While I have yet to really comment on a DarkFall patch, today’s update and design note are a bit more than the usual “fixed some bugs, changed a few % for skill X”. The design note is aimed at new, solo, and small group players, while the patch itself contains a few interesting changes. Let’s call this patch “a step in the right direction for a bad garbage game beyond repair”, and hope they add Trammel in before the server shuts down in :checks watch: two months and we all leave to play a fairy.

The design note stated that Aventurine is trying to make things a little easier for solo and small group players by adding more newbie mob spawns. That in itself is a fairly standard MMO addition, and considering that the weak mob roster was basically limited to goblins, zombies, and trolls, it needed some help. The not-so-standard part is that instead of adding these mobs near the starter areas, Aventurine has populated the subcontinents and smaller islands around the mainland, with the idea being that solo or small group players will head out to these more remote locations to set up shop, giving them some life and activity.

It’s certainly an interesting approach, and one I would call foolish had I not seen players living on these smaller islands myself. Having been to these islands, and seeing that some players are already living there, I think this design could actually work. It’s not intended to drive ALL new players off the mainland and force them to live like hermits, but rather to give those who really want to solo or play in a small group a more suitable area to do so. PK raids will still happen, but I’m guessing they won’t be as frequent as the more popular mainland spots, and those living on the islands will also be able to head out to other areas to farm tougher mobs or to go PvP.

The next logical step is to further expand on this idea, and perhaps give those smaller groups low-value hamlets to own and build up. They would need to be low value to remain ‘off the radar’ of the bigger alliances, but would still be something to fight over and benefit from owning. The low-value aspect does not just mean smaller, but the location itself is important. If a new hamlet is on a small island surrounded by weak mobs, far away from any ‘high value’ targets, alliances looking to strengthen their position on the mainland are likely to ignore them, especially if the number of allowed bind points in the hamlet is under 20. Defending such a location by having to swim out would be too great a hassle for busy alliances, while they would remain viable for smaller groups looking to own some property.

This is also a good focus for Aventurine, as overall the alliance vs alliance war aspect works. Bugs exist, and some things are still unbalanced, but this has not stopped warring factions from sieging each other almost daily, and most players involved in a siege come away impressed and entertained. They truly are a blast to be a part of, and will only improve as players adopt more advanced strategies and bring out bigger toys. Strengthening the small group experience is a logical step not only to allow those with that play style to prosper, but also to discourage the mass zerg alliances like Hyperion or Goons. DarkFall is a lot more fun when you are surrounded by enemies rather than having allies for miles.

The patch itself contains this interesting note:

Auto Harvesting Enabled. Simply stand in front of the resource node and click the left mouse button. Your character will continue to harvest from the node until the node is depleted, character runs out of stamina, or is interrupted.

At first glance this sounds like Aventurine is encouraging its players to macro unattended, but I don’t think that’s the effect it will have. Since harvesting nodes are no longer instanced, most nodes in high traffic areas are always empty, forcing players further out into the wilderness and into PK routes. Left clicking on a node and walking away won’t make you rich with resources, it will simply leave you as a more valuable target for roving gank groups or red players looking for an easy target. What this change does allow is for players who are actively harvesting to no longer have to click-click-click while doing so, instead allowing them more freedom to socialize. Currently one of the more annoying things is trying to actively harvest and chat, as you have to continually click off the chat window and into the world every ten seconds or so. I’m guessing auto-crafting will also be added shortly, as again nothing says fun like sitting in town clicking ‘craft arrow’ every 20 seconds 200 times to make some arrows, or cooking up that stack of 300 swordfish.

Mob AI has also been improved, which always makes you wonder. (side note: how many MMOs continually improve their mob AI in a patch, outside of adding anti-exploit functionality?) One of the more recent patches allowed mobs to detect when you are aiming at them, and caused them to dodge back and forth when they see you targeting them. It will be interesting to see what this AI update changes. While DarkFall is a PvP game first and foremost, having a solid PvE game to support this is important, so long as PvP balance is never sacrificed to benefit PvE. And while PvE is not the sole focus in DarkFall, it’s at least a bit more challenging then mindlessly auto-targeting same-level mobs clicking 1-2-1-3 with zero chance of death like in most MMOs, even without factoring in that you ALWAYS have to expect a PK to come around the corner.

Like EVE before it, DarkFall is still evolving rapidly as players come to terms with all the systems and features. The world already looks and plays different than it did a month ago, and who knows what the next weekend, let alone month, will bring.