The first ever retail expansion pack for the Dark Age of Camelot franchise. It extends the story of the original game with new character...
Dark Age of Camelot: Shrouded Isles is the first expansion to Mythic Entertainment's landmark three-faction RvR MMORPG. Released in November 2002 for North America and February 2003 in Europe, it won GameSpot's annual award for Best Expansion Pack on PC and substantially expanded the world introduced in the original game.
Shrouded Isles added entirely new continents for each of the three realms: Albion, Midgard, and Hibernia, along with new playable races, character classes, and an upgraded graphics engine. The expansion's content is now fully integrated into the current live game maintained by Broadsword Online Games and is available as a free download.
Each realm received its own new landmass roughly comparable in size to the original game world. Albion gained Avalon, a mystical island steeped in Arthurian legend where the boundary between the living world and the realm of the dead is thin. Midgard players explore Aegir, the ancient home of trolls that had been seized by the new Valkyn race. Hibernia's new continent Hybrasil offers a lush, otherworldly landscape rooted in Celtic mythology.
Each continent introduced dungeons, outdoor zones, hunting grounds, and story quests that expanded the lore of its respective realm. The new areas were designed to provide progression content alongside the base game's existing zones rather than replacing them.
Shrouded Isles introduced one new playable race per realm. Albion received the Inconnu, small albino humanoids with large eyes and a close connection to Arawn, lord of the underworld. Their physiology makes them naturally suited to Necromancer and other death-aligned classes.
Midgard's new race, the Valkyn, are feral humanoids descended from the morvaltar, a predatory offshoot that seized control of the Aegir continent. Hibernia's addition is the Sylvan, tree spirits with humanoid form and bark-like skin, deeply connected to plant life and natural magic.
Each new race has racial stat bonuses suited to the new classes introduced alongside them, giving players strong incentives to start fresh characters and experience Shrouded Isles content from the beginning.
Six new character classes were added across the three realms. Albion gained the Necromancer, a pet-reliant caster who commands undead and can shift into a Shade form, and the Reaver, a melee fighter who channels demonic energy into life-draining martial attacks.
Midgard's new classes are the Savage, a berserker-style fighter who relies on hand-to-hand combat and a Berserk power system, and the Bonedancer, a skeletal pet summoner who fights at range through controlled undead. Hibernia received the Valewalker, a scythe-wielding melee caster blending damage and debuffs, and the Animist, a turret-summoning controller who plants mushroom-like combat entities across the battlefield.
Several of these classes, particularly the Bonedancer and Animist, became known for unique tactical approaches to RvR warfare that no other classes in the game replicated.
Shrouded Isles shipped with an upgraded rendering engine that required DirectX 8.2-capable hardware. The new engine delivered noticeably improved visual detail in the new zones compared to the original game's environments. The Shrouded Isles areas remain visually distinct from the base game even today as a result of this separate development.
Players new to the series should start with the base Dark Age of Camelot overview to understand the RvR foundation before diving into the Shrouded Isles expansion content.
No. Shrouded Isles is now available as a free download and all its content (zones, races, and classes) is included in the current Dark Age of Camelot game maintained by Broadsword Online Games.
Yes. DAoC continues to receive updates and live events under Broadsword Online Games. Recent 2026 activity includes the Map Fragments event, rotating Battleground seasons, and ongoing realm point bonus events. A dedicated community remains active.
No. The Necromancer is exclusive to Albion. Each realm's classes are faction-locked, which is a core part of DAoC's asymmetric design identity. Midgard's equivalent is the Bonedancer, and Hibernia's is the Animist.