Dark Age of Camelot is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game created and produced by the American studio Mythic Entertainment. Operated in Europe by GOA, offering 16 servers, in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian, on which several thousand players play simultaneously alongside each other each day, Dark Age of Camelot has been established as an MMORPG forerunner in Europe thanks to the wealth of its universe and its innovative concepts.

Dark Age of Camelot’s innovation resides in the mythologies it is based on and the way the evolution of its universe is managed. The legends of King Arthur, Celtic folklore and Scandinavian mythology are all integral parts of the storyline. These mythologies offer the player guiding principles that are adapted to the Realm he belongs to: Albion, Hibernia or Midgard. In Dark Age of Camelot players can follow in the paths of the Knights of the Round Table; learn the secrets of the Nordic gods or benefit from the council of Celtic Druids… These familiar myths provide the setting for Dark Age of Camelot’s thrilling adventures.

But there is much more to Dark Age of Camelot. There is the unique “Player versus Player” fight system. It encourages players to create alliances with same Realm members and develop more effective combat strategies against opposing Realms. In this way Dark Age of Camelot adds an important strategic dimension to the “Player versus Player” system, encouraging team play and cooperation. The fun factor is heightened because this well conceived combat system evolves into a “Realm versus Realm” organisation (RvR), with its own set of rules that are unique to Dark Age of Camelot !

The diverse methods and measures of advancement are another true plus in comparison to other games. The maximum level of advancement does not mark the end of a player’s evolution. With all of his new gained knowledge a player can find more amusement by learning a manual trade, discovering the civilisation of Atlantis or developing spiritual abilities by learning the Secrets of the Ancestors. The player may also choose to become a Guardian of his Realm’s fortresses and treasures or try to conquer those belonging to his opponents. There is a veritable myriad of actions to try out once the player reaches his maximum level of advancement; a whole new dimension to the game opens up, a second life, where players can learn new skills and maybe even find glory and renown.

In addition to traditional retail networks (specialised shops and large stores) you can order Dark Age of Camelot directly online using our partner sites. You will find all of the purchasing possibilities and the price list on the Buy page of this site.

Dark Age of Camelot is much more than a static online universe. There are hundreds of quests, objects, creatures and numerous regions where new characters are constantly being introduced. All of these resources demand a constant effort in development, translations and maintenance. A dedicated team is constantly upgrading the game. There are free Add-ons and animated sequences that are made available by our Community Management team, who oversee the smooth running of the universe. In addition to the development teams and the client support crews there are also the game’s servers, which are in constant evolution (addition of processors and memory) not to mention the bandwidth necessary for the game’s successful operation. Subscription fees cover the running costs of the game, bringing a continuing quality service to the subscribers of Dark Age of Camelot.

A server represents a temporal instance in Dark Age of Camelot’s universe where the game can accept up to 3500 players simultaneously and dispersed throughout the three Realms making up that world. Each server is completely independent. Servers do not communicate between one another and two characters existing on separate servers cannot meet.

This is necessary for many reasons, such as the technical limits of the machines hosting the servers and the non-extendibility of Dark Age of Camelot’s world. This control also guarantees each player will experience Dark Age of Camelot in the optimum playing conditions with the possibility to evolve in a highly dynamic world and interact with a vibrant population. The fact that players progress within a closed universe represents an opportunity to create a real community with its local celebrities and historic moments of glory.

Each server is clearly identifiable as they have names taken from the Legend of King Arthur.

The Realms are territories that are shared among coexisting races. Each of Dark Age of Camelot’s three Realms takes its inspiration from a historic territory dating from the times of the legendary King Arthur: the Realm of Albion is based on England, Hibernia is based on Ireland and Midgard is based on Scandinavia.

Each of the Realms has a unique set of character races and classes (trades), as well as different dialects that prevent players from communicating with each other. Battles take place in specifically designated frontier zones and characters from enemy Realms cannot penetrate into a Realm’s lands.

In Dark Age of Camelot the word Guild takes its meaning from medieval terminology when it meant a corporation of individuals. A Guild represents a group of characters from the same Realm who may differ in many aspects. Unlike the many other ways to collaborate in Dark Age of Camelot, a Guild is a permanent association of individuals, independent of connection and disconnection of its members, created upon the values of friendship and cooperation and depending on each player’s particular manner of playing. It is a community sharing a common goal, whose members are there to lend a helping hand, defend the Realm, honor to its flag and raise its banner high above the enemy’s defeated fortress. The classification of all of the Guilds can be consulted in the Chronicles section of the Dark Age of Camelot community site.

Who ever you wish! Dark Age of Camelot proposes a wide variety of races and classes, permitting players to create totally unique, customised avatars (characters). From the tiny Kobold to the huge Half Ogre, players can chose from among 19 races depending on which one best corresponds to the player’s desired activity. The 45 “classes” (basically meaning professions) proposed cover a variety of trades, from classic types to others that are more exotic and exclusive. To better understand the wide variety of possibilities we invite you to consult the races and classes pages of this site.

An infinite number of characters can be created by each player since, once the limit has been reached, some characters can be deleted in order to create others. In absolute terms however, it is now possible to create up to 10 characters on a normal server, which must all belong to the same realm, and up to 30 characters on each PvP server, allowing players to have characters in different realms. There are currently 15 normal servers and one PvP server, which means that a total of no less than 180 characters can be created with a single Dark Age of Camelot account.

Characters gain valuable experience as they carry out missions, accomplish quests and kill monsters or adversaries. This experience is the qualification for moving up in the game’s 50 levels. Each level brings the character new abilities, allowing more efficient and deadly combat skills against more and more difficult enemies. Battles against enemy Realms are where characters gain Realm points and Realm skills. But other measures of progress also exist. Among them are the apprenticeship of a trade (including blacksmith, seamstress or armor maker) and the discovery of Atlantis’ secrets, which give characters abilities to carry out many new actions.

In Dark Age of Camelot, thanks to magic and the powers of the Realm’s powerful gods, when a character is “killed” he can be brought back to life. The character is rapidly resuscitated next to a “Bind Stone” and can continue his adventure. Death after the 5th level, brings a drop in the character’s experience level. To recuperate the previous level the character will need to return to the place of his death, where a tomb with his name appears. Healers are available to help cure his “resurrection sickness” responsible for lowering a character’s power level.

Certain classes of characters also have the ability to cast resurrection spells. These can come in useful. Masters in the art of resurrection are very appreciated during quests.

Very, very vast! Dark Age of Camelot already has over 35 zones for each Realm, 15 frontier zones, numerous cities, donjons, underwater areas, airborne cities held aloft by Atlantis’ magical powers, residential zones… Dark Age of Camelot offers abundant landscapes, giving the player a maximum opportunity for exploration. It’s an extraordinary framework for discovery, where players evolve with amazing liberty.

In order to facilitate the mobility of players and allow them to meet each other quickly and easily, various means of transport are available in the game. Stable Masters rent out horses that transport the beginner adventurers from one part of the realm to another, while the more experienced adventurers would prefer to have their own horses. Powerful mages and portals can teleport a character instantaneously; sea ways allow travellers to cross the oceans, and characters can even acquire personal boats to bring them anywhere they wish.

A NPC is a Non Player Character, this means a character guided by the server, not a player. Player guided characters can interact with NPCs by using some simple commands. NPCs do not have all of the same movement and speech abilities as player guided characters. All Dark Age of Camelot Monsters are NPCs.

Players can choose actions that lead to encountering NPCs who will propose quests consisting of a series of simple tasks. Characters can also ask NPCs for missions, these may be a simple job, such as delivering a message or eliminating a monster. Missions increase the character’s experience level and bring financial reward. Certain quests are rewarded with magic objects.

Dark Age of Camelot is full of all sorts of magic objects. Some weapons and armor are magic and increase a characters combat skills. There are objects permitting characters to cast spells or improve certain skills. Some NPCs can enchant objects, but the strongest enchantments come from player characters who are specialised in the art of enchanting. Very powerful magic objects can also be found; these are artifacts and they are often protected be dangerous creatures.

RvR is the “Realm versus Realm” combat system.

Each of the three Realms possesses ancient relics that, as long as they reside within the Realm’s sanctuary, convey forces and power to the entire population. Realms can capture relics belonging to another Realm and benefit from its powers, but this is no easy task. It will be necessary to invade enemy territories in great numbers, capture their strongholds and clear a path to the sanctuary. Obviously, invasions will be opposed with the greatest of determination. This is the constant struggle in Dark Age of Camelot. It is the basis for all player combat.

The PvP server is unlike the classic server because it does not differentiate between Albion, Hibernia and Midgard. A character created on the PvP server is able to move freely and join forces temporarily or permanently with members of opposing Realms. The “Realm versus Realm” dimension is inexistent. The combat is essentially between Guilds.

On the PvP server, a character is free to attack any other character, whether they belong to the same Realm or not. We advise new players not to join the PvP server first. It is a world with a very unique set of rules making it extremely dangerous for novices to venture in.

The site http://chronicles.camelot-europe.com is the official site for Dark Age of Camelot’s community of players. This site hosts the Subscription and the Customer Support pages. This is where you will find the game’s manual, links to other related sites and forums dedicated to Dark Age of Camelot. You will also find many descriptive elements related to the game’s universe, Chronicles describing the wars between the Realms, descriptions of the Guilds, up to the minute info concerning online gameplay and a weekly summary column.

IRL means In Real Life. (Note: this is in contrast to IG, which means In Game).

This term is used to distinguish between information concerning the game and information not concerning gameplay but “Real Life” (when players chat about their personal lives, it concerns the real life person and not the game’s character). “An IRL” is also the term used to designate a real life meeting between players.

Minimum System Requirements:
Windows XP
Pentium IV 2 GHz or AMD equivalent - 512 MB RAM
Compatible 3D Acceleration card, with 64 MB graphics memory
Available hard drive space: 4.5 GB
DirectX© 9.0c or later version - Internet Connection Required

Recommended System Requirements:
Pentium IV 3 GHz or AMD equivalent - 1 GB RAM
Compatible 3D Acceleration card, with 256 MB graphics memory
Available hard disk space: 6 GB
DirectX© 9.0c or later version – Internet Connection Required

Dark Age of Camelot is not available on Macintosh and UNIX platforms.
If a player does succeed in launching Dark Age of Camelot on a Windows emulator on one of these platforms, no support will be available.

No, the very operating principle of Dark Age of Camelot makes it impossible to play the game without an Internet connection.

Yes, Dark Age of Camelot can be played on a simple telephone modem (RTC) connection. The performance of this connection will not detract from the full game playing experience.

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games are games of adventure and exploration where players direct unique avatars (characters) in any manner they wish. Unlike “classic” role-playing games or offline arcade style games, where the player must carry out pre-determined missions, follow specified paths, or find the result of an assigned investigation, MMORPGs offer almost infinite possibilities for directing characters. The player is free to create alliances, depart on unique quests and battle virtual enemies. In the case of Dark Age of Camelot, the player can confront players from enemy Realms.

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games borrow certain principles from role playing games. But the online game is different in some very clear ways. Online, there is no Game Leader to accompany the players, online Game community leaders are available to assure the correct advancement of the game but their role is not the same. The notion of a storyline or an investigation is much different due to technical constraints and the high number of simultaneous players. The improvisational element in role-playing games is much less present online. But player management, players’ progression and acquisition of experience, or their quest for magic objects is much like the classic, real life role-playing universe.

Dark Age of Camelot has enjoyed numerous expansions that developed the graphics, expanded the universe and brought new in-game experiences. The first six expansions, Shrouded Isles, Foundations, Trials of Atlantis, New Frontiers, Catacombs and Darkness Rising have now been integrated in the core of the game. You can find their specific content in the ‘Expansions’ section.

The last expansion, Labyrinth of the Minotaur, offers content principally oriented towards RvR gameplay as well as a new playable race, the Minotaurs, and a new class called the Maulers. Do not miss out on this expansion once level 50 has been reached. You can download and activate it by going to the ‘Subscription’ section.