Just couldn't let this sit at 0 comments. AC was such a great game, and you did a wonderful job explaining it's highlights, history, and appeal for those that may have never played. I've noticed several people over at the AC subreddit and in the various discord groups that are coming to this game for the first time. I came back to the game about a month ago (on Coldeve) and have been falling in love all over again. I stopped playing shortly after dark majesty, so there's a lot of "old stuff" that is still pretty new to me from the Throne of Destiny and later additions... lots to remember, and even more to learn. Cheers on a great video.
The thing with AC that can never be replicated is that the internet wasn't what it is now and in addition to the size of AC, it wasn't all spelled out and documented to death online. When you went running in a direction, you were legitimately exploring.
I started playing it December 99. The magic system was fun to research, but because it hadn't been fully researched most of us went melee to earn pyreal to buy comps to then do research on our mage toon.
@@verisimilitudeteller wasn't that awesome? Literally being able to discover something? It will never be like that again outside of some really unpopular early access.
@@deadslash736 I don't think it can be replicated. Even if they were to reboot it and change the magic system to discovery like back in the day with a whole different method to do it. It just won't be the same. If you remember there was also spell economy, if you cast the same spell 5 times in a row... like war spells, it reduces their effectiveness. So you'd always have to have alternates ready to go. :) Those were fun days. Running most everywhere was interesting too. I'd always start at the SW Shoushi training post and run up the mountain to get to that Eastham port.. That's usually where I'd level up until about 10th. Lifestone nearby and big enough baddies to get some good XP. Near the end I think getting to 5th level was doable just in the training hall. I remember the original halls with the straw dummies. There was always someone in there grinding on those and would stay in there until 10th level, must have taken them hours but it was no risk of death. HA.
When I logged into AC I was escaping my shitty reality. I started playing with my dad on launch. The internet was full of non-conformists and was the counter culture at the time. Most people would look down on you for using a PC or playing a video game. Those same awful to be around people(most people) now play our games AND look down on everyone. So much for inclusivity.
yeah that was expensive. i was a warrior, so didnt really have to learn much spells as i only had item magic. my proudest day was when i learned to portal!
I played on morningthaw and remember you in the PK community. My friends And I have so many great memories from brawling with the Arwic Mafia to taking down the white rabbit. No MMO has ever lived up to AC
This is the best MMORPG, and possibly greatest game ever made. The world was insanely huge and there was an incredible amount of lore to find. So many unique creatures, events, and the world felt so alive. There was so many places to explore and you always had a sense of danger when you'd venture out of your "safe zone" I played the game from the final beta until about 2004 and it was one of the greatest times.
I was also on MT. Oh how I miss the original AC and that very first couple years of Launch. It was so neat learning the mechanics, spells, etc. I really felt like I was a legit explorer when I would run around the open world. Oh the memories...
Thanks for taking me back down memory lane. MT was also my server that I stuck with after beta when I was assigned to it as a MOD @ retail launch (I got into the original Beta as a reviewer for a gaming Mag and stuck with it for almost 2 decades... ). I ran X Pride and VanDyne on MT. Thinking back, I loved the original quests, but the ToD Expansion Beta was some of the most fun times I ever had on AC. The ending with the comet was great and it was nice meeting players from the other servers. It almost lured me into DT full-time. Almost. :-) I've been searching for years for something to replace that void... but you're right - there isn't really anything out there these days that captures all of the elements AC did - It was such a great game.
Thanks for the nostalgia bud. This is my favorite game of all time. I spent many hours years ago playing this. I am tempted to try the emulators for funsies lol.
Division Redux...I remember you well. I played as Alcoholic Barfighter. We had many a good scraps in PK. Yea Asherons Call was definitely my favorite gaming experience. Nothing else has equaled it since. It was just so new and unique and the pvp was awesome. I tried the emulator but the white servers don't really have pks and the red servers... just can't stand the people on them--there's a reason why chat was disabled on Darktide. I'll probably be trying it again sometime soon when I have some time. Maybe we will cross paths.
Only played this game for about 3 years back when I was in high school but this game has left the biggest mark on my gaming memories and I’m 36 now. 17 years later I still remember staying up all night grinding for bandit weapons or GSA armor or singularity keys. Best game ever and nothing will ever come close to the experience that was Asheron’s Call.
I loved this game. Played it from launch until 2003. I started as an archer but ended up going life magic. Life magic was definitely op as hell. Great memories.
Thanks for this. I loved this game. I've played all but a few mmorpgs and by far the coolest moment for me was the Asheron's Call beta end where one of the devs controlled a big bad while everyone unloaded on him. I feel like modern mmorpgs are generally missing that "Lord British" style interaction between the staff and the players.
I loved Asheron's Call! It was my second MMO after UO. I remember seeing the box at the store, and back then it was CRAZY to see a mountain far in the distance, and know: you can travel to that mountain! It's common today but back then the wide open world, with no loading screens, was crazy!
I have so many stories about Asheron's Call and I still think about the game a lot. Within the next 6 months to a year I'll be getting my first house. I plan on completely redoing the entire basement (medieval tavern themed), and a section of the basement will be dedicated to shrines of my all time favorite video games. Asheron's Call is one of them. I plan to have a statue of an Olthoi or Bael'Zharon made (to hell with Asheron, Bael'Zharon was my god! :P), a cloth map of Dereth made. And the best part of the shrine will be all the original, FACTORY SEALED game boxes of Asheron's Call, Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty, Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny and Asheron's Call 2! I truly can't wait. Also, just wanted to say thanks for the video, I love reminiscing about The Realm Online and Asheron's Call. These type of videos are so great to listen to while grinding in games.
I love AC, and love how much you obviously love it too. 😁 Great video! The penultimate review of a phenomenal moment in gaming history (I played beta through to the day it shut off)
I have a saying... "Removing the tapers." That's when a MMO removes some of the difficulty to make the game more appealing to the masses. Remember when AC had tapers for spells, and you had to get the right ones? They took it out, making the game easier. So when I play modern games, and they take hard stuff out to make it more appealing, they're "removing the tapers."
You are right, the games difficulty was just perfect. It is hard to explain because it wasn't a 1 dimensional difficulty like most games today which utilize 1 gimmick for gauging difficulty (bullet sponge, gear score, character/mob levels.) AC had so many layers that you had to overcome if you wanted to be powerful. Since every single piece of loot in the game was basically unique, you had to learn what a good item looked like. Once you had a set of good items, you had to learn how to effectively tinker them, and pray you didn't blow it up. There were so many areas, static spawns, and dungeons that could remain basically secret to those that knew about them. In the beginning there was spell research, which was fantastic until people figured out the math behind it =( Every mob in the game had specific vulnerabilities to specific element/physical damage types... the list goes on and on and on.... after your first 100 hours, you are lucky to simply be competent. The beauty was that while you are incrementally learning, you still feel great running dungeons, quests, grinding, finding upgrades, learning new magic, always progressing! This is in stark contrast to almost all MMO's that proceeded it... where 100 hours meant you were max level at a minimum with good gear and have seen 75%+ of the entire game.
Hell yeah brother! This is Eolis - Morningthaw. Son of Xiandor - Morningthaw. Jalum was our first monarch then handed off to Pen. Long live House Valor!!! Bro!! I remember Darkside and Balz chasing our asses around when we did go red hahahaha.... I'll be installing the emulator. This vid just rocked my word hahaha need me a looooong overdue revisit! Thanks for the vid man!
Veteran from Morningthaw here, played since beta. First main character was Miriandel, we probably met since I saw you killed Baalzevuv who, if my memory serves me well, was the guild leader of my enemy guild. Levels were everything in PvP back then, there were the guys who had level VI spells and those who had not. Good memories but I don't think I'd play again on a private server, everything is outdated about that game I'm afraid, especially the convert stam to health, convert health to mana routine every 10 seconds and the whole buffing of the equipement, including the underwear, every 6 minutes. Thank you very much for the memories mate, I had completely forgotten how the game looked like, this video was a true shock to me. Cheers.
I wish this game had influenced more modern games than it did. The allegiance system, the projectiles. Sooo much that I'd love to see in today's games.
played on harvestgain since few months after launch. the worst was when on autorun, and you lose your dial-up connection your character would stay on autorun and you pray you didnt run into a pack of mobs and die. because finding your body was so hard!
Agree, still is the best. Playing on emulator servers. Love the game design and feeling. No stupid question marks and "go here and do this" quest guides. Hardcore game when it is the best!
Just a minor correction. The software split pea figured out your taper combination for spell learning not from a few successful spell but rather by the name of your character. The formula in AC is driven by that surprisingly.
i started with the open beta most of us had no clue what we were doing and the developers were constantly tweaking the game most of us had no idea how to customize correctly we were screwing around and it was fun things that were hard and that you cant find on any current game: you couldnt simply run past mobs and monsters, things could spawn and even if you didnt attack them...they would attack you if you were range or magic...you couldnt simply do your thing infinitely...you had to carry arrows and ingredients you had to have armor or buffs to protect you from certain attacks as each creature had different strengths....and you had to know their weaknesses to really cause damage you could actually miss with an attack and the creature could actually miss you and on and on and on you had to use your brain as for the plug ins....it was cool that the game allowed you to use third party apps...and before those apps, there were a bunch of websites where you got hints on gameplay all of that was fun no hand holding going through quests...you had to use the map to find target areas i hate all the current dumbed down games...they all bore me after a few months
Asheron's was the greatest PvP MMORPG ever. I never found anything close to the early days of Darktide. Even starting out at Holt outpost was a blast fighting with the other dudes starting out. It got me through a crummy childhood. My claim to fame was being the first person to max out run specialized on Darktide when 126+ characters where rare. It was fun after gear(The speed exploit) got banned if you remember that, I got up from Holt and made my way to the Blood XP Chain with the private IRC server to defend our macro dungeon before macro was a thing. Darktide was all politics. Kill them all and sort it out later
Indeed the best MMORPG I ever played and play again. Not that others games are bad, no, but AC has this little bit more for me. Off course the graphics are not the best (old engine), but you get used to it rather quick, certainly when the content needs your attention. For me one of the important facts was the group play on bigger quests, but also the community from all over the world was great. In this way I got virtual friends. One of them called me from the USA (self living in the Netherlands) and told/asked me to come back on a private server. I did not hesitate and now I am playing for a month or so this game again. And I have fun !! Sure some things are changed compared with the old way (very fast levelling if you want) but this is a choice and not a must for the players. Anyway for me it is a kind of coming home. - Lancelore from Solclaim -
I never played a bow character but I remember friends who did had to test a bow and see what type of damage it did; you couldn't just examine it to see what it did. This was in the earliest days of the game.
Thank you so much for this video - I love reliving the game in my head. Nostalgia hits me so dang hard. I was a beta AC player and was able to experience the end of the world in beta and then eventually the end of the world I spent years of my childhood living in. I remember waiting in a physical line getting my green mire yoroi curiass. Killing my first hairy mattekar during the winter event and getting that robe. Being the first white rabbit orb wielder on HG. Figuring out Aerlinthe Island and being with the first group on HG to kill Lady Aerfalle. Man I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it all.
I just ran across your channel. I played on Morningthaw from retail for 4 or 5 years a lot then just played casually until shutdown. I was Og II from Meginjarder. In our guild - Thor Azaroth, Baalzevuv (sp?) Minaris. Really enjoyed your video.
Near the end of the video you mention experiencing the classic version of the game. You should look at the Seedsow server, they have recreated the game as it was during Dark Majisty. It's not completly like the game on launch. Spell research is still gone and it has salvaging for example. But it still has a lot of that old game feel. Little hand holding or guiding. No facility quest hub, no town network, just you and a dangerous world to explore. Also it has the old weapon skills and 126 level cap. I just got started on it a couple of days ago and it's a complete nastolgic blast. I feel so lost and yet so at home at the same time. First time in years I looked at the clock after a night of playing a game to see it say 5AM. The old AC is something special and I think some of that specialness was lost over time with the later add-ons like super quick leveling and augmentations to make you super powerful.
I have nostalgia for this game like no other game I've ever played. I started playing the month before they flattened Arwic. I loved running Frore. Loved the robe/helm you could get as loot. Leafcull forever. In the game I play most, I've named my ship Asheron's Call. I'm hoping that it'll convince players to reminisce about AC instead of blowing me up. All my ESO characters are Asheron (town name): Arwic, Mayoi, Cragstone, Dryreach, Tufa, Yaraq, Kara, Kryst, Sanamar, Uziz, Shoushi.
PS. I vote for more in depth stories from your AC days gone by to add into the ether if you are inclined. Before they are lost to the mists of time. Thanks again.
kids these days will never understand what it means to have a friend help you mule, the log off. Scared for your life that he stole your stuff, only to find out that someone called his house or picked up the phone.
Always enjoy listening to old stories, i was in elementary school when AC came out, a friend of a friend's older brother got into the beta and showed it off to us. i'd never seen anything like it before and i was hooked, and i bought it as soon as it came out well more like begged my parents to buy it for me. A subscription fee to play a game? That you already bought from the store? We'd never heard of such a thing haha. My old shit box computer barely ran the game, it could handle microsoft paint and The Incredible Machine (if anyone wants to reminisce about another great game), but we made it work some how. man those were the days, and you better believe i'm enjoying the emu. thanks for the video I really enjoyed it
Played Beta. Watched Hebian get hit. Was logged in on shutdown day. The thing about AC was mostly the community, it wasn't toxic. (exception was DT which I also played) They gave you a continent that took a day to run around, and a consistent world with thousands of quests. Go have fun.
I played on Darktide, in the Schattenkind guild, name Hojutsu. This was and is in my opinion the best MMO of all time. It was hard to not compare MMO's that came out later and just felt inferior comparatively... I remember going to a friends house for example, who was crazy for EQ and he was trying really hard to get some weapon with a graphic effect on it, and I just laughed cause a low level in AC could have multiple effect weapons, like it's no big deal to have a sword with a fire effect, frost, lightning, acid for example.
I was recently playing morrowind and those damn CLIFF RACERS would not stop chasing me.i had to run to a fort for the guards to kill them. so i see what you're saying about the monster chasing you, it is a BIG DEAL! something we take for granted these days.
Man I love this game, i really miss how challenging it was, how open world it was, and because there wasn't a lot of direction or sense of purpose but to survive, you HAD to talk and work with people, which really bolstered the patron system. I've never enjoyed a game as much as this one, guilds will never make up for a patron that was your constant /p companion. Decal really ruined the game or me, I enjoyed the challenge of buffing from arcane lore spec being just enough to use some level 3 buffed armor. Standing and life leaching monsters through walls, or collecting golem motes for GSA so you'll never lose your armor. As soon as decal brought splitpea or whatever it was called, the game got easy, once they took the BU off of pyreals, and the factor of where you bought your M notes from as means to how much you get returning it in, the game started sliding down hill into easyville, and buffbots really put the nail in the coffin. I miss this game and always wish I could go back, but when I've tried, it certainly isn't the game I remember, and have to put it to rest like an old pet, except there are so many people out there that enjoyed this pet as well, and it constantly reminds me about my childhood.
I remember when this game came out. A guy I knew casually had it and played it a few times. I was hot trash. I mean, it was terrible. One thing I've noticed with unskilled youtubers, they can't talk good about the game they like, without talking shit about other games.
Just couldn't let this sit at 0 comments. AC was such a great game, and you did a wonderful job explaining it's highlights, history, and appeal for those that may have never played. I've noticed several people over at the AC subreddit and in the various discord groups that are coming to this game for the first time. I came back to the game about a month ago (on Coldeve) and have been falling in love all over again. I stopped playing shortly after dark majesty, so there's a lot of "old stuff" that is still pretty new to me from the Throne of Destiny and later additions... lots to remember, and even more to learn. Cheers on a great video.
Still the best game I've ever played
Darktide in 2000 and 2001 was the most amazing and intense gaming experience I've ever had.
before they nerfed health drains Aerfalle was definitely solo-able by a good mage
@@northroad1 disaster maze
The thing with AC that can never be replicated is that the internet wasn't what it is now and in addition to the size of AC, it wasn't all spelled out and documented to death online. When you went running in a direction, you were legitimately exploring.
I started playing it December 99. The magic system was fun to research, but because it hadn't been fully researched most of us went melee to earn pyreal to buy comps to then do research on our mage toon.
@@verisimilitudeteller wasn't that awesome? Literally being able to discover something? It will never be like that again outside of some really unpopular early access.
@@deadslash736 I don't think it can be replicated. Even if they were to reboot it and change the magic system to discovery like back in the day with a whole different method to do it. It just won't be the same.
If you remember there was also spell economy, if you cast the same spell 5 times in a row... like war spells, it reduces their effectiveness. So you'd always have to have alternates ready to go. :) Those were fun days. Running most everywhere was interesting too.
I'd always start at the SW Shoushi training post and run up the mountain to get to that Eastham port.. That's usually where I'd level up until about 10th. Lifestone nearby and big enough baddies to get some good XP.
Near the end I think getting to 5th level was doable just in the training hall. I remember the original halls with the straw dummies. There was always someone in there grinding on those and would stay in there until 10th level, must have taken them hours but it was no risk of death. HA.
When I logged into AC I was escaping my shitty reality. I started playing with my dad on launch. The internet was full of non-conformists and was the counter culture at the time. Most people would look down on you for using a PC or playing a video game. Those same awful to be around people(most people) now play our games AND look down on everyone. So much for inclusivity.
I almost forgot of those days standing in a mana pool burning through components trying to learn spells.
yeah that was expensive. i was a warrior, so didnt really have to learn much spells as i only had item magic. my proudest day was when i learned to portal!
FUCK wrong taper again...
Grew up with this game.. 31 years old now, and I still wish I could go back to it. Nothing has come close to comparing to it.
i run a private server if you are interested
I played on morningthaw and remember you in the PK community. My friends And I have so many great memories from brawling with the Arwic Mafia to taking down the white rabbit. No MMO has ever lived up to AC
I found a glitch in AC where with a bow character you could back up to a mountain and jump then shoot and millions of arrows would fly out lol
This is the best MMORPG, and possibly greatest game ever made. The world was insanely huge and there was an incredible amount of lore to find. So many unique creatures, events, and the world felt so alive. There was so many places to explore and you always had a sense of danger when you'd venture out of your "safe zone" I played the game from the final beta until about 2004 and it was one of the greatest times.
I played Morningthaw.. cheers. Thanks for the nostalgia ;)
I was also on MT. Oh how I miss the original AC and that very first couple years of Launch. It was so neat learning the mechanics, spells, etc. I really felt like I was a legit explorer when I would run around the open world. Oh the memories...
Thanks for taking me back down memory lane. MT was also my server that I stuck with after beta when I was assigned to it as a MOD @ retail launch (I got into the original Beta as a reviewer for a gaming Mag and stuck with it for almost 2 decades... ). I ran X Pride and VanDyne on MT. Thinking back, I loved the original quests, but the ToD Expansion Beta was some of the most fun times I ever had on AC. The ending with the comet was great and it was nice meeting players from the other servers. It almost lured me into DT full-time. Almost. :-)
I've been searching for years for something to replace that void... but you're right - there isn't really anything out there these days that captures all of the elements AC did - It was such a great game.
Thanks for the nostalgia bud. This is my favorite game of all time. I spent many hours years ago playing this. I am tempted to try the emulators for funsies lol.
Do it. Play them. It is worth installing just to have as a backup entertainment option.
Don't forget Decal! 😁
Division Redux...I remember you well. I played as Alcoholic Barfighter. We had many a good scraps in PK. Yea Asherons Call was definitely my favorite gaming experience. Nothing else has equaled it since. It was just so new and unique and the pvp was awesome. I tried the emulator but the white servers don't really have pks and the red servers... just can't stand the people on them--there's a reason why chat was disabled on Darktide. I'll probably be trying it again sometime soon when I have some time. Maybe we will cross paths.
Only played this game for about 3 years back when I was in high school but this game has left the biggest mark on my gaming memories and I’m 36 now. 17 years later I still remember staying up all night grinding for bandit weapons or GSA armor or singularity keys. Best game ever and nothing will ever come close to the experience that was Asheron’s Call.
Same
The Shard of the Herald event will forever be one of the most unique and interesting live events ever.
Thistledown defense!!
I loved this game. Played it from launch until 2003. I started as an archer but ended up going life magic. Life magic was definitely op as hell. Great memories.
Put so many hours into this game. Wife told me all I do is run and chat...run and chat. She was hooked 2 months later
lol, a much more common story than you might think. So many long nights....
You’re a good storyteller; thank for the trip down memory lane.
Moe @ Frostfell 2000-2007
Thalak / Access Denied @ Frostfell 2000-2005
Thanks for this. I loved this game. I've played all but a few mmorpgs and by far the coolest moment for me was the Asheron's Call beta end where one of the devs controlled a big bad while everyone unloaded on him. I feel like modern mmorpgs are generally missing that "Lord British" style interaction between the staff and the players.
I loved Asheron's Call! It was my second MMO after UO. I remember seeing the box at the store, and back then it was CRAZY to see a mountain far in the distance, and know: you can travel to that mountain! It's common today but back then the wide open world, with no loading screens, was crazy!
I think creating a world where magic isn't as easy as clicking a button was pretty cool.
I have so many stories about Asheron's Call and I still think about the game a lot. Within the next 6 months to a year I'll be getting my first house. I plan on completely redoing the entire basement (medieval tavern themed), and a section of the basement will be dedicated to shrines of my all time favorite video games. Asheron's Call is one of them. I plan to have a statue of an Olthoi or Bael'Zharon made (to hell with Asheron, Bael'Zharon was my god! :P), a cloth map of Dereth made. And the best part of the shrine will be all the original, FACTORY SEALED game boxes of Asheron's Call, Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty, Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny and Asheron's Call 2! I truly can't wait.
Also, just wanted to say thanks for the video, I love reminiscing about The Realm Online and Asheron's Call. These type of videos are so great to listen to while grinding in games.
I love AC, and love how much you obviously love it too. 😁 Great video! The penultimate review of a phenomenal moment in gaming history (I played beta through to the day it shut off)
I have a saying... "Removing the tapers." That's when a MMO removes some of the difficulty to make the game more appealing to the masses. Remember when AC had tapers for spells, and you had to get the right ones? They took it out, making the game easier. So when I play modern games, and they take hard stuff out to make it more appealing, they're "removing the tapers."
lol, I remember tapers all too well. And burned through countless thousands learning spells. Was very happy when Decal came out.
Running to the vendor in Mayio (spelling? Been a long time) Because comps were the cheapest.
@@Hatemode_NJ the Mayoi archmage lol
You are right, the games difficulty was just perfect. It is hard to explain because it wasn't a 1 dimensional difficulty like most games today which utilize 1 gimmick for gauging difficulty (bullet sponge, gear score, character/mob levels.) AC had so many layers that you had to overcome if you wanted to be powerful. Since every single piece of loot in the game was basically unique, you had to learn what a good item looked like. Once you had a set of good items, you had to learn how to effectively tinker them, and pray you didn't blow it up. There were so many areas, static spawns, and dungeons that could remain basically secret to those that knew about them. In the beginning there was spell research, which was fantastic until people figured out the math behind it =( Every mob in the game had specific vulnerabilities to specific element/physical damage types... the list goes on and on and on.... after your first 100 hours, you are lucky to simply be competent. The beauty was that while you are incrementally learning, you still feel great running dungeons, quests, grinding, finding upgrades, learning new magic, always progressing! This is in stark contrast to almost all MMO's that proceeded it... where 100 hours meant you were max level at a minimum with good gear and have seen 75%+ of the entire game.
Hell yeah brother! This is Eolis - Morningthaw. Son of Xiandor - Morningthaw. Jalum was our first monarch then handed off to Pen. Long live House Valor!!! Bro!! I remember Darkside and Balz chasing our asses around when we did go red hahahaha.... I'll be installing the emulator. This vid just rocked my word hahaha need me a looooong overdue revisit!
Thanks for the vid man!
Veteran from Morningthaw here, played since beta. First main character was Miriandel, we probably met since I saw you killed Baalzevuv who, if my memory serves me well, was the guild leader of my enemy guild. Levels were everything in PvP back then, there were the guys who had level VI spells and those who had not. Good memories but I don't think I'd play again on a private server, everything is outdated about that game I'm afraid, especially the convert stam to health, convert health to mana routine every 10 seconds and the whole buffing of the equipement, including the underwear, every 6 minutes.
Thank you very much for the memories mate, I had completely forgotten how the game looked like, this video was a true shock to me. Cheers.
I wish this game had influenced more modern games than it did. The allegiance system, the projectiles. Sooo much that I'd love to see in today's games.
played on harvestgain since few months after launch. the worst was when on autorun, and you lose your dial-up connection your character would stay on autorun and you pray you didnt run into a pack of mobs and die. because finding your body was so hard!
Agree, still is the best. Playing on emulator servers. Love the game design and feeling. No stupid question marks and "go here and do this" quest guides. Hardcore game when it is the best!
WOW I played from 2006-2012 and honestly just miss hopping on after school everyday and emptying pockets with Plaguebringer :(
Just a minor correction. The software split pea figured out your taper combination for spell learning not from a few successful spell but rather by the name of your character. The formula in AC is driven by that surprisingly.
i started with the open beta
most of us had no clue what we were doing and the developers were constantly tweaking the game
most of us had no idea how to customize correctly
we were screwing around and it was fun
things that were hard and that you cant find on any current game:
you couldnt simply run past mobs and monsters, things could spawn and even if you didnt attack them...they would attack you
if you were range or magic...you couldnt simply do your thing infinitely...you had to carry arrows and ingredients
you had to have armor or buffs to protect you from certain attacks as each creature had different strengths....and you had to know their weaknesses to really cause damage
you could actually miss with an attack and the creature could actually miss you
and on and on and on
you had to use your brain
as for the plug ins....it was cool that the game allowed you to use third party apps...and before those apps, there were a bunch of websites where you got hints on gameplay
all of that was fun
no hand holding going through quests...you had to use the map to find target areas
i hate all the current dumbed down games...they all bore me after a few months
Guessing spell words and magic comps were something else .
Asheron's was the greatest PvP MMORPG ever. I never found anything close to the early days of Darktide. Even starting out at Holt outpost was a blast fighting with the other dudes starting out. It got me through a crummy childhood.
My claim to fame was being the first person to max out run specialized on Darktide when 126+ characters where rare. It was fun after gear(The speed exploit) got banned if you remember that, I got up from Holt and made my way to the Blood XP Chain with the private IRC server to defend our macro dungeon before macro was a thing.
Darktide was all politics. Kill them all and sort it out later
Qadi Blood long may he reign
Quad-Damage of MT in the Staffstroker II allegiance! Loved this game and was JUST reminiscing with a buddy who also played. Great video!
Thistledown for life!
Indeed the best MMORPG I ever played and play again. Not that others games are bad, no, but AC has this little bit more for me. Off course the graphics are not the best (old engine), but you get used to it rather quick, certainly when the content needs your attention. For me one of the important facts was the group play on bigger quests, but also the community from all over the world was great. In this way I got virtual friends. One of them called me from the USA (self living in the Netherlands) and told/asked me to come back on a private server. I did not hesitate and now I am playing for a month or so this game again. And I have fun !! Sure some things are changed compared with the old way (very fast levelling if you want) but this is a choice and not a must for the players. Anyway for me it is a kind of coming home.
- Lancelore from Solclaim -
Only game I ever played where I really felt like a pioneer!
Asherons call was simply the best mmo ever. Such a brilliant game and really unforgiving.
I never played a bow character but I remember friends who did had to test a bow and see what type of damage it did; you couldn't just examine it to see what it did. This was in the earliest days of the game.
Thank you so much for this video - I love reliving the game in my head. Nostalgia hits me so dang hard. I was a beta AC player and was able to experience the end of the world in beta and then eventually the end of the world I spent years of my childhood living in.
I remember waiting in a physical line getting my green mire yoroi curiass. Killing my first hairy mattekar during the winter event and getting that robe. Being the first white rabbit orb wielder on HG. Figuring out Aerlinthe Island and being with the first group on HG to kill Lady Aerfalle. Man I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it all.
Miss playing this back in the day and laughing at all the casuals who were going to play wow. Boy we missed that one. Lol
I just ran across your channel. I played on Morningthaw from retail for 4 or 5 years a lot then just played casually until shutdown. I was Og II from Meginjarder. In our guild - Thor Azaroth, Baalzevuv (sp?) Minaris. Really enjoyed your video.
Near the end of the video you mention experiencing the classic version of the game. You should look at the Seedsow server, they have recreated the game as it was during Dark Majisty.
It's not completly like the game on launch. Spell research is still gone and it has salvaging for example. But it still has a lot of that old game feel. Little hand holding or guiding. No facility quest hub, no town network, just you and a dangerous world to explore. Also it has the old weapon skills and 126 level cap.
I just got started on it a couple of days ago and it's a complete nastolgic blast. I feel so lost and yet so at home at the same time. First time in years I looked at the clock after a night of playing a game to see it say 5AM. The old AC is something special and I think some of that specialness was lost over time with the later add-ons like super quick leveling and augmentations to make you super powerful.
I have nostalgia for this game like no other game I've ever played. I started playing the month before they flattened Arwic.
I loved running Frore. Loved the robe/helm you could get as loot.
Leafcull forever.
In the game I play most, I've named my ship Asheron's Call. I'm hoping that it'll convince players to reminisce about AC instead of blowing me up.
All my ESO characters are Asheron (town name): Arwic, Mayoi, Cragstone, Dryreach, Tufa, Yaraq, Kara, Kryst, Sanamar, Uziz, Shoushi.
Great take. Thanks mate.
PS. I vote for more in depth stories from your AC days gone by to add into the ether if you are inclined.
Before they are lost to the mists of time.
Thanks again.
Spells were originally based off of your MSN zone username, decal was not the first to figure out tapers.
kids these days will never understand what it means to have a friend help you mule, the log off. Scared for your life that he stole your stuff, only to find out that someone called his house or picked up the phone.
that is why you created your own mule and found an excellent hiding spot for stuff
Def one of the best games ive ever played! Love this game and they need an Asherons Call 3 !!
I love this game!
This game was much more action and free than other mmorpgs. You could run at ultra speeds and jump up any building / mountain if u leveled up enough
Always enjoy listening to old stories, i was in elementary school when AC came out, a friend of a friend's older brother got into the beta and showed it off to us. i'd never seen anything like it before and i was hooked, and i bought it as soon as it came out well more like begged my parents to buy it for me. A subscription fee to play a game? That you already bought from the store? We'd never heard of such a thing haha. My old shit box computer barely ran the game, it could handle microsoft paint and The Incredible Machine (if anyone wants to reminisce about another great game), but we made it work some how. man those were the days, and you better believe i'm enjoying the emu. thanks for the video I really enjoyed it
Great game, arguably the best mmo, but easily the best pvp, for sure.
Darktide 💯
Played Beta. Watched Hebian get hit. Was logged in on shutdown day. The thing about AC was mostly the community, it wasn't toxic. (exception was DT which I also played) They gave you a continent that took a day to run around, and a consistent world with thousands of quests. Go have fun.
This game is my first love it was amazing since it closed I been elder scrolls online it reminds me slot of AC
Come visit us on drunkenfell! If your trying to get back to Asherons call.
I'm coming back... love this game
Ah the early years being an archer when the aqua incanta was super rare lol
Ankhentomen from MT and Meginjarder says hi. War/Life BM that ran Aerfelle and Olthoi Queen. This game devours your time.
God I miss that game so much. Rip to my lvl 130 hybrid.
Edit : fuzzy memory I think that was the lvl.
Peapod was the first tool for learning your spell comps lol
I played on Darktide, in the Schattenkind guild, name Hojutsu. This was and is in my opinion the best MMO of all time. It was hard to not compare MMO's that came out later and just felt inferior comparatively... I remember going to a friends house for example, who was crazy for EQ and he was trying really hard to get some weapon with a graphic effect on it, and I just laughed cause a low level in AC could have multiple effect weapons, like it's no big deal to have a sword with a fire effect, frost, lightning, acid for example.
This game and EVE online are the reason I love MMOs. Theres nothing like these two games.
I was recently playing morrowind and those damn CLIFF RACERS would not stop chasing me.i had to run to a fort for the guards to kill them. so i see what you're saying about the monster chasing you, it is a BIG DEAL! something we take for granted these days.
Harvestgain was always world first
my first MMO. Shame they didn't succeed as well with Asherons Call 2. Downloading the installer now to try again
Awesome video
Oh... you feared Alador
Love the AC Emulator. I play on the ACE server “Coldeve” and have had a blast playing with people again.
@Captain Conrad on par with some of the retail days.
I am playing right now! On Coldeve 😁
Slide casting!
warp storms
I was on dialup to begin with. Just could not compete with the cable guys and overclockers during PK
UO pvp was way more fun. AC had biggest map and great long quests, I would say Dark age of camelot is up there aswell.
Man I love this game, i really miss how challenging it was, how open world it was, and because there wasn't a lot of direction or sense of purpose but to survive, you HAD to talk and work with people, which really bolstered the patron system. I've never enjoyed a game as much as this one, guilds will never make up for a patron that was your constant /p companion.
Decal really ruined the game or me, I enjoyed the challenge of buffing from arcane lore spec being just enough to use some level 3 buffed armor. Standing and life leaching monsters through walls, or collecting golem motes for GSA so you'll never lose your armor.
As soon as decal brought splitpea or whatever it was called, the game got easy, once they took the BU off of pyreals, and the factor of where you bought your M notes from as means to how much you get returning it in, the game started sliding down hill into easyville, and buffbots really put the nail in the coffin.
I miss this game and always wish I could go back, but when I've tried, it certainly isn't the game I remember, and have to put it to rest like an old pet, except there are so many people out there that enjoyed this pet as well, and it constantly reminds me about my childhood.
Hey man come to Foredawn emulator, this game kicks ass I see you are a true OG, only AC players know what that means
or host your own servers. my server is a old laptop.
I remember when this game came out. A guy I knew casually had it and played it a few times. I was hot trash. I mean, it was terrible. One thing I've noticed with unskilled youtubers, they can't talk good about the game they like, without talking shit about other games.
Best game ever.
Etac - MT
Most emu retro server is seedsow.
Dark Tide all the way. Cancer of the Blood, Cruath, Cruath Qua Skills, COTB, and so many others...
Never could get into the PVE servers...
Skojax
Great game, lost a girlfriend over it.
there are no classes