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Age of Conan: Unchained News - Rise of the Godslayer Review
Posted by Jon Wood on May 20, 2010 | 134 comments in our forums
MMORPG.com's Bill Murphy has been playing the first Age of Conan expansion, Rise of the Godslayer and today brings us his official review of the new addition.
As is well known in the MMORPG community, Age of Conan didn't have the most prestigious of births onto the gaming scene. Sure it sold extremely well, but it couldn't retain the subscriber base to match its weighty hype level. The game was written off as a letdown by many, but still retained a quite faithful bunch of fans that held on and hoped that Funcom would continue to shine and polish their version of Hyboria into a gem deserving of representing Howard's legacy. It's now two years later and Funcom has done just that. A slew of new additions, improvements to the base game, and new adventures crafted with the experience Funcom has gained from previous creations all come together to make Age of Conan one of the best games on the market. With Rise of the Godslayer, Funcom has put a much awaited crown on the King of Aquilonia.
Rise of the Godslayer is intelligently crafted to both fill in and round out the level one to eighty game and to create advancement beyond the level cap without the need of adding more pointless levels to the experience. At one time Age of Conan was distinctly lacking in content to help players get to the level cap, but returning players and newcomers alike will be heartened to know that said gaps have all been eradicated with patching over the past two years and Godslayer goes even further by giving players a whole new experience for the 20-40 range, as well as adding several new zones for players who have reached the cap already to explore. A lack of content is certainly not an issue for Age of Conan anymore.
Read the Rise of the Godslayer Review.
TLDR (jk)
Gonna read now :D Hopefully this will convince me to finally go back to AoC, i really need to play a MMO again soon before i die of boredom.. so far what ive read from the expansion pack its looking good.
But the zoned world and all the instances really turns me off still :( Huge gambreaker for me, but i looked past it before and i prolly can again, but AoC would be fucking awesome if it was a seamless open world..
AGE OF CONAN!!!
Another expansion, and I'll come back.. Maybe. I think the 'they've mended it' theme of this article is a touch overbearing.
I came back a few months ago. The game has improved a ton. It is worth checking out.
Same. I bought the expansion to start leveling AA feats and did 10 levels in gateway, but honestly, I am still trying to catch up with all that was added before the expansion.
Yes, thank Crom for offline leveling...um, I think not. WTB what you're smoking
The base problem with AoC is not only still existent, it's is, evidently, even worse.
Look, this game has always been TOO EASY, period. No MMO should be soloable to the cap in 3 months. AoC ladles out xp like the BP oil spill. I'm sick and tired of MMO companies catering to spoiled and impatient people who want to get to the cap lickety-split instead of earning it over friggin' time. Then once they get there they QQ about how there's nothing to do since the world blurred past. Now you don't even have to be logged in to level. What a friggin' pandering joke.
I have stated the obvious before and will now do so again: If I can move 10 levels in a week, why the hell would I bother raiding ANY zone until level I reach level 80?
Answer. When I played AoC I didn't bother because any gear I looted would have been obsolete in a weeks' time. It only took me a mere 3 months to SOLO to 80 playing an average of 4 hours a day. So it takes what?....maybe three weeks to get to 80 via grouping? It is a game that can be finished in a couple of months. You won't have seen much but you'll be 80.
So, if you're thinking of playing AoC, don't bother raiding until you hit 80. You may have to wait a WHOLE three weeks though.
Great review. This is the score I gave it when reviewing it for a friend and I agree with everything written. They need to focus on polish and bells and whistles a bit now, and keep the good stuff coming. Really enjoying my time back as i've said over and over here I can't recommend it enough.
XTC2 you do realize like 95% of this expansion is for level 80's without raising the level cap right? Come back and tell me all of this when you have a level 80 with multiple sets of epic gear from wherever you like. PvP, Raids, Factions and then tell me how easy the game is.
The bosses in this expansion are ridiculously difficult. It takes coordination and focus from 6 players to beat even the easiest bosses. Moreso than in any MMO i've played. Not to mention the hard modes that no one has even touched yet. This game is not easy. The focus is not getting from level X to level Y. If it was the expansion would have extended the level cap to 100.
The entire expansion is about post cap advancement. Alternate advancement system, different sets of gear from different methods to further customize your class into what you want it to be, and an expansion that is open to everyone from this point of 80 where the game is just getting started and expands on that. This expansion is not instant gratification in any way. Have you even read anything about it since I can tell you haven't tried it?
Have to say I agree with the general sentiment, came back late last year and don't regret it. Some of the expansion is a touch grindy, but to be honest many of us complained about lack of stuff to do earlier so we can't really complain they added a ton. I do worry that I won't have the stomach to take alts through the expansion time and time again as I have done so far, but overall a good review, and fairly accurate. Well worth checking out again if you havent played since launch or the first few months. Outside of EVE, which is a very different beast, I think AoC is probably now a joint number two in the MMO sphere with LOTRO and Aion depending on your tastes, for me the more mature setting and visuals make AoC worth the time.
Just out of curiosity.
I wonder if/when MMORPG.com will ever give a game higher than an 8.5
I came back for the expansion and I'm loving the game now. It is really really good to know that someone could turn something around this much.
Then you'll love the expansion areas.
Yea, Many people tell me so ^^ But its still far away from a seamless world tough..
It will never be a seamless world. It was a design choice to enable other things in the game.
People really need to get over this. A load screen once ever 2-3 hours of normal leveling gameplay is not going to kill you.
Funcoms engine will never support a open seamless world. It is made to be used just how it is, but zoning really isn't all that bad. I would prefer no zones, but my favorite MMO FFXI had them and I didn't mind. I guess if this is that big of a deal though it could be a game breaker. To get those open world areas you sacrifice things as well. I am really excited cities to open world will be seamless in FFXIV though.
Anyway with my 80 HoX I left the main zone since I started into the expansion besides little boss areas off that zone.
You are basing your opinion on the game from a pre-expansion PVE perspective. AoC is much more than a PVE game, at it's core it is about relentless, bloody pvp battles with titties. Seriously. AoC, without the shadow of a doubt, has the BEST pvp system in an MMO since I can't even remember. It's incredibly innovative and it's skill requirement is quite high. Being good at AoC PVP is quite a difficult thing to be, and requires much more aptitude than WoW, EQ2, or any other MMORPG's pvp that I've played to date. AoC rivals being my favorite MMO I've played next to SWG when I played pre-CU.
Battles are INTENSE in AoC, especially when dueling someone who is good. Castle Sieges are ridiculous fun, but the crazy shit happens when you have open world pvp, whether it's in the Border Kingdoms, Kheshatta, White Sands, etc.
If anyone left the game long ago and needs something new, AoC is DEFINITELY your choice. Here's a video to wet your whistle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4nynSKb4iw
PS. The other great thing about AoC is that there is pvp for every tier of class. So, on a pvp server, you are guaranteed pvp no matter your level, whether it's in a minigame or out in the open when you're grinding for xp/questing/farming for mats/etc.
Brackets:
0-19
20-39
40-59
60-79
80
@ 80+ There are multiple raid instances at end level; so far there are 3 tiers of equipment levels, as well as epic gear gained through raising your pvp level(and this is the REAL leveling system in AoC..hitting max pvp level will easily take you months at playing for long periods of time).
Interestingly I thought a quest was bugged last night in this new expansion . So I read the quest info and found it was rather clever and it was not the quest that was bugged.
Can't believe I am having some fun with AOC on returning , what a surprise. No rat race and having fun.
Well, how seamless do you want it? IIt would be kind of silly if you could walk across a seamless border from Cimmeria to Khitai to Stygia, etc.
Maybe in future expansions they'll be able to fill in the world between different places so they can make them realistically seamless, but right now it just can't be done without blowing any semblence of immersion all to hell.
Now, for example, you stand on the Great Wall and you have Hykernia on one side and Khitai on the other. And you can look out over either one., jump off the wall onto either side ( provided you have high enough health and jump down on one object to another ) and enjoy, or just walk through the gate.
Aye, I'm liking the "puzzle" atmosphere some of the quests have now.
This is actually NOT TRUE. The engine itself, CAN support 100% SEAMLESS world (with loading zones as you walk). However, Age of Conan which was a first game developed on it, with it not functioning very well can not support it. Later plans for TSW and Anarachy Online update (which can use a fully developed engine) actually have minimised loading screens.
SF
4 hours a day?
Safe to assume my job, girlfriend, waistline, band, books, and hygiene would be pissed at 4 hours a day.
Well, I thought about coming back, and now I am coming back. Thank you gentz.
Ive been with AoC for a long time, since early beta and head start - it has changed alot, but all of it pretty much improvements. Granted its a few years old now, but its just so much better now.
I recently resubbed and been playing since, i love the changes - and especially the expansion, brings so much great content. It really feels like a "complete" game now, its so much more enjoyable.
PvP is still a mess i think, and it needs a revamp imo.
Amateur
They gave Aion an 8.7
I was tempted to purchase the xpac, but I think I'll hold off. Right now I'm searching for a game that has more emphasis on grouping. AoC is a solid title, don't get me wrong...they've improved it leaps and bounds. It's just that, MMOs in general have become so solo friendly, and have been so for so many years now, that all I do in MMOs is solo. I'm tired of soloing. I think group/solo content should be 50/50, but in the current market, it's closer to 10/90. Bring back group emphasis in MMOs!
Decent review for AoC except the part claiming that the game now has "Huge, Open Zones". This statement is misleading because in the expansion FC only expanded 5 zones, not all of them. There are currently 108 zones in AoC, so not making it clear in the review that FC only has 5 expanded zones out of those 108 is misleading to those who haven't read the patch notes or read the AoC forums.
I have no problems with grouping as there is a ton of group content (Arena, lower instances quest lines, etc) and there is a ton of solo quest lines which makes it a perfect balance (for my opinion).
When AOC was released I was bitten by the 'launch rage' and didn't return until recently, and I have to hand it to Funcom as they really have made this game stellar.
This makes me think back about all the rage and all flame posts a few weeks ago, of how people were convinced that 'AoC was still the same wreck as it was at launch', how 'the RotGS launch would fail', how 'RotGS would fail', that 'nobody will be buying and playing the expansion except the current players'. I think back about all that indignation and rage.
And then I smile.
Very good review.
I would agree, the game is pretty good now.
However the biggest let down is there was nothing done regarding the UI that is still one of the worst around.
great game
Again what is left out that just might matter the most to all. YOU STILL LOOK THE SAME! I am playing AoC now. For the most part you look like everyone else. To get the good stuff you have to raid, dungens and lol try to find a raid.. LFG is very hard to get. Yes the graphics are beautiful. You still will die alot. If you dont mind not getting armor .. well you get it you just look like eveyone else. Go to the trader and just TRY..TRY to find something different 10,20,30 levels higher.. for me thats the killer.
Another thing left out is CHAT. You need help from funcom.. look on the forums people keep saying they ask and ask and ask and never get help. Wheres the GM? See NO ONE mods the chat. You can say ANYTHING. HAHA think I'm lying? GO FOR. Nothing happens. So you can just picture what gets said. Great game but down to 4 servers 2pvp, 2pve
And if you quest not in the new expansion its EMPTY! Again dont take my word for it. TRY IT! Thats the best way.
Over the past year age of conan has become a very good mmo. Now for some people it dosent matter what funcom does to the game people are still going to bash it and hate it. Here is a list of issues people are having with the game.
1) To easy
2) Bugs
3) Not enough pvp content
4) Loot is meaning less
Now what mmo dosent have those issues about? Wow, Eq2, Lotro, Warhammer all have those issues. So my question for those people are, are you just pissed becuase you wanted a perfect game and didnt get it or are you just funcom haters?
Congratulations!
I want to get one of those Tigers. Train it to eat Sparkle-Ponies.
Age of Conan is becoming the game that all the hype was about. People talk of moving away from the WoW model and here you have a game with no auto attack, specials require a little more skill than just tapping a quick bar slot. A well designed feat and skill point system with some real Roleplay game style in it where you need certain skills (mainly climb or sneak) to achieve certain quests. It is also dispite what some people may claim difficult enough to give skilled players a challenge, while possible for less experienced gamers to enjoy.
The expansion builds on this, with factions giving meaning to those choices you make in game. You want to help one group out then your quests line will follow this path as will what rewards you can get. The Alternate Advancement system also adds a lot more refinement of what role you want your character to play. Though the grind is long and hard so I wouldn't expect anyone to get it over night. But they have allowed a time based learning for level 80's so that if grinding isn't your thing then you wont lose out.
Now you can pick apart the bugs or the server hicups but then most MMO's have them if you go looking. More so when they try to offer the visuals and sound that AoC does. And now we see this wonderfully rendered world brought to life through interesting stories as you cut your way through Hyboria. Now there is still plenty that needs work, I for one would love there to be a sea expansion where we can be pirates on the high seas. But it is definelty something worth trying out or giving a second shot.
I honestly cannot see why some people are so happy with this xpac. Due to some good reviews I decided to give the game the benefit of the doubt and try it again and sure enough FC have made improvments over the past 2 years. The levelling voids have vanished so now the content is there to get you to 80, the game runs more smoothly ( although many players are still having serious lag issues ) and the new zones are much more expansive than the old ones.
So that said what's the problem? Well this: The game mechanics are old, tired and been done to death by other MMO's. Okay so you get a few little arrows to click on for your attacks but really, that is hardly an inovation that sets the game atop the pile. The AA system is frankly a joke. Funcom can claim a thousand hours of content all they like but a thousand hours of grind is still a grind no matter how you dress it up. The same applies to the factions so you can grind AA and grind faction ( both of which have been done before and done better by other MMO's).
I suppose it's the same for most titles really, start playing, get quest, complete quest, rinse and repeat until lvl cap then grind your ass off for AA, faction and raid gear. Yawn, seriously. Hopefully at some point a company will produce something with a little imagination for once but that company isn't funcom who are just reskinning old ground.
Has it been 2 weeks already since launch of Godslayer?
Encouraging review! I think I may have found something to ease my gaming boredom now that I've got LOTRO burnout. Looks like I'm gonna resub this weekend and give it a go.
One question though.... It's been a long time since i played but if I remember correctly you could sever parts clean off of mobs. Is that still in the game?
I love the expansion but can anyone tell me why 1 tent in Gateway is instanced? A little 2 foot long tent, and I have to load...wtf?
Yes, very much so. You can take off limbs, decapitate, crush skulls, rip heads off with your hands, rip out hearts and eat them, etc.
Went to AOC at launch and left several months later due to items mentioned in the article.
Returned last week to check out how the game has progressed and it is much improved. Hopefull that the game will now keep me busy for some time to come.
Awesome, I may go get the expansion tonight!
I know the one you mean. I haven't tested it yet, but the entrance is maybe barred until you've completed one preceding quest, because the guy in the tent you'll meet before in another place.
Funny thing, from the outside you also see the players visiting the chief in the tent, so it's not a real instance. More of a barred door opening I think.
I"m pretty sure you are correct. The guy in the tent is in 2 places at once. You do a quest for him at one location and then he tells you to meet him at his camp, where the tent is. If he was in the open people who had never done the first part of the quest chain could just walk up and talk to the guy. Similar to LOTRO where centain npcs are in instances you can only enter when on specific quests or once a gating quest is completed.
You played for 4 hrs per day and it took you 3 months to hit 80. What exactly is the problem here? Heaven forbid an MMO should assume it's playerbase has jobs/lives outside of the game. What exactly do you want in an mmo? Having to play 4 hrs per day for 6 months or a year in order reach the endgame?
Get off of welfare, go outside, get a job and then come back and QQ about how long it takes to reach 80. I'm sure by then your opinion will have changed.
I took your advice and tried it. Found only one of your points to be correct btw. 1. The armor in the pre-expansion areas does look the same but I generally like it because it feels true to the Conan novels to me. The xpac areas have some very different asian themed armors. If lack of variation in armor is a deal breaker for you then find another game. Myself, I find that very trivial. 2. I had to petition a GM the other day and got a response quickly. 3. Yes, it's down to 4 servers but I only play on one server so I don't see how this really effects me. 5. Last point, was questing in Connall's Valley last night (not an expansion area) and had to group with people so that we wouldn't be fighting over quest mobs. I think maybe you are the one that needs to actually TRY IT.
Bingo!
Uggh..you guys are going to make me buy this aren't you?:)
Played at launch..actually loved it, but was playing on an old rig which barely managed to run it and didn't do the graphics justice. Was a bit irritated with their promises of DX10 etc, but that's water under the bridge.
Even if it just keeps me having fun for 3 months I'll be happy..may have to give it a go.
" 'tank & spank' loot piñata" Tired of seeing those in games :).
The Necropolis sounds interesting.
how about THE LACK OF A FINISHED RAID ZONE IN THE EXPANSION with 2 very untested raid bosses currently
Why does the score on the left say 8.5 and the 'our score' on the right say 7.0??
Nice Review for the pro's and the con's. Now Godslayer has launched I would like FC to show some continued focus on the peformance issues and then a nice PvP update followed by a decent crafting update.
My favourite area in Godslayer has to the whole Crater area (in Chosain Province) and the dungeons enclosed within. Really well thought out. Brilliant PvE mainly driven expansion in all area's.
Can't wait to see people get further into it and post about the secrets ^^
Alyndri the 7.0 is the rating for the original game and the 8.5 is the rating for the expansion. I have recently come back to AoC also and have been very pleasantly surprised I am hooked on this game unlike I have been on any MMO in quite some time. I really enjoy the community (set server) and the game is tons of fun to play. I have not had any issues with the game and have also noticed they did alot of work on the class balance for the game (still needs tweaking but nothing u dont see in other MMOs). Anyone thinking of coming back to the game should it is great game really been improved ALOT.
mmorpg review and every big review website give pretty high rating to age of conan so.. ...you guy make me resubs omg ,
played only the first 3 months when the game was going retail , was pretty bad .
guess this will be realy not the same game if only 50 % of what player say = true :)
im still downloading the game , cant wait to play !!
for people who want to know , i have played every mmorpg back to uo :) so that not like this will be my first mmorpg .
im going to post tommorow here what i think about the game
ps. sorry for my bad english that not my first langage .
I'm starting to feel like the game is not even worth my 15$. Is it possible at all that mmorpg and other websites are paid to give decent/good reviews? I cancelled my sub today after running in to multiple game breaking immersion breaking bugs within the new expansion. From high latency spikes out of the clear blue kicking me to desktop or my character getting stuck in combat animations until I re-logged to fix it.
The community in this game is worse than WoW's trade chat which blew me away because WoW's community is outright trash. Global chat in Age of Conan is really bad. You leave the newbie area and find out the quest npcs stop talking. Breaks immersion hard. IF YOU START A TREND CONTINUE THE TREND with every quest npc. It comes off as lazy and cheap. The new expansion comes off as poorly done and laggy, mobs bugged out and un-attackable. The quest rewards seem extremely sub par.
I feel bad that I got excited thinking Funcom might of made a comeback and fixed everything I hated the first time around. Honestly the game at its core still feels like it should have potential. However the same bugs I ran in to in 2008 still exist today. The game feels slightly more polished sure, but this is the kind of crap I would expect out of a game that launched NEW last week. Not a game that came out in 2008. I don't mind that I spent $ on the game to try it out again and check out the expansion. I just hope newer mmorpg company's down the road learn from the recent mistakes of Cryptic/Funcom/Quest Online and many others.
Read and hear what your customers are telling you from the Majority to the vocal minority they all have good points. Funcom has had a couple years to bring this game back from the brink of complete crap with potential to a game that plays like a Sony Launch title. Which tells me three things, 1 Funcoms developers are sub-par and 2 they have no budget, and 3 they don't care about what customers want.
The game is full of potential, if the entire game played as smooth as the newbie area, my God the game would be a champ! 'As long as they made sure combat animations got fixed, hehe the entire needing to log out and back thing so your character can stop swinging his daggers around for an hour is kinda sad.
Also Directx10 does not seem to support multiple CPU usage at default, which is odd.....
I have been playing for a few months now (almost one toon to 80, no rush, i play alts, experiment this different classes), tried the game last year but left it for a bit and have been watching improvements. When I came back earlier this year I still had many issues with it, zone crashes, weird bugs, some lag issues. However since i dont walk around with my finger shoved constanly up my ass, i could learn to live with it. Have not played a MMO yet that didnt give me some sort of grief. I thoroughly enjoy the game, the combat and the lore and preordered the expac as soon as I was able. There has been a couple of smaller updates/patches since the expac release and I must say that my previous issues have significantly decreased, particlularly after the most recent patch a couple of days ago. Yeah I sitll get lag, thanks to shit Australian internet mostly, but I have had essential zero zone crashes (an issue which would crash me out 2 or 3 times in a good long weekend session).
You know I hear the bitching and whining about this and that and how some things are just simply such 'gamebreakers' for some ppl that it could not ever be possibly redeemed and I just shrug my shoulders and /ignore. Honeslty take a break from the genre, you wont be happy anywhere methinks, afterall its only a game for heavens sake, its not like someone has cut your leg off and fed it to a dog. Uninstall and forget about it. I have had friends who have played and have stopped, going on or back to other games, more power to them, what is great for me is not so great for others.
It seems hoever that more and more ppl are appreciating what improvements have been made and can see more hope on the horizon. Conan, for me is a solid game, one I have been enjoying a lot and will continue to play for some time, even with its rough edges. Someone else however might think the exact opposite. Try it, you'll either like it or not, and to be honest even if you decide you hate it, well thats fine, I wish you luck finding the game you do enjoy.
sounds like a amazing expac, I enjoyed AoC alot and would be tempted to coming back if I had not started playing darkfall. I cannot go back to tab targetting mmos, they just feel like 2d pong. but aoc is probably the best tab targetting mmo out there.
"You leave the newbie area and find out the quest npcs stop talking. Breaks immersion hard"
I've always been confused by statements like this. Seriously, please explain to me how things like this break people's "immersion" but sitting at a computer sipping RC Cola and eating moonpies while slapping at a keyboard and mouse doesn't? I can't wrap my mind around that. Can anyone explain this to me?
haha someone said no mmo should be able to solo to max level in 3 months.....You can do that in WoW, Lotro, EQ2, Aion and many others so i cant see your point. The game is awesome now. If you were on the wall about it or you were waiting for the game to improve after the launch this is for you.
this game rocks major ass now.
yeah....it's a themepark....but it's a goooooood themepark.
Sounds like the game has improved a lot and is finally starting to deliver at what they promised at launch.But I'll stand by my principals and won't reward the company with my patronage for what they delivered at launch and for a year after.But for those who do enjoy this game rock on!
Well done to Funcom. They took what was a broken product, and since release turned it into a real gem. I was dissappointed at launch but stayed subbed, as I loved the world itself and the combat.
Even before release of ROTGS the game had become somthing special, no more needless grinding in cannibal cave (im sure some launch players know that place lol) and massive content additions along with core gameplay changes. But with ROTGS its the real cherry on the cake, honestly the new factional content will provide endless fun for level 80's.
Targetting? My guardian does not do such a thing, just swing in the right direction. I usually tab target for my ranger however (but you can aim if you really want too).
Even though the lack of pvp content as described by the review, the thing I enjoy the most in AoC is actually the pvp. Combat is like in no other game, where skills is very meaningful, without putting aside the gear. AoC has become a great MMO, and hopefully with the new game director the subs keep increasing and the game improved even more. It's a pity the rocky launch AoC got by itself, but truly think that won't matter at the end.
Yeah, I know which one you mean. I believe it's because you'd have the same NPC in the same "zone" twice (remember he tells you to come find him in the north after you save his sword ). So they have to put his second iteration in a "zoned" tent to keep the coding of the same NPC having two seperate activity lines from bugging out.
I tend to think most who complain about lack of voice acting are the one's two lazy to read. Makes me wonder if they were ever capable of playing rpgs before voice.
I use tab targeting, just so I can see where the enemy is defending. But I don't use auto-face....it interferes with mass-mob slaying and aggro control.
AoC isn't really a tab targeted game in the classic sense, though...unless you're a caster. For melee, it's kind of a happy middle ground between real-time and tab.
Took my son some getting used to, since he's used to LOTRO, but with a bit of practice, we're duoing effectively.
I will def get the expansion sometime soon. To the games credit though they have been adding PvP shrines. These are free though and not part of the expansion. I think that is a very smart choice given how competitve PvPers can be. They also have added PvP levels.
I really think the border lands also should be totally revamped and optimized. The fact it is basically just a copy of the Crafting and social zones proves this. It was half assly implemented at launch to compete with War.
By only looking at the added content on the AoC site, and without reading this review I returned to AoC. I must say that the over all look & feel is better. Though I'm still in Tortage, the game has nice additions. Can't wait to get to Kithai soon (almost done in Tortage) and enjoy this great expansion.
Also, the AA system. It seemed odd at first, but with the help of my guildies, I think this system is awesome. As said in this review, it'll even keep lvl 80 players interested in the game. And the lack of new PvP content..? Meh... I think that'll be set right soon ;)
I'll take a stab at it, when characters have voice acting, hearing them simply adds more life to them. Especially when they're heavily accented and fitting to the environment. That's not to say the game is exactly less enjoyable, without. It does heighten the immersion for me when a character has life to them. IMO of course.
If you get accustomed to the voice scting within tortage, I can see where it could be disheartning to see it go. Though there are still plenty of voiced npcs throughout Hyboria. Most areas have a few, in vanilla at least.
For a lot of old quited players ( after 3 months playing the game since start, I left ) it is a huge matter that pvp is STILL not what they promissed it would be .. 2 years ago... I dont think I have to explain further how deep that pain is ^^
Very good that lack of PvP content was one of the Cons. Stopped reading after that.
Lackluster PvP was, for me, one of AoCs greatest flaws and I guess this expansion didn't address that and put this game firmly in the WoW clone PvE game.
Of note, the review has an inaccuracy in it, there are not enough quests for the factions, you will grind repeatable quests to earn reputation, you will grind repeatable quests to earn marks (currency) and you will grind instances to earn tokens (currency).
At the moment, the faction rewards are purely hardcore rewards, no casual player will get even one reward within the next three months, no casual player will get a full set of faction armor within the year.
OMG Age of Conan post without finaticd comments.
Worthelss until he comes and tell us the real truth.
p.s. Iam playing AoC and Iam not really into the new content still doing same old stuff except investing AA points.
this article is soooo pre-payed by funcom...
You probably is the no-life player typo... the first 20 level is easy to reach, but above u need patience and exploration. I like to read each line of quests and understand its purposes, i do not just click, click, open map, go to destination. Exploration is a game too. My fisrt char since release i took 8 months to get 80. As already said here in the forum, i have a complete life, job, wife, children, and many other things to do in a day. Not just like you, probably you only have school, and the game.
You probably is the no-life player typo... the first 20 level is easy to reach, but above u need patience and exploration. I like to read each line of quests and understand its purposes, i do not just click, click, open map, go to destination. Exploration is a game too. My fisrt char since release i took 8 months to get 80. As already said here in the forum, i have a complete life, job, wife, children, and many other things to do in a day. Not just like you, probably you only have school, and the game.
2 things.
I ve heard that the pvp system is kinda crap and it lacks still is that true?
2ndly Endgame raids compared to wow let's say is way bad still,is that true?
If possible someone that has played both games to make a comparison to the pvp and pve systems of both games so we know if the aoc's expansion improved also endgame raiding and pvp system or not.
I played WoW for 3 years and been playing AoC for 1 year. Trust me when I say there is a VAST difference between the two games. If you want to spam click the correct buttons with your back turned (i could do that in WoW) then you will die very quick in AoC.
Sure PvP seems to be very lackluster on PvE servers, but the primary part of the game has always been story.
What about the lag? I played about a month ago and the lag was so bad I quit. Also all the PvP was dominated by Pre-mades making PUG pvp impossible, have they added an option to seperate these two groups in pvp with the expansion? If these issues have been fixed I would come back.
It's only easy leveling if you're used to playing MMO's. I for one started off as a noob and thought it was a little more difficult; I definitely didn't think it was easy! I'm used to playing FPS games and then this came along. One of my characters is a level 65 and I still don't fully grasp everything; not even close! It took me forever to get to that level. I have a difficult time understanding the game as a whole. I'll tell you it took more than a few days for me to hit level 10. When you're used to FPS type games with only a few keys to hit like WSDA, Shift, Space, etc... and then an AoC type game comes along, it's a bit overwhelming. In short, What's easy for some is harder for others.
I resubbed and have level a character to 50 with 3 of my friends! I did try to play solo for a bit but its no where near as fun as multiplayer!
Really enjoying it so far! I just hope Funcom keep up the good work by release new content constantly :)
There is lag in the newer areas and they are working on it. It's already way better than it was at the release, but there is still more to do. Putting in large open zones ( with, mind you, open world raid bosses ) in a game originally intended to have only instanced zones adds alot of extra stress to the servers. There is an update on the test server right now for further performance improvements
As for your PvP question, not in the expansion. Craig has stated on the EU forums they are working on making the system to where pugs can que for pugs and pre-mades can que for pre-mades, so no more "uneven" matches unless you want them. They are also working on cross-server mini-games. This will be brought in through a regular update as soon as they can. Their main concern is how to make the cross-server games work without stability issue.
As far as lag overall, it's been a non-issue for myself for the most part, although I have had a few "redlght" lagspikes here and there. I have experienced no crashing or disconnects, so I'm thankful for that. The majority of people playing I would say are having the same experience. However, there is a small but noteable group of people who are having massive lag, disconnection, and/or crashing issues. That is who the current performance updates are aimed at for the moment.
Finally a review that I actually agree with 100%. Age of Conan is an awesome game. Godslayer takes what Age of Conan was and raises the bar 10 fold. Play it.
Eww look RoTGS was good enough for someone to make an account just to troll. They even made a cute little failcom avatar. This is a good sign for AoC fans.
It really doesn't bother me. I agree with your description too - 2 - 3 hours of leveling and then a load screen is about right...But not when you are low level, more like 2 - 3 minutes. I think we have a lot of opinions based on the noob island alone.
Sorry, I wasn't clear enough. The part that I can't understand is how any small thing, like voice acting, has the ability to ruin someones immersion when they seem so capable of getting past the so obvious immersion distractors we all overcome while playing an mmo ie being at a computer, sitting in a chair, wife screaming in the background, your new polyester thong underwear chafing your butt, etc. Do guys turn the AC up in their house when they are in a frigid zone in an mmo, do they shove sand down their pants when in a beach zone, get in the shower when it's raining?
I mean, to me, the biggest immersion breaker (if I believed in these immersion excuses for not liking games) would be the fact that, in every mmo, i can be in an enemy stronghold fighting three guards while a fourth guard is within eyesight of the fight but not assisting because he is out of "link" range. I mean, with all of the "immersion breakers" in MMOs, when someone pulls out trivial crap like "voice acting" as a reason for hating a game it makes me think "you've got to be &$%^%$ kidding me!!!". You can hate a game if you want, I don't care, but if you're going to criticize a game in a forum then you should up come up with real reasons because this "immersion" excuse is weak imo. The immersion is in your mind. I used to be immersed by PnP RPGs so these petty excuses are either the product of someone with no imagination or reaching for reasons to hate a game.
I agree. And I might come back in time. Charging us for this expansion is a bit harsh too considering all the problems from opening day and then the many months it took to get things stable and so on. Only time will tell... ;-)
This actually made me lol :)
I am also in the leveling process so couldnt tell about how Kitai, however even the RP server is now full of people and my lowbie junk keeps selling in th AH. Have however had som lagspikes now. Maybe once ever 2 hours?
Slew is the past tense of slay. Slough is a water way used for shipping, metaphorically implying a lot of something. I'm just saying is all.
Well this game sounds like it could grow on me! I would like to know if i join up and buy the game now do i have access to the Expansion as well?
game good . end
If you buy the retail expansion, it comes with the original AoC included + 30 days game time for new accounts, as well as the Tortage Survival pack, the limited Kappa pet ( ends the 25th ) and the exclusive ( retail only ) Puma pet.
If you buy the digital, you have to buy AoC + the expansion + the individual expansion add-on packs if you want them.
For $29.99, the retail is the best way to go.
I think this is a good review. Fairly accurate, the score could in my opinion been higher. I say that because I think this expansion might be the best I've experienced in any MMO so fare. Keep in mind fellow MMOers, how often aren't devs selling junk expacks with very little content inn. Well one thing is for sure FunCom did not do that this time around. I've been playing a lot lately and I have not even come close to finish even a 10th of the content. I think credit should be given for this.
The inaccurate parts of this review is in my opinion som of the statements about PvP. There is a lot of PvP in there. And that is coming from a PvPer. I would love to see more of course, and Craig have promissed that this is what they are going to focus on first thing after the expack clean up patches. Anyways, PvP right now is based on FFA PvP in world (1 vs 1 or GvG. let me just remind people of that guildcities and more need PvP resources for maintenance which invites to a constant conflict around the nodes), Sieges (and yes they are crashfree now... but ocationally they are acting up latencywise), PvP minigames, and the recently added Capture Bori PvP objectives. It's quite a bit of PvP, but next is PvP towers and coloseum and I'm really looking forward to that. My point however, I think the reviewer felt he had to balance his opinions somewhat and did that by saying PvP now is lacking. PvP did not have a focus in the expansion but certainly is in place in AoC.
For those mobs and latency, well thats already patched out, and another patch is in preparation on testlive so...
So nttajira you installed the wrong client. Failed to patch to the new client like hundreds of thousands of us were able to, and that is entirely Funcoms fault and should be a basis to judge the expansion? Do you really think that your reply to this review, and your reasoning is sound?
Yes if you buy the retail Rise of the Godslayer you get AoC+Xpac+30 days.
+1
AoC is great.
I just bought the game for the first time. Never played it before. Gotta say I'm having some fun in the noob area. The quests seem mature and well put together. The combat has enough of a twist on it so it doesn't feel like your average button mashing. The graphics and art style kick ass IMO. So far so good.
You know I've been playing AoC for over a year now and only have three 80's and a few other lower toons. It depends on how you play the game and if you want to solo or not up to 80. Also the speed is totally up to you as well. They made the game for all around people who like it casual and others that like to do everything and take their time. There is a ton I still want and need to do in the game and will continue to play it till the game dies.
I love the game and have a blast playing it. I do admit especially with the expansion there is a lot more to do when you are 80 then lower levels, with the exception of levels 20-40 for Khitai, but like you say if you want to do all the 80+ stuff you can quickly level a toon if you so desire. It all depends on the player and what they want to do. So please don't knock the game for trying to please everybody. BTW the game isn't really that easy, some of the 6 Man instances can be tough at times and raiding, 24 man, is really meant for levels 75+ in the game anyways, hence the reason for all the 6 Man instances before then to get aquainted with the idea of working together in the game.
There is many classes and different quests to keep you busy with several toons you can make. I think the game is great. I've played WoW, Warhammer Online & Tabula Rasa before and I think the way they do things in AoC works for everybody all around and isn't confusing or cumbersome like the other MMO's out there.
you are unique in this view. people thought as you did in 1999. it's now 2010 and casual games work in the west, grind games in the east. in today's market if the mmorpg's game is the levelling process itself and not what's after the levelling is done, that game fails.
dude don't lie to yourself. you tab target to use other abilites such as charge on all aoc mele classes. dont get me wrong playing mele character in aoc was definately an advance on past mmos, but it was part twitch combat not full.
If you REALLY played AoC and are honestly coming back here saying 'lack of PvP' or 'lackluster PvP', I honestly have NO idea what game you were playing. AoC has some of the most intense, and constant, pvp out of any MMO i've played. If you're not in a premade, you're out in the open world with a full raid steam rolling zones like Khesh or FotD, and every class has it's strengths and weaknesses, requiring very good teamwork and coordination when doing sieges and group pvp. If you didn't experience pvp, you didn't try hard enough
PVE Servers >
Cimmerian Border Kingdoms & Minigames, pvp almost 24/7
PVP Servers >
White sands, Kheshatta, Field of the Dead, Eiglophian Mountains, outside Tesso in Wildlands of Zelata are where the pvp always happens(or happened before ROTGS--I haven't played it yet)
So it sounds like if you feel you got ripped off with AoC before, NOW its ok... but you gotta pay more.
Also, how can a review for an mmorpg be so good with a line like this in it: "Thank Crom for the off-line leveling system in that case."
All I have to say. Threads and posts like what I paste below is highly unusual in any MMO. Just look at it every in this thread is a testament to how well received this expansion is. I think it's kind of time to say, FunCom got it right this time.
http://forums-eu.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=150758
I just read that thread, and someone mentioned a "barbershop" and a "tattoo artist".
It's possible to do that, and it haven't been mentioned? Or am I way behind on some of the patches here? I can't remember seeing those features present in the Godslayer presentation. When WoW put stuff like that in, it was "front page news".
Um get over it already its been over 2 years and they have shown they learned from their mistakes. Also The offline leveling thing doesn't even matter. You get 1 level every 4 days and you don't have to use them.
You'll definitely like the encounter in the Vortex(Monk monastery) We had our ass kicked by the Boss and the particle effects are so cool.
I'm enjoying this expansion because you can choose the speed you want to progress without the pressure of leveling.
yes, these things are in game.
Nonetheless, a good game doesn't leave you thankful for offline advancement.
Gonna get to 30 and then sit there for 200 days while your offline levels level you up? No? Then don't complain. The offline levels are nothing but a bonus and a slight one at that.
Yes, you can change your hair and your tattoos. When they patched them in is another question but it is there now.
The barbershop and tattoo artist is in Khemi where you path to Khatai.
oh stop. who doesn't like free levels, in any game??
The hairstylists and "tracings" ( tattoo ) vendors came with the expansion but are open to everyone.
If you wish Aquilonian styles, then go to the Market district in Old Tarantia.
If you wish Stygian styles, then go by the caravan master that travels to Khitai in Khemi.
If you wish Cimmerian styles, then go to Conarch village.
If you wish Kihitan styles, then go to Shuolan in Chosain province in Khitai.
Each piece ( beard, hair, tattoo, etc.) obtained is 15 silver. However, please also note that some styles will also require 25 esteem tokens on top of the 15 silver charge.
There is a huge difference between liking a free level and..."Thank Crom for the off-line leveling system in that case."
BUT....if we take it in the context it was intended....
IE: 20-40 is new material, 40-80 is not. If you've already got a bunch of 80's, and have been through that content half a dozen times, it is nice to be able to use offline leveling to skip some of the parts you didn't enjoy as much, or are burnt out on.
I don't care HOW good a game is, after you've leveled enough alts, the content can get stale.
Let's look at the entire quote, shall we?
"In fact I would say that the only downside of the marvelous work the artists did with the Khitan landscapes is that the prospect of leveling from 40-80 now seems a little less interesting and kind of a long wait to get back to the new stuff. Thank Crom for the off-line leveling system in that case."
What I see here is the reviewer a.) supposedly speaking from the viewpoint of a current player, as a new player wouldn't worry about leveling from 40-80 being "less interesting" as they wouldn't have even done it the first time yet; b.) showing a serious lack of knowledge of the function of the offline leveling system as a new player ( and even more so an old player ) is going to level 1000 times faster just playing the game than using the offline leveling.
The offline leveling is best used for leveling that 10th alt while playing your main, that's it's biggest advantage. And even then, that alt is going to sit there from 30 to 80 for 200 days to get there.
First of all, the expansion is really awesome. Too much content in my opinion...Ive only been in the grasslands and that's because I still have work to do there. The faction quests are awesome and having to be careful about what factions you choose to be in good standing with is a really nice touch. When you group, you will even get a message letting you know that a player in your group is in an opposing faction.
Got to do the one instance with the really fat guy that spews poison....we took him down after about 4 tries, but we had someone there that had already fought him several times and understood the strategy. He is a tough boss, but the loot you get makes it worth it. The big man's animations and sounds are really funny.
As for someone mentioning that AoC is too solo friendly, I dare you to try Goldslayer. There is one zone that you shouldn't even enter without a group. Most of all the mobs are level 85ish and you'll miss ALOT.
The greatest part about the expansion is that you don't level, so the older level 80 raid content is still valid. The gear in the raid dungeons are still very important to have and this just seems to double down on the level 80 content available, which in my opinion is the most content Ive seen in a game for valid endgame content.
The offline leveling is useful for those of us that have "been there, done that" 1 million times and dont feel like messing around. For instance, my level 73 Barb is slowly but sure leveling offline while my 80 Guard is building faction status and raiding. In about 7 weeks my Barb will be 80 and by that time, my Guard should be pretty deep into the content...That, in my opinion is the best way to utilize the offline leveling.
All-in-all the new expansion is awesome and Id go as far as to say that MMORPG.com might have scored it a bit low...Id go 8.8-9.0
QFT!
You must be a southern man. I think RC and Moonpies are listed in our state laws here in Kentucky. Those and Vienna sausages and Bologna.
While it's true the game still has some lag and bug issues, Morrison & Co. are on them like white on rice, so I'm confident that the the few remaining issues with RotG will be patched soon.
I always take playability complaints (lag, freezes, etc.) with a grain of salt because the great prepondernance of those serving whine with their cheese about that, believe it or not, are still trying to play with antiquated equipment. Once we dismiss the playability complaints from those with inadequate hardware, the number of legitimate problems are really negligible.
Lastly, FunCom shows some respect for loyalty since Craig Morrison took the reins. Kudos to them for offering Veterans Rewards and the FREE RotG Expansion, FREE guaranteed entry in The Secret World Closed Beta, lots of FREE Swag and a one year subsciption to Age of Conan for under $100US. Hooah!
Like several people in these comments, I came back to AOC two months ago, and I can say (with my two accounts pre-paid for a year each) that the game has improved ten-fold, and the Godslayer adds even that much more.
Without a doubt, this is fully the best MMO on the market, and seriously, nothing else even comes close out there. Is it perfect? No, nothing is, and there are things that still need tweaking or fixing, but overall, AOC just plain rocks. Most involved melee combat, most interesting caster combat with spellweaving, most adult stealth system, and best pvp system. Oh yeah, best graphics too (but it does require a beefy system for this, it still looks great if your system is middle of the road).
The only complaint I have is that when they redesigned the crafting and loot system, they made it so having at least blue quality loot is now almost a must. Before, you could use green quality loot and compete just fine and blue and purple epic loot was just a bonus, but now it's like every other game out there in that some loot is just trash, so you'll have to work and dig for more quests and make sure you have at least some blue items to round out your gear pre-80. At 80, you'll want to join in raiding when you can but by this time you should have enough gold to get you a set of cultural armor and a good crafted weapon to set you down your path to raiding.
This guy, is an idiot. Go back to EQ and stfu.
Like several people in these comments, I came back to AOC two months ago, and I can say (with my two accounts pre-paid for a year each) that the game has improved ten-fold, and the Godslayer adds even that much more.
Without a doubt, this is fully the best MMO on the market, and seriously, nothing else even comes close out there. Is it perfect? No, nothing is, and there are things that still need tweaking or fixing, but overall, AOC just plain rocks. Most involved melee combat, most interesting caster combat with spellweaving, most adult stealth system, and best pvp system. Oh yeah, best graphics too (but it does require a beefy system for this, it still looks great if your system is middle of the road).
The only complaint I have is that when they redesigned the crafting and loot system, they made it so having at least blue quality loot is now almost a must. Before, you could use green quality loot and compete just fine and blue and purple epic loot was just a bonus, but now it's like every other game out there in that some loot is just trash, so you'll have to work and dig for more quests and make sure you have at least some blue items to round out your gear pre-80. At 80, you'll want to join in raiding when you can but by this time you should have enough gold to get you a set of cultural armor and a good crafted weapon to set you down your path to raiding.
This guy, is an idiot. Go back to EQ and stfu.
Like several people in these comments, I came back to AOC two months ago, and I can say (with my two accounts pre-paid for a year each) that the game has improved ten-fold, and the Godslayer adds even that much more.
Without a doubt, this is fully the best MMO on the market, and seriously, nothing else even comes close out there. Is it perfect? No, nothing is, and there are things that still need tweaking or fixing, but overall, AOC just plain rocks. Most involved melee combat, most interesting caster combat with spellweaving, most adult stealth system, and best pvp system. Oh yeah, best graphics too (but it does require a beefy system for this, it still looks great if your system is middle of the road).
The only complaint I have is that when they redesigned the crafting and loot system, they made it so having at least blue quality loot is now almost a must. Before, you could use green quality loot and compete just fine and blue and purple epic loot was just a bonus, but now it's like every other game out there in that some loot is just trash, so you'll have to work and dig for more quests and make sure you have at least some blue items to round out your gear pre-80. At 80, you'll want to join in raiding when you can but by this time you should have enough gold to get you a set of cultural armor and a good crafted weapon to set you down your path to raiding.
Why am i thinking about getting godslayer, oh yea thats right coz theres nothink else to choose from.
APB is coming out soon, and reading some of the beta reviews is not filling me with excitement, SWTOR isn't coming out till next year, what exactly is there out there worth playing ?
no time for self is not healthy, sir.
I resubed. So far my expereince has been very good. It is pretty much the way the game should have been at launch. FC really came up with the goods on this one.
Now about some polish in the other areas.....
I use to play WOW. Since I've been playing Age of Conan I won't go back. Age of Conan is awesome!
The best "re-review" in the world won't get me to go back to AoC. Been there, done that, have the shirt and was abused enough by them.
There are just too many new games coming out on the market to go back to a game that has already let you down once.
Same with STO (my latest let down). Cryptic screwed us and let us down, time to move on to the next game of the month ... and why would I go back to a game that already let me down when I don't have time as it is, to get to all the games I want to play?
Competition is a wonderous thing.
Dude you make your life very hard thinking the way you do.
Here's how I go:
Fun Game... Must Play!! Forget the bullshit intrigues you seem to be bothered with. take my advice it's a good one in nearly every aspect of life...
Quoted for the truth! :)
QFT. AOC is a great PvE game. But that only holds my interest long enough for me to realize their is no end-game PvP point to all the PvE.
Meh, ya know, the game has really gone in the PVE-focusing direction by the looks. And that's ok, I mean...if I want PVP, I'll re-sub to Darkfall and do it right.
Although, the AoC devs recently posted about some upcoming PVP changes that might add some spice to the game in that area...who knows??
Is a pretty good game
Curious if most of this commentary are from players in Euro? As the US servers are dying a slow death .. :(
I was searching for another game to play other than WOW which i have played for years. I had read this review and downloaded AOC. I have been impressed so far. I always have thought that if someone could merge the best elements of RPG games like Age of Origins or Mass Effect with an MMO game like WOW then it would be really awesome. It was going to happen someday. Well this update to AOC seems to almost be there. The character customization is really quite good. Not as good as what you do in BioWare games but generations ahead of WOW. Let's face it that if you are going to be spending a lot of time with a toon you create then you would like it to your's and not look like everyone else. AOC did a very good job with this. The fighting feels a lot different from WOW. It feels fun and does not feel like grinding yet. I have not mastered it yet, but it seems real cool and the sound and visual effects are quite impressive. The quests are decent and pretty well marked out. The questing follows a model more closely with the BioWare MassEffect method. It kind of forces you to pay attention. In WOW you just pick up the quests and get on with it. (I wonder if anyone really reads WOW quests other than newbs?) So it seems that AOC is trying to develop a storyline of sorts although it is not completely clear to me yet. The graphics in this game are just stunning in my view. It will push your machine. On the downside here it seems that the number of players has diminished substantially since the start of it's release because of past problems which i gladly missed. It would be a shame to see this effort die because i think AOC is really close to something pretty great. I am going to place a bet that a few good reviews and continued improvement and attention to detail will grow the population again. People play MMO games for the social aspects. If the social aspects are missing or dying then you might as well play an RPG game like what BioWare produces. The computer can be a pretty tough adversary. We play MMO's because we want to compete and work with other humans. I cannot really comment on the social machinary of this game yet but it looks like the framework is there. The listing of guilds looked pretty sparse. If that is all the guilds, then the game really needs some serious work to get the population rising again.