darkfall-pve
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Darkfall quest system aims to provide an 'alternative PvE experience'
Aventurine has published a lengthy forum post detailing the logic behind its decision to add quests to Darkfall. As you're probably aware, Darkfall is a FFA full-loot PvP MMO, which on the surface makes the devs' decision to spend significant time and resources adding PvE-focused activities seem like a curious one. It makes sense, though, as Darkfall featured world bosses and plenty of opportunities for fun, group-centric PvE even prior to its Unholy Wars reboot. Aventurine says that its new questing system is borne of three distinct goals: to teach new players about the game in an interactive manner, to present Agon's extensive lore and allow players to explore it, and to offer an "alternative PvE experience" including goals and motivation that reaches beyond "for the loot (or for the prowess)." [Thanks Jane!]
You could write the next Darkfall quest
Yes, Darkfall has quests, smart-aleck, it's not all-gank-all-the-time. In fact, Agonian group PvE is some of the most enjoyable I've experienced in 15-plus years of MMO playing. In any case, Aventurine kicked off a quest-writing contest this week, and you can enter it by sending your stories to the firm's submission email address. The devs ask that you limit your stories to 1500 words or less and that you make sure they're based on "anything Agonian." Aventurine notes that it is currently crafting "some fairly long and epic stories" of its own, so the winning submissions will be used for sidequests in the world of Darkfall. The best story will net its author a unique in-game item, and the contest runs through July 20th, so you better get cracking! [Thanks Dengar!]
Darkfall's getting PvE dailies, and no, it's not April Fools' Day yet
From the things-I-never-thought-I'd-type category, here's a story about Darkfall adding PvE dailies. Aventurine calls them feats in keeping with the PvP title's Unholy Wars progression system, and "there are several personal PvE daily feats that require specific monsters to be killed in order to be completed." The firm is also adding weekly feats, which, like the dailies, will reward prowess and occasional material rewards like raw resources. [Thanks Dengar!]
Aventurine details Darkfall's new Sinspire Cathedral dungeon
Aventurine has designed a new dungeon for Darkfall. It's called Sinspire Cathedral and it's "an epic dungeon in size, difficulty, as well as denizens," according to the company's latest dev blog. If your party manages to survive Sinspire's "dynamic door system" and make it to the grand finale, you'll encounter Sir Davosh the Damned, a "monster of the highest difficulty that uses many new and devastating custom skills." The dev blog offers further details on Sinspire as well as some blurbs about lore and general changes from Darkfall's latest patch.
Massively's Darkfall launch week diary: Day three and recap
So yesterday I kinda rambled on at length about why I'm loving Darkfall Unholy Wars. I'm not really apologizing; after all, this is my launch week diary! Today, though, I figured I might tone it down a bit and just hit the highlights of my day three play experience. After that, I'll recap and give you some final thoughts on Darkfall as it stands in April 2013.
