Does each and every new zone force you to walk through a tunnel or are the zones so open that there are many different places you can cross?  I want to roll on a PvP server and I used to play UO so I am comfortable with getting ganked a million times over if it means me and a group of friends can control a few good spawn points.  I'm wondering how easy it is to avoid getting murdered.  Does the advantage go to the first attacking player or is it easier to run away than it is to kill someone running away?

Also, how are the items generated in this game?  Do they have random magical properties like in Ultima Online or Diablo (with the exception of unique items) or are they pre-designed items that have a chance of dropping like in WoW?  *Gloves of Agility* or *Gloves with +2 Agility and +10 attack* basically.

It's hard to really be articulate with what I am trying to ask unless someone has played those games and is familiar with the item systems in each...

I'm really looking forward to Age of Conan but I didn't get into the Beta and I am really just curious as to how a few systems work.  I can't imagine not getting the game at this point so don't feel like you need to justify my purchase one way or the other, I am merely curious as to how some of these minor systems work.

Thanks much for any information you can provide!

I think you may be referring to zoning, not instancing... correct me if im mistaken though...

Most zones that i have encountered are click-to-zone... On only one occasion ive been able to "run into" the zone.

Items are not generated Diablo-style, they are specifically defined.

No leather hats of the monkey here :P lol

edit: yknow I take that back, I have seen some things with random sounding modifiers on them, different varieties of stilettos for example... maybe a mix of both types?

Well, for one thing solo (night play) is solo , you can't group up to like level 15-or 20 and the instances adapt to your level, so if you are playing a group centric charactor like ranger, you can't complete early instances if you are an average player because you can't out-level the hard ones to complete them.

This is the reason I am not buying the game... too much frustration.

Originally posted by anwar

Well, for one thing solo (night play) is solo , you can't group up to like level 15-or 20 and the instances adapt to your level, so if you are playing a group centric charactor like ranger, you can't complete early instances if you are an average player because you can't out-level the hard ones to complete them.

 

This is the reason I am not buying the game... too much frustration.

Yknow it's funny, I tried a demonologist first and I kept dying and couldn't seem to get past a certain part, so I re-rolled an assassin and I suddenly kicked major butt...

Meanwhile I heard people ripping on assassins and claiming they couldn't survive with them... And later I saw demonologists that totally looked like they were rocking... I don't think the classes are the issue, I think the game is just different than a lot of people expect, and that a lot of people will find that they now lean towards classes they never used to play before. If it's true, I think it's a good thing.

Originally posted by anwar

Well, for one thing solo (night play) is solo , you can't group up to like level 15-or 20 and the instances adapt to your level, so if you are playing a group centric charactor like ranger, you can't complete early instances if you are an average player because you can't out-level the hard ones to complete them.

 

This is the reason I am not buying the game... too much frustration.

Hmm.... I had no problem completing all of the low-level instances on my ranger. That was even with the random PK death squads roaming about.

Yeah, sorry about that, I meant zoning.  I suppose with any class-based game it would be difficult to have completely random items.  It would make a lot more items usable if they were pre-defined.

Instances I'm not worried about but I was wondering if there are gankers that just stand in the tunnel between two zones prohibiting anybody from crossing.  If that's the case I was wondering if you could just walk a hundred yards around them to avoid them or if you had to find another access-point for that zone.

I'm on a pve server myself so I haven't had to deal with it, but I understand what you're saying...

the way the system works, if I zone from A to B, then I will always appear in the same spot in zone B... And when you zone in, your view kinda "fades in," and someone can theoretically already be killing you by the time you can see where you are. (in fact, this happens in one of the quests I did, where I "appeared" too close to the mobs, and they saw me first :P)

To answer your question, some major zones have multiple entry points, and at the very least, the "Tortage" pre-20 area is made up of lots of instances, so you're not likely to appear in the same instance (and therefore not be ganked by the same PK twice) Not sure how much consolation that is though lol

edit: Also there's a recall ability so there's always the option of gating back to town (which is safe)