Please bring back Catacombs/Instances/Task Dungeons

I just finished dropping both of my subscriptions again after taking a new set of characters to level 50 and finding that, once again, there is no content that I have any particular interest in doing. You are blocking access to what was arguably the best pve content in the game. If the Catacombs zones, the dungeon instances, and the task dungeons were available, I would probably be resubscribing my third account rather than dropping the other two. I suppose I wouldn't be quite as annoyed if I hadn't actually paid for 3 copies of the Catacombs expansion. Let me close by begging you to give me a reason to want to keep giving you my money.

Comments

  • People arguing about paying for the expansions... You had 16+ years of it. Also, ToA was the h st PvE content. There were a lot of bugs but once fixed, it had/has the most content available for PvE
  • I suppose it comes down to play style. I have never been a fan of ToA. Catacombs was much more small-group accessible and I liked the storyline better.

    Also, I think you need to recheck your math. Catacombs launched in December 2004 and became unavailable in March 2017 with the launch of the Dragon's Curse Campaign so it's more like 12+ years. Even if your math had been better it still wouldn't change that content which people did pay for has now been unavailable for 4+ years. I wonder if you would be so quick to be unconcerned about people paying for content which they no longer have access to if it had been your favorite which was shut down.

    Finally, keeping the players who did really like Catacombs happy so that they keep paying is a win for everyone. With the current very low number of players, every subscription counts.
  • As much as I don't care for DAoC PvE anymore, I do find it ridiculous that the Catacombs revamp remains incomplete after 4 years and counting. Considering the frequency of updates has diminished over time in comparison to when Broadsword first took over development, I suspect they've lost some critical personnel to keep their original momentum going. I think it's fairly obvious the official game is being managed by a skeleton crew at this point. So I find it highly unlikely that all the big projects Broadsword announced in previous years will come to fruition, including the Catacombs revamp.
  • I find it ridiculous people are quitting over the irrelevant PvE of catacombs. Was it a cool expansion? Sure. It's definitely outdated though so them taking the zones for Curse isn't a big deal even though some people think it was. It being updated shouldn't be priority, getting population back should be. Updating catacombs won't gain a significant amount of players back
  • ...It being updated shouldn't be priority, getting population back should be.

    How though? I honestly don't see Ywain gaining population without a server reset to an older version of the game since it appears the game is "too difficult" to play in its current state. I personally don't think that's the case, but I honestly don't see any alternative than constant back-to-back Caledonia-like events. Ghost keep has been a bust this time around, imo.
  • It's up to them and their metrics to figure that out. They're the ones that have access to population statistics and the ability to make changes. We can suggest stuff all we want but I'm the end it's in their hands
  • I think that someone needs to realize that not everyone plays DAOC for the same reasons and that for some of us it's Catacombs style pve content that is among the most relevant content in the game. Admittedly, people with play styles like mine are in the minority in a primarily rvr focused game, but our money helps to keep the game going just like every one else's. Or it doesn't if we stop subscribing due to a lack of content for our individual playstyles. For my part, I'm not even asking for them to spend the time and money to launch a revamped Catacombs. I would just be extremely happy to get the old Catacombs back which was the main focus of my original post. The return of Catacombs would give me a reason to come back and whether or not you think Catacombs is irrelevant is in itself irrelevant in this case since I'm not suggesting a course of action to keep you subscribing but rather one that would encourage me and possibly others like me to resubscribe.
  • Based on how Curse was implemented, I don't think it's a simple turn the expansion content back on. So they either have to finish what they started or revert most of Curse altogether.
  • edited June 2021 PM
    I'm hopeful that is not the case since I'm afraid that their plans for a "New Catacombs" will take away the casual player and small group friendliness which is primarily what drew me to the zones in the first place. This is not to say that I'm opposed to the addition of a revamped, end-game focused Catacombs. I actually think the game has room for both. DAOC has a long history of reusing design content and art assets.
    Post edited by Elspeth on
  • I think the logical assumption is that if it was easy to do, it would have been done by now. This isn't the first post regarding Catacombs and I suspect it won't be the last until we get a conclusive answer. The only thing you can do is wait.
  • edited June 2021 PM
    People are asking for the return of catacombs because they want something that “feels” new. Everything in this game is stale. All the events that everyone’s completed a hundred times before are stale. There are 4 hibs in NF right now and one of them is a bot. Either do something new or make the retirement announcement already.

    Edit: Someone in the frontier jokingly made a statement about how BS should look into hiring Uthred. That may not be a bad idea at this point.
    Post edited by Saracens on
  • Why say people want something new with catacombs then talk about NF population... PvE vs RvR
  • edited June 2021 PM
    I don't think people want Catacombs because it will feel "new." Some people like PvE, some like RvR, some like a mix.

    DAoC has eschewed PvE development for a lot of reasons--for most players it was not their main thrust, PvE rewards have to be balanced with RvR effects, dev time is limited and PvE development takes a lot of time because it has to have content for many different levels, and has to fit into the existing game maps .... and a lot of stuff I simply don't understand, I am sure.

    When I could no longer keep up in RvR I went to Gaheris, but before long I had done everything in every realm, and there was obviously never going to be more PvE content ..... and when existing PvE was cut back sharply there was a a lot less to do.

    Like a "classic" server, the question isn't primarily whether PvE content will attract people, but whether the number of devs working on the game could adapt and manage the content. Until the player subs increase, there won't be new devs, and until there are new devs, there can't be new content ..... laying the egg kills the chicken and the egg never hatches.

    There is a huge PvE market out there, and a small high-end RvR market. DAoC has firmly grabbed that high-intensity PvP player base, and right now doesn't have an extra hand to grab any more (as I see it.)

    Even reconstructing Catacombs would take a lot of effort. For one thing, the latest campaign clashes .... for another, people who come back for Cats will complain about loot, bugs, etc .... so just reopening the zones wouldn't be the end of it. As with the "classic" server, once implemented it would need to updated and managed in order to keep those players interested .....

    If DAoC could tap into the PvE market, it would probably pay off handsomely .... but there is that initial investment of cash for dev time, and it is a gamble, and I doubt Broadsword has that kind of financial flexibility.
    Post edited by Tarkus on
  • edited June 2021 PM
    w/e
    Post edited by Saracens on
  • There is no market to tap into. There will never be an influx of new players. Everyone who is ever going to know about DAoC knows about it. The next step is retirement. That is all.
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