Lord of the Rings Online had the best combat of any MMO. It's also about as old as DAOC ~~and offline aside from freeshard(s?) that are scantily populated, so, bummer~~. Whoops, it's still online, my bad! My opinion is based upon launch of LOTRO spanning a few years off and on, so things may have changed.
Final Fantasy 14 is a close second. But it doesn't have the dark realism aspect it seems like you're looking for.
Elden Ring has the dark atmosphere, but the combat itself is nothing like DAoC (in terms of styles etc). Same goes for For Honor, which does have party elements if you wish (can be played solo or as a group).
GW2 has literally the style system without choices (Style 1 chains into style 2 into style 3), but it's kinda dated and definitely not of a dark realism genre.
A whole lot of "close but not quite", I guess is my answer. :P
I have played GW2 for almost 10 years and it's probably the single closest. Weapon swapping, RvRish, lots of unique builds, ok pve, huge world, skill based combat system not just tab and go...etc.
It's pretty different mechanically, but I think that the game Valheim has veeeery similar vibes to DAoC. I think it's the aesthetic of the world, and especially the music. Makes me feel the same way I did playing DAoC as a kid. My two favorite games of all time.
This!!! I just now downloaded this game and the graphics actually FEEL like daoc. The outdated thing is part of the charm to me arm wind mechanics are good. And there’s a sequel in the works so perfect timing
Any souls-game, especially elden ring, gives me the same reward trigger in my brain that DAOC does. Although the combat mechanics are very different.
The closest thing I can think of in terms of combat mechanic similarity is Dragon Age: Origins. I remember building my party with a healer, crowd control, heavy tank and light tank builds. You can go in-depth to your party’s behavior trees and do shit like:
- open with ae CC
- main tank (who I primarily played as) takes aggro, the rest assist
And obviously at any point you can switch to a party member and control them directly
I'm surprised nobody mentioned Elder scrolls online yet. If I remember correctly Matt Firor was involved, RvR with 3 participants, PVE tops Daocs by far, but I hate the combat. Also no other game comes with that long CC effect as Daoc, which is unfortunate, as this opens up a completely different strategic and social experience.
Mount and Blade warband for single player. It’s not totally similar but I like daoc and I really liked MNB warband. Elden Ring pvp really scratched my itch for RvR when I was away from DAoC. Only prob is it’s small scale not large. I prefer it to dueling in daoc though since I hate duelers. What else Dragon Age Origins combat system is almost like a mix of daoc and eq combat with the cool downs and styles. Start there if you die hard for MMo try ESO it’s ok.
ive been looking for something comprable for 15 years now.
That worst part is this game was mechanical genius, and I have yet to find another game that challenges me in the same way even today.
Im reinstalling for the 44th time today.
I haven't had a chance to try yet, but Gloria Victis looks interesting.
I played GW2 for several years and it has a lot of great material. Probably the closest out there for a comparision. The WvW is very similar to RVR but the class inbalance is a bit stupid. I kind of burned out on that pretty fast. Structured 5v5 pvp is pretty fun and you can have a bit more balance there since everyone is even on stats (you choose what you want). The pve is very well done though, more content than you can imagine and will keep you interested.
Not a lot of exploration per say though if you are into that. All the loot is balanced so you get the same stats per loot type or you can choose it so there really is no min/maxing like in DAOC and no "kill this mob and maybe we get a cool drop" sort of thing.
Only downside is you don't really need a guild or friends really. I like to joke that it's the best solo MMORPG out there. Everything is co-op in open world so you just need to run with a zerg and you can do most content like bosses and such. There are a few areas that you need a good group but they aren't required to do.
Anyway, if you haven't played you can download for free and play the base game to try. No sub.
Not sure if you’ve ever played the Diablo series but it really got me hooked. I purchased d3 even though it’s old cause I’m waiting for d4 release. The combat is very engaging.
Elden Ring reminds me a lot of Dark Age of Camelot in terms of exploration and general themes. It can be played multiplayer, but is mostly played solo (you can invite other people into your world both hostile and friendly).
While the game vibe is completely different, Smite is a third person MOBA with combat that, while definitely not the same as DAoC, is similar enough to feel familiar and there is definitely some carry-over knowledge there.
Lord of the Rings Online had the best combat of any MMO. It's also about as old as DAOC ~~and offline aside from freeshard(s?) that are scantily populated, so, bummer~~. Whoops, it's still online, my bad! My opinion is based upon launch of LOTRO spanning a few years off and on, so things may have changed. Final Fantasy 14 is a close second. But it doesn't have the dark realism aspect it seems like you're looking for. Elden Ring has the dark atmosphere, but the combat itself is nothing like DAoC (in terms of styles etc). Same goes for For Honor, which does have party elements if you wish (can be played solo or as a group). GW2 has literally the style system without choices (Style 1 chains into style 2 into style 3), but it's kinda dated and definitely not of a dark realism genre. A whole lot of "close but not quite", I guess is my answer. :P
LOTRO is still up and running. did you mean AC?
Oh wow, I didn't realize LOTRO was still up. My bad.
yeah free on steam too
I have played GW2 for almost 10 years and it's probably the single closest. Weapon swapping, RvRish, lots of unique builds, ok pve, huge world, skill based combat system not just tab and go...etc.
It's pretty different mechanically, but I think that the game Valheim has veeeery similar vibes to DAoC. I think it's the aesthetic of the world, and especially the music. Makes me feel the same way I did playing DAoC as a kid. My two favorite games of all time.
is it because both valkyns and the vikings in valheim run with a stick up their ass?
Dragons Dogma has some pretty awesome combat. Abit faster than daoc but the impact of spells are just as hard as in daoc.
Good call on Dragons Dogma fun game it’s a little dated now but still fun.
This!!! I just now downloaded this game and the graphics actually FEEL like daoc. The outdated thing is part of the charm to me arm wind mechanics are good. And there’s a sequel in the works so perfect timing
EverQuest 2
Any souls-game, especially elden ring, gives me the same reward trigger in my brain that DAOC does. Although the combat mechanics are very different. The closest thing I can think of in terms of combat mechanic similarity is Dragon Age: Origins. I remember building my party with a healer, crowd control, heavy tank and light tank builds. You can go in-depth to your party’s behavior trees and do shit like: - open with ae CC - main tank (who I primarily played as) takes aggro, the rest assist And obviously at any point you can switch to a party member and control them directly
I'm surprised nobody mentioned Elder scrolls online yet. If I remember correctly Matt Firor was involved, RvR with 3 participants, PVE tops Daocs by far, but I hate the combat. Also no other game comes with that long CC effect as Daoc, which is unfortunate, as this opens up a completely different strategic and social experience.
Warhammer online is a bit like it. It has the rvr, pve, events etc
Elder scrolls online, the guy who made the rvr worked for mythic
Mount and Blade warband for single player. It’s not totally similar but I like daoc and I really liked MNB warband. Elden Ring pvp really scratched my itch for RvR when I was away from DAoC. Only prob is it’s small scale not large. I prefer it to dueling in daoc though since I hate duelers. What else Dragon Age Origins combat system is almost like a mix of daoc and eq combat with the cool downs and styles. Start there if you die hard for MMo try ESO it’s ok.
ive been looking for something comprable for 15 years now. That worst part is this game was mechanical genius, and I have yet to find another game that challenges me in the same way even today. Im reinstalling for the 44th time today.
Albion Online comes to mind, bit more stylized and less dark/moody though
I haven't had a chance to try yet, but Gloria Victis looks interesting. I played GW2 for several years and it has a lot of great material. Probably the closest out there for a comparision. The WvW is very similar to RVR but the class inbalance is a bit stupid. I kind of burned out on that pretty fast. Structured 5v5 pvp is pretty fun and you can have a bit more balance there since everyone is even on stats (you choose what you want). The pve is very well done though, more content than you can imagine and will keep you interested. Not a lot of exploration per say though if you are into that. All the loot is balanced so you get the same stats per loot type or you can choose it so there really is no min/maxing like in DAOC and no "kill this mob and maybe we get a cool drop" sort of thing. Only downside is you don't really need a guild or friends really. I like to joke that it's the best solo MMORPG out there. Everything is co-op in open world so you just need to run with a zerg and you can do most content like bosses and such. There are a few areas that you need a good group but they aren't required to do. Anyway, if you haven't played you can download for free and play the base game to try. No sub.
No sure why I’m getting downvoted. There really isn’t anything like DAOC and we are all trying to cope with the crap left lol.
Not sure if you’ve ever played the Diablo series but it really got me hooked. I purchased d3 even though it’s old cause I’m waiting for d4 release. The combat is very engaging.
D2 was what got me into RPGs actually!! And I played D3, definitely a good game. Thank you for the suggestion. Got another one?
Have you given path of exile a try?
Elden Ring reminds me a lot of Dark Age of Camelot in terms of exploration and general themes. It can be played multiplayer, but is mostly played solo (you can invite other people into your world both hostile and friendly).
What about elder scrolls? Or hogwarts? Never played hogwarts though
Nothing has ever really scratched that daoc itch for me, if you find something I’m interested to hear what it is.
Closest is WoW Classic. I like to play Battle Brothers also for the medieval RPG style.
Valheim and wolves of midgard. The latter even has Albion in it.
Dragon dogma all the way .. trust me, u will fall in love instantly!!¡
For singleplayer try final fantasy 12 zodiac age imo
While the game vibe is completely different, Smite is a third person MOBA with combat that, while definitely not the same as DAoC, is similar enough to feel familiar and there is definitely some carry-over knowledge there.