the other. This way you get the speed advantage of the single handed weapon and the defense of the shield. However, shields are heavy and tend to slow you down, but many feel the tradeoff of speed for defense is more than worth it.
3. Dual wielding: One of the more difficult skills to master, with dual wielding you use two weapons at the same time. For example, you could hold a long sword in your right hand, and a shortsword or dagger in your left. Only the most skilled can use this style effectively, but those who use it can cause havoc among slower opponents.
4. Two-handed weapon: Some weapons require both hands in order to wield it. These include the two-handed sword and the halberd. Although slower than other styles, the use of these bigger weapons can deal large amounts of damage to any foe unlucky enough to get caught in its path.
5. Ranged: Ranged weapons are those that are used from a distance, such as the bow. A skilled wielder of a ranged weapon can destroy his target before they can even get near enough to strike. However, if caught in close combat, they are quickly destroyed unless they can put the bow aside in favor of another weapon.
Note: Your character will not be confined to any one of these styles. If you find using the bow isnt effective, simply pick up a sword and shield and carry on the fight.
No, throwing weapons will give up their former reputation as useless. Darkfall will include throwing weapons that will actually have a purpose.
No seriously.. if you plan to make Thrown Weapons your attack skill of choice, you wont dish out as much damage as the guy going for double-bladed waraxe, but you can use your weapon from a distance, and if you are good at playing, you may even be able to beat the heavy melee guy.
Thrown Weapons WONT be the best choice of attacking, but it will work, and it wont be a joke..
Nothing we implement will be a joke, or suck. If so, then we wouldnt implement it you know.
-Claus
There will be friendly fire in Darkfall so watch your attacks.
If you accidentally kill a friendly, he will have an option to forgive you which will not effect your alignment.
Gore will be in DarkFall. Gore will stick to players, weapons, the ground and/or other objects in the area, like rocks, houses, walls etc and will fade over x amount of time. Also the more damgage your character takes the more bloody/burised your character will look.
Yes, there will be an option to turn gore off.
When you are killed, whether it be from a monster or another player, you will respawn at some point, while your corpse will remain.
Update from the official FAQ:
When your character dies he drops his items that remain on his corpse until looted, but the good news is that he's resurrected at a spot you've previously selected.
Also, Claus was seen trolling on the official boards and had this to say:
I think AC handles death fairly well:
When you die in pvp, you become white, and can not attack other players, or be attacked for a few minutes. This gives you enough time to clear out of the area if your lifestonespawn point is camped by other players out to kill you again.
We will probably do something similar to AC.
This is a much debated issue on the Darkfall forums. Razorwax has stated that nothing will be decided on this until extensive testing can be done.
There will be no permanent penalties for death. The developers are very against permanent level or skill loss due to death. Darkfall will be a very PvP oriented game, so deaths are going to be very common. With this in mind, loss of skills would mean that characters could never advance, but luckily this won't happen.
PvP is an acronym which stands for "Player vs. Player." This means that players will be able to attack and kill other players. Darkfall will be very PvP oriented, as clans and races will be warring for territory in an ever changing world of conquest.
Yes! So far, there are no plans for any "Safe Zones" within the game. Safe Zones are areas where players are unable to fight. In Darkfall, there will be no such areas. However, if you are a part of a clan that owns a city, and you are in that city, you should be relatively safe.
When looting the corpse of a fallen enemy, you will be able to take everything in his/her backpack, including money.
Looting someone of your own race (or aligned races) you haven't killed (then you are flagged criminal anyway), other than in your clan or on your friends list will flag you as a criminal for x minutes.
So in this scenario:
Player A kills, flagged as criminal +xx to negative alignment - guards attack
Player B loots, flagged as criminal + x to negative alignment - guards attackA dead body that is older than xx minutes, can be freely looted.
-Clause
PvE stands for Player vs. Environment. The "environment" includes all NPCs (computer controlled monsters, shop keepers, ect).
Although no official word has been given to this issue, looting will probably be as follows:
Soloing: Whichever individual does the most damage to the mob will get full looting rights. After a short period of time, the corpse will then be open for looting to everyone.
Grouping: Whichever group does the most damage will get first looting rights. After a short period of time, the corpse will then be open for looting to everyone.
At this time, this method could hold true for both PvP and PvE. As we learn more we`ll update here, so check back!
Luckily Darkfall won`t have that little flaw of wasps dropping a pair of chainmail boots and bears dropping shields.
Our loot system will be something completely different, and you will know what to kill to get this
and that.
-Claus
He also mentioned that it is going to be cool.
Of course! Grouping will definitely be implemented. Grouping will have several advantages. You will be able to attack more difficult creatures, venture to harsher areas, and grouping is a great way to make friends in the game.
Index
"We put a lot of hard work and resources into the design and implementation of mounted combat, but we're happy to say that it was totally worth it. It works, looks, and feels great." ~Tasos Flambouras
Mounts can be stored safely after use, but they can be taken over if left unattended, or when the rider is killed. Mounts will take damage, slowly regenerate their health, and they can also be killed. There are running and walking mode, and they can also jump and swim.
The mount gives the rider several obvious advantages in combat. The higher position and the movement speed make him harder to hit, and the mount will also attack the target along with the rider in static attacks. Drawbacks include lesser maneuverability for the mounted player, difficulty fighting and maneuvering on some terrain, as well as fewer attack options. At the moment, mounted combat is limited to melee weapon strikes along with the mount's own attacks. The player needs to dismount to use ranged attacks.
"Using ranged attacks while mounted is under consideration for balancing issues. We are also working on balancing possible charge bonuses, and a mounted pushing advantage versus characters on foot.
"Armored mounts and a taming skill are features under consideration.
5. Magic
Although the magic system is still being worked on, and wont be finalized until beta, you can expect it to to be somewhat similar to most fantasy games. By resting, you will be able gain "mana" or some other form of energy to cast spells with. Some spells will require regents, which are materials needed (and often used up) in the casting of magic.
There can be adverse effects from casting some spells. For instance, certain spells from the necromancy school of magic will cause a negative alignment shift when cast.
As beta approaches, we should learn more specific information, so be sure to check back for updates!
Yes! Although the exact amount of spots available for hotkeys is not yet known, you will definitely be able to assign spells and skills to hotkeys for easier use. Here's what Claus had to say:
Yes, you may customize, and assign spells and skills to the keys or key combinations you desire.
At this moment the development team is planning on having 500 spells at release!
At release there should be twelve different schools of magic, ranging from the simple spells of Lesser Magic to the unpredictable Wild Magic spells. Heres what the official site has to say:
We dont want to get into too much detail at this early stage, but spells will be divided into several different schools of magic: Lesser Magic, Greater Magic, Element of Fire, Element of Earth, Element of Water, Element of Air, Witchcraft, Spellsinging, Necromancy, Wild Magic, Arcane Magic and Ritual Magic. In addition there are some special spells that do not fit directly into any school of magic, such as racial specialty spells.
As more information becomes available for the different schools of magic, we`ll be going into more detail both here on the faq and in the magic section.
So, you want to be a master magician, casting spells from every area of magic, eh? Well, with plenty of time and a lot of effort, you can get pretty close! Heres what Claus had to say on this issue:
You can eventually learn all schools: EXCEPT the elemental schools, they have clashing schools. So you need to pick two elemental schools. Water and Fire dont mix, air and earth dont mix.
We may make necromancy and spellsinging (bard like spells) clashing too, but this is undecided at the moment.
So you wont be able to learn ALL the schools, but with enough time you can still be a master!
Spell requirements will be dependent on the power of the spell being cast and the school from which it comes. Lesser magic spells will require common regents and little mana, but casting from the school of Greater Magic could require rare regents and have a high mana cost. Not all spells will require regents however. Some magic, such as the Elvish art of "spellsinging" will have special requirements (more information on this later).
Also, some spells will require the help of others who are skilled in magic in order to cast them!
Spells can be learned in several ways. One way is to purchase the spell from an NPC. Spells of this time will likely be the more common spells. Another way would be to be taught the spell from another player. For this to happen, you will need to be skilled enough to learn it and they must be skilled enough to teach it!
So how do you find the rare and powerful spells? Some will be found from undertaking long and difficult quests, others might be found on creatures that only the bravest of foolhardy would be willing to face.
There are planned to be 500 spells in Darkfall, its up to you to find them!
Reagents are ingredients that you are required to use when casting spells. They could range from a simple blade of grass to a griffins egg. So why exactly will reagents be part of the Darkfall magic system? Here's what the developers had to say:
Reagents are needed for many reasons:
1) For character balance - it is hardly fair that a melee type player needs armor, weapons, shields, and arrows that will wear out and need replacement while the mage type player can shoot fireballs all day without ever having to swing by the town.
2) World Economy 1 - If you need reagents, you need in-game cash. Meaning: In-game money is more important to players.
3) World Economy 2 - You need reagents, so the farmer growing those reagents and selling them at the market is useful to you.
4) For game balance 1 - You need reagents, so you should keep an eye on how many reagents you have - as the archer type has to watch her arrows and the melee guy has to look for great equipment.
5) For game balance 2 - If we add an increadibly powerful spell, it takes an increadible reagent to cast it =P
As you can see, regents will add an interesting twist to the world of Darkfall. Start that farming!
Ritual magic will add an exciting twist to the way to the art of spellcasting! With ritual magic, powerful incancations and summonings are done through a process involving several casters. Heres what the developers have said so far:Ritual Magic is cast by several mages and ritualists working together.
Yes, there will be chanting, candles and waving of arms involved, and it is one of the most powerful magical schools.
As soon as we learn more about the intriguing school of magic, well let you know!
Yes!
The term "buffing" refers to a spell cast on a player or creature that is used to enhance their abilities. For example, a strength buff increases strength or an armor buff increases a persons armor factor.
Spells and enchantments of this type will definitely exist in Darkfall. As we learn more detailed information on buffing and what kind of buffing you will be able to do, we'll update it here!
There will be a wide range of buffing skills in Darkfall. Although no specific spells have been leaked to the masses, the developers did share this information:
There will be many buffing spells that have no duration. For instance, a magic reflect spell will stay up infinitely until you are attacked by a spell. It will reflect the first spell cast at your character and then go away. Or another example would be a buff spell that gives you extra hit points until you loose them. Other buffs will be triggered by some action. For instance, a defensive shield type buff might activate the first time you are attacked and then last for 20 seconds. Of course in addition to this there will be many traditional buff spells that have an effect right after being cast and then last 10 to 30 minutes.
As we learn more, we`ll update it here!
No, buffing will not be necessary. You won't require five different buffs in order to compete in either PvP or PvE. Darkall is trying to move away from that, so while buffing might give you several bonuses, you will still be able to fight efficiently without them.
If you've ever played a MMORPG before, you should be familiar with how magic is handled in combat. When you have the necessary requirements for the casting of the spell (mana, regeants, ect.) you target your opponent and cast it. The distance needed will vary based on the spell, so be sure you're familiar with what you're casting!
Index
Yes, but you will then take a penalty to the casting skill you are attempting to perform and will be forced to run slower. If you attempt to cast a spell that is difficult for you, the chances for failure will be high if you are running, so be careful!
Yes! Magic items will be found around Darkfall and can be created by players. Finding them and obtaining them will be up to you.
Yes, cursed items will exist in Darkfall. So far the developers have been secretive as to how items are cursed and the effects they can have on players. Rest assured we will update you as soon as we hear anything.
Yes, you can expect to see the ability to enchant equipment. Very similar to buffing, this could take the form of a temporary enchantment (casting a fire enchant spell to do extra damage for a period of time) or a one time "instant" enchantment (a poison enchantment that will infect the first person struck).
I will try to make the environment that you walk around in as convincing as possible.
You will, as a player, get the chance also to influence the way things look around you.
-Kjetil.
How diverse this will be is not yet known but here's an example given by Kjetil:
I.e.: You cast some sort of environmental spell that might modify the way the wind blows. This will then reflect back on how the grass under your feet are moving and how the environment around you are looking.
6. Transportation
Yes, all races are capable of riding any of the racial mounts. There are several interesting mount variations for each racial mount type. Mounts can be used for transportation of players, transportation of goods, strategic and tactical mobility, as cover, and of course, for combat. Cavalry and mounted units can be used for reconnaissance and scouting, in shock force tactics, frontal assaults and charges, flanking maneuvers, pursuit of scattered and fleeing enemies, in raiding and hit and run tactics, breaking through or going over enemy lines and formations - and much more.
Humans - Mercian Warhorse
The Mercian warhorse is a massive, powerfully built beast which stands almost as tall as a human male. In combat, the warhorse has been trained to kick opponents with both hind legs and forelegs, and such a kick is just as devastating as - for example - fire breath from an Alfar Drake or a head-hammering from a Dwarven Garmir.
Mirdain - Aerdin Cats
Aerdin Cat. The mirdain ride enormous cats which have been bred for size, obedience and ferocity. They resemble the huge snow leopards of the northern continent of Niflheim, with their black-spotted white fur, long, bushy tails, and pale blue eyes. Unlike snow leopards, however, aerdin cats have huge tusks which protrude from their upper jaws, and which they use quite effectively in combat. The mirdain tend to equip aerdin with soft and simple saddles which do not inhibit movement too much.
Dwarves - Garmir
Dwarves ride massive, muscle-bound mountain beasts called garmir, which are larger, fiercer cousins of musk oxen., but with a few crucial differences. Their natural bone forehead plates are covered by solid iron plating added by Dwarven smiths. Small, pointed mithril studs protrude from these metal plates. Garmirs attack by raising their heads and bodies up to gain momentum before hammering down onto their enemy.
Mahirim - None.
This is because the mahirim use a mounted mode of their own, and can run on all fours as fast as the other racial mounts. When running on all fours, they easily out sprint all other races, and healthy adults can run for several days without tiring. However, mahirim movement speed is pretty much equal with the other mounts when it's on all fours. Additionally they have the ability to ride other racial mounts. Their attack is less powerful than other mounted attacks, closer to the power of attack of the other mounts rather than the attack of the rider. If the mahirim chooses to ride another racial mount, it can inflict normal rider damage. The mahirim uses a bite attack when on all fours.
Ork - Death Pigs
The orkish mount is an enormous, vile-tempered beast called the death pig. This monstrosity sweats constantly and profusely, covering its black, hairless hide in a glistening layer of oily liquid. In combat, the Death Pig kicks with powerful hooves and slashes with large, curved tusks which protrude from the sides of their mouths. Orkish smiths strengthen these natural weapons with a thin coat of leenspar, which is then decorated with black orkish runes. The eyes of the Death Pig are tiny red sparks of malevolence which almost disappear in the thick folds of their leathery foreheads.
Alfar - Shulgan Drakes
The alfar ride shulgan drakes, which are - in essence - small, wingless dragons. Their bodies are covered in metallic black scales, and in shape Drakes resemble ordinary dragons, albeit with small stumps on the flanks which indicate that shulgans were able to fly not all that many generations ago, before they adapted to an underground existence. Drake claws are exceptionally large and viciously curved, as if adapted for digging. The eyes of drakes, which are bulbous and milky white with no visible pupils, give off a soft eldritch glow in darkness. In combat, drakes breathe fire on opponents, while swinging out with their tail against opponents at their rear. Drake tails have sharp, obsidian-like ridges which make them very effective as slashing weapons.
In Darkfall, mounts are fully controllable by the player. Character control is maintained while riding; the character can equip items, attack, look around, etc. The player's riding skill affects the mounted maneuverability, mounted combat effectiveness, as well as movement speed to a lesser extent.
Darkfall's basic racial mounts are widely available, and can be purchased from NPC merchants. Any player can own as many of these mounts as he can afford.
Yes, Ships can be bulit and sailed on the waters of Agon and used for transportaion or Naval Battles.
There will be boats and ships for fishing, transportation, naval battles against other ships or for port city sieges and ground attacks. Of course they can be sunk, and they are physics controlled .
-Tasos
We have a full range of boats of different sizes and for different purposes. We have small boats to accommodate 2-3 people, medium sized boats, and big boats that can transport an average sized guild. There are also pirate ships.
You can use these boats for any number of purposes, for example, the larger ones can be equipped with ballistae for defense or for attack.
-Henning
You will be able to customize your ship.
You can do many things with them, upgrade them, change their flags and banners, upgrade their weapons etc. Naval battles and ships in general were described by Tasos as kick ass (free translations from Greek).
-Shaar`s interview at Gamics.
Sea Monsters will be In-Game and can attack your ship while your in water.
Yes, but very limited.
Originally posted by Claus.
Let me stress that nothing is final when it comes to teleportation magic.
What we are looking at, is a rune system like UO (go to a place, cast a spell that marks a rune at this very location, you can now teleport here by casting a teleport spell on this exact rune).
No, This quote from Claus explains why.
- runes will be rare and expensive
- casting Mark on a rune will take 10-12 minutes
- moving while casting Mark will break the spell
- areas can be protected from Marking runes
- casting teleportation on a rune takes 40-50 seconds
- the rune has to be in your backpack when teleportingSo to the why.
Why will runes be rare and expensive?
Because we dont want too many players with runes to everywhere in the world. At least it should be hard to get a huge set, and a valuable property so other players may pay you for teleporting them places.Why so long to mark a rune?
Because we dont want attackers running into a city, mark a rune real quick, then teleport away so everyone in their clan can teleport in later. They will die before they have marked the rune.Why can areas be protected from mark?
Because if you want to protect your city from Marking magic, you can. Expensive, but you can. Nothing will prevent an enemy from Marking a rune 5 minutes away from your city, but at least you know that noone will appear out of thin air in your castleWhy will casting teleportation take 40-50 seconds?
Because we dont want people escaping death too easily.Why does the rune have to be in my backpack?
So you cant have your bankbox full of runes, and never risk loosing them. Using a rune should be risky (since it may be looted when you die), and your enemies should have a chance at taking the rune that teleports you into their town square from you.Like I said, nothing is final. But this post should tell you a little bit about what we are considering, and our main concerns with teleportation.
This was first planned but techincal problems have scratched flying mounts out. So no, there will not be flying mounts.
7. Guilds & Society
No, you most definitely don't! You can play an outcast, sniping and robbing lonely travellers, or be an adventurer and explore the world without the need of continuously maintaining relationship with your guild.
You can also just build a farm somewhere far away, hire a couple of guards to protect your property and just continuously expand your land.
Joining a guild will, of course, have many positive sides, as you will be under protection of the clan that you have joined.
Excerpt from the official FAQ:
Darkfall can be played any way you want. If you want to get involved in conquest, wars, and ruling kingdoms, you join a clan, or get together with some friends and start your own, but you do not have to.
Clans with a mix of humans, elves and dwarves will be common in Darkfall, or clans made up of Orks and Mahirim. Alfar tend to not mix with other races at all.
Remember that human NPC hirelings, such as guards and vendors, will not tolerate Orks and Alfar players, and may attack them on sight, even though they are in the same Clan. In Alfar towns, NPC guards will attack any character that isn't an Alfar.
There will most certainly be Clans in Darkfall with players from all races. We predict that this will be small evil Clans, which will set up their Clan headquarters in remote locations, and not get involved in city conquest or empire building, since it will be almost impossible for these Clans to recruit NPC hirelings to help defend their cities and to run their shops. It's possible in theory that a strong mixed race clan could run cities and conquer new territories without the help of NPC hirelings, even though it should be very hard to accomplish.
You will find all the information you need on the political map, including who controls the different city states/kingdoms/fiefs, their laws and who they kill on sight.
The Clan leader can assign ranks to those below him ranging from recruits up to top level commanders. He can also assign rights (a huge list) to ranks as needed and customize the guild structure (recruitment rights - website update rights)
Yes, you wil be able to customize your guild. You can customize the uniforms and the symbol that is placed on the shield of your guild memebers.
For banners and clan shields etc we have a clan shield editor that clan leaders may use to create their very own clan symbols.
-Claus
No, clans will not have a member cap.
There is a cap on how many people (and NPCs) that can bind in each individual clan city. Meaning that really big clans may need several cities (clanstones) to support their members with a place to bind.
-Claus.
Not much is known about how many people can bind to a city yet.
Kingdoms are blocks of land, varying greatly in size and shape, much like territories in board games such as Risk and Axis & Allies, with random resources.
Resources can be stuff like:
Mines (ranging from Iron to typical fantasy ones such as Adamantium mines), Grassland (farms), Forest area w/timbermill (wood), Harbour (fish & trade), Lake (fish), Mountain (stone), etc.The kingdoms close to a race capital will be pretty developed, with a city and maybe a couple of villages and mines (resources) already. Kingdoms in the wilderness will be alot less developed, and some will only have a small village, and just sites were mines/mills/farms etc can be constructed. There will probably be quite alot of kingdoms with nothing - everything has to be built from scratch.
All kingdoms can be conquered, claimed and owned by player clans (except the capital of each race - we need a relatively safe area for new players to spawn) - and when a clan owns a kingdom, they can build anything they want, and destroy whatever they dont want.
We will probably NOT allow anyone to destroy anything in a kingdom until they own the kingdom. This is to limit potential griefing.But obviously a clan can conquer a kingdom from another clan, burn everything, and then leave the kingdom laughing -> this is still harder than just waiting till someone is logged out, and then burn their house down though.
We are still unsure how many kingdoms we can put in there before release, but we are aiming for ALOT
First of all, destroying or conquering a city is extremely hard, time consuming, and expensive for the attacker.
The center of all cities is the clanstone. The clanstone protects all buildings and defensive structures up to a certain area, making them invulnerable to attacks.
In order for the attacking force to gain control of the city, they have to defeat the clanstone. The clanstone itself is invulnerable, so the attackers have to construct a siege fort close to the city, and raise a Gloomer inside the siege fort.
While the siege fort is being constructed, it is highly vulnerable. The attacking force will have to defend it from counter-attacks by the defenders, constantly hitting it with raiding groups and raining missiles and projectiles on it from catapults, ballistaes and archers on the city walls.
When and if the siege fort is safely constructed, the attackers have to build a Gloomer inside it. When ready, the Gloomer will attack the clanstone itself and attempt to neutralize it by draining its powers. The Gloomer will neutralize it in small sequences, leaving both the clanstone and the buildings and structures in the city vulnerable to attacks. The attackers must try to damage the clanstone during these short neutralization periods, and eventually hope to destroy it. The defenders will obviously have to defend the clanstone in the neutralization periods, and try to destroy the siege fort before the clanstone is destroyed. The siege fort is always vulnerable to attacks.
If the clanstone is destroyed, the attackers have won, and they are free to take it over if they so desire. Buildings will still be owned by the defending clan, but they are free to be attacked by anyone.
This is however where it gets really interesting, and the potential political backstabs and intrigues of Darkfall comes into play. If the attackers raise a new clanstone at this site, it will be vulnerable to attacks for a period of time. During this period, their new clanstone can be attacked, destroyed and replaced by anyone.
-Claus
At the start of the game, most kingdoms are run by NPCs, yes.
The ones that arent controlled by NPCs are mostly undeveloped wilderness kingdoms (that you can claim and start building).
-Claus
8. Trade Skills
You will be able to make weapons, tools, armor, clothing, food, containers, furniture, jewelry etc.
Darkfall features an extremely sophisticated item creator, which will enable players to create powerful items, like weapons, jewelry, armor, wands, potions, food and more.
We have invested a lot of time and design resources into creating the ultimate player based economy. Players who enjoy trading and crafting will truly enjoy Darkfall's virtually limitless item creator system, something never before seen in a MMORPG.
You can gather the resources you need from hunting, or from mining the specific resource. You could also buy them from a vendor or another player.
Yes they will.
Yes, Weapons and armor will look more visually worn after combat.
It is possible, with the proper skills and tools, up to a point. Eventually an item will be destroyed after being repaired several times.
There's a smithy, a workshop, an alchemist shop, a herbalist's shop and the mage guild.
