Darkfall: Darkfall WarCry Weekly Update: The Impact of Death

Death and Dying. In a game like this, where a Developer commented, 'We expect players to die a lot in Darkfall..' Well, you have to wonder what dying really involves. We've had some information on the subject before, the mechanics of it certainly.. But it's time to shed some more light on the subject of Death in Darkfall!

Death in Darkfall is something that most players who enjoy PvP will get to dish out but also experience quite often. This is how it works:

General:

Outright killing by critical hits is possible. In most cases though you get incapacitated. In this state your character is lying on the ground dying and waving for help. Before the time limit expires, the incapacitated character can release, get revived by teammates, or finished off by an enemy through any one of a series of disturbing finishing moves. An incapacitated player can be looted by anyone, friend or foe just the same as the corpse can.

Other than full looting, losing active spell effects, and getting removed from the location, there is no other death penalty.

Mounts can be killed, and they cannot be revived.

Resurrection:

Dead characters are resurrected at their Bindstone, Clanstone, or Chaosstone with only starter equipment. Chaosstones exist in areas within a realm which are ruled by anarchy. For a short time after death, players are protected from attack giving them a chance to reequip.

Alignment considerations:

There is an alignment hit for finishing a player off, even if you're not the one knocking him unconscious. Technically, the alignment penalties and bonuses are associated with the damage delivered. In a declared war there are no alignment penalties or bonuses.

Statistics:

Killing and dying is tracked statistically. You can check out details about your kills or anyone else's for that matter.

Looting:

Anyone can loot you while you're incapacitated or a corpse. There are no "looting rights" in Darkfall other than the ones players enforce on their own. This is a conscious design decision in order to promote conflict.

In the confusion of battle you may not have the luxury to sit there and pick through items while looting, and you may not want to get weighed down by indiscriminately grabbing packs off corpses. This can leave a lot of equipment on the corpse, to be picked at by various players throughout the course of a battle, and ultimately by the victors left standing.

Reequipping:

Players wanting to get back into battle as quickly as possible can go into their bank vault or the clan vault and get their equipment which they've hopefully organized in grab-bags. Players may have a few kits assembled containing the equipment setups that they're most comfortable with depending on their situation. Reaching the battlefield, they may want to go through their corpse to get their best equipment that might have been left behind.

Getting back into battle can be done by running, riding, sailing, by portal, teleportation, and summoning. Great care has been taken in balancing and limiting the magical means of transportation mentioned above. If players are on a ship and get killed, it's not going to be easy getting back. This works out well for balance as a ship's crew starts thinning out and eventually the ship can be taken over, or sunk.

Strategies and Tactics:

Reviving your teammates and finishing off your enemies could turn the tide of a battle. Looting tactics, re-equipment turnover, logistics, transportation, battleground planning etc. are associated with death in Darkfall.

Duels:

There are plans for a venue within the game where death won't have any negative consequences, looting, or penalties and players can fight for sport.

Tasos Flambouras
Associate Producer, Darkfall
Aventurine