I'm enjoying the trial quite a bit so far (at level 13 with a few days left in my trial) but I'm curious what the game looks like between here and max level.  I know that for the first while after release there was a large dropoff in gameplay after Tortage, but what is it like now?  

I may just go ahead and give it a shot regardless since the game is around $8 on Amazon right now and I have a $10 gift card burning a hole through my wallet, but I'd like to get a general idea of what to expect going forward.

Thanks...

Gogamer.com has the collector's edition for $9.99 right now. I think I'm going to go that route.

Many bugs have been fixed and some new content has been added since the release. However, the problems that plagued the game after Tortage are still there. It is a fun game if you stay below level 60 and just keep creating alts.

At higher levels the game just gets boring and there is not enough content to keep hardcore players interested, while at the same time there are not enough features that would keep  casual player interested either. Similarly to how content start disappearing, you will notice that fun features like combos start becoming more of a burden at higher levels.

I would also strongly advise against reading official forums if you want to stay happy.

The above poster has not played in quite awhile obviously. Hint there was a content patch specifically for 55 - 70. I would actually advise reading the official forums there are alot of helpful peeps in the newcomer boards.

Questing is fine all the way up to 80 with one exception. Level 72 to 80 on a pvp server is pretty brutual because everybody is in Kesh. At level 72, you will go red to 80s. The new content in 1.05 (Tarantia Commans) hopefully will pull some of them out of Kesh. 
 

I would however recomend getting a group for Black Castle in Stygia in your early 30s. The Pyramid of the Ancients is a very fun solo dungeon that gives you a cloak for your late thirties as well. Sanctum runs will be pretty commanly availible in your 40s and so on.

Good luck and have fun!

Originally posted by Redline65

Gogamer.com has the collector's edition for $9.99 right now. I think I'm going to go that route.

I would do this OP. The collectors edition has the soundtrack and a pretty neat art book. Even if you don't stick around for the game after a month the soundtrack is worth it in my opinion.

The in-game items are good as well.

I think the game has come a long way since the launch. OP, lack of content is not an issue anymore. There is plenty to do and lots of things to see. New players are joining everyday and higher levels are making alts all the time so getting groups should not be a problem. Voice overs will not be as abundant like in Tortage but that is a minor issue. The game is alot of fun.

Originally posted by blueturtle13

I think the game has come a long way since the launch. OP, lack of content is not an issue anymore. There is plenty to do and lots of things to see. New players are joining everyday and higher levels are making alts all the time so getting groups should not be a problem. Voice overs will not be as abundant like in Tortage but that is a minor issue. The game is alot of fun.

if theres plenty worth doing in endgame why would they be making alts all the time ?

Originally posted by thadenge

I'm enjoying the trial quite a bit so far (at level 13 with a few days left in my trial) but I'm curious what the game looks like between here and max level.  I know that for the first while after release there was a large dropoff in gameplay after Tortage, but what is it like now?  

I may just go ahead and give it a shot regardless since the game is around $8 on Amazon right now and I have a $10 gift card burning a hole through my wallet, but I'd like to get a general idea of what to expect going forward.

Thanks...

my personal experience with people both on forums and in game is that there are two kinds of people:

1-those who really enjoy breaking up free from Tortage and journeying freely in Hyboria

2-those who instantly hate what the game looks like and plays like after Tortage

the main reason is the diffrence between the Totrtage experience and the after-Tortage experience.

while in Tortage, the game is more like an RPG with possible PvP and grouping, after Tortage the game looks more like an open world MMO.

some people expect the game to keep playing the same after Tortage, and get frustrated right after they leave it... but in reality, Tortage was designed in order to break the tradition where mmo's dont know how to introduce new players into the game mechanics in the early lvls.

for me,  i enjoyed every minute i spent on Tortage, but the game only started for me at lvl40 +  

My opinion from when I played is after tortage it's bigger so there doesn't seem to be as many people but it's pretty much the same. I was thinking that was a very good thing because I liked what I had seen. But after the newness wore off it just seemed very repetative.   Every few levels there were new cults or camps of thieves to kill. and for the most part every instance seemed to have the exact same layout and  for me that took out any new strategy.  And the game is beautiful but in an effort to make things look mysterious and evil, funcom made it feel depressing and lonely. Anyway for me it got boring shortly after tortage.

Originally posted by Sabradin

Originally posted by blueturtle13

I think the game has come a long way since the launch. OP, lack of content is not an issue anymore. There is plenty to do and lots of things to see. New players are joining everyday and higher levels are making alts all the time so getting groups should not be a problem. Voice overs will not be as abundant like in Tortage but that is a minor issue. The game is alot of fun.

if theres plenty worth doing in endgame why would they be making alts all the time ?

I can say in all honesty that AoC is a fun game and a really nice ride...until end level,I have recently left ..but..

I still have in game friends that I join TS with but those guys would be the 1st admit if you dont like to roll alt after alt then this game wont be for you atm,if ever.

I normally roll my main and 1 alt and go from there,at end lvl in AoC it is really tiresome,you can do the same dungeons over and over,I know some will say "well thats the same with every mmo"the fact here is most of the dungeons are very boring and you wont want to do them again,let alone over and over.

The crafting is for the most part a waste of time,even when I left recipe's were selling for around 10g and the item you made would sell for around 10-80s,unless you got really lucky and got a decent recipe.for the most part the economy is still very unbalanced and I dont think anyone can say otherwise.

The game is still lacking,I think the reason is they had to sort the damn thing 1st as release was a mess and it has taken them a year to get it playable and most of the bugs out and ofc adding the content from say lvl 50-70.

I would say to check this game out in maybe 6 months but the way Funcom keep on p*ssing of the player's,e.g the "in game event" nightmare that just happened,I cant even do that.

Is a shame but maybe I can put this game next to VG and say it is a game that released way to early and with a company behind it that seems hell bent on annoying there player base rather than giving the game the resources it needs to make it a great game.

Almost all mmo's release with features not included or bugs galore that is just the nature of the genre. The game at release is not the final product. MMO's are designed that way. Conan had it's issues but the game is a great ride. If you say well there is nothing to do at cap well you still had fun getting there right? If so than what is the point? Everyone gets tired of a game at some point. I like Conan and will play it until I am tired of it and then move on. Like everyone does. Playing an mmo doesnt mean you have to stay with it after you level a toon to the cap or a few alts to cap. Or, hell, any toon to the level cap. If you had fun while it lasted then you got your money worth ;)

Originally posted by blueturtle13

Almost all mmo's release with features not included or bugs galore that is just the nature of the genre. The game at release is not the final product. MMO's are designed that way. Conan had it's issues but the game is a great ride. If you say well there is nothing to do at cap well you still had fun getting there right? If so than what is the point? Everyone gets tired of a game at some point. I like Conan and will play it until I am tired of it and then move on. Like everyone does. Playing an mmo doesnt mean you have to stay with it after you level a toon to the cap or a few alts to cap. Or, hell, any toon to the level cap. If you had fun while it lasted then you got your money worth ;)

Can I just be the 1st to say ..."ehh?"

I will give you as much as it isnt the final product but other than that your post is total nonsense,I was going to paste and answer the stupid things you said but I think there is no need,it is clear to see for everyone reading without my imput.

Originally posted by Redline65

Gogamer.com has the collector's edition for $9.99 right now. I think I'm going to go that route.

makes me want to punch myself right in the junk. paid 90 bucks for it back in may when it first came out.

I honestly think there is a grey area between levels 20 and 40.  I think most people quit the game in that area.

Originally posted by britzban

I honestly think there is a grey area between levels 20 and 40.  I think most people quit the game in that area.

Ohh come on,this is getting out of hand here,I dont play AoC anymore and dont think I will ever go back but to say there is a "grey area"between lvl 20-40 is just being stupid,this is 1 area of the game that there never was a problem with,this area probably has the most content and choices as you move through the game.....man this is just getting stupid now.

I had this game the day it came out, and was at Level cap in just a few weeks. The first city was literally the only good part in the whole game, because it actually had structure. The rest of the game seems like they just didn't have enough money to keep working on the content in the end of the game (which, I think there was an article about something along those lines).

The fact is, the game was released way before it was ready to have been. The content is limited beyond imagination. They just didn't do enough testing on the content that they would add before adding it, which resulted in all sorts of crazy stuff that people were taking advantage of.

I won't say I did not enjoy the game, but I think the best part was sadly leveling up. Once I hit level cap as a Dark Templar, there was really nothing else to do.

Originally posted by daylight01

Originally posted by blueturtle13

Almost all mmo's release with features not included or bugs galore that is just the nature of the genre. The game at release is not the final product. MMO's are designed that way. Conan had it's issues but the game is a great ride. If you say well there is nothing to do at cap well you still had fun getting there right? If so than what is the point? Everyone gets tired of a game at some point. I like Conan and will play it until I am tired of it and then move on. Like everyone does. Playing an mmo doesnt mean you have to stay with it after you level a toon to the cap or a few alts to cap. Or, hell, any toon to the level cap. If you had fun while it lasted then you got your money worth ;)

Can I just be the 1st to say ..."ehh?"

I will give you as much as it isnt the final product but other than that your post is total nonsense,I was going to paste and answer the stupid things you said but I think there is no need,it is clear to see for everyone reading without my imput.

Why do you think it is stupid the things that I said? your the only one that said ehh or imput. There are posts on here saying there is nothing to do after cap like that is a reason for the OP to not play the game. That is not true. The real game starts at max level does not apply to everyone. If you like a game then play it. Dont worry about end game or level caps. Play the game for what it is and enjoy it.

well i havent been playing the game long at all and only have a level 50 toon.  so its pretty obvious i never was a fanboy or i would have bought it at launch so this is only my personal opinion.  i personally think the game is better after tortage, the only thing that is better in tortage for me is more voice overs, there are some after tortage but not like it is in tortage.  i loved the pyramid dungeon/instance, i loved the statues part that i think is called ancient of treasuries or something like that, i loved the black castle dungeon too.  once you get out of tortage you can finally travel around some so you dont feel stuck on the island like i felt.  but like i said i am only at level 50 so dont know much after that level.  so that is some of the positive, as of my negative i guess i may say i wish more options or variety of mounts because really the horse is the only one i use and most players cause the mammoth which looks really cool just isnt good at all for your "everyday" mount.  also sometimes a level 80 jumps in a level 30 or so dungeon/instance and does all the work for you and you dont really get to experience it.  so basically you sit back and watch him do all the work so my advice is if you join a group lets say to do the Black Castle at level 30 or so and you want to enjoy it more is make sure everybody in your group is around you level.  i am sure there is a lot more good and bad but these are couple things off the top of my head.  but overall i like the game much better after tortage.  these are only my personal opinions so dont flame me for them. 

Thanks for all of the feedback, definitely sounds like I will get my money's worth (ha ha, since I got the gift card for taking a survey it ends up being free), if at the end of the month I'm bored or don't like it anymore I can walk away without feeling like I was fleeced or anything and it sounds like it will at least keep my interest for that long.

One more question, after Tortage how much "mature" content is there (like the quests in Tortage dealing with the whorehouse or the virgin blood thing or what have you).  I try to get my kids involved in whatever game I'm playing and while my 15 year-old is old enough to handle anything, my 11 year-old isn't so much.  I could get him around the quests in Tortage that I think are questionable, but how much more is there going forward? (the blood and guts aren't a big deal, like most boys his age he thinks that stuff is cool and the more the better lol).  Its not a huge deal, I could carry two mmo subscriptions if I had to (the other one at the moment being Warhammer), I'd just rather not if I can help it.

Thanks again for the help!

Well other than some random innuendo in some text quests your boys should be fine since you are ok with them playing with the blood and gore. Here and there there are some things but over all I think as some reviewers have stated it really could easliy be a pg-13 game. Glad you are liking the game. Welcome aboard =)