In this week's Friday Update from Funcom, Kalanthes returns to answer fan questions and enlighten us on all things relating to Age of Conan.

I'm sure many people are wondering this, but what is the general style of end-game armor in Age of Conan? For example, are there dresses with ridiculous shoulder pieces? Or are there really cool metal armors and shields with spikes that look realistic yet also impose a, "Don't mess with me or your skull will be on display" kind of message? Basically what I'm asking is will the armor look insanely cool? Will there be weapons that cause fear in your enemies? Will there be shields you don't want to get bashed with?

Secondly, will everyone be running around in the exact same armor? Or is there a large variety of armor and looks for specific armor? One thing I have yet to see in an MMORPG is the exact same armor set with slight variations (and I don't just mean color, but added effects that one can purchase or create to add to their favorite piece).

All of the armor in the game will be largely be “in-character” and realistic within the spirit of the world. So while there may be skull helmets, helmet with horns, and other “stretching reality” sorts of things, they won’t be bright purple with flashing lights and built-in spell effects. Some of the armor may be elaborate and some of the armor may even be colorful, but it’s all been drawn from the history of our own world as well as Robert E. Howard’s texts and other official Conan-type sources. It will all look like it belongs in the world, like something you could reasonably expect to find in a museum in our world, with small twists and hints of fantasy here and there. So, yes, you might see a skull helmet or Viking-style horns, but it’s probably not going to be pink.

As for the exact same armor, it’s doubtful. With the number of armor sets available in the game (and each set consisting of several pieces), it’s fairly easy to pick people out based on what they’re wearing and/or define your own unique look.

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