Age of Conan 2009 Update Tour, Part One

[B. de la Durantaye]

Age of Conan has had a lot of major updates since launch, and players everywhere are asking "what is the game like now?" Ten Ton Hammer was asking that very question. So we got in touch with the Funcom studios who were more than happy to give us a three hour tour highlighting some new aspects of the game.

And now, we're bringing our readers on the tour. In our first of a three part series, we explore the dungeon of Xibaluku and some updates to the player cities. Also covered are the updates to items and their affect on players, and some more general notes as to what's new. We've taken video of the AoC DirectX 10 client, and you can find all the notes and the video right here exclusively at Ten Ton Hammer.

The devs weren’t ignorant. They knew there were issues, and they knew they had to do something about them. And that’s exactly what they’ve done over the past year or so. The game has seen 5 major updates, and hundreds of patches and hotfixes. In fact, over 1000 changes have been done since launch. But has it paid off?

Read the article and watch the video right here.

[shinyhalo]

I haven't heard a damn thing in these reviews about PvP fight duration and that is why I left. It's no fun to get pwned in 5 seconds at level 80 in 1 vs 1. Even if they "balanced" it so that it takes 10 seconds to kill someone it wouldn't win me over. At this point, if I am even going to go through the hassle of re-installing this game, I want funcom to f-ing guarantee me that I can just stand there and it will take another level 80, at least 30 seconds to kill me WITHOUT a dam healing potion either. If I actively defend I want an epic 1 minute long fight 1 vs 1.

[Olirion]

I played age of conan at release and didnt last very long due to performance issues.....but i plan on returning due to this video and the free 14 days. I have one question though, is that the actual music that was playing in the game when you were in the dungeon and at the guild city? If it is, my god, how gorgeous!!!!

[Ronbo13]

Originally Posted by shinyhalo

I haven't heard a damn thing in these reviews about PvP fight duration and that is why I left. It's no fun to get pwned in 5 seconds at level 80 in 1 vs 1. Even if they "balanced" it so that it takes 10 seconds to kill someone it wouldn't win me over. At this point, if I am even going to go through the hassle of re-installing this game, I want funcom to f-ing guarantee me that I can just stand there and it will take another level 80, at least 30 seconds to kill me WITHOUT a dam healing potion either. If I actively defend I want an epic 1 minute long fight 1 vs 1.

Agreed. I never made it to 80, but PvP combats were over too quickly. It seemed like, no matter what character class I played, the First Strike advantage was far too high. Not insurmountable, mind you. Merely unacceptable. But that was enough.

Warhammer got criticized by a few people who thought PvP combats took too long. But they take long enough that the First Strike advantage isn't a complete nightmare. If someone tries to gank me at equal odds and my skill is higher, I have a very good chance of making them regret it.

Also one thing that seemed completely upside down in AoC was that combat had all these combos, while magic (which is supposed to be arcane and difficult) was a button mash. I can see cleric spells being simple to cast. In a way, their spells amount to saying "god god god". But magic? It seems like that should have had some of the hardest combos.

Oh well. It was a very beautiful game. I still think no MMO will succeed while WoW exists. A pity, really. I left WoW over a year ago. 99% of its players don't know anything else and don't want to.

[slothmonster]

Originally Posted by Olirion

I played age of conan at release and didnt last very long due to performance issues.....but i plan on returning due to this video and the free 14 days. I have one question though, is that the actual music that was playing in the game when you were in the dungeon and at the guild city? If it is, my god, how gorgeous!!!!

Yeah the music for AoC is really good. I think the guy even won some awards. One of my most memorable moments was riding my mount into Poitan and being overwhelmed by the music. The game is beautiful visually and aurally.

Now if they could just make it interesting for more than a month of playtime.

[Anacche]

Originally Posted by slothmonster

Yeah the music for AoC is really good. I think the guy even won some awards. One of my most memorable moments was riding my mount into Poitan and being overwhelmed by the music. The game is beautiful visually and aurally.

Now if they could just make it interesting for more than a month of playtime.

For me that moment was in Conall's Valley. It was moving. The landscape and the music just mixed together unlike any other I've ever experience.

To this day I'm yet to find a better landscape or a better songpiece for that style of zone.