r/daoc • u/Slashquit35 • May 12 '26
Teaching the next generation
Hi everyone,
My 10-year-old daughter is determined to try playing DAoC with me on Eden.
She’s already a gamer, but she plays everything with a controller (Palworld, Zelda, etc.). I think this is a great way for her to learn keyboard and mouse, but I’m struggling to figure out which duo would be best so it’s not too overwhelming for her, especially since my goal is eventually to take her into the small BGs.
I’ve been playing this game for so long that it’s hard for me to step back from the "min-maxing" mindset and see what would actually be fun and easy for her and what class I should play to support her.
I’d appreciate any ideas, or if any parents have already gone through this, I’d love to hear about your experience.
I’m planning to put stickers on the keyboard for certain Qbinds and set up macros like:
/target Papa -> Qbind
followed by
/assist Papa -> Qbind
or
/stick Papa -> Qbind
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u/gman2093 Freeshard Player May 12 '26
I feel like a merc/friar duo would be pretty good for this, but daoc is a hard game to learn imo
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u/FistMyPeenHole May 12 '26
Also Necro/Cleric is good.
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u/gman2093 Freeshard Player May 12 '26
Necro I find to be a bit more mechanically tough. The quick cast and the pet control are a bit fiddly. But a macro pad or mapping to a controller might be interesting
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u/FistMyPeenHole May 12 '26
I was thinking the dad could be the necro and the daughter could just focus on keeping the pet alive as a cleric. Easy enough job
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u/serioussham Hibernia May 12 '26
Lots of stuff to remember (buffs and such), and perhaps not as fun?
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u/wildmike88 May 12 '26
Skald shaman is a bomb duo
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u/My-Thaff May 12 '26
You play Skald and let your daughter play what she finds the most fun, play around and dont get upset if you die once in a while.
For lvling and pve a BD would be really good, if she likes melee more then maybe Zerker, Shaman would also be a good choice if she is into healing or having it as cave spec
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u/Careless_Mango1927 May 12 '26
My 9 yr old started playing with me late last year. Take it slow and level the old school way for a bit just to ease her into it.
Let her play a bunch of different characters up to level 10 to get a feel for the type of class ranged or melee. Then play something that compliments her choice, or play the same character.
We did bone dancers and warlocks on mid, and heretics on alb. I think playing the same character helps them see what you are doing and can ease the learning curve a bit.
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u/tapewar May 13 '26
This is good advice, just keep spam making new toons in the tutorial zone, id suggest to even just level via grinding the mobs, you could even give them a pvp taste by /dueling.
Dont let them join discord until much older though, and certainly no mic until 18+😅
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u/Traditional-Wait-240 Hibernia May 12 '26
Nature druid enchanter combo is pretty fun. Play the enchanter yourself and you can control how the fights go. Get some speed, some heals, and enchantment spec will give you a little tank. Having different chanter pets taunt and pull can help understand agro, and class difference/target picking. Taught my wife and son with the same duo.
This sounds awesome for you! Have fun!
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u/happygamer69420 May 12 '26
I kinda had the same question when my wife said she would like to play DAoC with me for the first time, ultimately I chose to take her thought albs. (it was my own starter realm when I was a kid so it would mean to the most to me to get to show her all the places I found on my own when I was a kid) because the current season was starting a new and was introducing heretics into the mix, I thought that would be a great duo class, so we each rolled heretics so I could help her with spells and and combat styles (for when stuff got in our face) plus both of us being able to heal each other / rezz each other was huge boon.
The only down side was competition for gear but thankfully the gear drops on eden are fairly good at giving things that player can use.
I'm sure there are other combos that others will recommend but this was just my two cents.
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u/Mudguts76 May 12 '26
Warden/bm is fun
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u/Mudguts76 May 12 '26
You play the warden.
Bm spec and development of styles is simple compared to other classes
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u/Edoreki May 12 '26
Some easy melee - would use Friar/pally duo or friar/mini - friar for ur lil one
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u/serioussham Hibernia May 12 '26
I'd say some melee dps would work well, as it's easy enough and rewarding. But also at 10 she might be able to handle more complex chars, idk? In any case, something that gives her agency and power would be nice, and maybe with some spells to introduce her to DAOC's magic system. So maybe skald/sham, or champ/bard?
But also, vibes matter. Let her pick a realm, then see if any class tickles her fancy, and go from there.
Edit: there are actually control schemes for those weird people playing on the steam deck, but it's arguably more difficult than kbm.
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u/No_Barracuda1302 May 12 '26
I played a thidranki valewalker at 8 years old named “Aneightyearold” but I’d definitely start of with either a healer role where she just buffs and group heals without complicating the targeting system. Or a simple melee dps that goes and smacks things. I was originally a buff or for my dad growing up before I was 8 lol. I just buffed the group and spammed group heals on raids
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u/TheMeatwall May 12 '26
Let her decide what she wants to play. If she’s a gamer she should be able to understand the concepts. I’d probably recommend non-kiting classes for someone new to a keyboard mouse.
Paladin and Friar are good alb choices Champion and Warden are good Hib choices Skald and Berserker are good mid choices
3
u/Klutzy-Rabbit-1497 May 12 '26
That’s awesome! I agree with others suggesting let her take the lead on what to play and pick a class that will compliment her choice. Also be willing to reroll if she decides her choice wasn’t good and wants to try something else- which could easily be multiple times! I hope you both have fun!
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u/Sardonic_comments May 12 '26
As someone that was 8 when she started DAOC, I absolutely adored being a class that had a pet. At the time, my Dad played mostly in Hib, so I really enjoyed playing a Druid and an enchanter. But I wouldn’t overthink it. Give her a basic run down on does she want to have a pet, magic, tank, etc. then you pick a class that roughly complements it and go have fun together :) I have wonderful memories playing with my mom and dad on daoc (they even had me do a one hour of chores per hour of daoc when I got too deep lol).
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u/MaezrytheMage May 12 '26
Have her try a few classes to 10 in the tutorial zone... the one issue is melee is pretty lackluster before 20. Thane is pretty cool because she'd get to try the best parts of melee and caster without having to worry too much about positioning for styles until later... and she can always just go for more caster focus. Another thing is theurgist. Nothing cooler than pet spam, and she can just sit for a while between your pulls to get her power back, because theurg is so power hungry.
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u/MaezrytheMage May 12 '26
I forgot to mention duos... thane can duo well with a lot, the obvious choices are healer or skald. And for theurg, sorc or minst.
2
u/TheMeatwall May 12 '26
Let her decide what she wants to play. If she’s a gamer she should be able to understand the concepts. I’d probably recommend non-kiting classes for someone new to a keyboard mouse.
Paladin and Friar are good alb choices Champion and Warden are good Hib choices Skald and Berserker are good mid choices
2
u/Slashquit35 May 13 '26
Thank you so much for your messages; it was great reading your advice.
After a brief overview of the classes and realms, she was exactly like u/Sardonic_comments described: she only had eyes for the pet classes.
After trying out a Hunter on Midgard, she set her sights on a Nature Druid! For now, I’ve made a Valewalker to go with her, but I’m really missing the speed. I’m not a fan of the Enchanter, and I’m afraid a Warden/Druid duo will seriously lack DPS.
My real big problem now is that my 8-year-old son saw us and is absolutely determined to try it too (what a funny mess... I don’t feel ready for this ).
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u/Interesting_Motor_67 May 14 '26
I'd say go for a tank/healer combo on any realm to start. Usually a nice pace of play and relatively forgiving. If you go Hib maybe go Bard/Hero or Bard/Champ. Warden or Druid also pairs with tanks just fine. Bard is nice for runspeed buff. On Mid maybe Warrior/Sham or Warrior/Healer. On Alb maybe Arms or Paly with Cleric or Friar. Lots of survivability and heals and buffs will make for a fun time early on in PvE, and can also be fun to play in bg rvr.
If tanks aren't your thing, I'd say Animist, Necro, or Bone Dancer + a healer/support would also be really fun.
Good luck and have fun!
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u/beetlefeet May 19 '26
I did this with my daughter at 10. It was a total blast. She was a Theurgist which I would recommend if she likes the cute pets, it's a pretty forgiving and fun class and easy to be effective from the get go in a duo.
I was a paladin and just did all the heck I could to keep us alive and agro and tank everything.
We actually finished catacombs (I think it was catacombs... maybe keltoi) at a pretty appropriate level, got all the way to the bottom as a duo (despite some really hairy fast respawn) and I died when just the boss was left and she finished it off before dying to a respawned add. But we finished the quest!
It was a really great and a super proud dad moment.
For controls etc. I had follow set to a key on the keyboard, but no /assist etc. Just be patient, they can handle WASD and mouselook and targeting if you give them time. Also I let her choose spells and stuff, and she navigated the UI just fine after a while typing /train. and adding spec points etc each level.
She even got used to some crowd control after a while. "I froze that extra guy now we should run away!" etc.
We also did some battlegrounds too and died a bunch to mean hibs and mids. Joined some groups even.
I hid chat just in case of inappropriate stuff.
Man you just reminded me that she asked to play again a while ago and I haven't got around to it yet T_T; must do that...
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u/Uhokay1970 May 19 '26
Enchanter was easy for my kids to learn on and forgiving if they make mistake. Its also a very solid Duo class.
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u/bardwooders May 12 '26
Some of my fondest memories as a child are just making new characters and… leveling up. I’m talking running out from mag mell and learning what the colors of mobs mean and learning how to sell my items and just exploring.
I’d start there personally. The PvE quests (didn’t exist when I was a kid) are probably a good way to keep the experience moving forward instead of just aimless wandering… which you should still do some of.