Dark Age is the first MMO I have played. It was quite entertaining. Shaiya has a pretty interesting concept. The ultimate mode reminds me of Steel Battalion. It would interesting to see if anyone plays it in that mode. I don't quite understand how the forming of parties would work. You would either have to play with folks that are on the same difficulty or run the risk of playing with someone on a lower difficulty where the penalties are significantly less making it more risky to party with them.