Meandering through MMORPG's...

Author: t0nyd

 More random thoughts on Age of Conan and mmorpgs in general...

 Leveling and Questing

 Leveling is simply monotonous. Leveling is similar to every other mmorpg ever made. You can choose between two methods of leveling, grind mobs OR quest. The quests are similar to to every other mmorpg ever made, Kill 50 blahs or gather 10 blahs. There is absolutely nothing innovative about the questing or leveling system.

 I would like to see more options for leveling in mmorpgs. I would like to see...

         Leveling through pvp

            This can be accomplished in several ways. Leveling through pvp mini games, world pvp, sieges, etc... I would like to see pvp/pve quest as well as other pve/pvp goals. PvP should not simply be an end game event.

         Leveling through world events

             I would like to see rare events take place that force the players that simply happen to be in the right/wrong location to band together and fight. Like having an army of pirates attacking tortage or some such thing.

Magic

             The melee system is a decent add on to the standard mmorpg. It spices things up a bit. I decided to play a caster to see what new and unique things they bring to the table. To my disappointment, casters for the most part seem lame as hell. Here are some reasons why...

            CLONES

            Why are casters simply clones of each other or basically any other caster in any mmorpg ever made. Hmm. lets make a caster that relies on dots and pets, then lets make another caster that focuses on direct damage spells. Lets give these casters some mes (roots/fears). Lets give every caster in the game protection buffs to make up for their lack of armor (why give every damn caster the same spells with different names). Lets give every caster a damage buff that they can use on themself.

              We really need a new caster based system. One with a logical method of gaining spells. Not the normal method which is completely random. Woo I got an ice spell, i got good with this ice spell, woo i got a fire spell thats better. If I practiced an ice spell over and over why would i instantly get a better fire spell. Wouldnt it be logical if I got a better ice spells.

               I will give the game credit for its healing classes. The healing classes in this game are far more fun to play than most mmorpg for several reasons.

  I will begin with the fact that these statements are my opinions...

Game Play vs Beauty

 I can understand that Funcom wanted to make a beautiful game. Personally, I would like an mmo with graphics above that of Warcraft. With that said, I will not sacrifice game play nor will I sacrifice the word massive, simply to cater to the visual crowd. I believe that over-instancing is a problem. Over-instancing takes the word massive out of mmo. The game simply becomes a multiplayer game.

 Player VS Player

 In no way does Conan resemble a PvP game. Forced leveling through PvE makes this game a PvE focused game that minors in PvP. Forcing people to PvE to attain max level, then creating PvP for end game, makes this a PvE game with the option to PvP. When there is no equipment gain through PvP, when there is no experience gain through PvP, this is not a PvP game.

 I know some of you will moan " but there are PvP levels". 20 PvP levels vs 80 PvE levels is total nonsense. This in and of itself shows the game is PvE focused with minor PvP options.

 Final Thoughts

 In my opinion, AoC differs little from World of Warcraft. AoC is primarily a PvE Quest based game that dabbles in PvP. The melee system is a nice idea wrapped in the same old MMORPG package.