This mud is dying. Writing this i will elaborate so that there is no misunderstanding. The greatest strength of this mud is its origonality. There is much to explore and to do. Puzzles, quests, hack-and-slash and more await all who log in to play. However, this is the trouble as in order to enjoy this mud one MUST log in to play and in doing so will be imediately confronted with piss-poor managment whose magnanimous egos are equally balanced only by their failure to provide adequate service and fair play. Reading these reviews shows that the mud has a following of players over the last 5 or 6 years. What one can not discern is that they ENTIRE player base consists of these SAME players. To be honest i do not know which is more pathetic: a poorly run mud or an unwaivering group of individuals that support a poorly run mud. Ok, lets begin with the synopsis. The "owner" and head administrator does NOT give a damn about this mud. It can survive or it can fail as far as he is concerned. His self-deprecating girlfriend who is an encyclopedia of mental illness runs the mud with an 'F U' attitude. However the real villian of this story is Zaknafein that has complete administrative privlidges but does not have an admin level. It is his decisions, code changes, and impromptu regulatory actions that set the day to day tone of the mud. It is my guess that if it were not for this fellow the mud might have a chance at growth and prosperity. Bottom line: if you like to be abused and subjugated to illogical policies and whims while you adventure then this is the mud for you. x2t !! 55w !! isdayolemsay !! h8c !! g3t

I feel this is a great only text base game. Simple to play, yet complex enough to keep your attention. Alot has changed in the last few years, but it all seemed to have gotten better.

I have been playing AoD for several years now. I’m an old time mudder who’s been around for about as long as MUDS themselves. I’ve played many different MUDS and many different kinds of MUDS and I can truthfully say that this is one of the best games I’ve ever had the pleasure of logging in to. Since the days of Beta AoD has always been more of a family than a bunch of strangers running around mindlessly slaughtering monsters. I have made some incredible friends, some of which have become ‘real life’ friends as well. There have been some bumpy times, more than I care to think about in the past year or so, but it seems this has turned around and several old players have returned in recent weeks. I feel that AoD has a little something for everyone. Character development on this MUD is unique in many ways and allows for a wide range of combinations, although most of us have our favorites. Things change all the time keeping us on our toes and allowing us to continue to be challenged instead of the rut many players get into on most MUDS where gear, monsters, areas, etc. stay the same year in and year out. AoD has a very active staff, even if it is small. They are constantly adding new features, new areas, new quests, and making improvements to the game. In my experience, they have always been courteous, helpful, and considerate when treated in kind. But they seem to have little tolerance for demanding players and people who constantly try to stir the pot to get their way, which, personally, I think is a good thing. The rest of us rarely appreciate having to witness it. This is not one of those MUDS run by an invisible corporation, by a staff you never see or talk to. The wizzes here are volunteers who love the game and love what they do. We have seen several new apprentice wizards join the staff recently, so I am hopeful this means nothing but good things for the future of AoD. If you are looking for a place to play that lets you hunt, quest, socialize, and make some fantastic new friends all at the same time, then you should definitely check out Ages of Despair.

I played this MUD on and off for about 5 years since the time it opened in 1998. I have now been (steadily) at this MUD for a little over a year now. I've got one thing to say about this place, I love it! I've read other reviews about Ages of Despair. It seems to me that most of the other players who have written reviews recently have commented on the equipment and guild changes that have taken place here. Equipment was downgraded in order to be made more balanced. I understand this fully and I don't understand why some players had to make a big deal about it. Some of the equipment I use was even downgraded. I don't have a problem with this. I see the downgrades that happened to the equipment to be needed in order to keep, us, as players from being able to kill everything without the risk of dying. To me, monsters just shouldn't be that simple. I love this place, and though it is sad that some people feel disdain towards this MUD, I see the changes that have been made to be something that was needed.

I have been around AoD for quite some time and I find that this game is great to play, the people are nice, the wizards are helpful and they keep good control of the immature portion of the player base. The world is ever expanding and the old areas are constantly being reviewed to keep up with the times. I love the changes they make and I hope they keep up the good work. The game I feel has gotten an big uplift in spirit since some of the players who liked to "cause trouble" have either left or have been removed. I took a long break from playing when some players started thinking they were gods in the game and could do anything they wanted, and when the wizards let them know they were out of line they screamed corruption or abuse of power. When I heard that certain players were removed I decided to take a look back at the game and I found that it is actually quite enjoyable to play. As for wizards I trust their judgements and I continue to hope that they make things as balanced as possible and keep making the good decisions. AoD for me has become a perfect escape from reality for me. As they will say, "The first mil is the hardest, the rest become easier" Don't let yourself get discouraged and try to use common sense.

I was an avid player of Ages of Despair until very recently. I played there for hours every day for nearly four years, slowly building my character up and making several good friends. For the majority of the time I was there, I enjoyed everything about the game and the mud in general and about how it was run. Recently, however, this changed. The main administrator, Faye, became more and more absent due to health reasons, and due to this, the main control or power of the administration shifted to another wizard. Allowing this to happen was, in my opinion, a horrible decision on the part of the administration. In all the years I had been there, I had been in trouble only once or twice for very minor problems, all game related, not conduct related. Once the power shifted to Zaknafein, several problems with wiz/player relations arose. Extreme changes to monsters, equipment, and guilds began to occur, with absolutely no warning to the players. When players questioned these changes, they were either ignored or told that they had no right to know what was being done. Many of the old players began to be driven away by this. During this time, player/admin relations began to break down. Several players had their characters put into hibernation for months or were nuked altogether. Even more left. I tried to be a mediator for a long time, trying not to anger the admin while trying to get them to listen to the players, but I failed rather miserably, and ended up doing nothing BUT making them mad. After most of my friends, all people who had played for years, left, I decided to hibernate myself for a while in order to make up my mind about what to do. At this point, Zaknafein and I were on very bad terms, with both of us rather openly hating each other. In the end, I returned to AoD and was online for less than an hour before he began trying to start an argument with me on a public channel, and I decided to leave. After suiciding my main char of my own free will, I was sitebanned from AoD, meaning I could not log in as any of my alternate characters or as a guest character. AoD itself is a great game, with many great things to do and great people to meet and hang out with. I love(d) the game, and would probably return if the administration situation changed, but for now, I can't help but feel that it's not worth being there only to be constantly abused, ignored, and treated like less than nothing. AoD is a great mud with one huge flaw.

I've played this MUD for near to five and a half years now, and I loved the place very dearly. This is a place where I grew up. It had a wide array of people who had a good sense of humor and enjoyed playing the game. Lately though, one of the wizzes has gotten out of hand and I very much doubt that he will be reprimanded for anything he has done, as most of the admin at this point are not very active or they are somehow duped into believing that he is in the right. He has almost singlehandedly made life there a pain for players he deems "disagreeable." or who question admin on decisions. Any player feedback is met with "We know best" or downright meanness. At this point, about 10 highbies have left because of the recent power trip one of the higher up wizzes has had. He insults us from anonymity but if it is reciprocated at all, or questioned, you are hibed or banned. They will probably dismiss this post as just from some disgruntled player who is trying to get back at AoD. It's not, I'm just trying to warn other people that this place is not one who rewards people who are not meek. I loved this place, but it has gone downhill a long ways and I honestly don't see it as having much of a chance of rising from it's current badness.

I'll give an honest review of this mud without trying to favor the good and the bad side too much. But here is my opinion. I've been on and off with this mud for quite a long time. The interest comes and goes like the wind. If you like a very social mud, then this can be the place for you. You get to meet all kinds of different personalities. From cheerful to down right moody. As for the administration they do a good job with the areas, though some of them have personalities that are quite testy. But once again, there is the good and the bad. I'll try to sum up most of the things you can do: Explore Kill Level and train skills Quest Socialize Make money to buy a house, treasure chest, items, etc. Marriage (iffy on this one, sometimes it's just for show) This mud is fairly newbie friendly, but you can't push your luck with it, especially nagging at the higher ups for help. If you like to team up with other individuals alot then I give a mixed review in regards to it. It's better to ask someone in decent level range to party rather than someone who may be 50 levels away. In rare cases will a high level help train you, but thats mainly a once in a lifetime deal almost (unless you have a female character then you get a good break) I liked the work done on the world itself. It is nice and expansive with plenty of things to look at. The class system is quite interesting as well. Even if you can multiclass there is a nice balance of power so no one really gets the upperhand. The race selection is nice too with it's own perks and drawbacks. Overall this mud isn't a bad place, especially if you have good karma. But to get by sometimes, especially at a low level you'd have to work your way from scratch. Which takes countless hours of sitting on your rear end. Or you can sweet talk your way up to the top. (Ofcourse after players read this review they may get a little meaner about it, but who knows) The mud itself is a very great place. Hey, if you can spend a great deal of time leveling up and training your skills for an immense amount of time, I commend you. Overall Grade: B+ Mud Development: A Social: C+ Guilds/Race: A Fun Factor: B

Hello everyone. I felt a need to write few positive comments about the mud I have been playing for several years now. Ages of Despair was down for quite some time as it searched for new home and lost many players in the process as they drifted to search new places to play. Now as it has established itself again stably new features and areas are being supplied by an active and what I have noticed pretty large wizard staff. As some of the earlier reviews stated the mud is pretty newbie friendly and every bit of information needed is found from different help files and player killing being voluntary a new player does not need to fear to become killed by nasty older players who had had a bad day at work :) There are more than few laws that are governed by wizard staff and which keep the game enjoyable for everyone. Some of the earlier reviews made accusations of high handed punishments, but in my own experience of the mud wizards will intervene to mortals behavior only if there is a good reason to. If you have a mature way of thinking you surely wont have problems to get well along. Right now most of the player base has been playing the game for some time and the newbie situation is not the best possible, because the amount of time the mud was down. It would be nice to see new faces around. If you search a fantasy mud with good community spirit Ages of despair should be worth a try.

This is good mud. I have searched many mud but not found better mud. This mud people are good. Many other mud have bad people but not this mud. This mud have quests and games and invasions and other stuff. All players in this mud good. Be careful of leprechaun in this mud. Zaknafein is best wizard in all mud. This mud have good help files. Not all mud have good help file. This mud have auction and bingo. I love this mud.

This is bad MUD. When I come to England, I play lots of different MUDs like Arcaea and Aardwolf and this be worst I play. I make two character here. First be Xefanti, second be Nidos. I not play Nidos much because I like to use Xefanti much more as a name. I play with Xefanti for a day, and my character is banned. When I ask why with my other character Nidos I get put in jail. There is nothing I do wrong and I even send a email from personal account to try and help, but I get no reply. This is bad MUD, they think you are other people and make you suffer for other people. If you like MUD's, play other ones because this one is no good. I hope you find good MUD and tell me about it!! Xefanti

i have not played aod for very long but i have played many other muds and i know a good mud when i see one aod has an amazing amount of races to pick from and enough diversity in classes and guilds to make anyone happy if you are a newbie to mudding i recomend this sight and even if you have played muds for 40 years you should check out aod

I have been playing this MUD for a while now, and although I have tried several other MUDs, I find this to be the most friendly. The people are for the most part there to befriend you, help you, make you comfortable, whatever. The admin is helpful, albeit strict, adn the world itself is user-friendly. H&S is the way most players go, simply because the RP is nearly non-existent. Other problems do exist, however, adn a newbie would simply get washed away in the politics. Best to avoid such conversations, and just enjoy yourself, until you ahve established a foothold.

i think this mud is awsome. i have played it now for a year and i have had plenty of help from the other players in the game to help me advance. i think that if you are new too muds this mud would be your best choice to sit down and learn how to play.

To be fair, the RP society on Ages of Despair is maybe a month old or so. The admin had to litterally threaten people with expulsion from the society to get them to post character bios. lol It is hoped that players with more experience with RP, some patience for the growing pains and who won't freak at the generally less rules restricted RP, will join up and show some of the rest how it is done. ;) One major pro-RP factor is likely to be the addition of RP friendly areas, which are pretty thin (if existing at all). From the perspective of the RP aspect of the game, we may as well be a completely new mud. So, yes, with respect to the game as it stands, it still has and likely always will be more H&S than RP. It certainly isn't like to ever become more RP than H&S, since even those in the RP society don't want to see that big of a change.

For what it is, Ages of Despair (hereafter known as AoD) is a very good MUD. If you are into Roleplaying, this is not the MUD for you. Though they do (at last) have a roleplaying channel and board, the players that use this, is in the minority. If however you are into hack 'n slash, you will be hard pressed to find a better MUD. Many of the races and guilds are stock in name, but have been changed enough to give them AoD's indivuality. I have not had enough contact with the admin to know them much, but from what I have seen on public channels they seem eager to help, though if you commit a crime (however minor) you will be punished serverly. Out of 10, I'd give AoD a 7, most of that being gameplay. For all your hack 'n slash needs it is a great place, but don't expect too much above that.

Well, where to start.... This world leaves alot to be desired. The areas and npc's with in are all quite redundant, only a few areas are large enough to explore and have a good time doing so. The rest are small with little to do other than hack and slash. Some players are rather disgrunteled. Admin had been plagued since about 2001, with in my opinion bad decisions, up til about mid 2002 when the focus really shifted with the loss of one of the best coders that the place had ever seen, due to brain cancer. Following this through this date the place still has a lack of innovative code. A shining light that I saw for the mud was the creation of their rp society, it was a group for those that liked to role play, however this light quickly dimmed. The Role Play Society takes a quick back seat to hack and slashers trying to get equipment off of monsters designed to take many hours to kill. Now this isnt the rant of a disgruntled player or anything, however I have been on the mud since it was in alpha testing, in that time there is very little that has been added to the mud(more than 5 yrs time), most of the areas that are there have been there for more than 4 yrs, and some of the newer areas have some rather negative side effects, such as being open pk on anyone that happens to enter it and the mud is not in anyway balanced for player vs. player combat. The mud does have some ups though. It has a feeling of familiarity to those that have been around for some time, there is a homly feel for those very few that enjoy the company of the others that are around. Currently, I see no change for the better in the place, I log in for rather short periods of time anymore, I have no desire to leave this mud because it has become like a second home to me, but I am afraid that if something doesent change the mud is going to fall as the older players leave to their career's and families, there really isnt that flare that will keep new players any more. There are somany other muds out there that have equal features and are still developing new code to make the game itself more fun instead of using old worn out code, and pulling stunts to get people to vote for the mud on mud poll sites.

A few days ago I was searching for a new mud, having just left the one I've been playing for the last nine years. I came across AoD and was greeted by people, and made to feel at home. However, as time went by I learned that while the game itself is enjoyable, some of the "regulars" there ruin that. They are not newbie-friendly and make no attempt to hide that fact, complaining when a newbie won some prize and they didn't even though the newbie was level 15 and they were levels 141 and 90. Their arrogance and the fact that we were constantly being told to vote for the mud on this very site (I was even sent a tell by a higher level in which he commanded me to go vote, and if I didn't like AoD I should leave, if I did like it I should vote for it.) That type of aggressive behavior coupled with the unfriendly attitudes by the players who consider themselves "elite" has driven me away. Now I'm looking for yet another mud. Play this mud if you don't mind being told what to do and if you don't mind that people automatically assume you're stupid just because you're new. Otherwise, I'd stay away if I were you.

This mud is by far the most enjoyable. They have the perfect balance between roleplaying and slashing. The guilds and skills are designed beautifully and the constant ready assistances is friendlier and more helpful than any other MUD. I have not found a single complaint with this MUD and have been overwhelmingly involved in it for months.

Even though these last few reviews don't mean much to me as Retired member of AoD, I'd like to note that obviously AoDer does not know Much about AoD players/wizard. Who this person said accused Robert of sharing Info(Sparhawk) is a wizard on AoD. I will not give the name of his wizard because that is steping over a line, but since Sparhawk openly admitted to be a wizard on gossip channels saying he is a wizard is not. Anyway wheather Robert did share info or not Sharing with Sparhawk would not be illegal as Sparhawk has/had the same if not more access to AoD then Robert. On this note I don't care wheather Robert did or not. it is none of my business. The only thing I wanted to note was it obviously was not Sparhawk. Naming a person without knowing the true facts is what causes rumors and problems, something AoD has had its share of, and the reason I stopped playing for the most part after Nemesis, and Simon retired. Pte Ryan

I won't respond to either of the prior 'reviews', but figure that now that we are open to new players again, it is a good idea to say something about what is going on in general. The disaster: Some number of months ago, I don't remember how many, a hacker attacked another service running on the same network as the mud. In the process of picking up all the pieces, our server got shoved in a corner. It was decided, since we seemed to literally be at the bottom of the food chain in their list of priorities, that it was time to move the server. Once someone was able to get a hold of the machine the code and player data was temporarilly houses on someone elses machine, this meant that new players where not possible during that time, since the overhead of running two muds on the same server and issues with stability didn't allow it. This rebirth: As of a few days ago we finally got the old server moved and set up at a new site. We are now open for new players, however it seems that the listed IP here is still showing the closed site. The correct address is aod.mine.nu:5000 or 129.241.210.28:5000. Since the priority has been making sure that the mud is stable and running properly, the web page and the old agesofdespair.org DNS address are not quite up yet. But I am hopeful, and check every day to see if they finally have it working. In any case, despite being awol from the world for the months that the transition took, we never went away and the staff spent a great deal of time implimenting bug fixes, adding new areas and generally driving those of us with characters that could log in nuts. ;) There are still some things we are looking forward too and know are coming, including additional guilds and changes to at least one existing guild that where delayed as a result of the mess. No telling what is hiding in the shadows that we don't have a clue about. After all, the plague that sprang up and ravaged or land for several weeks before and after the final move was definitely not something we expected. lol

I think that AoD is a great mud, and doesn't deserve the reviews that some of these people post. Especially ones like the most recent one by Robert. It's a shame that people who break a law on a MUD are punished for it and then feel it necessary to come on one of these review sites and bad-mouth it. Can anyone truly believe a claim by someone that can't follow laws? I guess it's human nature to strike out in some form against something you feel has 'wronged' you, even when you are at fault. And I hope that no one really believes this babble from a disgruntled ex-player. As for this case in particular, Robert lied about being given permission to do all the things he said he was allowed to do as a wizard. He in fact had no right at all to do these things with the monsters or interact with the player realm in any such ways as he did, such are the immortal laws. And more recently, since he felt it necessary to post his IM contact lists, I'll let you know that the person that turned you in is on every one of those lists, a little hint, it starts with S, ends with k. Personally, I don't think either of these two posts (Robert's and Mine) belong on this review site, and hope that someone finds it proper to remove both our posts :) Tata.

I played AoD for almost 5 years, and because of the situation that has risen over the last little while I figured it was time to post here about a Mud I once loved, and in some ways still do. On May 30th 2003 my character Robert was nuked for invalid reasons, and without the proof to backup the claim made against me. Before I explain the reason I was informed for the nuke, I'll explain what I have gone through for the last three years as a wizard (corran/tidus). Three years ago I became a wizard for AoD. I started out as Corran, and worked hard on my area(s) I had area.info's approved for, helping newer wizards learn how to code, and doing QC work for the mud. As a wizard I was given permission by the Admin to Stat mobs to watch mortal battles, and for various other reasons on which Simon and I talked (one being to compare Mobs already in the mud to the ones I was receating). While stating and looking at various pieces of EQ, I accidently quit in the mortal realm with EQ I should have destroyed before quiting. This mistake was delt with quickly by the other wizards on and when came to me I was questioned, and restricted access. (yes I was in the wrong, but I was moved to the dev mud because it was an accident that I admitted to and took resposibility for.) After a time, I earned my wizardship back, and became the EDU assistant under Ulme as Tidus, and helped new wizards by teaching them to code, and by doing EDU reviews. As a wizard I did make a mistake. That mistake however was seen as that. An accident that I was punished for, but would not prevent me from working as a wizard on the mud I loved. I continued to work hard, working to regain what I had lost. Recently I was accussed of giving out Information to a player over an IM (ICQ, MSN or Yahoo as those are the only IM's I use) without proof to back-up the claim. This Claim I do know is false, and when I was confronted by the admin they told me (not these exact words), that I am being nuked, and no matter the what I say to this they believe the other person (without the proof and without telling me who accused me of sharing info). What proof I have and had that this is false is this. The person who accused me is not and never has been on any of my IM's, and if they were they are/were wizards who had access to more info then I ever did. On ICQ my list includes - Javelin(Wizard), Pirate(creator), Faye(admin), Dyne(X-wizard), Tycho(X-player), Fyxen(player), Magnum(player), Lance(x-wizard), Sparhawk(Player). On Yahoo IM - Ulme(Admin), Faye(Admin), Eevvillwizard(step father), Drizzt(Player), Fille(wizard), Dyne(X-wizard), Javelin(Wizard), Sparhawk(Player). On MSN - Fille(wizard), Dyne(X-wizard), Nagi(X-player), Sarissa(player), Sparhawk(Player), Allarielle(player), Star(Player), Faye(Admin), Lance(x-wizard), Liv(X-wizard), Javelin(Wizard),... Read More

Something tells me this "review section" is not a place to post about your MUD's status. I'd appreciate if you didn't do it.

hey guys, Since I can't reach everyone in person I am leaving a message here concerning the status of AoD. Yes, the mud is down and has been down for quite a while. This is due to circumstances we cannot influence. For more detailed information, please check http://www.livejournal.com/users/aodstatus We hope we will be able to welcome you all back to our little world soon. On behalf of the admin of AoD faye

I've been playing AoD for three years. I have tried very hard to play other muds, but I can't seem to get comfortable anywhere else. It seems, for me, that it is 'AoD or bust' so to speak. The mud is genuinely unique-especially in that, it is very newbie friendly, very diverse in many 'well thought out'-guilds, newbie areas,etc...we do need more 20-30k mob areas, however. The game creators have my utmost blessing, and respect, but a few, new law members seem to be a bit green, so be careful who you talk to, and think before you put your fingers to those keys, and you will be fine. AoD has been down for a short bout, so if anyone finds success logging on, please, please make a post here so that I know that things are cool. I am now having trouble sleeping, not for too much play--(too little)...:) Miss you AoD...

I heard it on the grapevine, which is as reliable an information source as you'll get nowadays. I was informed of the extra week back on Sunday, hence I meant a week from then on. AoD is fine though. I believe that it is down due to forces outwith its control. I bet you guys are getting withdrawal symptoms...Shaky hands? Sweating profously? :) Being addicted to AoD can have serious consequences!

The mud has been down for 1 week. Cazz where did you get your info that it is coming back this week?

In response to the last post, the MUD should be up and running within the week (I believe). In response to the first...well..almost all the posts bar about 3/4 - I never knew that an online gaming environment could lead to so much bitching. :) I am personally knew to mudding (I only started back in november) and AoD was the first MUD i tried and I stuck with it. I have tried many MUDS, but only one other even came close to pulling me away from AoD. The fact that it didn't is due to the compulsory rp element. I don't like it. I just want to play a game and kill a lot of stuff, whilst I can actually converse with other players in a way that doesn't make me feel like I have been smacked about the head with the wrong end of a D&D box set (dice included ;>). So, in my opinion this is a really good MUD. In my opinion, the majority players(and wizzies) are friendly, willing to have a laugh, and help you out. In my opinion, a bit of reality in a game is good. I don't really care what the old admin were like, but the current one has done a good job so far. In my opinion, this is a MUD for those that enjoy playing games without having to bother with the rp crap.

whats going on with ages of despair it seems to be down.

This is a fantastic MUD with great players and wizards. Dont listen to me I'm biased, go see for yourself. Anon

I have only been playing AOD for a short time now, but a while back, I was an avid player. I have found some of the admin. changes to be shocking, but otherwise, this is an amazing game!! The levels are amazing, and the ability to customize your character really makes this more personal than some toher MUDs; defenitely my favorite game at this time.

I don't really get addicted to muds that often. But when I do, you know it has to be good! Yes, I'm addicted to AoD! The world itself is incredible. Vast and generally filled with npcs easy enough for low lvl and hard enough for tougher players as well. Yes, it is newbie friendly. Encouragement to read help files is there, but there's usually someone who will guide new players through everything they need to get started. I am enjoying the taunting of other players. It can get one banned from the channels if you're not careful, but it's still fun! I enjoy going it alone for exp and money, but there's always someone looking for a party if you want. Few quests available, but there are the occasional invasions. I haven't taken part in one yet, but love to cheer on the others. I just love the game and will stick around. I should say more, but I'll cut this short. Drop in and have some fun with us! *Purr*

Ok, I'm tired of hearing the same thing now, especially when it holds only partial stabillity. Sure, people go corrupt with power, as the saying goes, 'Absolute Power corrupts Absolutely.', BUT, what says this is what is happening? I recently returned to AoD, and guess what, I've seen alot of people who were banned by the old admin for things they didn't do, were allowed to return. I wasn't one of them, but I'm not mad about it anymore. I've come to the conclusion, that I am not wanted on AoD, no matter what I might've done, or not done in the past, it's really that simple. The Admin run the mud. If you don't like how, or why they do what they do, it's simple, make a few comments to them, talk to them, try to get them to see whats happening, and how it's driving away players. If you don't want to do that, then leave. Because if you're not willing to try, and possibly be banned, like I, and alot of other players were, then you don't care about the mud, so don't complain about the Admin and wizards not caring about it. I don't agree with alot of things, just like I never have, but I can see, that the Admin, like all the players, are not perfect. They do the best they can, if thats not good enough for everyone else, then I'm sorry, but you should perhaps leave, and try and do better somewhere? Don't bitch about it. Hmm, and now what to say about the mud... I recently returned to AoD, hoping with the Admin change, I might be allowed back to the mud I loved so much...But, not all things change. I was not allowed to, but I did get one thing I wanted. I got an impartial decision, both by friends, and enemies. And if anything, that IS a big change. I think this change in Admin, might just be one step in a new direction for the mud, and if that helps it out, I'm all for it. I just hope it does help it, and not hurt it. But only time will see. As for the mud, well...It's a very good mud, and very addicting. I'm not really sure what else to say. I'm sorry, I guess this wasn't really a review, more of a rant about other people (Myself included in the past). I have realised, it's not worth bitching about, because that won't get anything changed. Thank you for reading this. -James Kenneth Irmert

It hurts my heart to see this once so amazing mud being run down like it is, and I can't even begin to understand the frustration the administrators, who have dedicated their life to it (litterally), must feel. The neverending list of new popular muds that are shattered to pieces by power thirsting wizards seems to have grown further. Now, you can either continue to let bitterness cloud your judgement and keep on driving the AoD-loving players that are left from the mud, or you can take a serious look at your staff and ponder for a second; Can all these reviews you see here come only from, let me quote, 'cheap whores'? Or do these people actually have a point? I find it deplorable reading such an attacking, biased, and in front of all childish 'review' made by a representative of the mud (ie: The Anti-Whore, ihatesluts@hotmail.com). AoD is a very nice mud, but unfortunately, unplayable due to abuse of power, corruption and immature behaviour (see above). Of course the corrupt and childish won't agree, that is and will always, be the case.

AoD rocks. If you dont believe me, try it out for yourself. Now for what was said before: the truth is, the truth hurts - and muds in general are better off without players who do things to make people not want to come back. I think every mud can relate to that, because we do love players and we are there to have fun and to provide a fun world for all of us. If you want a fun world, come to ours - just be wary of the medievel wenches.

>This is still THE greates mud around.. and >honey.. certain wizard? Grow Up. If "Welasre" >and his friends are giving you a hard time it is >because you deserve it. Destroying the mud.. no >dear.. only your diseased self can do that, and >I was hoping to be rid of you to be honest.. >Anyways, to finish off this post.. AoD is the >best mud around.. as long as you aren't a cheap >whore... First of all, this is _NOT_ a player review. It is obviously a review submitted by one of the 'corrupt' ones that everyone talks about in all the reviews. If there is a group of 5 corrupt people and 50 people are nuked, then obviously that group must have been right about them and hence, they were exterminated for that reason. AoD was a great MUD about a year ago and now, it seems to be chock full of corruption and wizards who like to pry into player's personal lives and then accuse them of being 'cheap whores' on a topmudsites review. AoD needs a serious facelift and I thought I could be that person to help, and sometimes, I still think I can go back and do just that but reviews like this, from know-nothing wizards, are the things that deter players from logging onto a MUD. If an administrator on Ages of Despair should read this review, I would suggest that they get rid of the wizard who made this post because their opinions seemingly reflect the group of wizards on said MUD. So whoever you are Ms.Snobby wizard, keep your attitude to yourself about players. As a wizard you are NOT above them. In fact, if it wasn't for the hope of players logging on, you wouldn't even build areas. Now for my review: Ages of Despair is a newbie friendly MUD and that's it. Once reaching a max guildlevel and multiclassing, your exp rate stays about the same although you can add a ton more skills and spells to your repitoire. There is one "highbie" exping area and that is all. The MUD is mostly midbie areas with 16k mobs that everyone kills and are hard to get to if you're slow on the keys. If you plan on playing on AoD for fun, do not even bother trying to improve your characters basic set of equipment, for it is impossible. Monsters that hold rare equipment are deemed unkillable because they do one of two things: summon greater demons (up to 3 at one time) that take melee for the monster and cast one round spells that can wipe your party if two demons cast at the same time. The other "alternative" to the demons summoning spell is to give the mobs healing spells that cost little to no cp for monsters to cast and allow them to stay alive until they run out of cp, which takes 15h or more and reboots are spread 25h in between. Problems here... Read More

This is still THE greates mud around.. and honey.. certain wizard? Grow Up. If "Welasre" and his friends are giving you a hard time it is because you deserve it. Destroying the mud.. no dear.. only your diseased self can do that, and I was hoping to be rid of you to be honest.. Anyways, to finish off this post.. AoD is the best mud around.. as long as you aren't a cheap whore...

This use to be one of the best muds around til the gave a certain wizard more power then he should have and it went to his head now he is destorying the whole enjoyment of the game as it once was so if you go to this mud make sure you don't get on the bad side of Welasre or any of his friends or he will make your stay there very unpleasent

Newbie friendly, strict control over pk, interesting part is the invasion planned by wizards Odred, give the game a touch of its own, but quests are not as newbie friendly...

Ok. In light of things said in the last few reviews, I found that I had to reply. From reading these, I can tell that some people don't know what happened, from either side's involved. Sure, some people were nuked for some things, but not everyone was for one thing. In one of these reviews, I read something about people being nuked because they used questionable tactic's against a 2mil+ mod, when in actuality, it was9mil+, and in what the reviewer said, all were nuked for this reason, and others linking to it, well, this is not wholey true. I myself, was nuked...well...Im not sure why, I was never told why, even after logging on all my alts (around 5-6) and asking why. In anycase, I was not nuked because of the killing of this 9mil+ mob, In fact, I had nothing to do with the killing of it. Secondly. Yes, I admitt, I have 'trash talked' about AoD from time to time, but not in the way you would believe. When I talk 'bad' about AoD, its simply about the downfalls, I try not to talk bad about anyone on AoD, as I played there for over 2 years, and loved it, as I still do in certain ways. Ok, Im not sure exactly what else to say, I had it all mapped out in my head what I was going to say, but I forgot it once I started typing. Oh yes, one last thing. I figured I shouldn't leave this out. As per some reviews before this, AoD is a GREAT Mud, it has ALOT of things that I have found no wheres else, BUT (yes, theres a but) there are also flaws, and a fair number I might add. After playing there for nearly 2 years, you begin to notice things. In any case, I would recommend people to AoD still, but I would also warn them, do not say that which you would without thought do. I spoke a few things jokingly, and I think perhaps, that is partially why I was nuked, but I guess I will never know for sure.

Simple review ------------- Pros: Awesome features.(favourite is multi-guilding and reincarnation) Great playability. Simple to learn. Challenging to master. Lots of facilities for players. Newbie friendly. Cons: Hack and slash mud. Pathetic attempt at "allowing roleplay". Diseased with politics and corruption. Admin need to sort their act out. Actually last line is unfair-most of the admin need to sort their act out. Lack of family community/society feeling that are existing on other muds. Half the player community is very rude. Player-killer restrictions make the whole concept unplayable and laughable. Has a lack of wizard resources so bugs are in the multitude and not getting fixed at any great speed. Conclusion ---------- If you are quiet, and unlikely to piss off admin and have no wish for roleplay, this mud is great. I love the playability here, the simplicity of the guild scheme and combat. What would make this mud a much more polished game would be the introduction of roleplaying. Clans had been promised since well before I got there, but never arrived. Lack of wizards willing/able apprently. The politics of this mud does ruin it, and the need to be in the good graces of certain wizards to have a fair time there is quite aggrovating. But like i said, if you are quiet, and just want to stay within yourself, this is a good place to try. NB: Just in light of recent reviews, i figured I would mention i was not one of the "nuked terrorist hackers". -eyeroll-

A number of reviews have been posted about this site recently, talking about unfair deletions, etc. I personally think this is an excellent mud. There are some things I would not mind seeing changed, but as a programmer myself I understand that it takes time to fix them and that some features that would be nice to see are difficult to do without creating even bigger problems (such as slowing down the mud). It is unlikely that anyone could do a better job creating one, without spending a lot of time pre-planning things and many of its flaws arise as a result of the build as you go method that was used. However, the advantage to this is the ability to try something and change it till it works, something other more planned muds may have problems doing. As to the recent deletions.. Being someone who was there while it was happening I must say that it came as a major surprise, but that many of the problems where long running. Many of those removed where known for abusing flaws in the mud code to help them defeat mobs, despite being warned on many occations about doing it. At least one was hibernated for like 5 years or something a few days before for such abuses, then a few days later permanently removed. A number of them are known to rag on Ages of Despair on another mud. And worst of all, this last Halloween, during a special event that was in progress on the mud someone attempted to hack the mud and crashed it. I don't need proof, if some people where removed how should not have been, then they can try to prove that they did not do it or otherwise restore their good names. However I do know that a number of those out there that where removed are, if not before removal, then certainly now, trying to damage or destroy the mud. That is all the 'proof' I need to believe that there removal was necessary. That they continue to bad mouth the mud and sometimes hack it shows a lack a maturity and patience that likely resulted in there removal in the first place. People who lack such self control will and do attack things around them when frustrated, to do so while on a mud is stupid. Doing so after being deleted for it is terrorism. It does not matter if it is fictional characters effected or real people, it is still terrorism and the same logic lies behind the actions of those who commit both.

Before I start, I'll say that I'm one of the 20 or so people who were removed recently. If you are expecting a totally negative review, stop reading. If you want actual constructive criticism, by all means continue perusing. March of the year 2000, my friend sent me a link to a website and told me to try this out. When I asked him what it was he told me it was a MUD. I had no clue what a MUD was but I decided to try it out anyway. I was greeted with Ages of Despair. After some initial setbacks and occasional deaths, I got into the full swing of things. AoD was extremely addicting and extremely fun. The array of guilds, the diversity of the people, the intriguing (hahaha I said the word intrigue) areas, and the friendly wizards all created an environment where a person could easily lose themselves for a couple hours and just escape from the real world. Last month, I was told thru a friend that both my wizard and my highbie mortal were removed. I was quite furious to say the least. After logging on and attempting to speak with an administrator (and promptly nuked) I stewed for a few days and moved on. The claims were that people were nuked because of attempts to hack or destroy AoD. I can't help but laugh at this claim. Yeah, I talked some junk about some of AoD's admin because of lack of bug fixes, but I never once thought of harming AoD as a whole. If you want to nuke me, nuke me for the right reason. Here on some thoughts on several attitudes that have arisen: Players vs. Wizards : This can exist. After all, it's human nature for people to come to disagreements. It doesn't matter if you are a wizard of a mortal, behind the screen sits a human. If this is the case, it should be treated that the conflict should not interfere with either the wizard's job of upkeeping the MUD nor the player's playing experience. People who are loyal to the MUD vs. People who support nuked players/were nuked: If you've lost a friend due to a nuking, don't let it deter your opinion of the MUD. The administrators were thinking of the welfare of the MUD. They were thinking of your safety of playing in an enjoyable setting without fear. They did it out of concern for you, the player. Don't harbor anger towards players who are loyal to/support the administrators. They are just supporting the people who have taken time out of their lives for their enjoyment. Ages of Despair vs. Nuked player's new MUD: Come on now, this is retarded. There are better things to do than be rivals/enemies/whatever you want to call it. Get on with your life, I know I have. It's only a game. These people obviously cannot coexist so forget about each other and move on. Ages of in... Read More

First of all, I must say, I have a very fond caring for Ages of Despair. I care what happens there, and have been happy playing there for the most part. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the people I have met on there. Ages of Despair seems to create a great sense of community among players. I, myself, have played on AoD for over a year now. I was estatic about the place as a newbie. They are very friendly to newbies (well there are exceptions but most reasonable exceptions if you ask me). There are plenty of help files and ways to help yourself in the game. HOWEVER, as in most other mudds I suspect, AoD does have its downsides. Lack of coders that actually stay coding on aod has prevented more areas,variety that are needed for the players to be happily content. Being that I'm not a coder myself, I have no real perspective of why this is. Whatever the case, one will find as they continue to play that killing the same mobs over and over again simply to gain exp needed to advance your char, gets rather...boring.. as to be expected. As to compensate this you try to do various other things like explore, solve quests, party with others to be able to kill bigger mobs, or to gain better equipment. Once you know all the areas, and have solved most if not all of the quests, you are left with partying for better eq or just simply partying for bigger mobs to keep you from being bored from killing the same dang mobs over and over again. Keep this in mind. About a month ago or so now, 20 high lvl players were nuked, most of which were friends of mine. This has created much conflict. Many on AoD first naturally feared that they would risk getting nuked. The admins did not show any proof and I have no quarrels with that. They are resposible solely to themselves and other fellow admins, not to players imho. I would not play there if I could not trust the admin enough to have to demand such proof from them. Many of those who were nuked were frustrated about various things. They would party to kill a high lvl mob, using what might be questionable tatics (though I think it would be cool to have mobs that you have to think about tatics the way they did rather than hit and run...anyhow) and then find that their eq was taken away for one reason or another. If they didn't get the eq taken away, most likely they couldn't kill the mob for what were determined bugs, one particularly famous one was the "re-enter" bug which was determined later to be unfixable therefore its a "feature" rather than a "bug", or because the mob was "upgraded" to be rather impossible to kill. These mobs were upgraded I suspect to keep the eq they had, rare... Read More

Having read these other posts, I find the need to respond myself. Yes, there has been much conflict on our MUD lately, but the player response to it, for the most part, has been that of a family. On AoD, every player is treated decently, by human or admin, until they give reason to be treated as less. The players who have been nuked from our MUD have all bee known by me personally, and, even while I was friends with many of them, I fully support the opinions of the admins. When your best friend stabs you in the back, you fight back, don't you? This is no conspiracy, no cruel act of anger, as was stated on other posts, but an act of response to a threat to the masses. Nothing more. Having said that... AoD is by far, the greatest MUD I have ever played. Players are newbie-friendly, wizzes are intelligent and insightful, and there is much variety for anyone who wishes to play. I have played AoD for many years on many characters, but, at times, I had experimented with other MUDs. None provided the welcome that AoD does, and none offered the pure satisfying fun factor that every player of AoD is addicted to. On AoD, players are all family it seems, and admins are never too high to take part in conversation. Lack of variety of classes, variety of areas, variety of items, and variety of character have been major turnoffs on other MUDs. No other MUD comes close (trust me, I've played over 20 other MUDs) to AoD's level of variety. As you progress throughout the game, you discover new areas with detailed quests and more incredible awards every day. The game is exciting and addicting every day. That's all I can think of to say right now. Please log into AoD, create a character and vote for us, because we're one MUD that will always be here. Thank you wizzes for some of the mose fun I've ever had, I can't even begin to comprehend all that you've done for me, and every other player on AoD. Thanks to all for reading, ~Jol

I have tried out hundreds of muds and found that there is not a lack of admins on power trips out there. Ages of Despair however, has a worse climate than I've ever ran into before. The harassments, admin vs. players, are noticable even to a lower level player. Paranoia due to mass nukings of players and wizards, causes admin and/or wizards to accuse newbies of being old highbies who got nuked, which is very unpleasant. There is also a high degree of favouritism towards the players who "worship the Gods" and act accordingly (OOC). The game in itself is quite enjoyable, the ideas and the cute features are something to give AoD credit for. But then again, if you do not know how or why your character/s suddenly was/were removed, you will never trust it enough to feel at home there either. No, this is not a mud I would recommend, for anything else but maybe temporary mudding, and we all know such a thing barely exists, right? ;) Thank you for your time. Kind regards to you all, Nerin

Ages of Despair was the first mud I ever played, and I used to love it there. The mud had a very friendly player base and the look and feel is really nice. However there are some very serious downsides to it. First of all there are a lot of bugs in AoD, as a new player or someone who solos the whole time you probably won't notice this so much since especially bigger mobs are filled with bugs and a bug on a big mob has a much higher chance to be lethal, causing complete party wipes. Some of the bugs: re-enter-bug after dying or going linkdead (admins said it was a bug in April, in august they made a help file in which they said they didn't know how to solve it and called it a 'feature'), stun-bug (stun protection who don't give 100 percent resistance like the help file says), pk-island where your own guards get aggro against you and kill you, bugged potions, greater demon bug,... The bugs are so widely spread on AoD and stay so long that they even get names =) Balance is another weak point of AoD, almost all mobs over 2m exp have a spell called greater demon. This spell makes up to 3 demons who assist the mob you're trying to kill and they all cast acid rain, which is a spell which does 800 hp damage on second row (the demons can to this spell simultaneous). If you know that the best spellcasters use a 3 round spell and that spellcasters/healers (which stand on 2nd or 3rd row) with maxxed stats on con and with a health bless from the best healers can get around 2000 hp, you'll see that you just can't kill those mobs (melee combat of paladins, the only guild who can tank such big mobs is worthless). AoD is a mud where you can multiguild and multiguild, but there are restrictions on it. The only restrictions that are mentioned in the help files are the ones where another guild is completely forbidden. However there are a lot of guilds where you can join another guild but only get to a certain level in that other guild. Those restrictions are never mentioned (only exception is cleric who does mentions the restriction to psi), causing reincarnations where players who just get stuck cause they can't advance anymore. When this happens they claim it is your own fault and you are not granted a free reinc (reinc means 10 percent lose of your total exp and for a higher player often over 1m gold coins for advancing levels and stats). About Law, it only seems to work for some players on AoD. I mailed law 4 times for different things and I never even got an answer of them, one of those was about harassment which imo is a very serious offence (which they also tell in their rules). About a month ago I was on... Read More

Although this was the first mud I had ever played, and I love it greatly, there is alot of things going on on AoD that I do not agree with, and due to my...stating of these things, and the fact that I did not agree with them, and because my opinion varied from that of the Admin on AoD (perhaps not all of them, but atleast two) I was nuked, all of my characters, including my wizard which was just about to be promoted from Apprentice to full Wizard status. I was nuked, and banned from any playing of AoD from that point forward. Along with my nuking was about 15-20 others, of my friends, and also people who just came to another mud one of my friends created, because they wanted to learn to code. When any of us asked why were being nuked, we would get no reply, and then they would nuke us, and then, later, it was stated to a few people, that, if any of us felt we were unfairly nuked and banned, we should mail the administration at, administration@mud.cjb.net, so, when any of us did that, we never got any replies to our mail, they just ignored them. I know this might look like just one big bad thing coming from someone who from what you might think, hates AoD, but that is wrong, I love AoD, and despite anything anyone might say, all I ever wanted to do was help it, Im sorry if the Admin of AoD think it is so wrong to stay loyal to one's friends. -James Irmert

I am fairly new to mudding and AoD was the first mud i tried that gave a complete newbie such as myself some decent information not only on how to use AoD but also how to start mudding anywhere. In the time I have been on the mud I have never had any problems with the admin or player-killing. The ppl on AoD have always been friendly and willing to help. I dont understand the other negative reviews but if you want a great mud to start mudding on and a gr8 one to build a mud character on try AoD.

I have MUDded since the beginning of LPMUD's. I have played on countless MUD's for MANY years. I will not presume to say that AoD is the best MUD in existence, as it is nearly impossible to have tried them all with some measure of thoroughness, but I will say that it is my personal favorite. It is without a doubt the most versatile from a players perspective, and is staffed with immortals who are genuinely eager to make AoD a better place. The players and staff alike are friendly and open. It would take a lot more space than I am probably allowed to list all the virtues of AoD, so I'll just say this: Come try it out. Give AoD an honest chance, and whether you choose to stay for a week or years, I'm positive you'll enjoy your time there.

I spent an hour reading about this MUd, and I really liked what I saw. Thanks to Sprint, my ISP was giving some problems while connecting, so I was very lagged. I decided to just log on, create an account, and read the help files that were not online... and hopefully get a feel for the MUD. Happily reading some help files and configuring colours, I was asked directly by a player where I was. I told him I haven't really moved from where a newbie started. I explained to him my connection status, and that I was just reading some help files. He shows up, offers to help me by following him, then attacks me. He desists his attack, then jokes that he was just testing me. Being very lagged, I took a while for me to reply. He became very rude when I refused to follow him and accept his 'help' then attcks me again, this time killing me. When another new player looked at him he goes, "You want me to kill you too?" While being a ghost, he told me, "Now, that was our first lesson on death, type 'cemetery' and 'pray'." (the commands to get ressurected on AoD) Sorry for the long drawl, but after reading the information found here, Mudconnector, and the Ages of Despair site, I was under the effect that playerkilling was 'restricted'. That is just the impression every new player wants when logging on to a MUD, being killed within their first 5 minutes (in the Newbie Area!) by someone more powerful than they are. My review, while very biased since I was not even given the oppurtunity to view the other features of this MUD, will be a negative one. I was very much looking forward to Ages of Despair, and this one experience has ruined it for me. If you're into the excitement of being killed off the bat, then this one will be for you. If not, then evaluate it for yourself and see how you like it. I hope for the sake of others that this incident is something that isn't condoned by the admin of this MUD; but for me, the mystique of exploring a new MUD is gone for AoD. Feefy

This ia the greatest MUD ever. I feel this way because on all of the MUDs ive played, this is the friendliest. Everyone on the MUD knows everyone else, and thats how all MUDs should be.

From the great deal of time I have spent on Ages of Despair, I can truly say that it was a memorable experience. The staff and players work hard to do the right thing, from restoring equipment lost in an unexpected crash to lending an ear for a personal matter. The dedicated coders do top-notch work to ensure the originality of the areas and the playability of the game. During my tenure as a player, new activities and NPCs have been constantly added to create a stimulating and challenging atmosphere for the more experienced players, while other areas are being revamped and made more simplistic for the new players. As players, we are in a very liberated environment where you are free to do your own thing. There is no mandatory role-playing or player-killing, and the rules are enforced to keep the game enjoyable and fair for all players. The players are kept well informed about situations on the MUD, and there is a mutual respect between the players and coders. Although sometimes there are "bad seeds", Ages of Despair's members are a quality group of caring people. This has been my first mudding experience, and I have found Ages of Despair to be a friendly environment that fosters newbie growth and advancement. This is an experience that I would gladdly relive, and would not trade for anything.