Dark Age Of Camelot: Making a Nest

First of all, I apologize to my readership for going on an unexpected hiatus. The first week, Warcry was under some construction, so taking the week off while things shook out made perfect sense. The next week, unfortunately, a cold swept through my household, decimating everything in its path. That Wednesday saw me half-dead on the couch, feeling like a Firbolg had run me down. So, a day late and more than a dollar short, I soldier on.

Yesterday, Mythic announced their plans for housing. To call me excited would understate what I felt. I spent a good hour pouring over the Foundations website (and if you haven't seen it, it's worth the look!), seeing what models of houses they had to offer and planning what I might want and what I might be able to afford.

Since my last column, I have returned to my roots in Midgard. My beloved Huntress had just managed to craft herself out of commissions, and I'd started in with the alternately expensive and tedious processes of skilling up then killing for seals in Darkness Falls so as to salvage and trinket my loot. Needless to say, my crafting will be mostly on hold until I see the prices and rent costs of homes.

The announcement that homes can be turned into guild houses excited me, but it also made me start thinking about the social dynamics of crafting, as well as the ways in which we find people to meet our needs. Depending on costs, I anticipate that most guild homes will have a selection of crafting necessities, such as merchants, lathes, forges, and the like. We will have the option of skilling ourselves from Helper to Legend in at least three trades without having to leave our guild house but for every one-hundred points to speak to our trainers.

How many people have we met standing around the forge, or the table? Have you made friends there? Found people to ask advice of? I wonder how the housing tools will affect these relationship-building areas, and consequently, some of the social aspect of the game.

To find someone to make my gear, I take several paths. I inquire of my guild. I inquire of my alliance. I use the /who command to see if someone might be showing their trade, and would be willing to help me. What if I did not have these things? Or what if none there could help me? Well, I would need to go to a crafting center, such as Aegirhamn or Hagall (or their Albion and Hibernian equivalents) and ask about.

With the information Mythic has provided, this entire system will change. Many crafters will now practice their trade right in their own home. Finding a tradecrafter may now become more difficult, hoping they are at home, or that you can track them down. What I feel would alleviate this is the ability to have a mechant who sells your wares for you, while you are not there, adding the money he makes to your lock box.

I should like to see NPC merchants truly add to the value of homes for everyone, not just the crafter who works there. Imagine the fun of going shopping in a neighborhood, looking at signposts to see what merchants you wanted to visit! Having a merchant will already be a draw to the other crafters in your neighborhood, but it could also draw in those just looking to buy a suit of armor. And, of course, they would give you further opportunity to show off your home.

This lead to further thoughts about crafting, naturally. I hope that Mythic will add the ability for players to craft housing components. Clothworkers should learn to weave rugs. Woodworkers should learn to make furniture. Instead of just trinkets and pieces for our other crafts, let us use our secondary skills for housing as well!

I admit I found the dragon heads a bit disappointing. Killing a dragon should always, in my mind, remain a special event. These are mythical creatures that take hordes to kill! Being able to buy the head seems, at least to me, to cheapen the experience. I hope that Mythic will think carefully about this.

I don't want to see the dragon head decorations removed. Far from it! Instead, I would like to see the dragon "drop" his head each time he is killed. One would have to win the loot to be able to hang it on their wall, showing an accomplishment made. At the least, I would like to see all in a certain radius of the dragon raid "flagged" when the dragon dies, making only those who have participated able to buy a dragon head decoration.

I love the pixies. My house will have several sets of those. And the gardening feature has me absolutely giddy. Mythic has put a good deal of time and effort into their design for housing, and it shows.

What does housing mean for the roleplay element? Leaping Lurikeens, what doesn't it mean? Each trophy can have a story. We now have homes for our married couples, shady hangouts for our rogues, and places for our guilds to gather to tell stories or get to know each other. Imagine home scavenger hunts through neighborhoods! This is the greatest roleplay advancement the game has made to date.

From the preliminary information, I honestly cannot express how excited I am about the impending launch of housing. For all that we might complain about the length of time this was pushed back, and the delays from the timeframe promised, I think we all have to admit that not only was the wait worth it, it was necessary. Instead of simply giving us customizable empty buildings, they have offered us a robust and functional system to truly make our homes individualized statements of our personalities. They have not proceeded without caution, and this is good, for their housing system touches on a number of game dynamics that we take for granted.

In short...I really can't wait to see this firsthand. Mythic has truly outdone themselves.