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Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures: Rise of the Godslayer Factions, Part One
Over the next two days, MMORPG.com will be introducing the new factions being brought into Age of Conan in their upcoming expansion, Rise of the Godslayer.
Previews By Guest Writer on January 19, 2010
For the first time ever we will be introducing faction gameplay to the Age of Conan universe in the game's first expansion Rise of the Godslayer. The expansion introduces a multitude of new factions the players can interact with, providing even more depth and context to the Age of Conan lore and gameplay. Players can join, work for and betray factions in an ever-changing political climate.
advertisement Friends and foes
There are twelve new factions altogether, two of which remain secret until the player actively seeks them out. Depending on which factions players choose to align themselves with, other factions might become hostile or friendly, providing countless hours of new experiences. All areas of the land of Khitai are inhabited by different factions; some groups choose to stay close to their local region while others roam through the land.
The different factions provide quests and new lines of gameplay, in addition to answer many of the questions regarding the myths and lore of Khitai. All aspects of faction gameplay will have an effect on the chosen path of the player, and players will be able to rise within the ranks of each faction. A new graphical user interface helps you track your standing and progress within each faction.
"By including factions in the expansion we have opened for countless hours of new gameplay, and introduced a diversification from normal gameplay," says Game Director Craig Morrison. "We have also introduced a system where multiple storylines will cross paths, and your actions will directly influence how the story progresses. There will also be opportunities to seek out secret groups, and the players are encouraged to rise through the ranks of their chosen factions."
Exclusive rewards
Each of the factions also has vendors attached to them that offer a series of rewards, including multiple sets of brand new armor. As the players progress through the ranks they will gain access to these amazing pieces of armor that identify specifically with the specific factions. Another very exciting result of faction gameplay is the addition of mounts.
These are specific to two of the groups in Khitai, and the player must engage with these factions to earn the right to ride these magnificent beasts. A third and fast mount is left up to the players to discover for themselves. Some factions also have unique social pets on their side, and rising through the ranks gives you the ability to have a companion follow you.
The Factions
The Brittle Blade
Sometimes when strength of arms or sorcery won't do, the silent blade is the answer. The God-Emperors of Khitai have known this truth for centuries and they have often had cause to use the services of the Brittle Blade. Once a death cult formed around the ritual of human sacrifice, time has changed the Brittle Blade so that the ritual itself is what they worship. They respect the clean kill, the silent kill and the untraceable kill. They respect the goddess of death and they claim that when death comes, a man of courage can grasp her tightly and ask of her a question which she must answer truly.
Check out the armor video, here.
Yellow Priests of Yun
The priests of Yun are mainly responsible for two things, the cultivation of the lotus plant and the worship of the emperor of the underworld; the god Yun. They believe that in order to keep the universe in balance, the Emperor of the Underworld must approve of the God-Emperor in the real world. To this end, they have been opposed to the God-Emperor Yah-Chieng since he overthrew the former emperor. The Priests of Yun use human sacrifice to speak with the spirits in the underworld, and they have come in contact with Li-Yah, the spirit of the former emperor. Their ultimate goal is to see the rightful emperor on the throne. Who exactly that is, only the Priests of Yun know.
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The Scarlet Circle
The Scarlet Circle has, effectively, achieved its goals. They are the ultimate power in Khitai, as well as the controlling the Enitity, which is one of the most powerful artifacts ever discovered. The Scarlet Circle as a group of sorcerers is a relatively small circle. There are probably no more than ten or twelve members at any time. However, the Scarlet Circle often hire mercenaries to escort them on their various expeditions. By default the mercenaries then become known as Scarlet Circle Guardians. So while the Scarlet Circle itself is rather small, the organization has a name that extends very far.
Check out the armor video, here.
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Shadows of Jade
The Shadows of Jade are an organization in a desperate situation. Chaos rules the empire and their profession is now filled by those who are willing to go beyond the moral limits of what their organization allows. In short, their world has fallen apart. They turned their resources to the search for understanding of their current situation and what they found was that Yah-Chieng's neglect of his empire had allowed such rampant thievery. Now they seek to restore order to the empire and they know of only one way to do it; ending the reign of the current God-Emperor.
The Last Legion
The soldiers of the Last Legion man the great wall despite the lack of contact with their superiors in the east. They hold true to their ideals of defending the wall and they have a dream of the empire. Their leader, Po-sha is mostly concerned with getting himself rich - he lives in the Great Pagoda, just inside the great wall. He rules them as an administrator, but he is far more concerned with his lecherous ways than he is with ensuring that the empire is protected. As far as Po-sha is concerned, the less news from the interior, the better. He can continue lording it over the peasants of the region and pursuing his own deviant desires.
Check out the armor video, here.
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"A third and fast mount is left up to the players to discover for themselves."
Hmm, nice update on the factions. I like the ability to earn your way into favour.
12 factions is to much. I would say that 6 would pretty much do it and give more varety in terms of diffrent storylines. 12 means that everyone will feel exactly the same. More is not always better - and in many cases brings more problems than it fixes.
Not to mention that its all humans.... wearing the exactly same armors and pretty much all looking the same. Factions work much better in games like WOW - WAR where more diffrence in character (creature) looks make for more intresting storyline.
Again - Just my opinion.
Sounds ok, yup 12 factions does sound like rather a lot, but there are 12 classes in the game also. Perhaps each class will be better rewarded by gaining favour with a particlular faction. We'll see.
I'll be more focused on seeking out the fast mount mentioned, since I disagree with the wolf and tiger mounts in principle.
[Disclaimer : I play AoC mainly because I am a fan of RE Howard's Conan stories, and the excellent community that exists on the server Crom]
Sweet..12 does sound like alot, but at the same time it's alot of content, and people always love that :)
So is this RvR or just npc factions to do quests for?
Sounds like good stuff, but is it too little too late? I for one have tried to get back into AoC but found it shallow, got to 80 and quests were worthless. All I had to do was raid once a week (lockout) for T1 raid gear, the racial armor I had was some of the best I could get, better then loot from dungeons. So I found myself with no way to progress or advance my character aside from these 1 week raids.
It is my hope that Godslayer add's more meta-games or ways to advance your character for long term development. Without a level cap increase some sort of AA system would be nice, or something to give me goals for PvE (or heck, give me incentive to PvP aside from just the act itself).
Yes - there are 12 classes but it wouldn't have hurt the game much to have just 6. And it would have been alot easier to manage balance for the game. Same thing is with the factions. It also creates problems when half of the gamers are prevented to play with you when you have to choose sides like AOC is setting up in their game.
Aoin did the right thing in starting the game with just 4 classes. Get those right before you add more. Atm both WAR and AOC are having problems balancing content "and loot" for so many classes. And tbh AOC will have alot more problems when items actually start to have some meaning in the game.
More isn't always better. Its the quality that counts.
Seems that Funcom dev have played some Guild Wars and Warhammer Online lately.
God, its hard to believe how negative you guys are.
For a ridiculously small amount of money you can play this company's new expansion pack that comes loaded with an insane amount of content and entertainment. This expansion seems to have more heart and thought put into it than any other MMO expansion that I've read about.
Yet what it gets here on this forum? Well lets nit pick because there's "too much".
I guess Age of Conan really is cursed to fail. People don't give it a fair chance and doesn't seem like they ever will.
I don't see how it can be viewed as too many factions especially considering the way you can move between them with your loyalty. It sounds as though it's basically a little deeper version of elder scrolls style factions. 12 makes sense in an MMO you can never have to much content in an MMO. The more the better, saying otherwise shows you're really only grasping at straws to complain about anything AOC.
Really can you not see the irony in this? All we've heard about AOC was FC didn't do enough, no, now the complaint is they're doing to much.
The 12 factions don't have to be "too much" if FC just lets the player able to join several factions (which I guess they most likely will). Of course there will be some factions at war with each other, denying alliance with both of them; but I doubt it will be like if you choose one, 11 end up hating you.
if you didnt read the whole thing it says "Depending on which factions players choose to align themselves with, other factions might become hostile or friendly, providing countless hours of new experiences".
So you can be friendly and work towards way more things with every faction you become friendly with. Think how many new Quests and content that is with 12 factions and your factions friendly with 4 of them and theres 4 tiers of armor for each faction and a whole butt load of other things!!
This will also lead to that if you are friendly with one faction then you will be sent out on a quest to go and kill thugs trying to kill your leader for example and the other real players that are friendly with the faction trying to kill your leader will have the same quest to kill the leader instead of saving him. Quote below
"Players can get involved with this conflict by choosing a side and fighting alongside them on a massive open battlefield, though quests will often place you in the midst of the action anyway. One quest, for example, pits you against a house full of thugs with the ultimate goal of beheading their leader. Sounds simple, right? Well, the opposing factions get the same quest, so you won't just be battling thugs -- you'll be battling players too."
From the Chosain Province artical at IGN.com
http://pc.ign.com/articles/106/1061174p1.html
The thing is - you would be battering players too if there were 2 factions in the game. 12 means that the atctual PVP content (it that is the point) will be spread thin and the chance of ppl actually meating oposition faction players is very little.
But I would be very carefull at this point talking about all these factions. We might actually see the expansion with just 4 starting factions cause it really sounds to me that yet again - FUncom will be launching a half finished product.
Btw - I still can't see why there need to be 12 factions in 6 maps. There could be 2-4-6 and still create more of a storyline than jumping betweein maps and joining up with totally new faction. Story is not made intresting by creating alot of things. It is created by making the improtant things stand out. 12 factions will not stand out. And 12 factions does not mean that there will be more of quests than if there were just 2. It just means it will be spread out into more of a miniquests.
Sounds like PvE factions, similar to Fallen Earth.
AoC had a bad launch not aided by the fact that Funcom were less than honest in the eyes of many.
As a result the game has a bad reputation that it does not seem to be able to shake?
So the lesson is that MMOs don't get too many chances.
Finish your damn game... get it right at launch.
I would assume there is some form of alliance between the factions as well as conflict in which case 12 factions with 3 loosly aliigned groups of 4 with internal strugles as wells the major strugles between the 3 major groups of factions chould be intersting but even if its simply 12 seperate factions its an improvment and one I would cant wait to see perhaps I will resub.
Whatever previous feelings towards funcom, it looks like they're trying. So much so that I might just have to try out this new xpac. As a previous poster stated that Aion was right for only having 4 classes, these are factions not classes. And I very much then and now think that 4 (8 after lvl 10) was not enough, not near enough. Really agree with the fact that it seems it doesn't matter what the devs do, they're doomed and should probably just file for disability and stay home. 12 new factions seems like it will add a whole lot of new content and purpose to experience, and sounds inviting to me. But.....that's just me HO.
AoC had a bad launch not aided by the fact that Funcom were less than honest in the eyes of many.
As a result the game has a bad reputation that it does not seem to be able to shake?
So the lesson is that MMOs don't get too many chances.
Finish your damn game... get it right at launch.
A bit of advise for you... Never work for the gaming industry, especially within the MMORPG realm... You are simply unrealistic and extremely biased and feel "gipped" for a game in which was marketed so strongly, that you fell for its pitch.. you and many like you are unrealistic imbeciles that have no idea how amazingly difficult it is to make an MMO (AT EVERY LEVEL AND POINT). Alot of companies do their best to release a product based on available time, funds, and talent. No company is perfect and ever launch I have been in with MMO's has been pretty terrible, some less than others. With that said, stop talking about "Finish your damn game... get it right at launch" since you have absolutely no idea what your talking about or the fact that it is impossible to do so.
AoC had a bad launch not aided by the fact that Funcom were less than honest in the eyes of many.
As a result the game has a bad reputation that it does not seem to be able to shake?
So the lesson is that MMOs don't get too many chances.
Finish your damn game... get it right at launch.
I believe the reson they are holding off giving a release date for the expansion is so that they finish it properly, Funcom has learnt a lot from AoC launch and has made much attempt not to only correct the mistakes, but to also make sure they do not happen again.
Hi Arioc, I see where you are coming from. There will be a whole indepth AA system with the Expansion which is different to just increasing the level cap in other games regularly. The AA system is supposed to let you branch off in multi directions. We shall have to wait for more info there to release but it promises to be just what the doctor ordered.
As the expansion itself, we know already released to the public at least another half a dozen raid encounters and prior to this there will be the T3 update on live server. Not sure if you saw the recent "Shrines of Bori" update coming soon with or before the expansion too, which is all brand new PvP incentive content coupled with the Tower PVP stuff coming as well.
There really is alot of development over the next few months which I think would cross off some of the issues you have with the core game right now. (Just to keep you in the loop at little if you didn't know already) :)
So does this mean faction based combat, or what does this mean? I mean they do a good job of talking this up, but I remember before the game released, the big promise was no Rep Grinds, and this does sound like a rep grind if there ever was one, especially with fantastic rewards from each faction. Which I am not completely opposed to, but I still feel this game needs a bit of unity, with FFA PvP it just feels too random.
A bit of advise for you... Never work for the gaming industry, especially within the MMORPG realm... You are simply unrealistic and extremely biased and feel "gipped" for a game in which was marketed so strongly, that you fell for its pitch.. you and many like you are unrealistic imbeciles that have no idea how amazingly difficult it is to make an MMO (AT EVERY LEVEL AND POINT). Alot of companies do their best to release a product based on available time, funds, and talent. No company is perfect and ever launch I have been in with MMO's has been pretty terrible, some less than others. With that said, stop talking about "Finish your damn game... get it right at launch" since you have absolutely no idea what your talking about or the fact that it is impossible to do so.
A bit of advice for you... don't assume that everyone who posts about AoC got "gipped".
I most certainly didn't.
Speaking for myself, I don't buy MMOs at release. Never have, never will.
With regard to AoC I saw the warning signs pre release and sat back to watch the fun.
So, I guess that makes me a biased know-it-all who will never give AoC a chance?
Again, wrong. I downloaded it just before Christmas for the trial which I have just dabbled with so far. I want to see what it's like now and what works and what doesn't. Who knows - I may like it and sub up? Too early to tell.
As for "Finish your damn game... get it right at launch"?
No doubt you are referring to the fact that MMOs are never 'finished'?
That is semantics.
"Finished" at am MMO launch can mean "all the features in game work as intended"
That does not mean you may not add more later.
And you tell your customers (at launch) what is in game at launch. Not what you plan to add 'soon' if everything goes well.
As an example look at Wizard 101 by KingsIsle
At launch that game was 'finished'. You could play the plot through from start to finish and the game felt complete... although to be fair it did feel a little short on content - which I said at the time on this site.
KingsIsle did not promise anything. They sold the game as it was for what it was.
The game was 'finished'.
Since then they have added player housing, crafting, mounts and two new 'worlds'.
But they did it the 'right way'. They did not hype up a game with promises of things to come.
They sell the game for what it is - what they know they can deliver.
Had AoC (and several other titles released over the past couple of years) done that - they might not be fighting an uphill battle to rebuild shattered reputaions now.
A bit of advise for you... Never work for the gaming industry, especially within the MMORPG realm... You are simply unrealistic and extremely biased and feel "gipped" for a game in which was marketed so strongly, that you fell for its pitch.. you and many like you are unrealistic imbeciles that have no idea how amazingly difficult it is to make an MMO (AT EVERY LEVEL AND POINT). Alot of companies do their best to release a product based on available time, funds, and talent. No company is perfect and ever launch I have been in with MMO's has been pretty terrible, some less than others. With that said, stop talking about "Finish your damn game... get it right at launch" since you have absolutely no idea what your talking about or the fact that it is impossible to do so.
A bit of advice for you... don't assume that everyone who posts about AoC got "gipped".
I most certainly didn't.
Speaking for myself, I don't buy MMOs at release. Never have, never will.
With regard to AoC I saw the warning signs pre release and sat back to watch the fun.
So, I guess that makes me a biased know-it-all who will never give AoC a chance?
Again, wrong. I downloaded it just before Christmas for the trial which I have just dabbled with so far. I want to see what it's like now and what works and what doesn't. Who knows - I may like it and sub up? Too early to tell.
As for "Finish your damn game... get it right at launch"?
No doubt you are referring to the fact that MMOs are never 'finished'?
That is semantics.
"Finished" at am MMO launch can mean "all the features in game work as intended"
That does not mean you may not add more later.
And you tell your customers (at launch) what is in game at launch. Not what you plan to add 'soon' if everything goes well.
As an example look at Wizard 101 by KingsIsle
At launch that game was 'finished'. You could play the plot through from start to finish and the game felt complete... although to be fair it did feel a little short on content - which I said at the time on this site.
KingsIsle did not promise anything. They sold the game as it was for what it was.
The game was 'finished'.
Since then they have added player housing, crafting, mounts and two new 'worlds'.
But they did it the 'right way'. They did not hype up a game with promises of things to come.
They sell the game for what it is - what they know they can deliver.
Had AoC (and several other titles released over the past couple of years) done that - they might not be fighting an uphill battle to rebuild shattered reputaions now.
Agreed that Wizard 101 had a very smooth ride, but please take time to look at the audience they were catering too... the challenge to make a fluid game for their demographic is far simpler than it was for AoC, the first mature rated MMO in existence... Look I apologize for becoming irritated and singling your post out.. I just do not like to see people gnit-pick Funcom when they have never had any mal-intentions towards their fans. Unlike Blizzard who snaps at the sound of their fans fingers, Funcom has always developed its games with an open ear to their fans, but still did not bend so far as to lose their head in their ass. The game at launch was far from finished... Aion is FAR from finished... WAR is one of the most unfinished games in the MMO history... for those who say AOC is the worst of them all, and that they feel "gipped or violated" is ridiculous, and passed judgement before even giving FC a shot to make a game of this complication what it should be.
i would not say war and Aion were unfinished. I think they just suffered from bad game design choices. Aions being grind, wars was just a damn mess and i think very unsalvagable. They had almost all the zones and fetures.
Aoc though was unfinished, very unstable. but in the end it was extremely salvagable as you can see in its current state. A lot of mid level content was just absent and the game was not that stable to begin with.
That's what I meant about other titles over the past couple of years (you could add PotBS, Champions Online and several more to that list too).
And what's more it looks like we are about to see another release in the next couple of weeks of another title to add to that list.
But, no, sorry... players do not have to give any developer a shot to make a game what it should be post launch.
Developers need to be a bit more realistic about their capabilities and deliver what they can deliver properly. Particularly at launch.
AoC could have 'cut' features for release - provided they were honest about what they were actually delivering at that time.
That's what I meant about other titles over the past couple of years (you could add PotBS, Champions Online and several more to that list too).
And what's more it looks like we are about to see another release in the next couple of weeks of another title to add to that list.
But, no, sorry... players do not have to give any developer a shot to make a game what it should be post launch.
Developers need to be a bit more realistic about their capabilities and deliver what they can deliver properly. Particularly at launch.
AoC could have 'cut' features for release - provided they were honest about what they were actually delivering at that time.
You make a very solid point here, and being as though I wont cut any slack to Gaute who I truly lost all respect for as AoC just really didnt live up to his Ego and Hype.... However, alot of us thought that it would be Anarchy Online, in a Conan setting.... there was reason for hype, and just as with any game, you take the risk in buying it... I would also say that the marketing department in AoC went above and beyond what was called for the game, and made the diamond in the rough (AoC) into being a perfectly cut 4 carat Canary Diamond... For the games failure at launch, I would personally blame A) Fanbois FIRST AND FOREMOST.... these people were irritating, B) The marketing team who exagerrated the marketing and C) Gaute for allowing it.... but to say that Gaute, the fanbois and the team ARE funcom is blasphemy... Fanbois are fanbois.. hell you see them in action in the dark fall forms trying to promote that garbage game at every turn... lol but I will pin it on Gaute for bullshitting the board at funcom and for not keeping his leash on the marketing team and allowing them to put out bullshit.
So, I will say this... Do not make your decision to hate funcom just be based on the actions of a few who really dropped the ball for funcom... with gaute out of the way and the marketing department restructured.. I see good things for Funcom :)
 I like the Asiatic style of the new armor/areas in the expansion, its just a pity the core game is so horrendously boring and lifeless /=.
@ Maitrader
Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. AoC is still very much Gaute's game, in almost 2 years of AoC there has been tinkering around the edges sure, but if you care to look a bit deeper you will see this 'much improved' MMO has had very little changed at its core from the release version.
I await the flamethrowers with cries of 'Ymir's Pass', but I think Gaute introduced that, or least would have overseen it up until its release. 'New Stats' , which seem to be the just old stats in new clothing....'Tarantia Common District', an addition which any self-respecting MMO dev (including Gaute) would have added for free, and many do.
Craig Morrison and his team will be 100% responsible for the expansion, let's give him credit for that.
[Disclaimer : I play AoC mainly because I am a fan of RE Howard's Conan stories, and the excellent community that exists on the server Crom]
And thats why I probably wont get the expansion, or re-sub. It may have improved on the technical problems they had back at release, but essentially its still the same eye wateringly boring and linear game.
The armors from these video's still look pretty much the same with the odd colour change
So they've introduced faction farming with the expansion?..great..but er, no thanks.
Well the PvP updates isnt part of the expansion but I would say the PvP that is promised to come in the regular update cycle/cycles is a lot more "make or brake" for AoC in the near future then the up coming expansion. If the PvP will expand (not just the PvP tower in the next patch - that should be just a start) then AoC should have a chance to attract more comebackers and the numbers of subscribers will climb. I would fore sure come back if the PvP was anywhere near as fun as say any ordinary shooter game. If the outcome of the world PvP was in anyway meaning full with some implications for the hyborian world I would say Funcom would have a contender again. But who knows.. I will watch from the sidelines for now.
Wow, you must be joking ... lol Horrendously boring and lifeless?? Oh I see, you must think the genre of MMORPG is horrendously boring and lifeless, being as though AoC gives the whole spectrum of gamers what they want in an MMORPG....
The way I look at it, players arent forced to level a particular way.... If a player wants to level with just questing, then fear not! Players can quest to 80 with having to do little or no grinding. If players want to level by grinding, the areas in the various maps have the specific places where you can grind out a couple levels... If you want to take it slow and level by pvp, killing people in pvp offers you both PvP exp and regular Exp.
Raiding: if you like the raiding aspect of an MMORPG, AoC is the next best (next to WoW raiding) thing to WoW and will only be getting MUCH better with Morrison in the picture and the changes and additions that will be added to raiding.
Sieges: When this game was initially launched, this was a major selling point, one in which they are working to fix once and for all.
Quests: both main story, and lore quests to immerse yourself in. Exp is worth it, although some of the rewards are Meh.
THE ONLY THING I see where this game needs to be overhauled is Crafting... It is very sorry, and needs MAJOR love.
So if you are into ONLY crafting, you may want to skip this one and play a Tale in the Desert VI.
All in All, Aion = Mind numbingly boring grind game, Allods = Mind numbing quest (worthles quests) game with no emphasis on killing npcs, WoW = a now watered down MMO competing with the community in Wizards 101, Eve = MIND NUMBINGLY BORING.
I have tried practically EVER MMORPG that has come out... even the "I cant believe I just downloaded this and am willing to give it a shot" MMORPGs... and AoC is FAR from eye-watering, mind-numbing, "Fall asleep at your keyboard" MMO :)
And thats why I probably wont get the expansion, or re-sub. It may have improved on the technical problems they had back at release, but essentially its still the same eye wateringly boring and linear game.
The armors from these video's still look pretty much the same with the odd colour change
So they've introduced faction farming with the expansion?..great..but er, no thanks.
yea, read my above response to your eye-watering comment lol :) If you call AoC eye-wateringly boring, then I am sure you call them all eye-wateringly boring being as though AoC plays as one of the best of them.
keep in mind, this coming from someone who beta AoC, bought CE, and quit after the second week, and just came back a month ago and have a lv 70 demonologist because I have played so much lol :)
I find it funny how some people complain about AoC having a lack of content and then turn around and say this is too much. This is the first expansion coming two years after the launch of the game, there can never be too much. They will not release it before it is polished up because it is pretty much make or break for them in terms of pve players. Anyone who is currently subscribed to AoC and have played other MMOs will tell you that the value of this game will increase considerably with a significant increase in content for endgame players.
I for one have never complained about lack of content in AoC as far as i can remember, yes there were content holes a long time ago but these have been filled to allow smooth transition through the levels, and our guild finds plenty of group/raid runs to keep us busy each week.
I agree endgame content could be improved, and it seems that content is just around the corner (months after it was heralded) but, better late than never.
I've not a PvP player, but I'd still like to be able to take part in seiges when they are finally 'fixed'.
Speaking as someone who has played AoC since launch and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future I have hopes that the coming expansion will bring more to the table than faction grinds and silly lore-bashing wolf and tiger mounts. We'll see.
[Disclaimer : I play AoC mainly because I am a fan of RE Howard's Conan stories, and the excellent community that exists on the server Crom]
Game is still full of hackers...
Funny, I never met a single hacker while playing...
Wow, you must be joking ... lol Horrendously boring and lifeless?? Oh I see, you must think the genre of MMORPG is horrendously boring and lifeless, being as though AoC gives the whole spectrum of gamers what they want in an MMORPG....
The way I look at it, players arent forced to level a particular way.... If a player wants to level with just questing, then fear not! Players can quest to 80 with having to do little or no grinding. If players want to level by grinding, the areas in the various maps have the specific places where you can grind out a couple levels... If you want to take it slow and level by pvp, killing people in pvp offers you both PvP exp and regular Exp.
Raiding: if you like the raiding aspect of an MMORPG, AoC is the next best (next to WoW raiding) thing to WoW and will only be getting MUCH better with Morrison in the picture and the changes and additions that will be added to raiding.
Sieges: When this game was initially launched, this was a major selling point, one in which they are working to fix once and for all.
Quests: both main story, and lore quests to immerse yourself in. Exp is worth it, although some of the rewards are Meh.
THE ONLY THING I see where this game needs to be overhauled is Crafting... It is very sorry, and needs MAJOR love.
So if you are into ONLY crafting, you may want to skip this one and play a Tale in the Desert VI.
All in All, Aion = Mind numbingly boring grind game, Allods = Mind numbing quest (worthles quests) game with no emphasis on killing npcs, WoW = a now watered down MMO competing with the community in Wizards 101, Eve = MIND NUMBINGLY BORING.
I have tried practically EVER MMORPG that has come out... even the "I cant believe I just downloaded this and am willing to give it a shot" MMORPGs... and AoC is FAR from eye-watering, mind-numbing, "Fall asleep at your keyboard" MMO :)
I was about to agree with you, but you insulted some of my favorite games.