Age of Conan

So how is it? My friend mentioned this too me and got me wanting to upgrade my PC just to play it. A review would be cool

 

I have been playing AOC now for about two weeks, and I am totally surprised how good this game is. I have experience with mmos going back to Phantasy Star Online for the Saturn which includes extensive time with SWG and WOW, and the release for AOC has been the smoothest launch experience I've had to date. There is no denying that the hardware requirements are steep, and that much of the appeal to the game is the fantastic graphics (seriously, don't judge by the screenshots), but if you have the machine to run it or are willing to settle for low settings it is worth a try.

It is amazing how much they straight ripped from WOW. The color coded items and quests as well as the talent trees (now known as "feats") will be very familiar to WOW players. However, even though it is not as revolutionary as I had read, the combat system is a move in the right direction for the genre and certainly makes for more fulfilling encounters with enemies. For those that don't know, the autoattack feature is gone, so if you decide to get up for a drink while engaged with a mob you will die. Attacks are directional and enemies will respond to repeated attacks in the same direction by increasing their defense in that area, so you must pay attention and diversify your strategy to gain advantage. Combo moves (read special abilities) are your bread and butter for damage and require that you initiate the combo and then follow up with the required directional attacks (each combo moves list its follow-up attacks) to complete the combo.

I started out on a PvP server but by level 17, having suffered more griefing than I could stand, I switched over to a PvE server. I almost feel bad for being on a PvE server because there is certainly a sense of reality to the PvP server experience, but I think that instead of luring hardcore gamers the concept of FFA PvP has lured the bored griefers that will camp your corpse (you rez at specific spawn points with no health) until you are forced to exit the game. There are PvP games (a la battlegrounds) and Siege battles that you can try on any server.

After trying several other classes (Bear Shaman and Guardian) I have stuck with my Ranger and am now to level 32. There are already many level 80s running around. There is a lot of room for the game to grow and many minor annoyances that pop up from time to time but the game has an excellent foundation from which to build. The graphics are truly amazing and the immersion while fighting and while exploring is on par with any game I've ever played. If any of you are in need of finding some people to party with try the Omm server and look for Noblerot. I am in a small guild of RL friends for the time being and we could certainly use more people.