Q&A Session

For those that don't visit the leak forums or happened to miss this, one of the users was kind enough to answer a truckload of questions. I thought it'd be helpful to re-post them here:

Crafting/Trade/Items:

Does the player makes choices that affect quality while risking the complete loss of the item when crafting?
No, crafting is simplistic. 1. Harvest 2. Buy refining/crafting skill 3. Choose item at workstation 4. Wait as the progress bar finishes. That being said, success rate makes it harder.

Is it possible to set up your own shop and have a npc show people your wares even when you're not online?
No, the devs don't want npcs doing work for the players. So far there is no real economic system. >.< I mean, there's just "Wood" and you can chop it from any kind of tree or there are different types of "Wood", some more basic, some others for more advanced crafts ?
Same for "Ore" and other resources. There are in-fact different tiers of ore and wood, I have not seem the higher tier ore yet. Nodes are listed as "Mining Spawn Metal" for ore "Mining Spawn Stone" for stone, even in the middle of the map. Do these node have the higher tiers? Probably. I am making a database exe program with all the skills, magics, and items I come across, I just need to get the template for it so I can add information easier. (I suck at programing I am bellow a novice) Therefore I am teaching myself how to do this... HAHA. Be patient the HOLY GRAIL will come.

What improves as you improve gathering/crafting skill (Success rate, time it takes to gather/craft, amount of items gathered/crafted)?
When you are gathering you have more successes as your skill goes up, as for amount i have only gotten one item each time. As for the time it takes to harvest something, there is a skill you can buy to reduce this.

Have you tried selling resources to npc's yet? what is the amount they will pay per wood or ore etc?
1g per tier 1 resource as far as i can tell.

When you drop an item, does it get deleted or does it lay on the ground?
You cannot drop it on the ground, there is a trash can with flames in it that pops up when you start to drag items though. I will screen shot it later.

Can you drag items directly from your bank window to a trade window?
No. >.< Have you tried fishing yet? if so what types of fish/things have you caught so far?
Items

How does the trade system work? (stores, auctions...)
No auctions. Kinda suchs atm more later if it changes.

Is there some sort of macro system for harvesting?
Macros are illegal but its beta no one cares.

How much of the resources do you get each successful attempt at gathering? 5 wood each time, 15 wood?
Beginning there is a low success rate but I have only gotten one each time.

When you gather from wood nodes or mining nodes do they disappear after the attempt or when they are tapped out?
They do not disappear. I've heard of people at the same node for hours.

Combat:

If "friendly" (blue) player attacks a clanmate or party member, and that clanmate/partymate is an enemy of the attacker, will the attacker become grey to YOU? Example, say I'm an Ork, and there's a human in my clan. A mahirim comes and kills my human friend. Will the mahirim become grey/rogue to me?
Yes.

Do arrows make a sound? Or maybe the bow? If not, that's a significant advantage over magic (which you can hear for miles).
Yes, when I was fleeing from an ork I could even hear when he was stinging the arrow. (When you change direction).

When you fire an arrow, in all the vids I have seen, the Arrow appears to disappears immediately. I know its not like this in game, but I was wondering how easy it is to follow your arrow, I would hope its easy to see where it goes so that you know where to aim for your next shot.
You can see the arrow all the way until it hits something as there is a trail. It is very hard to see but you can see the curved parabola it travels in. It is hard. Range sucks. Archery is powerful. Not running out of arrow is hard.

When someone asked about necromancy you said: "No pets yet". Is there any chance for them in the future? Any info you have on this subject? (Dev talks on beta forum etc).
Dev do not like the idea of an npc doing work for you (hense why there are no guards, just guard towers, and you cannot influence player merchants). Will they have *stupid pets* I don't know.

Do you know how many active skills (i.e. knockback and such) are in for melee weapons ? Are they different for each weapon or they're the same for all weapons ?Are there any archery active skills ? (i.e. Aimed Shot, Quick Draw and such).
There are 4 melee skill right now, knockback, power attack, seize weapon, and one other that ill update when i know. All of then are relatively the same just a different name. No archery abilities yet, they are powerful anyways.

From what I hear, block and parry are pretty useless because they use so much stamina... Do you believe this to be true? or is it viable to use a shield?
I used to use a shield, then I used a 2h great sword, not because of the stamina thing but because i never used "V" to utilize it because it is not like oblivion where you can hold V then attack and automatically go back to holding it up. When you hold V you cannot attack.

Can you recover arrows off the ground or from mobs after they're killed?
Once an arrow is shot or even loaded it is gone forever into oblivion.

If you are soloing at a camp and both you and another guys there starting hitting the same kill quest mob do you both get credit for it's death, also can you both loot it ?
Credit goes to killing blow. Anybody can loot anything.

How does loot work inside a group ?
Free loot anybody can loot anything., sheath(R) then loot (F) drag and drop into inventory.

How does archery damage compare to magic damage?
How do ranged attacks(Magic and archery) compare to melee damage?
Do directs hits from spells cause more damage then splash damage?
Archery does the most to start. Melee is faster but a little less. Magic in the beginning sucks, as you skill up damage increases, travels fast, and mana missile ends up shooting two I believe.

Are there no more skills when you press the + next to the combat skills?
Expanded Skills

Can you dual wield?
Yes, with knifes.

I'm particularly interested in "Armored Casting" "Armor Proficiency" and "Armored Archery" skills. in the screenshot you linked it's not possible to read the description completely. Could you please write it down? What about your experience with those skills?
Its cut off cannot see more. When you use archery, magic, and melee abilities and skills these proficiency skills go up. They improve cast time, damage and... well proficiency.All armor hinders proficiency even cloth.

I read the spell list but Didn't see any raise dead or summons in the necromancy tree. Have you seen any players or mobs who perhaps use a spell that isnt listed there?
No pets yet, only mounts, that die easy enough.

What does the Gank skill do? It seems as if finishing off a helpless opponent can't improve all that much.
When you run out of health two things happen. 1. You lay on the ground until a status bar finishes and you spawn at a bind point, you can quiken this process with the space bar. 2. You die and spawn at a bind point. The Gank skill finishes off players and forces them to their bind point. Meaning friendly members of the disabled player cannot press Z and raise them.

Is there active stat distribution? Active stat distribution means are there stat points to invest at all. Or is it 100% skill based and you need to acquire skills to increase your base stats? E.G. buy a skill that increases strength etc...
As you use attacks like magic/melee/archery what ever the attribute that skill tree use, that attribute will go up.

Which type of monster have you seen?
http://www.darkfallonline.com/monsters/

What's the range on arrows and offensive damaging spells? Will the arrow keep going on, till it hits an objective, as it's affected by gravity, while magic projectiles disappear at a certain time frame/length traveled?
Yes, they are affected by gravity. Aim high.

Can harvesting axes/pick-axes be used for combat?
No.

Are racial weapons only usable by that race?
No, I have the Sithra skills. But they can only be created by their race.

If you shoot a heal target spell at an Undead mob, does it take damage? or get healed?
Healing an undead mob will damage it. I have not tried but someone else said this. I will test it and alter this response.

Do you find the melee system good? If not, what do you feel needs improvement?
Other testers have expressed sluggishness in the controls do feel the same way? If so, can you spend some time turning off/on game client features so we know its not a game play problem?
I love it. Face it, it is an mmo so there is going to be a small response time. If you think it is slower than WoW you are mistaken, in WoW you just don't notice it because of the way the game was created to cover up the affect of inevitable lag. Melee combat is easier than ranged Because of this issue. Think of a oblivion. but honestly I don't think the lag of combat is a big issue, I love it, and it is HARD esp when you two team a mob cause if you are not careful and the mob moves, your group member might try and follow it while attacking and accidentally hit you.

Will I be at a major disadvantage for not eating in the game?
You really only gain stamina when you rest, might as well eat cause it takes a while. But, I guess you could do without.

Is it worth it to carry lighter armor & weapons for the speed & casting benefits, or is heavy gear all the way the only viable choice to be effective?
Stats But any armor even cloth hinders a spell's effectiveness, potency, and cast time.

If you run barefoot is the sound less?
If you and naked you run quieter.

I heard about stealing being taken out. Is this officially not going to be in the game for good?
There is no stealth and there never will be.
Official stated. If you want to sneak up on someone there are rocks, trees, and grass. Which cannot be turned off. So wtf kind of stealing skills do you want? You can already steal a person's mount when they dismount. Kill them if you want something that is on them.

How do you rez someone it is a spell or skill?
Z. Everybody has this skill, you start with it. I have not fail, but for people who were just raise if they die again they go to their bind place. No rez for u!

I noticed Sithra as a weapon skill. What are Sithra?
Colorful sword/whip created by Alfar only.

Do you always have a crossair? I mean in both melee and ranged(Magic/Archery)?
Yes.

What is the most fun class to play in your opinion? Im thinking of going mage as i think they will be rock solid when high level.
There are no class, you just skill up what you want, you should not go down a horse blinded path of just magic. Start getting used to the idea of Magic/Melee. Spell List

World:

As far as I have read, while the world is seamless, there is some kind of *zoning* which is only a second or so.What happens if someone passes that 'zone' in front of you?Can you still see him as if nothing happened or does he disappear?
You can see people on the other side. Can be misinterpreted as lag.

Underwater, is it decorated or it it just barren? Does it differ from oceans to small masses of water?
Water There is stuff down there but it is hard to see, I have heard of people finding treasure chests down there.Can you say underwater city in ruins?Think Loch Ness monster.

Are there any rats, small birds, wildlife of any sort in the game?
I saw a flock of birds, butterflies, and fairy looking things. Could there be more than that? Sure.

Well, is there a political map? It was said there was a political map that shows kingdoms, shows you what clan owns each area, and what each controlling clan's laws and KoS lists are.
No. The map right now is a place holder map.

Are guard towers in cities always ready&effective and can you trust your city under their protection for longer periods?
If someone is rogue they will attack, farther a person is the more towers are in range. Damage is a bit low, they said they would increase it.

Clan/City:

Are there any disadvantages to having a multi-race (and multi-alignment) clan, other than guard tower restrictions?
People that are enemy to your clan member will try and attack them, but if they are attacked, the attacker will go rogue. In player cities you can choose by race, name, clan, alignment who the guard towers shoot lightning at.

How are the customization possibilities when you are building a clan town?
Preset buildings in preset places or can you choose which building you want to set in on of the preset building places?
You can upgrade buildings. Preset buildings in preset places.

Is there hiring NPCs?
Only hiring merchants in the clan city. Devs did not want people to have npc doing their business. There are no guards, just guard towers

How do the group mechanics work?
Anybody can invite into the group (Not just the leader). I have not reached a limit yet i have had 8.

Can the amount of the fee/tax for the clan-merchant/forge for other players be set by the clan? and does the gold flow into the guild bank?
And can the merchant deployed by non-clan-players be taxed? and is this tax rate adjustable (so clans can compete)?
There are fees for the use of utilities such as *Workbench* but i am not sure if you can set how much it will cost, nor do i know how much of a tax you can put on merchants. I do remember hearing you cannot alter the prices of the player city merchants, but I do not know personally.

I was wondering if its possible for others to find out about a clan's city without being a member? i.e. Such as killing and looting someone that is " bound " to their clan/city stone <<<>
Ask them? Visit it? Being bound means that is where you go when you die.

Are there any special bonuses give when a kingdom/clan owns land?
What precisely?
How does a clan/kingdom charge taxes on cities/villages?
What option are there, can the percentage be adjusted manually?
Are there any other special options to acquire gold as a guild that is not possible as a solo player?
What type of buildings can be build, and what is their function?
When you create a player city you can choose to build structures such as a blacksmith, farm *grove* etc. crafting tools that you need to be able to craft (think of forges in WoW you need them to smelt). In racial cities it costs money to use these, in your clan city it is free. Other people not in the clan can use them for a fee or tax. Merchants and banks can be created by the player but prices cannot be altered by the clan. Only player cities by the water with ports can build ships. Player housing increases the number of people that can bind there.
Fuck it. All Things Clan City

Can you kick players/guilds/races out of your city/village? deny them entrance, and how can a clan enforce this?
You can create guard tower that will attck players by race, name, alignment, and clan.

Character:

Does the weight of your armor influence swimming capability? E.g. heavy plate would make you slower/sink faster?
The heavier the armor the more stamina you use and the slower you go. This equates to everything.

What kind of stats does stuff have? ie does armor just have a value or resistances?
Items

Can you buy mounts from vendors or are they only made/sold by players?
You can buy them, you can make them, you can steal them from other players or loot the paper doll from their bodies. 700gp and steed grass.

When you look down in first person view do you see your feet/body or are you just a pair of floating hands?
No feet.

Other/Tech Specs:

Is there windowed mode? Does it perform well (not buggy etc.)?
Yes, my computer does it fine.

How well does DF run on your computer?
Can you tell us your system stats?
Quad Core 2.66ghz
8gb ram
9 series Nvidia w/ 512mb vram
Runs great, the shadows are bloody amazing, some people have said that they cannot Alt-Tab. But, I can. :) This game looks amazing! People say they do not like the animations. Fuck em. game play and combat is AWESOME. 1600 and shadows off 30-35fps. Other stuff is max. Character can be seen from VERY far away.

When you got your beta email, was it sent to your junk mail?
No, it was not.

On a scale of 1 to Sexy, what would you rate Darkfall?
9. Things that annoy me like the journal and clan window are stupid and slow. Well the interface is slow. But its beta? I love it!

I noticed you changed your rating from 7 to 9. What made you boost it up?
Initial reactions of having to get used to the UI and the game its self was frustrating, after I got into it... Holy crap I love this game. Still need tweaks but it is beta and has so much potential which is why I gave it a 9 and not a 7. For the stage it is in it deserves a 9.