As of today Endless Conquest has been released and the game now has a functional, though limited, free to play option. Enjoy.

This was the greatest MMORPG of all time. 8man Emain groups. Keeping your toons in DF until Hibs took it. Getting artifacts in Trials of Atlantis. Heading out to take Relics from other realms. Will never be realized again. I was a RR11 ML10 scout on my main. Mystic Council of Camelot guild. I used to lead 200 man raids into Hib and Mid. 15 hour raids. It was the best time of my gaming career. Thank you for the memories NerdSlayer.

This is by far my most favorite MMO ever. I still go back ever so often to check it out. I still get goosebumps when the loading screen theme starts playing.

Dark Age of Camelot was the first MMORPG I ever played, I played it with my dad as a kid. We'd be in the same room, on different PCs. I was Midgard, a giant rock troll thing, warrior and I remember there was so much...wonder to the world. I remember seeing this rare creature near a town called Nalliten, this kraken or loch ness sort of monster, and when we tried to look it up online, there was no information. The world was massive, it felt like every valley was truly unmapped and unknown.

How after all these years the title melody of DAoC still warms my heart. Played it 12 years and loved every single moment

DAoC was the best video game I have ever played. I have so many great memories in DAoC. I still remember the day it was released in Germany. Back then people used to order physical copies of the game and you had to wait for it to get shipped to your house in order to play. I preordered the game on Amazon. I still remember the game released on a Friday in February 2001. I came home from school at noon, checking our mailbox first thing being home. There was the physical copy, shipped on time. I was so happy and eager to play. I installed the game and logged in for the first time. I still remember how the game drew me in right away, how amazing it was playing an RPG with other people online. I rolled a Briton Scout and had absolutely no idea about classes or meta builds. Just played the game the way I felt was the most fun. Chatting with people, forming groups, exploring the lands of Albion. It was truly amazing. A close friend of mine, who lived a few houses down the road, got the game too. He didn't have a PC at home, but we had multiple at our house, so he would always come over and we'd play together. I rerolled a Troll Thane. I remember how cool it was traveling around Midgard and steadily advancing my character. First time RvR, going to Svasud Faste, buying a Medaillon and being ported to the lands of Hibernia. There were a few Hibs camping MTK, I remember charging down the hill with some fellow Norsemen and engaging in an intense battle. I remember sitting there, my heart racing, the sheer excitement of facing members of an enemy realm for the first time on the battlefield. This was when everyone was only around level 35-40 and not many 50s were around yet. People still went to the frontiers, to explore them, to invade enemy lands and to defend the homeland. Later on, there community was what really stood out on our server. It was truly about realm pride. When the alliance leaders called, everyone rushed to the frontiers to defend the relic keeps or got together to carry out late night ambushes in enemy territory. And of course there were the famous 8 man setgroups, who already had a pretty good sense of strategy and organization back then and thus were dominating in RvR. I did not play that competitively back then, but it was great hearing about the deeds of them. There were a few infamous Hib groups on our server, who would regularly wipe 40 or 50 man enemy zergs with a single 8 man pbaoe group. The kill spams were glorious. You could really make a name for yourself on the battlefield. I remember taking walks with my friend, we could talk for hours about the game. We would talk about famous players on our realm, would theorycraft about setups and specs you could play, would relive battles that had happened in the frontiers or Darkness Falls Raids we were joining. DAoC was and is a fantastic game, I am thankful that I had this opportunity of playing the game in it's prime days. It will always be one of my great childhood memories and have a special place in my heart.

That theme song brings back a tear to my eye. So sad that this fell from grace.

I shed a tear watching this. So many great memories playing DAoC. I can still vividly remember my first night playing when the servers opened at launch. Started as a Thane in Gotar running down the road killing bugs or whatever it was. I loved the aesthetics in the game. Over 4 or 5 years It was the one game I would return to. Wish I could relive that time again. So much fun just grouping up with random just leveling, exploring or PvPing in either the frontiers or battlegrounds. Main things that put me off the game was Visions of Atlantis grinding to be competitive, the plague that was buffbots that killed support class players, constant nerfing and community fighting. In all my time playing, I never played a Hibernian character once. Was always Midgard or Albion.

I get goosebumps reading all the comments here. I mostly played a lurikeen ranger on lyonesse, he was RR11. Missing the good old daoc times...! Greetings to all DAoC veterans. I hope seeing some of you again when Camelot Unchained releases.

Nothing can replace the experience of DAOC, the endless hours of fun setting up a relic raid... unmatched.

that theme song almost makes me cry. truly the greatest game ever made

DAoC’s wildly addictive PvP is what has kept it limping along for a long time. It is by far the most strategic, intricate and fast paced PvP I’ve ever played. I left and went back so many times because 8vX PvP is to this day the best online gaming experience I’ve ever had. Far more so than high-ranked WoW progression or WoW arena.

This is seriously my favourite series on KZfaq, and I never even played that many MMOs. That’s how good your videos are. I just like understanding the industry and history of video games , and you are doing a fantastic job with those documentaries! Ps: I just became one of your patrons! :)

I still remember the Christmas when I got DAOC. I played almost all of the Christmas break, showed my friends the game and by the end of the break I have 5 other friends playing.

WoW will be the WoW killer

Best gaming experience i ever had. Serious emotions were involved here, real memories that stick with me. I am really thankful that i got to be a part of this.

Just hearing the title screen music gave me nostalgic chills. The amount of hours I have sunk into this game... no regrets!

Morrowind launched in 2002 LUL. That aside, as I explain in the video. I don't hammer hard on specific details with the games patches/expansions on purpose. There's a much bigger story here, and frankly DAOC game design choices don't really even tell a fraction of their problems (budget, market saturation, good competition, abandoned for another MMO development). So whatever "story" needs to be told, in this case a less game detail specific one. As long as we can try and piece together why something failed, that's our ultimate goal with this series :). Here are some of the pop charts I used in the video. gaheris.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1447 www.granks.com/daoc/statistics forums.darkageofcamelot.com/discussion/886/population-update-year-on-year smmobl.wordpress.com/tag/mmog-chart/

"your spell has been interrupted..."

holy moly i got an ad for EQ after watching this!! man all the memories from this series... thanks so much for making it. im a new sub but blew through the whole series in a day! i literally have tears from all the nostalgia... damn.

Oh my. You are incredibly close to 100k subs. You totally deserve then and many more. I never knew so many interesting facts about these games.

Nerdslayer and Mandalor crossover when? You make combined my favourite videos on gaming as they touch on the games I've never heard of but love to learn about. Keep up he amazing work!

Im addicted to this series, watched like 20 vids in two days. Glad to have found!

Accounts still active on DAoC. 17 years, 75 level 50's and hundreds of thousands of kills later I still find myself coming back when I'm bored. Best game ever made, can't wait for CU. Thanks for telling the full story from a business standpoint!

You gave this video the true attention and love it deserved. This game was and is still unlike anything else out there. No mirrored classes and 36 overall. Realm pride, RvR, great PvE and so on. If anyone was to go back now, just have a group powerlevel you to 50 in a day or two and go into the Frontiers. If you aren’t sold after your first Zerg battle. Then it’s not for you. But if you love it, you’ll know why there’s still people playing. Awesome video!

I absolutely adore your channel I somehow love learning about games that I will probably never play or for the better ones you cover play for a few hours and then probably never touch again.

Thanks for making these videos. I could only imagine being able to play most of the games you cover after reading about them in magazines, so this gives me a slight ability to see what they were.

Thanks for this video, this game has a huge place in my heart. I think the first MMO you play is always going to be special, but DAoC really was unique. Just hearing the ambient music is enough to almost make me cry. Shout out to everyone who played the Mordred server, I remember so many of you to this day. Even the people who griefed me.

I’ve never had a gaming experience that matched running a Midgard relic through the epic forest while my relic team got slammed into by a larger force. Hit the gates with 40 mid there but managed to jump the wall during all the chaos. My heart was pounding and my whole body was shaking as I was the sole survivor. Never forgot that moment.

22:15 "aquired by EA" well, thanks for the spoiler why DAoC died.

Thanks for that dive into my youth :D I loved that game and it's probably the most fun I ever had in a MMO. Kind of by accident 16 year old me found out about it when I was standing at the newspaper shop, deciding which of the big games magazines to buy this month. One of them had the beta of a mmo with knights & stuff on its included DVD. Decisions were made. Installed it, started a Highlander Paladin, started hitting enemies with my kilted buddy and didn't stop for several year. Nothing better than stealthy relic raids in the middle of the night, hoping that the enemy didnt see anybody and that the server doesnt crash or the usual 8v8 rounds through Hadrians Wall.

Grats on 100k buddy. Been with you for a long time now. I haven't even played some of these yet I watch the videos. They're too good.

Ahhh DAoC... my first real MMO, good times

Holy shit. Just sitting here letting videos auto-play and I hear the music that instantly gave me chills. Great video!

One of my favorite MMOs of all time. Thanks for this! I've been waiting for your take on the Mythic classic

Having started DAOC in October of 2001 - I still return once every few years to rekindle old friendships. I keep in contact year round through FB with my guildies. I miss the community of DAOC. Hib Guinevere! Thanks for the your work nerdSlayer!

Always looking forward to your videos!!

I'm glad DAoC isn't literally dead, Broadsword has been such a blessing for the game.

I come back to watch this video every 6 months or so and it cuts deep every time

The fact that you actually somehow found and USED the DAOC soundtrack was absolutely fantastic for this video. Considering it's not really overly easy to find, thank you for this.

@nerdslayer Very well done video mate! DAOC was my first MMO love and I've been chasing that high ever since. I'm a backer for CU and I'm hopeful that it will release well. This video brought back tons of memories. Your 100k subscriber goal is just around the corner and pre-grats are in order.

Another great well researched video. Keep it up, man. No one does this like you

This game was amazing. Great vid, very nostalgic. My main was a healer and our guild would run 16-man groups to camp bridge towers before they were reworked. Iconic.

Best game ever, would go back for a remastered version.

Still the best MMO ever....and living on and on. Sure, we dont get the numbers we used to have, but its pretty amazing what the guys on the phönix freeshard do :) love it

Phoenix 3K population in prime time. This game will never die :P

The thing I remember most from, and have missed in all later MMO's is coloring equipment and especially capes. The guild I belonged to (and most other guilds) had a guild color scheme. You were expected to color your armour to that scheme. ALso, guild crests on capes were recognizable. You really could identify guild members visually.

Dude, your channel is underrated. You deserve a lot of subscribers. I like your videos! Keep making them. Be passionate about what you love doing!

So much of this stuff is the golden age of gaming. It'll never be like this again gents.

best mmo ever made edit: I feel compelled to reiterate this incredibly important bit of insight (since so many companies are obviously trying to capture this magic) that while yes PvP/earning faction RANK and extra abilities was the ENDGAME focus, it literally did everything else and exceptionally well.. Huge non pvp zones to level/gear up in, tons of actually interesting quests/dungeons (a PvPvE dugeon that required having control of to enter, but to get to the other factions sides you had to make it through a lot of high level mobs). Crafting, other unique ways to obtain gear introduced with ToA (artifacts) like swimming down to the bottom of the ocean for a staff that levels up the more you use it (better bring enough breathing pots) some of these encounters required a lot of help, raids, player housing with attachable consignment merchant, and faction alliances made up of multiple guilds. Each faction was completely unique in every way minus a few abilities. Sit down WoW, DAoC would never wipe my mf items and progress, tf!?

I got reccomended your Death of a Game Heores of the Storm video for years just shrugging it off, a couple weeks ago finally watched it, then binged a lot of your other videos and love this one. I've always been a PvE player and still am but this is really interesting, I'll probably be trying to get into the Camelot Unchained beta next payday, this could be my new PvP adventure and it's all you nerdSlayer!

Oh thank you for doing this game! It was my first MMO. Some of the best times ever in PVP

I'm glad you brought up Camelot Unchained. It could really shake things up in the MMO industry if it plays it's cards right. I'm looking forward to a solid pure PvP/RvR MMO that's been built from the ground up as that. I just wish I could test it. (not in my timezone)

Just hearing that music again brings back so many memories. This was hands down the greatest video game of any kind of all time. Midgard and Hibernia rip. Albion can burn in eternal flames.

I got chills hearing the opening music. The was my first game I played seriously. Was introduced to it in 2002 and my account is still alive to this day.

that chart you have in there is so interesting. the WAR line goes straight up and straight down

Getting close to that 100k mate, though it should be 100 times more. Great vid as always.

i loved this game growing up! Never found a replacement still looking!

The music stirs my soul. I was there in the beginning when Hibernia was a golf course with like 5 mob types. I was Bigwood Hickorynuts, the nature druid trolling infs with my poison and my stupid stun pet. It was a great time.

what killed it for me was the gimping of certain character class to the point of making them useless. Bow class characters were strong, but now they can't kill a sitting "green" character.

This was fantastic to watch. I just downloaded DAOC and look forward to seeing what it offers. Thank yoU!

QQ, I have tens of thousands of hours on DAOC from 2001-2016 I played this game everyday pure addiction. Ywain right when broadsword took over was the perfect DAOC ever, like 2011 or 2012 I think. Didn't take long for Broadsword to change the fundamentals of the game into the ground, hasn't been the same since. Never got into the Phoenix Shard, the slow cast speed and melee of OF isn't my pace when It had been years of TOA meta. Great times and memories

Great video, thanks for paying tribute to my 2nd favorite game of all time!

Played from launch till 2015 I will never find a more rewarding gaming experience. Ever. How I will always miss you. Made life long friends even.

Just the theme music alone almost brings tears to my eyes. I loooved this game.

Ha! That's my mana ment defending the keep against a bunch of pooka npcs at 1:36 lol... I almost forgot about that trailer. Great video, and a great game.

I've been playing since 2002 and i still find new tricks, armor and weapon cohesion and new fun things to do..still my favorite game of all time

You really made a good work making my teeth longer with that Kicksttarter game. Seriously I can´t wait.

Awesome video :) I have played DAoC nearly from launch, I played WAR from launch to almost when it was closed and ESO etc. But I always return back to DAoC and play to this day. It is so unique with its combat mechanics like casters cant cast when attacked, etc, that there is no other MMO that even comes close. When WoW launched, DAoC really dropped a lot in population, but what kept people around was the pvp and the look. A lot of people just didn't like the cartoony look of WoW (including me, never played WoW :) ). I currently play DAoC on private servers but from time to time I resub back to live and i hope to do so for years to come.

It died because of Trials of Atlantis. Everyone that played already knows this.

*Congrats on 100k, well deserved!*

just saw this in my recommends and shed a tear for all the memories i had with DAoC and even Warhammer online. Enjoyed both and even as i comment, looking at re downloading the DAoC client. Thanks for this video

Man... that opening music gave me chills. I miss that goddam game, even if I did hate a lot of it.

while i am not a fan PVP games in general at least it's always good to know DAOC is still alive and kicking as a spirit (or a poltergeist depending on the definitions), CU might be the new body DAOC needs and i'm kinda interested to at least see where this might go, i mean i burned out on BDO means i am not suited for PVP centric MMOs but seeing is still nice

The year is 2000. You come home from school, shun your homework, grab your favorite snack and boot up your computer. You open Dark Age Of Camelot and hear that timeless log in screen music. Life is good.

Greeting Nerdslayer. Another great investigation. With the trend of crowdsourced, RvRvR games or PvP centric games (such as Camelot Unchained, Ashes of Creation, and Crowfall), coming to the forefront of the mmo landscape, what features do you think will capture the mmo audience? Many mmo fans seem to be drawn toward player created cities and housing, meaningful crafting, and a general sense that the player themselves with control the game space. This perplexes me because other games with these system haven’t been able to make them central to the actual gameplay. For example, crafting has never, as far as I have experienced, effected endgame loops other than potion crafting, enchanting, or minor stat gains. It always feels like once a player gains his endgame setup, that all progression stops and crafting becomes superfluous, save for minor consumables. I would like to hear your thoughts on professions or crafting within the mmo landscape as a whole, and if time allows specific games. Thanks again for the video, much appreciated.

Great video! I love this game so much and it’s sad to see what has become of it. I still keep my account from 2002 and won’t stop until it really closes. I’ve played this game since I was 15 to 32 years old.

Nive video Slayer, keep it going! Your channel is so underrated

Oh my! This main theme, sweet, sweet memories. EU Lyonesse Hibbi here! Thanks for this trip down memory lane. Surely one of the best pvp centric games ever. I just want to make one addition to the "why it fails" list. Besides the things already mentioned in the video and by various comments, one major flaw was the widespread use of so-called "buff-bots". This was in fact in the later stages of the game something almost mandatory for the sake of staying competitive. It requires a second or even a third account for just having a shaman (skald), druid or cleric standing around the border keep maintaining buffs for you and your group. But... but even with all its flaws, it was my best pvp gaming experience ever and will probably ever be. Thanks again buddy for bringing this up. Bye!

31:46 Oh I know that sound.

God I feel so old now....DAoC will always be my first true love. Waiting for Unchained tho is also adding to my age tho >< lol nice video, it's great to go back in time 17 years sheesh

really good video! i miss playing daoc and this vidro brought back so many good memories : )

Hearing that music again after all these years,... all the memories :)

31:46 OH MY GOD I USED TO RUN AION INTO THE GROUND! Now a DoaG on Aion??? Makes me sad that some say its dead but I CANT WAIT for the vid nonetheless!!

I played from the beginning up until 2010. In the beginning you could only play one realm per server. So when you finally got to level 50, which took months back then, you got into the big boy rvr. There was true realm pride and people would really get into it on the IGN forums, til IGN took the sjw route and banned everyone. I could go on for a year but I wont. It's the greatest mass pvp game ever. It's pve was awesome too. Salute to all DAOC pkayers. Hail to Hibernia.

Recently started playing again. I'm surprised by how much fun its been and how much of a population there still is. Can't wait for the new server.

This was another "cracking" video Nerdslayer. Great to see a clip of Bardicbroadcasts in the video for Broadsword. Surprised after that your next death of a game video is not on Hero Quest!

I'm kinda like a grieving widow for this game who has waited so long for my husband's cause of death to be solved. Thank you Mister Detective, now I can finally re-marry. ...he would have wanted it, too. That's what I realize now.

Ahh that brought back so many memories! especially the Hibernia music (it still excites me). I did leave for EverQuest2 and I'm still there though I have tried several other MMOs. Now looking forward to Ashes of Creation. The flaw so many games had after DAoC was not having 3 factions; 2 just doesn't have staying power. I have to admit I was more into the PvE side of the game, but when I was in the mood, RvR was a blast. I did briefly go back to DAoC, but I noticed that the same bugs that were there back in the day were still around. It just wasn't as exciting anymore, and not being guilded, and the low population. Good luck on Camelot Unchained.

Amazing video of my first mmo love affair. I remember logging in early morning in beta.. just to idle and go to work.. so when I came home, I would still be logged in. There was no idle timer logout back then. Sooo many great memories.

I miss this game. When I was younger I use to play this all the time.

I'm a returning player.. haven't played in 5 years or longer. LET'S START THIS BITCH UP!.... just hope I'm not the only one there.. LOL

I loved this game back in the day! Greatest PVP MMORPG _EVER_

This game was freaking amazing. The PvP is still unparalleled. Watching all these visual effects again is MAJOR nostalgia.

When relic raids alarms were raised, and CTA was announced. Running out into the frontier on my first toon, who was only a level 48 scout with crap gear is something I'll never forget. Once I switched my main to a DW spec inf, I enjoyed the game in an entirely different way. Archyser Bane, Master Inf, Seekers of Truth, Guin

I never felt it was centered on pvp. I did participate in pvp from time, especially to unlock Darkness Falls, but it really was the pve that was appealing to me. I wasn't aware the game was still around. I might have to give it a try.

Damn havent played an MMORPG since SWTOR released... this video made me actually start thinking about playing one again^^ so many good memories of DaoC and its RvR

This game is nothing but nostalgia for me. I picked it up about 4 months after the great Atlantis debacle. There were still tons of guilds and players everywhere. To be honest, I didn't know what I was doing most of the time, but I loved the experience. Every now and then I'll log in to one of the legacy shard servers and play a solo class just to wander around my old stomping grounds.

I'll never forget one time in the battlegrounds where we had a large raid on the central keep and spent over an hour trying to take it... only to have a group of stealthed players from a other realm sneak into the keep and take out the leader. We were so confused as to why the castle suddenly become completely repaired with guards everywhere.

I very much regret missing out on DAoC and I really hope Unchained delivers. I absolutely love crafting in MMOs and the idea of having good spontaneous PvP sounds very fun in a scenario where it isn't just getting griefed by very high level players in world PvP in games like Tera or WoW.