



Keep in mind this is a work in progress as of today May 19th 2017. In the coming days I plan to fill out this post to include everything I possibly can for new players and others interested in Darkfall: Rise of Agon.



Try to understand I am giving detailed answers so it is TLDR by design.



You can select the section that holds the information that is relevant to you for convenience

Hello everyone,Keep in mind this is a work in progress as of today May 19th 2017. In the coming days I plan to fill out this post to include everything I possibly can for new players and others interested in Darkfall: Rise of Agon.Try to understand I am giving detailed answers so it is TLDR by design.You can select the section that holds the information that is relevant to you for convenience

Spoiler: Links to RoA Map, RoA Crafting Info & Other Information Not as much is readily available atm because so many things are changing. I will continue to update as I find proper links.



World Map of Agon: This map can show various mob spawns by difficulty, various types of holdings, banks, chaos bind stones and in the near future I'm sure it will list wilderness portals as well.



http://wiki.riseofagon.info/map/

*The menu is in the upper left corner.



Mob Resistance Spreadsheet: This can show which mob is immune to what type of attack and what it's primary weaknesses are. Combined with the mob map you can focus on creatures weak to what you are raising. This way you can choose the best mob for you to maximize profits & overall efficiency.



Click here for spreadsheet link



Crafting Information: Crafting Spreadsheet updated May 8th Same with Enchanting Info



Click these words for a Mostly Complete Crafting Spreadsheet for Rise of Agon



Tabs are at the bottom of the page.



Enchanting Recipe Information: Also contains information on transmutations.



http://wiki.riseofagon.info/enchanting/

Spoiler: I am about to Play Darkfall for the first time. Recommended Starting Info First thing when you get in game you need to turn off shadows. I'm dead serious. Shadows are a crazy resource hog atm. With my Rig including I7 6700, 16 GB of Ram & a decent graphics card I get 60-80 FPS with shadows on in Darkfall. This is the fault of the previous developers. I'm hoping to see optimization in the future but I don't expect it anytime soon since elements of game play need attention first.



Without Shadows my FPS jumps anywhere from 350-500+ FPS AND it dramatically increases your ability to see at night. Darkfall has a day/night cycle and with shadows on I can barely see at night without ramping up the gamma which looks terrible in the daylight.



Once in game press Esc to toggle the User Interface mode and the top left has a horizontal bar. Inside options and then video options is where you can turn off all shadows.



Other graphic settings may need to be changed depending on your computer. Keep in mind larger sieges will affect FPS and every setting can have a huge effect in such situations. I would suggest aiming for 100 FPS at a minimum so when your FPS drops in a siege you are not instantly reduced to seeing a very poor slideshow of your death.





You should watch at least these 3 youtube videos which total up to 18 minutes of critical basic knowledge.



Miasmas new player tutorial. *You may need to adjust the quality to see properly







Then watch Wes Furatives Beginner PvE Tips & Tricks

(Only linking one but he has many good videos don't forget to check them out)







And finally Gotjas Keybindings video which will show you how to properly bind weapons. How to bind multiple skills/spells on a single key which saves you alot of bindings/effort.



*Despite what you are about to see I personally recommend binding weapons to your mouse but if you don't have the keys use what feels best for your hand. I've heard of many different binding layouts but weapons should be in a place for personal convenience and very fast & easy repeat access. You know it's setup right for you when weapon switching is done easily without any delay between swaps.







Take a quick glace at the default keybinding layout







At this point I would say you are capable of taking on the early game.



Some other links:



Alignment : https://www.darkfallriseofagon.com/game/game-info/basics-alignment/



*Keep in mind players can be yellow/orange and not be low enough alignment to kill without penalty. Keep in mind only RED, Gray and Wardecced enemies. I'm hearing the shades of low alignment and war dec orange can look very similiar. You can only have a war declared on you when your in a clan. Wars cost 25k to initiate and need to be reapplied weekly.



** That link has a few other quicklinks on the page that may be helpful. Not required IMO but useful.



I highly recommend visiting my man Bartlebes Video Library thread which holds vast treasures of knowledge in a collection of well sorted youtube links.



WARNING: Due to so many video links this thread will NOM NOM your computers resources and probably will sound like you turned on Crysis with max settings for a few seconds (or longer depending on the computer you are using). You have been warned Due to so many video links this thread will NOM NOM your computers resources and probably will sound like you turned on Crysis with max settings for a few seconds (or longer depending on the computer you are using). You have been warned



Link: https://forums.darkfallriseofagon.c...n-new-player-video-library.10016/#post-142539 ** That link has a few other quicklinks on the page that may be helpful. Not required IMO but useful.

Spoiler: Racial Passives, Starting Stats & Weapon Reach Info



Human:



Human Ingenuity: Increased Food duration Human Willpower - Mana Bonus NEW - Human Longevity - Buffs and debuffs duration increased by 33% Mirdain:

Mirdain Sight - Drastically increased ID range (With upgrade from capital you can I.D anything in sight) Mirdain Insight - Stamina Bonus (15 stam) NEW - Mirdain Precision - Increased damage with bows (~2.5 damage) Dwarf

Dwarven Perseverance: Decreases Stamina usage for all actions (Increased duration) Dwarven Steelmaster - Durability increase on both crafted armor and melee weapons Dwarven Durability - Health Bonus (10hp) Ork

Orkish Brutality - The increased damage now applies to all melee weapons (~2.5 damage) Orkish Toughness - Health Bonus (10hp) NEW - Orkish Capacity - Increased backpack weight limit (+15) Mahirim

Mahirim Huntspeed - Increased run speed Mahirim Endurance - Health bonus changed to stamina bonus (15 stamina) NEW - Mahirim Reflexes - 1.5 natural protection to melee and archery Alfar

Alfar Cunning - Mana Bonus (15 mana) Alfar Resilience - 1.5 natural protection to magic NEW- Alfar Intellect - Durability increase on crafted staves



Weapon reach changes Greatsword: 2.5 Greataxe: 2.35 to 2.5 Greatclub: 2.35 to 2.5 Polearm: 2.5 to 2.6 Knives: 1.6 to 1.8 1h Sword: 2 to 2.1 1h Club: 1.9 to 2.1 1h Axe: 1.9 to 2.1 Sithra: 2.1 to 2.2 -------------- Weapon Angle: 1h Axe: 40 to 60 1h Club: 40 to 60 Polearm: 90 to 80

All of this boils down to bigger races like Orks/Mahirim having an advantage in melee overall. Midain elves are great scouts/archers. Humans and Alfar are the primary casters but you can min/max or use whichever for preferance.



Knives are crazy DPS but low reach so very hard in PvP. Polearms have an amazing reach and range but swing much slower which hurts you if you face tank but if you learn to melee and control the flow you can dominate.



Archery is the best ranged DPS it's issue is harder to aim. Spells have AoEs even if small ones so you can aim at the feet and hit even if you miss a direct hit you do some damage instead of none. Getting magic up is expensive and time consuming but less gear dependent overall.



Human/Ork/Alfar are the most populated areas last I checked. Mirdain/Dwarf are much less populated. Dwarflands has alot of PKers roaming for gatherer kills Rise of Agon Racial PassivesHuman:Mirdain:DwarfOrkMahirimAlfarAll of this boils down to bigger races like Orks/Mahirim having an advantage in melee overall. Midain elves are great scouts/archers. Humans and Alfar are the primary casters but you can min/max or use whichever for preferance.Knives are crazy DPS but low reach so very hard in PvP. Polearms have an amazing reach and range but swing much slower which hurts you if you face tank but if you learn to melee and control the flow you can dominate.Archery is the best ranged DPS it's issue is harder to aim. Spells have AoEs even if small ones so you can aim at the feet and hit even if you miss a direct hit you do some damage instead of none. Getting magic up is expensive and time consuming but less gear dependent overall.Human/Ork/Alfar are the most populated areas last I checked. Mirdain/Dwarf are much less populated. Dwarflands has alot of PKers roaming for gatherer kills

Spoiler: My Full Length Guide Pt1 - Starting Off Right Alright so you've watched the videos above and you know how to adjust your hotbars and basic functions.



When you start at the bindstone you are in eyesight of the councilor NPC. Go to the NPC press F and go to the tab for quests at the top. Take both that are available. Your minimap should already be open which you can zoom out using mouse wheel OR open the world map with M.



Active quests mark the target locations nearby. So mob quest mark mob spawns or delivery quests highlight a npc with a marker. Use this to find the goblin spawn. I suggest starting off with mana missile which is on your hot bar at the start.







The new task system which you can open by pressing J now rewards you for completing tasks. To complete magic tasks your mana missile must directly hit your target. Splash damage does not count for the magic casting task but will help claim kills for goblin slaying task. Once you hit 10 targets you'll have some starting meditation points.



Break off outside the spawn and get somewhere safe so you can apply your meditation. Toggle to GUI mode with esc and in the top left side the quill symbol or feather symbol is your journal. Once that is open meditation menu is on the right side. To start I suggest selecting lesser magic to start while you complete starter quests to receive nectar of the gods (Quest reward item that permanently raises 2 to all stats up to a max of 25)



Each starter city quest chain rewards 8-10 of these if you finish them. So you can get to 25 all stats while meditation helps get you past lesser magic.



Select apply settings at the bottom of the mediation window once lesser magic is selected under primary skills and the enable mediation box in the bottom right side has a checkmark.



Go continue to use lesser magic on goblins. At times especially in populated spawns with spawn scaling looting is not a easy task. During downtime or in a lull maybe just as a battle is ending try to loot things.







Press F on graves to one click loot gold, arrows, leather and regents like mandrake, sulfur, resin, nacre, bone or ash. Every time you loot your skinning knife will be equipped and unsheathed if you are carrying it. Used it like any other gathering resource by clicking the grave. Enchanting materials are much needed and easily sold to players so don't leave half the loot by not skinning.



Focus on completing your tasks for efficiency complete the tasks to slay goblins with mana missile and when you complete the caster tasks then use melee while trying to collect gold, arrows and regents.



Try to remember to do the NPC quest chain as you go in and out of town to bank for nectar of the gods which you should do at least every 20-30 minutes as a newer player IMO. Don't expect revivals from people nearby expect full loot death and you'll experience less losses.



You should finish the goblin task then head onto trolls using the map link at the top of my thread to find some using the search function in the top left.



Finish off the melee and then archery tasks on trolls. By the end you'll have 10-15k gold and plenty of starting resources. There is a secret task for kobolds which you can continue onto afterwards.



Keep in mind as soon as quickness is at 25 switch mediation to quickness. This stat effects run/sprint speed, melee and bow attack speeds. This up high enough will make it easier to catch up or run away and increase your DPS with basic skills. Once quickness is at 50 I'd switch it to vitality for health after that it would depend on what you are using or want to use/do.



Mine ore every chance you get. It is used in crafting almost all types of equipment and it increases your vitality with increased health, strength with increased health, stamina and melee damage. It also raises wisdom which rewards low amounts of stamina and mana while lowering failure chance on skinning/crafting.



Server up is 8am eastern. Resource nodes iron, trees, etc all respawn every 3 hours. If no patches/crashes you can use this timing to know when to check for resources. Rise of Agon discord announces server restarts/crashes so you can see if the timing has been changed. Happy hunting and bank often cause even blues will kill a obvious piggy bank.



Keep an eye on your Strength and Vitality once you have 30 in both buy Pack Mule. It gives you a extra 100kg of carrying capacity bumping you from 300kg to 400 and costs 200 gold. To get it go to your racial capital, chaos city or player city if upgraded enough. You can use your capital recall ability the green icon under your mini map to get to the capital from wherever you may be. Go to the Fighter NPC under services tab at the top, general skills and then double click the skill icon/picture.



End of Part 1

Spoiler: Odd Mechanics and Techniques So some things in darkfall need to be streamlined, upgraded, adjusted or straight up change. While we wait for BPG to overhaul this great game I'll try to explain the ones that I get asked about the most.



Buying Greater Magic is a great example. It can be bought in the Capital, Chaos or Player Cities at the mage NPC. Under the "Services" tab at the top you scroll down until you see "Magic Skills" then when expanded you double click the icon/picture to purchase greater magic. Costs 100 Gold



Fishing. You of course need the fishing rod and have it unsheathed but the real trick is looking at the water surface. Best effect stand in the water aiming right at your feet. Tall races have issues with this at times due to distance from water standing in deeper water makes this easier. Fishing nodes are the square map grids. Very large amounts in the nodes but easily drained by several afk people. Like regular nodes every 3 hours it will refill. System Tab will tell you if you are simply failing or if you are doing nothing if confused.



Properly using Begone. Where Shrapnel and Stormblast are aimed directly under you. Begone is aimed in front. If you are being knocked back you need to aim it abit further ahead. This takes practice to get down the optimal distance. On land you should NOT jump into begone. If placed properly on smooth surfaces you will not receive fall damage from hits so I even avoid using double jump when done right. It being too close may also launch you more up than forward. Use Double Jump Melee Specialization to get extra airtime while you are learning to B-Hop.



Full Scale water jumping with spells requires Wall of Force, Explosions and Begone with Double Jump Melee Specialization.



Laying the wall of force ahead of you a fair bit then casting begone ahead of you like on land but the distance will change. You jump into begone pull out your melee weapon and double jump for more height if you did this correctly into the WoF you should be going a good speed forward with decent height at this point you cast explosion to maintain airtime/speed. Done right you fly a massive distance.



Work in Progress...

Spoiler: Tips on how to play / survive #1 There are many things to learn in Darkfall but one set of skills rules all. The ability to evade attacks and evade enemy pursuit aka dodging & running away. If you practice how to dodge attacks in player duels, practice bunny hopping while traveling/farming/dueling/etc and practice the use of utility spells you will survive the majority of PvP or PvE situations that would kill you otherwise.



No matter how out geared you are if they can't hit you it means nothing. While you can whittle them slowly even with the lowest of combat skills. I've been naked over-encumbered on my gathering alt and killed a fully geared, better developed character simply because I could use it that much more effectively.



#2 The environment is either your friend or your enemy. You'll live alot longer if it's your friend. Whether it's using a rock/tree/etc to absorb incoming ranged attacks or holding the high ground to see further while popping over the edge to attack / evade. Maybe using a wall, cliff or ledge to break off a melee attacker. Water fighting is a good option when facing a god like mage since they can't cast through water or while underwater.



#3 Bank everything that you do not need to perform the task you are currently focusing on. Since you can expect to lose everything on you when you die. Carry minimum amounts of reagents, arrows, potions, food and the lowest quality gear you can perform the task with. The less you put at risk the better off you are overall.



Consider anything on you as spent/gone. It is not yours unless it's in your bank. If you use this mentality you will avoid major losses. You die to PvE someone loots your grave with crazy amounts on it? Damn should have been banking more often. PvPers hunt gatherers so repeat trips even with other competition is smart if away from npc cities.



#4 Bags are your friends. You can rename them by clicking once and pressing backspace or doing a slow double click. Most players use bags to sort their bank, create gear bags or crafting bags.



A gear bag would contain whatever items, armor, weaps, reagents, potions etc you want for the task it was designed for. I would have PvE bags with high durability items, PvP bags with low durability items, Siege Gear bags with my best stuff and a crafting bag with all my Tools. So I can just grab a bag and go while equipping gear on route.



I sort my bank into several sections. Armor, Weapons, Misc, Crafting and one just for gear bags.



*Bags can be bought at the Merchant NPC in any city or crafted with the tailoring skill.



#5 Avoid killing players to stay positive alignment so you can use the NPC cities which have towers and act as safe zones. Thanks to the removal of racial conflicts you can now walk into in any npc city of any race as long as you stay positive alignment giving you alot more banks to use and many safe zones to use at least on the mainland. Also prevents deaths from wandering into a safe zone as a red.



Don't go red until you have the skills/stats/gear/knowledge to survive. *If you do turn red just 1 down and gank of a positive aligned player you will be forced into chaos cities and wild banks which are much dramatically fewer in number without any tower safety net so you can be bind camped at the spawning pointDon't go red until you have the skills/stats/gear/knowledge to survive.



#6 Always carry a skinning knife. Skin everything and I do mean every mob that dies. Don't skin other peoples kills unless you are working together and that's okay. You can buy a skinning knife off the Merchant npc in every npc city.



*Important note : Enchanting materials are now used while crafting many things. Enchanting gear is also a very common practice so almost all enchanting materials are desired and more so for enchanters who want to work on their skill.



Transmutation can be very useful for certain tasks and require enchanting materials. Quality 1 sparkstone is used for battle spikes which are used for asset damage, sieges and bunny hopping lol. Collect every enchanting material you can get your hands on. They can be used by you for many things. As a minimum they can be sold off for gold ore traded for resources you need.



#7 Use Mana Shield and Jump Shot bow specializations & Double Jump melee specialization for best bunny hopping.



Done right with the bow out unsheathed it will absorb 10% of all damage including fall damage or incoming enemy damage and allow you to shoot arrows at the enemy while retreating.



Double Jump can be critical to clear obstacles and properly used it will reduce the amount of ground impacts to lessen overall health loss while bunny hopping.



If under concentrated fire or you're low health a sword and shield to block is still best for survival while retreating.



#8 Make some friends. Some people like to play alone but at the very least find another solo player and team up. You can heal/buff each other which significantly increases your combat effectiveness. A decent 2 man team goes way beyond doubling your chances. Fully buffed and healing each other while focusing down targets I'd say you are at least 3 times as effective as when alone. (Remember to use vertical swings while both meleeing targets to avoid friendly fire. Default is T I believe to switch swing modes)



#9 If the area you are in is getting raided by PvPers fairly often it may be time to move on. If a player is stalking an area they will rotate through the spawns in that area. To avoid this you may have to travel some distance or switch to a more isolated spawn. Make sure to use the RoA Map to find other spawns link :

http://wiki.riseofagon.info/map/

Make some friends. Some people like to play alone but at the very least find another solo player and team up. You can heal/buff each other which significantly increases your combat effectiveness. A decent 2 man team goes way beyond doubling your chances. Fully buffed and healing each other while focusing down targets I'd say you are at least 3 times as effective as when alone. (Remember to use vertical swings while both meleeing targets to avoid friendly fire. Default is T I believe to switch swing modes)If the area you are in is getting raided by PvPers fairly often it may be time to move on. If a player is stalking an area they will rotate through the spawns in that area. To avoid this you may have to travel some distance or switch to a more isolated spawn. Make sure to use the RoA Map to find other spawns link : There are many things to learn in Darkfall but one set of skills rules all. The ability to evade attacks and evade enemy pursuit aka dodging & running away. If you practice how to dodge attacks in player duels, practice bunny hopping while traveling/farming/dueling/etc and practice the use of utility spells you will survive the majority of PvP or PvE situations that would kill you otherwise.No matter how out geared you are if they can't hit you it means nothing. While you can whittle them slowly even with the lowest of combat skills. I've been naked over-encumbered on my gathering alt and killed a fully geared, better developed character simply because I could use it that much more effectively.Double Jump can be critical to clear obstacles and properly used it will reduce the amount of ground impacts to lessen overall health loss while bunny hopping.

Spoiler: My Character Development Tips My Character Development Tips



#1 When active build on your combat skills. Whether it be melee, archery or magic focus on fighting mobs of appropriate difficulty and preferably ones that drop some decent loot or reagents/weapons that you need for the current skills you are working on .



*Focus on easier creatures when you are new but as soon as you have some basic skill & confidence use the map and try out something else that's easy or maybe a medium difficulty creature just don't bite off more than you can chew and be careful when trying out something new.



*I suggest approaching new enemies with 1 hand weapon and shield ready to use. See how they attack you and give them a few minutes to show you what attacks they have available before you actually fight them.



*Remember they may have a special ability they only use when you are at X distance. Might be close or mid range.



#2 If you are home but you can't focus on playing you should try to do semi active things like gathering. So if you are cleaning, watching a child, working from home or doing homework ect you could come by when you get the chance to move the character to the next tree/rock and let your character do that while you are busy.



Mining increases Vitality, Strength & Wisdom. Logging does the same but more focus on Strength.



Fishing and Herb Gathering increase Intelligence and Wisdom.



Nodes refill 3 hours after it is cleared. Server goes up at 8am EST and you can expect every 3 hours after that the spawns will restock unless unusual server downs or crashes change the timing.



Ore is harder to find so try to mine when you can. Carrying a pick while out farming might let you gather a little during some down time and every little bit helps. This resource is critical in alot of gear from weapons, armor, staffs and even bows.



*Meditation works when logged out or when in game but costs gold so I suggest doing both whenever possible. Mining or Logging is great at increasing Vitality and Strength stats at the same time. Mining is more profitable but trees are easier to find unharvested. Depends on where you are. I prefer isolated locations for gathering.



#3 When meditating at the start I would suggest focusing on magic first while doing early starter quests to earn nectar of the gods to increase stats to 25. Once you are at 25 vit immediately switch mediation to vitality until it reaches 50 and then move it to quickness and once that is at 50 then strength, intelligence & dexterity. Once all of them are at 50 I recommend focusing quickness as this affects attack speed in melee or with bows.



#4 Advance through the mobs as quickly as you feel comfortable. Use the map link above and do easy ones. If you think they are nothing then go find some mediums. Upgrade and slowly test out creatures in the area and further away to find profitable mobs in more isolated locations. The true money makers.



*Remember it's not just gold that is valuable. Certain drops like runestones/portal shard or weapons/armor are very nice. Skinning mats can make all the difference. Some creatures I farm for the mats alone and I can sell for alot of money if I want.



*Be aware some creatures are highly resistant to certain types of damage and could be vulnerable to others.



*Be aware some hard/elite mobs can kill you very quickly. Dragons have large spawn areas but only in those particular areas where they are.



#5 Don't just grind. You don't need to have a maxed out character to enjoy the game. Save your good gear for group activities or sieges. Just remember to leave the best stuff in the bank and enjoy yourself. It is a great game and you don't need a maxed out character to enjoy it.

Spoiler: User Interface Commands, Useful functions and Emotes Useful Chat Commands: Some chat commands that are lesser known and useful



/annotation_add *Input* (Adds markers to world & mini map which you can name)

/annotation_remove *number* (removes specified marker)

/annotation_list lists (all current annotations and their numbers)



/partycreate (puts you as “leader” of party)

/invite name name (invites player to your party)

/partyleave (for when your party wants to attack you for fun in city make them go gray hehe)



/waypoint (Which creates a giant beam of light on your position. Easily seen by all party members for quickly finding the creator.)



Other Key Binding, UI Commands & Emotes:

Credit Incanuth Archbane



/help (brings up all commands; if you start typing a command and hit TAB you will cycle through them)

/annotation_add (mark map with current location)

/annotation_remove (removes mark)

/annotation_list

/bindstone_recall (takes you back to your bindstone)

/msg name name or /tell name name (to send a private message using first and last name)

/gui_persist_save (this is in case of a crash)

/gm_help message (report a game issue)

/partycreate (puts you as "leader" of party)

/invite name name (invites player by first last name)

/partyleave (for when your party wants to attack you for fun in city make them go gray hehe)

/waypoint "name" to make a waypoint to a location - your party members can see it too! great feature!

-F (Main use to loot, get on mount, talk when sheathed.)

-G (opens trade/party invite when player is close; Also opens clan bank if you are in one; Also puts away mounts)

-NUMLOCK (auto-run)

-Z (revive when sheathed and aiming at target left click)

-X (gank when weapon out and aiming at target hold down button until bar full then release) TIP - (thanks AmonDominus) rebind these to avoid confusing and killing friends.

-V (parry)

-C (crouch; left-alt+C toggle crouch (space to stand up);dive when in water)

-T (toggle between horizontal and vertical melee attacks)

-R (sheath and unsheath weapon for combat/looting)

-Left-Shift (Run)



Emotes List



/warcry

/drink

/laugh

/salute

/greetings

/wave

/shrug

/yawn

/mock

/thumb_up

/thumb_down

/no_no

/taunt_01

/taunt_02

/taunt_03

/taunt_04

/taunt_05

/show_off

/point_back

/point_front

/point_left

/point_right

/thinking

/air_guitar

/sneeze

/doh

Spoiler: Why you should try Darkfall Rise of Agon



The largest non instanced open world single server MMO that I've ever seen. At least 120km x 120km from map edge to edge. Combat reaching a scale unheard of in FPS no tab targeting combat oriented game.



I've been apart of sieges involving thousands. Reduced to a grunt in war so large I felt like the cheapest unit in a RTS game. I've rode with a 100 man force with various other 100 man teams on our side and against. Charged into a hillside with cannons placed defensibly only to be pushed back and need more men to take it down.



I've seen boat warfare involving hundreds on each side. The largest boat in game has 3 full length layers, a half deck 4th story at the back & 50 cannons. So you need 50 players if you want to man all the weapons. The captain needs a 6+ squad to defend him and you need a 15+ group to defend the ship against boarders. Another larger group to board the enemy ships or raid cities. Then you need more men to repair the ship during battle and god forbid you face a better organized force You've heard of the huge open world and skill based combat but what does that mean?The largest non instanced open world single server MMO that I've ever seen. At least 120km x 120km from map edge to edge. Combat reaching a scale unheard of in FPS no tab targeting combat oriented game.I've been apart of sieges involving thousands. Reduced to a grunt in war so large I felt like the cheapest unit in a RTS game. I've rode with a 100 man force with various other 100 man teams on our side and against. Charged into a hillside with cannons placed defensibly only to be pushed back and need more men to take it down.I've seen boat warfare involving hundreds on each side. The largest boat in game has 3 full length layers, a half deck 4th story at the back & 50 cannons. So you need 50 players if you want to man all the weapons. The captain needs a 6+ squad to defend him and you need a 15+ group to defend the ship against boarders. Another larger group to board the enemy ships or raid cities. Then you need more men to repair the ship during battle and god forbid you face a better organized force



Friendly fire can happen by accident or design. I'm a fan of enemies hitting each other while they attempt to hit me. You can use terrain to hold an advantage on your enemies or use it to escape death in various ways.



Full Loot seems daunting until you realize skill beats gear any day. Gear isn't a issue since it has become much easier to craft things at cheaper costs than before and increased player to player trading due to increased world travel options,speeds and the new player vendor system which can be placed anywhere.



There are many things to learn in Darkfall but one set of skills rules all. The ability to evade attacks and evade enemy pursuit aka dodging & running away. If you practice how to dodge attacks, bunny hop and use utility spells you will survive PvP or PvE situations that would kill you in any other game.



No game purchase cost and you are now able to trade resources with players for game time tokens. This will allow those who enjoy the game but don't want to spend hard earned money a method to keep playing without actually paying. At the same time it kills the gold selling business Friendly fire can happen by accident or design. I'm a fan of enemies hitting each other while they attempt to hit me. You can use terrain to hold an advantage on your enemies or use it to escape death in various ways.Full Loot seems daunting until you realize skill beats gear any day. Gear isn't a issue since it has become much easier to craft things at cheaper costs than before and increased player to player trading due to increased world travel options,speeds and the new player vendor system which can be placed anywhere.There are many things to learn in Darkfall but one set of skills rules all. The ability to evade attacks and evade enemy pursuit aka dodging & running away. If you practice how to dodge attacks, bunny hop and use utility spells you will survive PvP or PvE situations that would kill you in any other game.No game purchase cost and you are now able to trade resources with players for game time tokens. This will allow those who enjoy the game but don't want to spend hard earned money a method to keep playing without actually paying. At the same time it kills the gold selling business

Spoiler: Why should you pay for sub time for a game created in 2009 Sounds crazy when you say it out loud right?



Darkfall Online is largest non instanced completely open world with a single server MMO that I've ever seen. At least 120km x 120km from map edge to edge. Combat reaching a scale unheard of in any other FPS no tab targeting combat oriented game. Everyone in the same world with full physics, player and mob collision so you can be boxed in or use others to block pursuit or absorb damage.



If you look around you'll find alot of praise and criticism for the game itself but for the game play it's mostly positive. We squabble over mechanics and bitch about graphics but at the end of the day it's the combat that makes this game shine through time. It needs alot of polishing which everyone admits and BPG has decided to take on.



Due to size and scale the resources required is considerable. Servers, Hardware, Software, Electricity, Rent and that's without paying anyone. As the game is changed and more is added with a growing population the hardware required will increase. BPG has to charge money and if you research it the game is worth it.



There is no game purchase cost. 10 USD per month sub cost which is fairly low IMO. With the game time token (PLEX like) system you can now trade people in game resources for sub time.



BPG put in almost 2 years of full time effort without pay to bring this game back. From forming the idea and then the company to negotiating a license for Darkfall. Despite this game running on a unique game engine using 2 coding languages we have seen more changes in 1 year of beta with these guys learning the code as they go than we had seen in years of development with the original developers.

Spoiler: What is the difference between Rise of Agon and the Original Darkfall Online Skill Grind: H as been greatly reduced in RoA especially when compared to DFO



Front loading skills and stats is beyond huge to prevent crazy grinding. As the graphs available within this link will show you



As an example vitality gives you health. Back in DFO you wanted that maxed ASAP. Before if you got to 85-90 vit you would have 400-410 health (rough estimate) but now you will have 400-410 vit when your around 60 vit. The last arc of skill/stat grind (finishing from 60-100) has reduced returns. The further you get the less bonus the skill/stat gives you. So those who work damn hard to max out stuff won't have a major advantage.



Many skills/spells have reduced requirements and some by major amounts compared to the past and many passives were removed (maxed and given instantly so benefit is there but no need to grind them)



The new scrolls/Manuel creation system. With the right materials you can craft scrolls/manuals for any spell/skill and get what you want raised up if you have the materials or money/items to buy/trade it from others.



Of course friends or veterans could give/support whomever they wish with scrolls for key spells like heals, heal others, buffs etc.



The current mediation system can raise skills/stats while online or offline as well.



Skills and Stats also gain significantly faster than in DFO requiring far less time to become viable.



Hacking: Darkfall was known as a hackers playpen. The BPG crew have restructured the code. Moved many thing server side out of the players reach. Added in a persistence tracking system to watch for unusual item creation via duping or stat/skill manipulation and implemented anti-hacking software. Serious and continued efforts to stomp out cheating.



Alignment: The systems of the past are gone. Races are no longer hostile to start. You can enter other faction npc cities as long as you are blue. Greatly increasing areas you can work out of and banks available for those who stay within positive alignment.



Farming creatures in dungeons now increases alignment. Allowing red players profitable methods to regain alignment



You start with it active. Blue blocking is now impossible in npc cities thanks to a new mechanic to prevent damage to blues within npc cities when it's activeYou start with it active.



Healing a red or grey player now turns you grey. Another positive step to prevent easy griefing. as been greatly reduced in RoA especially when compared to DFOFront loading skills and stats is beyond huge to prevent crazy grinding. As the graphs available within this link will show you https://www.darkfallriseofagon.com/news/patch-notes/patch-notes-august-5th-2016/ As an example vitality gives you health. Back in DFO you wanted that maxed ASAP. Before if you got to 85-90 vit you would have 400-410 health (rough estimate) but now you will have 400-410 vit when your around 60 vit. The last arc of skill/stat grind (finishing from 60-100) has reduced returns. The further you get the less bonus the skill/stat gives you. So those who work damn hard to max out stuff won't have a major advantage.Many skills/spells have reduced requirements and some by major amounts compared to the past and many passives were removed (maxed and given instantly so benefit is there but no need to grind them)The new scrolls/Manuel creation system. With the right materials you can craft scrolls/manuals for any spell/skill and get what you want raised up if you have the materials or money/items to buy/trade it from others.Of course friends or veterans could give/support whomever they wish with scrolls for key spells like heals, heal others, buffs etc.The current mediation system can raise skills/stats while online or offline as well.Skills and Stats also gain significantly faster than in DFO requiring far less time to become viable.



Cities & Hamlets: Portal systems have been removed from holdings with a wilderness portal system taking it's place. Removing the desire for clans to own many holdings for a good portal network. Freeing up many places for other groups to have or fight for.



All player cities and hamlets now have a full set of crafting benches allowing small clans to be fully self sufficient even with a smaller or less desirable holding.



World Travel: Mount speeds and boat speeds have been increased by a good amount. The new wilderness portal system and an added teleport to racial capital ability really allows a much greater ability to travel than ever before.



Racial Changes & Weapon Changes: Great Axes and Club now have the same reach as Great Swords. 1H, Sithras & Knives now reach further for easier use. Weapon Reach now properly scales with character height depending on race/gender.



Character Racial Passives are getting revamped. These are the changes that are coming.



Human:

Human Ingenuity - Remains the same Human Willpower - Remains the same NEW - Human Longevity - Buffs and debuffs duration increased by 33%









Mirdain: Mirdain Sight - Drastically increased ID range Mirdain Insight - Changed to Stamina Bonus (15 stam) NEW - Mirdain Precision - Increased damage with bows (~2.5 damage)







Dwarf Dwarven Perseverance: Increased duration Dwarven Steelmaster - Durability increase on both crafted armor and melee weapons Dwarven Durability - Remains the same, Health Bonus (10hp)







Ork Orkish Brutality - The increased damage now applies to all melee weapons (~2.5 damage) Orkish Toughness - Remains the same (10hp) NEW - Orkish Capacity - Increased backpack weight limit (+15)







Mahirim Mahirim Huntspeed - Remains the same Mahirim Endurance - Health bonus changed to stamina bonus (15 stamina) NEW - Mahirim Reflexes - 1.5 natural protection to melee and archery







Alfar Alfar Cunning - Remains the same (15 mana) Alfar Resilience - 1.5 natural protection to magic NEW- Alfar Intellect - Durability increase on crafted staves

​ Quality of Life Improvements: There are many changes.



Hotbar upgrade removed the need for auto hotkey.

Resting is twice as effective.

Housing has more bind spots.

Being able to right click on names in chat to whisper, invite to party, add as friend, ignore or un-ignore.

Nector of the Gods new item increases all stats by a decent amount. Limited to 25 in all stats.

Arrows in inventory auto equip if you attempt to use a bow without them.

Clicking a mob grave will auto equip a skinning knife if available.

Bag placed on paperdoll window bag slot puts all items picked up into said bag.

Bag placed on crafting window bag slot puts all created items into said bag.

Keybind changes auto save when modified.

+ More



Spawn Scaling: This new system will change how fast creatures spawn and how many mobs spawn at each location depending on how fast the spawn is being cleared by players. Allowing players to farm creatures more effectively and in larger groups than before while also creating a bigger challenge when taking on PvE spawns.



That's the main stuff but there is so much I can't possibly cover it all here. I didn't even mention any of the many crafting changes already done and more are coming.



Compiled patch notes link That's the main stuff but there is so much I can't possibly cover it all here. I didn't even mention any of the many crafting changes already done and more are coming.Compiled patch notes link https://www.darkfallriseofagon.com/game/development/compiled-patch-notes/

Spoiler: What is the difference between Darkfall Rise of Agon & Darkfall New Dawn There are many things which separate these games. Too many to truly list so I'm going to focus on the biggest thing which truly makes or breaks Darkfall from my perspective.



It all comes down to world travel. Rise of Agon wants to increase it dramatically where New Dawn wants to limit it by design.



Rise of Agon kept the teleport to city & teleport to player house from the original and added a new teleport to racial capital city ability. Where New Dawn has removed these abilities which essentially doubles your travel time on any successful PvE or PvP journey. Forcing you to risk your loot and travel back with your stuff to wherever you came from.



Rise of Agon has added a wilderness portal system to the world and removed portals from player holdings. Where New Dawn last I heard planned to remove them entirely. I do not play New Dawn so I can't tell you if it happened yet or not.



Rise of Agon kept the shared bank system from the original so any bank anywhere accesses everything you have. Allowing you to pull out and use anything or safely store anything from any bank. New Dawn plans to implement local banking so banks do not share world wide. Requiring you to risk your stuff and make multiple trips over long distances if you plan to live elsewhere or farm/trade something far away.



New Dawns approach will greatly affect the in game economy for a more dynamic life like economy and they really do have alot of great concepts for activities but I think it's far too early to tell how their ideas will play out in game and off paper as most have not been implemented.



By increasing world travel I believe Rise of Agons approach will greatly increase player accessibility to the things they need or want to do or maybe simply try out. It will increase player interaction and chance meetings for more unique encounters.



Rise of Agons approach combined with how large the game is won't doom you to constant harassment but will certainly increase how often you run into other people. Increasing your options while reducing the amount of time it takes to get things done. Making the game far easier to play if you have less time to spare.