Age of Conan, Anyone playing? What do you think?

[Dark Mistress]

I loved AoC till level 80 after max level I got really bored, cause if you are not into PvP there just wasn't much to do. Granted I played it when it first came out and maybe some stuff has changed. I haven't played it in a long time.

But it was the most fun leveling from level 1 to max level of any MMORPG I have yet tried.

 

[tneva82]

Just had my first session in it. Aquilonia RP-PvP server. Started with Cimmerian barbarian(yeah real original huh?). So far so good. Combat definetly more interesting than with WoW since same combo's don't work all the time. Now I actually need to keep eye on opponent to react for his defences.

Combos giving me bit of a headache in getting them off. Sometimes I push it and though I seem to push the buttons right it doesn't happen. Ah well.

 

[Supplement Four]

I loved AoC till level 80 after max level I got really bored, cause if you are not into PvP there just wasn't much to do. Granted I played it when it first came out and maybe some stuff has changed. I haven't played it in a long time.

But it was the most fun leveling from level 1 to max level of any MMORPG I have yet tried.

There's an expansion coming, supposed to be here by the end of the year. New areas, new classes, more stuff to do.

Plus, you need to get into an active guild. I'm in a guild that is top heavy with 80's. Three times a week (sign up on the web site), they do raids, and they're into guid vs guild, too.

Sounds quite fun, but you've got to be an 80 to do it (I just turned 50).

 

[Supplement Four]

Combos giving me bit of a headache in getting them off. Sometimes I push it and though I seem to push the buttons right it doesn't happen. Ah well.

That won't serve you well in PvP. PvP is hairy in this game. I re-arranged my controls several times until I got something that I could use in the heat of a PvP battle.

In PvP, you blink, you're dead. Your character rezzes, and you're scratching your head, thinking to yourself, "How the hell did that happen? I'm so good in PvE stuff..."

PvP is a whole new ball game. For one thing, your enemy is moving. Those assassins will cut your throat, then swing around behind you and finish you off in an instant. Same thing with the barbarians. They'll mezz you, then swing around behind you where your defenses are weakest while you are dazed.

Movement is key in PvP. Break the circle stafer by not staying in the center of the circle--screws him up.

Also, your active block is much more useful in PvP than PvE.



My guardian started off using polearms. I liked them because they did more damage than a sword, I could effect multiple enemies at once, and I could knock down everybody around me if the going got tough.

It's a great weapon...for PvE.

I learned, in PvP, that the polearm is just too damn slow. I might do, say, 60 damage on a hit (at the low levels), as opposed to a one handed sword, doing 50 damage on a hit. But the sword is 50% faster to swing, so I might get in 1.5 hits with the sword in the same time it takes me to hit with the polearm...meaning the sword acutally does more damage: 75 vs 60.

Plus, with a sword, you use a shield, which provides static protection. The polearm has some combos to use that act as a shield but you've got to use the combo to get it...at the expense of an offensive combo you could make with sword and shield.

All of this is to say, in PvP, you've really got to get in touch with your character class. Know the combos. Know your toons' strengths and weaknesses...much more so than in PvE.

 

[tneva82]

I learned, in PvP, that the polearm is just too damn slow. I might do, say, 60 damage on a hit (at the low levels), as opposed to a one handed sword, doing 50 damage on a hit. But the sword is 50% faster to swing, so I might get in 1.5 hits with the sword in the same time it takes me to hit with the polearm...meaning the sword acutally does more damage: 75 vs 60.

Well that's easy enough to figure out since the weapons provide damage per second statistics themselves ;-)

Anyway getting on nicely. ATM on level 14. God damn there's a LOT of quests on these levels. Does the rate of quests slow down later or is there really this many quests?

Think I might have been PK'ed first time as well. Was on white island getting back toward city slaughtering my way through young crocodiles(piece of cake). Suddenly human appeared front of me. Might have been pict that was hiding or another human but anyway before I even noticed what he was I was dead. Ah well. Actually quickened my journey since I resurrected where I was heading anyway ;-)

Edit: Level 17 now and I think I'm completing quests faster than I'm getting them for once. Maybe I can soon start adventuring on Cimmeria and Aquilonia

Oh and there was one movie-like moment there when I was fighting three Picts. Thanks to the fact attacks damage more than just main target I got all three in very fast rate killed(helped also by me being higher level and wielding dual weapons). First one, then second and finally with backhand sweep I cut off the head of third. Now THAT'S so appropriate for Conan world.

But how do those finishers happen? Any way to control when they come? Not fun when sword is thrust to others chest so hard that removing it takes a while when you are surrounded by 3 enemies! ARGH!

 

[Supplement Four]

Well that's easy enough to figure out since the weapons provide damage per second statistics themselves ;-)

You're not quite following me: The pole arm had the dps figure of 60. The sword had the dps of 50.

I don't know how they come up with that dps figure, but I found it doesn't really account for the speed of the weapon.

Anyway getting on nicely. ATM on level 14. God damn there's a LOT of quests on these levels. Does the rate of quests slow down later or is there really this many quests?

(Please say "gods damn" or something like that.)

No, you'll never be able to do all the quests. Don't even try. Just do the ones that interest you.

Plus, they're adding new quests all the time.

This is a good thing, though, if you ever start another toon. You'll have something different to play, especially if you play another class and race.

Think I might have been PK'ed first time as well. Was on white island getting back toward city slaughtering my way through young crocodiles(piece of cake). Suddenly human appeared front of me. Might have been pict that was hiding or another human but anyway before I even noticed what he was I was dead. Ah well. Actually quickened my journey since I resurrected where I was heading anyway ;-)

White Sands and The Underhalls are notorious for rabid PvP ganking. Typically, there's always a skirmish free-for-all going on at the entrance to WS, but you'll find PvPers all over, searching for your blood.

Rangers and Assassins are most prominent. Sins do the most damage in the game, and at low level, other classes don't have much protection. They'll have you dead before you can blink.

Rangers have this tactic, working in pairs, where one will engage you in face-to-face melee and one will hammer away at you with arrows. If you decide to switch from one to the other, or start getting the better of one of them, your target will run as the other will pull out his bow and finish you off.

As I said before, the ganking starts to subside, slowly. Cimmeria is a tough place--more ganking there than anywhere else, especially in the Fields of the Dead. Tesso, in the Wild Lands, is like the mouth of White Sands there around the town. And, Tarantia's Noble District is where a lot of the higher level PvP happens.

I'm Lvl 50 now, and I rarely get ganked, unless I'm outnumbered. I imagine a lot of gankers let me pass by in favor of easier prey. See, there's a cost to PvPing. If you focus on questing, as I have, you'll rise through the levels quickly. If you're PvPing, that's time not spent questing--meaning no character improvement for you.

It's not uncommon for a ganker to take a toon, the victim remember, then come back and slaughter the ganker at higher level.

Remember the criminal system doesn't kick in for 8 levels. So, if you're 5 levels over someone who's pissed you off, my money is on you to win--unless youre just an incredibly bad PvPer.

 

[Supplement Four]

But how do those finishers happen? Any way to control when they come? Not fun when sword is thrust to others chest so hard that removing it takes a while when you are surrounded by 3 enemies! ARGH!

You're talking about the Fatalities, yes?

Don't worry about it. You're 100% protected when those happen. If you've got a potion going, you're actually gaining back health and stamina while the "show" is playing.

There's no reason why you'd want to, but you're more likely to have a Fatality if you end a toon's life with a combo rather than a normal hit. So, if you want to cut down on the Fatalties, just switch to normal blows when your enemy gets low.

BTW, Fatalities also occur in PvP. You may see your own head get chopped off by another player.

 

[tneva82]

I don't know how they come up with that dps figure, but I found it doesn't really account for the speed of the weapon.

Now that's odd. Either they have went totally stupid or there was mistake with that weapon. Every other game measures dps by taking speed into account. That's what it's supposed to represent so would be pretty bizarre if they didn't.

No, you'll never be able to do all the quests. Don't even try. Just do the ones that interest you.

Well Tortaga is getting pretty well cleared up ATM.

 

[Dark Mistress]

Yeah I knew about the expansion and I was in a pretty big and active guild before I left.

I just loath PvP I tried it and just didn't care for it. Mostly cause of a few of the people more than anything. I prefer PvE and at least when I played there was very little of that at 80th and once you did each of them enough it started to get boring pretty fast.

I plan to check reviews and stuff to see what all the expansion added and such.

 

[Supplement Four]

I understand people not liking PvP. I'm not completely enthralled with the way it is implemented in AoC either. I think it could stand some improvement.

OTOH, PvP has added something to the game...a sense of danger...that has really sparked the game up for me.

Before, in PvE, if I had to run across the desert to do a quest, I'd just go ahead and and do it. I might even meet some other PvE soul out there doing his quests, and I'd approach that person, or not, without a thought.

It's a whole new ball game in PvP. The desert is a mean place. There could be robbers, theives, highwaymen, raiders--all out there to take my life.

I like that "edge" it's put into the game.

In my mid-30's, I climbed the rows and rows of steps leading up to the Archeronian ruins in the Wild Lands (otherwise known as the Sanctum of Blood). I came to that narrow passageway that leads to the bridge across the ravine. The way looked clear. I was alone.

Or was I?

Something nipped at the back of my neck. I used my toon's Search ability, and, sure enough, I found an attacker, lying in wait, at the far end of the passage way. This surprised him. He thought he was going to ambush me as I passed. In this manner, I was able to get the jump on him and dispatch him as he was going to do to me.

This type of thing is what makes PvP cool.

I met a group, and we played through the Sanctum quests. We broke at the end, everybody going their separate ways. As I came back to that spot, I saw the same guy. I guess he'd been spending his time ambusing people who came through.

I'd killed him once, but it was a tough fight. He was two levels higher than me. So, I used the Hide ability, snuck past his butt. He must have seen me, because he went into Hide as well, and tried to follow.

I lost sight of him, got through the passage, was off to the side of the steps, still in Hide, when I HEARD footsteps. I couldn't see anything. If I used the Search option, it would pull me out of Hide.

To my right, on the steps, the guy appeared, appearantly thinking I'd slipped his hands again.

It was then that I ambushed him. He died a second time, and I went on my merry way.

You just don't get encounters like this in PvE.

Although PvP does need some improvement, it is gameplay like this that keeps me on a PvP server rather than the same-old, same-old on a PvE server.

 

[Dark Mistress]

Yeah I get the appeal of PvP and some aspects are cool.

But then you also have a$$ hats that will wait till you are in a key moment of a quest and then kill you. Thats at least for me not any fun and I ran into it enough to completely turn me off to pvp.

 

[Supplement Four]

Yeah I get the appeal of PvP and some aspects are cool.

But then you also have a$$ hats that will wait till you are in a key moment of a quest and then kill you. Thats at least for me not any fun and I ran into it enough to completely turn me off to pvp.

Yep, I ran into that last night.

I was in a group of six. We were doing this extremely large, multi-part, quest in the Fields of the Dead. My toon is a 50, and I was second highest in the group. The highest was a 57. The other four were all in the mid-40's.

Well, this 80 decided he wanted to pick off some "little people", I guess just for fun. He gets murder points (and I can tell you, murder points are a beeeeecccchhhh), so I don't know why he decided to do so. But, he did.

He either didn't realize or didn't care that the guy was grouped up with us. By the time I got to the area where this was all taking place (we had split up a bit to take care of different parts of the quest simultaneously), half the party was dead.

I passed the rez point where they all were. The rest of the group wanted just sneak around the idiot, and go on with the quest we were doing. I said, "No, we can take this guy. He's an 80, but that's his weakness. He thinks he's invincible to us. We'll treat him like an epic mob. I'll tank him. Healer keeps me healed. The rest of you, attack after I get his attention. He doesn't know me yet, and once I attack, we'll just treat him like an NPC boss."

We did just that.

And, the 80 went down.



Well, I guess we tee-ed him off a bit. We were gathering supplies, selling crap gear at the vendor, getting ready to go back into the quest, when the 80 returns with another 80 buddy...and a 76...and a 64.

Two 80's and two more, all higher than us, a lot higher.

While around the NPC guards, as we were, selling stuff, we were safe, because the NPC guards will kill attackers, as you know. But, the two 80's and their two friends were just sitting off in the distance, looking at us, waiting for us to leave the safteyof the guard.

So...I called in some help from my guild.

I'm in a gooood guild.

10 people showed up. All 80's. All from my guild.

We wiped the floor with them.

That was fun.

Idiot wanted to pick on some "little people", and it backfired on him.

 

[David St-Michel]

Yeah... That's good when you're in a guild.

Which basically means you either let yourself be bullied around until you're high level enough to wipe the floor with them, or you get your posse to back you up and it turns into AOC : Gang War.

 

[Supplement Four]

Yeah... That's good when you're in a guild.

Which basically means you either let yourself be bullied around until you're high level enough to wipe the floor with them, or you get your posse to back you up and it turns into AOC : Gang War.

I think I mentioned this up thread a bit, but back when I wasn't in a guild, doing the beginning levels where you're at now, it was impossible to do any quests in the Underhalls for all the gankers.

I really didn't mind because I'd played them before with my PvE toon.

But still...I gathered together a group--all people I'd met for the first time--and the six of us went into the Underhalls and cleaned house. We killed every ganker in there.

One of those players I still group with, from time to time, in the game. In fact, he was in the group last night that I told you about above.

You don't need a guild. Just the gumption to gather some people together and lay waste.





Most of the gankers just want to have fun. I've definitely had my share of getting my butt kicked.

I was in Stygia once, in my late 20's, doing a quest. I got ganked by three. I rezzed, went on with my quest and got ganked again by the same three. I rezzed a second time, headed off in the direction of my quest, and, guess what? I got ganked again by the same three.

What did I do?

Let's see. I've gone in that direction three times. Three times, they've killed me. I think this time I'll go in another direction.

I did, finished another quest, then came back to the one I'd started earlier.

It happens.

It's PvP.

BTW, I'm 51 now, and although I've gotten ganked plenty of times (around 130 or so, according to my PvP stats) that's the only time I've changed the quest I started out to do.

People can get mad at this sort of thing.

Or, they can do as I do: It's a PvP world. I signed up for a PvP server. I role play it. the world is dangerous, and sometimes you run into things you can't handle. Be as smart as you can.

Luckly, getting PvP killed has little negative associated with it. The rez points are usually pretty close, too.

 

[Dark Mistress]

Yeah but that type of situtaion I don't enjoy. I don't care about "winning" in the end against people like that. I just wanted to do the quest in peace. Hence why i loath PvP cause of people like that.

 

[Supplement Four]

Yeah but that type of situtaion I don't enjoy. I don't care about "winning" in the end against people like that. I just wanted to do the quest in peace. Hence why i loath PvP cause of people like that.

Then PvE is definitely for you.

AoC is my first MMO. My first toon, I played on a PvE server. For me, it got boring. PvP added that edge--that human element--that keeps the game interesting for me. Otherwise, I get tired of doing fetch quests all the time.

To each his own. I can definitely understand why someone would turn away from PvP in favor of PvE. For me, I like the extra fire.

 

[zozotroll]

How much is it a month in US dollars? It sounds interesting, but I have a very tight budget.

 

[Dark Mistress]

If I recall it was 15 a month that is pretty standard in the MMORPG market for a monthly fee. But I am not positive and they might have changed it since I played too. But it should be in that range give or take a few bucks.

If you subscribe for longer it gets cheaper as well.

 

[tneva82]

If I recall it was 15 a month that is pretty standard in the MMORPG market for a monthly fee. But I am not positive and they might have changed it since I played too. But it should be in that range give or take a few bucks.

If you subscribe for longer it gets cheaper as well.

15$? Oddly much since I can get 60 day game card for 13e(about 17$ with current exchange rates). Is USD price really almost double the € price?

 

[Supplement Four]

Yep, it's $15 bucks a month. You can get a small discount if you subscribe longer (three month sub; six month sub; year sub).

It's very common to cease a sub and then re-open it later. People go on vacation, or have work responsibilities for a long period of time, playing again after the extra work is lifted.

Or, maybe you just get damn tired of it and want to take a break.

That's what I did. I was there at launch, played a few months on a PvE server. Got tired of it. Canceled my sub. Then, just re-opened by sub after a six month absence.

You can try the game for free. Check on the web site. I'm not sure how it works (it used to be you needed a friend playing to give you a buddy pass, but maybe they've opened the two-week trial to everyone now).

You can download the game, or you can purchase it retail. I've seen it, brand new in shrink wrap on eBay for $15-19 bucks. And, it's still about $29 at the store.

Be warned. You won't be playing the day you load your game. There about a day's worth of updates you'll have to wait through (all the improvements they've made since launch), and those will take about as much time as your connection speed will allow. When I re-subbed recently, it took all night as I slept and most of the next day while I was at work.

Once you're up and running, you open an account, make a toon, and start playing.

The first part of the game is designed to be played solo so that you can get a feel for the game.

Then, right around the time your toon reaches level 10, you'll finally reach an area where everybody else is also running around (city of Tortage). If you've read Red Nails, a lot of this will be familiar to you. On White Sands Isle, you'll find the Temple of the Black Ones.

All good Conan fun.

If you're on a PvE server, you'll only fight the NPCs. If you're on a PvE server, there will be days when everything is out to get you.

After you reach level 20, you'll graduate from the "beginning" area (the Barachan Isles) and be able to move out onto the continent. Right now, there are places in Aquilinia, Cimmeria, and Stygia that can be explored.