Age of Conan

Age of Conan Launches Re-Evaluation Campaign!

DoranM — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:34:17 GMT

Funcom has announced they will launch another re-evaluation campaign for Age of Conan!

Funcom has decided to repeat the successful re-evaluation campaign that went live earlier this year for the best-selling massively multiplayer online role-playing game 'Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures'.Previously active players are encouraged to come back to the game and play free of charge for two entire weeks. As an additional incentive for players to come back and play for free, they will also receive a double experience boost throughout their free period.

Those who decide to continue playing beyond their free period can also look forward to fantastic rewards such as guaranteed access to the beta test for The Secret World, a free copy of the expansion and more.

Click here for more information!

Age of Conan Announces New Seasonal Content Update!

DoranM — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:03:16 GMT

Age of Conan Update 5.6 has been announced by Funcom! The new update will have an all new high-level dungeon and will activate the new veteran reward points system!

Here's more from Craig Morrison on the latest content addition to Age of Conan:

"It being that time of year, we employed a few tricks to provide our players with some special treats," says Craig Morrison, Game Director and Executive Producer on `Age of Conan'. "In this update we have added new seasonal in-game content where players will have to progress through three brand new quest lines and get to challenge the dark and mysterious ghosts of Hyboria's fallen warriors in order to collect the seasonal rewards. We are also very excited about introducing the Veteran Points system, which allows us to reward those players who have been sticking with the game for longer periods of time."

The new seasonal content will allow players to acquire appropriately themed loot such as the Unholy Backscratcher weapon as well as their very own pet demon. Players will also be able to discover a mysterious new location in Tarantia, a villa where dark and gruesome events are taking place. Another addition to the city of Tarantia is the Iron Tower, a high-level dungeon towering over the rooftops of Tarantia Commons the city's slum district. The addition of the new dungeon, featuring a host of new and exciting encounters and loot rewards, brings the storyline of Tarantia Commons to its final conclusion. The Tarantia Commons location was added to `Age of Conan' in an update earlier this year.

Launching in May last year `Age of Conan' quickly became a smash hit in retail, shipping over 1.2 million copies around the world. In North America, the most prominent online gaming market in the west, `Age of Conan' became the third best-selling PC title of the year only beaten by `Spore' and `World of Warcraft'. In the weeks after launch `Age of Conan' simultaneously topped the charts in 17 countries, and the game received critical acclaim from gaming press across the globe. `Age of Conan' is now available in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Polish localized versions, and is being prepared for launch in Korea as well. A free 14-day trial is currently available on http://www.ageofconan.com.

Age of Conan Expansion: Rise of the Godslayer - First Look!

DoranM — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:53:09 GMT

Age of Conan remains one of the most visually stunning games available to MMO players. (See screenshot of tiger mount below!!!) At PAX 2009 we were able to get an up close look at the new expansion that will expose AoC players to a new world unlike anything they've experienced! In the new expansion the immortals of Hyboria will embark on an adventure to the land of Khitai. The new expansion will be dubbed: Rise of the Godslayer.

This new wave of content will take players to the mysterious country of Khitai, an Eastern-inspired land full of mystery and wonder. The world of Khitai was never fully explored by Conan author Robert E. Howard before his death; however, Funcom is striving for authenticity with this expansion. Khitai and its people are based on descriptions Howard included in his letters with friends and family. Rise of the Godslayer is shaping up to be the real deal.

The game itself has been vastly improved over the already-impressive Age of Conan. Different zones are now easier to traverse between: instead of teleporting via an NPC, players can simply explore the massive plains of Khitai and cross the border between areas themselves. Khitai is designed to feel like an even more believable world than the Hyboria that was explored in Age of Conan. There are twelve different factions dotted throughout Khitai, and each of them have their own distinct culture. Visually, each faction is striking, and the groundbreaking Age of Conan graphics engine really shines within these new areas. Towns are filled with intricate buildings and lively characters, as well as dazzling sunlight, and Funcom says it are striving to make these places feel alive by opening up as many doors as possible. Players can wander through wonderfully lit shops, inns, temples, and other establishments, without having to pass through a loading screen. The exploration appears to be some of the smoothest in any MMO.

While no new classes or races will be playable in Rise of the Godslayer, the amount of new content is still huge. Each of the twelve factions will have their own quest lines, with exciting rewards for players who make it to the top. Special new armor will be available, including a fourth tier of equipment for high-level players to seek out. New special skills will also be trained, although the exact details of these are still up in the air – suffice to say that they will be exciting and powerful.

The various warring factions of the game will tie into the player's relationship with the world. Beating up thugs from one group won't make you too popular with their superiors, leading to possible future scuffles with NPC enemies looking for revenge. Interestingly, it's possible to betray the people you call your own, and ally yourself with a rival faction – just another line of quests to add to the massive array of new content! However, making your way to the very top of a faction's quest line without betrayal definitely has its perks. For example, one group trains tigers. Stellar players will be given the opportunity to have their very own tiger as a mount or a pet. In true Conan spirit, they must venture naked into the jungle and fight the beast with their bare hands!

The original Age of Conan struck a chord with gamers looking for a darker MMO. It was intense, brutal, and steeped in Robert E. Howard's Conan lore – a major plus for fans of the classic works. Rise of the Godslayer seems to be on the right path to continue that spirit of exciting action, whisking players away to a gorgeous open world full of risks and adventure. The massive realm of Khitai and its promise of new quests, new gear, new friends, and new foes looks to be a worthy successor to the throne of Conan.

August Letter from the Game Director

Kody — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:44:09 GMT

Last month's letter from Craig Morrison mostly covered initial hints on Age of Conan's next patch. This month, however, those features are nailed down and being prepared for Game Update 1.06. The release date is still to be decided, but it will definitely appear on the test server prior to release. Check out the August Letter from the Game Director below!

It has been a hectic month here with preparations for the reveal of the new expansion, visits to several key games shows and of course preparing the next set of live content updates.

Rise of the Godslayer

The most important news this month is of course that we revealed the first expansion pack for Age of Conan – Rise of the Godslayer. I am very excited to have been able to see people’s reactions to the expansions plans and what we were able to show. The team has done a wonderful job in being able to bring the land of Khitai to life. I think that the adventures people will be able to have in the expansion will be interesting and fun, and we have strived to make sure that our approach to this new continent reflects some of the key feedback from players when it came to the layout of the original game playfields.

This is a great example of where your feedback and input truly helps shape the development process. With the expansion areas we wanted to address a couple of areas that people raised regularly about the existing playfields – that they often felt too linear and that there are great distances between them that sometimes breaks with the immersion of the setting.

Going to Khitai does give us much more freedom with the map. Whereas Howard had fairly carefully mapped out the layout of the kingdoms in Conan’s world, that isn’t the case with Khitai and that has allowed us to address the second of those issues by ensuring that all of the playfields lead on from each other. You will be able to see where you are going and moving from region to region in the expansion should feel much more like a coherent journey.

Then we also approached the actual world design differently and have made sure that we maximize the playable area much better than we have in the past. While technically the same ‘grid size’ as our largest existing playfields, the expansion areas will have much more playable game-space, roughly some 30% more. This is done through creating more open and spacious areas with less of a focus on mountain passes and having large impassible areas. We really wanted to give players that feeling of exploration and discovery that comes with visiting this foreign and mystical land.

Then we have the new armors, it was also driven by player feedback that we really want to ensure that every last piece of armor created for the expansion can be acquired by the player, whether it is simple social clothing or the faction armors themselves. It is very important to us to deliver on that element that the players really want and be able to use the expansion to increase the diversity of the armors that players acquire and use.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to demonstrate that the feedback does end up influencing design choices we make, in particular for larger content like an expansion. While of course we won’t always agree on all things, the feedback can play an important role in our decision making process.

Of course the expansion is only half of the story and the live development process continues apace

What’s coming up?

We are currently working on three separate live updates at the same time. There is an update imminent for the Conquerors (should hopefully be on the test servers very soon! )then we have a more significant update with the new Iron Tower level 80 instance and then beyond that the 1.06 update itself that includes the features revealed last month in the shape of Guild renown, the Tower PVP system, House of Crom and the tier three raids. The 1.06 update will be deployed to the test servers once we are done with the 1.05.x updates and Iron Tower is released. It is a significant update and I do expect that it will need some time on the test server, in particular as we want to test the rate and progression of the new Guild renown systems and will be enlisting your help there!

Before we wrap things up for this month there are a couple of clarifications and answers from questions I have noticed after last month’s details on 1.06 that are worth covering.

Update Schedule for 1.06: We might split the update up into smaller parts to mean some elements come before others, but we haven’t decided what order that might be yet, and it will very much depend on testing. There is a lot in this update cycle so rather than wait on everything we currently think it might be better to split it up, which would mean it will be slightly longer before you get everything, but you would get parts sooner too.

House of Crom: House of Crom is a level 80 instance that will have social elements. So what does that mean exactly? That means that we are aiming to have two parts to House of Crom, one which is more open and supports several teams in a social dungeon setting (and will have co-operative goals) and a part that will be a regular single team instance. I think the mechanics the team is cooking up for this will make for a very interesting experience!

Tier Three Raiding: Yes, the new raids will come with new loot and third tier new armor sets (and maybe a little more time permitting ;))

Veterans System: I know I have hinted at this before, but now I can confirm that yes, there is something coming for veteran players, and the current plan is that we are trying to release it with the current 1.05.x series rather than wait for 1.06. This will be a new system that will allow veteran players to earn a new currency based on how many months they have subscribed for that can then be spent on a special vendor who will offer a wide range of items, both convenience items (like additional travel options or cheaper mounts for your alts), fun items and cosmetic items. The points will be on a character basis, so you will be able to spend your veteran points on each character. (i.e. if you are eligible for one hundred points as an example, all of your characters will get that number of points each)

So there you have it, we are looking forward to the coming months and some really exciting updates. The great thing about getting to do the trade shows and conventions is that you get to meet up with and chat to players and it great to get to meet so many of you enjoying the game. We will be working hard to continue to realize that potential!

See you in Hyboria!

Age of Conan: Four Videos Highlighting New Featues in Hyboria!

DoranM — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:33:04 GMT

Age of Conan has been driving players, by the Wooly Mammoth load, back to the most brutal MMORPG in the world! We recently posted our "Age of Conan Re-Visited, Re-Analyzed, and Re-Reviewed!" commentary on some of the amazing changes they've undertaken since launch. They've received wide spread press coverage for the campaign and have recently put together a set of four amazing new videos to highlight some of the changes in the game. The videos are broken down into four areas, Technology, PVP/Sieges, Content, and Gameplay. Each of the links below will take you to the appropriate area and give you a look at what's new for the game in that respect! Enjoy!

Technology: Groundbreaking visuals plunge you into a world of breathtaking beauty, with characters and environments sporting unprecedented detail.

PVP/Sieges: Jump into quick PvP mini-games, ambush unsuspecting players on the open road, or engage in epic battles between guilds for control of battle keeps. Earn experience for PVP battles and earn exclusive equipment!

Content: Journey across the rolling fields of Aquilonia, the snow-capped mountins of Cimmeria and the burning deserts of Stygia, and delve into the darkest pits of the earth where you must battle the very demons from hell itself.

Gameplay: Take on the role of a Demonologist, Barbarian, Bear Shaman or any other of the twelve exotic classes, as you face the challenges of Hyboria alone or in groups of other players!

Visit Age of Conan for a free 14-day trial or get your old account activated for a limited trial and see what's new in Hyboria!

Letter from the Game Director July 2009

Kody — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:42:37 GMT

Funcom sent us word of the latest Letter from the Game Director of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, Craig Morrison. Morrison provides details on changes coming for the next major Age of Conan patch, including Veteran Rewards and Guild Renown!

This months letter reveals the incoming veteran reward system and new guild changes coming into Age of Conan from the Game Director Craig Morrison

As the summer months, here in Norway, bring with them a short period of rest and recuperation for the development team, I wanted to take the opportunity with this month’s letter to both thank people for all their support this year, and to start to lift the veil on the changes for the next update cycle that we have only teased about so far!

Coming Back to Hyboria

Firstly, I want to say thank you to veteran players and returning players alike, who have been playing during this re-evaluation period.

While we, of course, still have work ahead of us and are doing our best to continue to refine and improve the game even further and add even more great new content, we are very pleased to see so many people enjoying the game, and continuing their adventures in Hyboria. It has been the culmination of lots of effort on behalf of the development team to get to the point where we could give people a good impression of what the game is and where we are taking it in the future.

Veteran Rewards Incoming

On the subject of veteran players, I can also confirm that we will be introducing new veteran rewards in the near future. As part of the next major update cycle, a new veteran reward system will be introduced that gives veteran players access to special vendors who will offer them a host of veteran benefits ranging from social status items to special items that will provide extra convenience items to veteran players. As an example of the latter, exp potions and similar bonuses, while not increasing the power of your characters, will provide veteran players with great time-saving rewards and options not available to new players. There should be something for everyone!

Guild Renown

Now we get to the good stuff!

We have talked for a little while now about the fact that guild gameplay would be a focus for the upcoming update cycle. Today, I wanted to give you the first look at what shape those changes are going to take. The main feature of this area in the update will be the addition of the new Guild Renown system.

So what is Guild Renown?

Guild Renown is a system whereby the actions of any individual player count towards their guild’s reputation. Collectively, guild members can level up their guild in three distinct categories to gain access to new guild rewards and bonuses. The system has two primary components, the Renown level, and also Renown rankings which place guilds against each other and measure your successes against those of other guilds on your server.

Let’s take a look at the Renown levels first, before moving on to the rankings. Renown levels act much like the levels for your character, i.e., as you accrue Renown points through your actions in game, you will in effect ‘level up’ your guild.

Almost every action in the game will earn some form of Renown points for your guild. There are three categories of Renown points that contribute to your overall Renown level:

Valor points: Earned from PVE gameplay, killing mobs, doing quests, beating bosses and raids.
Glory points: Earned from PVP activities like winning mini-games.
Artisan points: Earned through crafting actions.

Your Renown level is a combination of all three of these totals, which allows you to level up your Renown level in any way you choose. You do not have to do all of the categories if you do not want to. It will be perfectly possible to try and level up your Renown level with any combination of the above actions.

This will add another dimension to your everyday gameplay, and even a short ten minute session will be contributing towards your guild’s Renown pool and put them closer to the next reward tier! For example, getting a team together for a dungeon run, or doing a raid will both have the extra benefit of contributing towards your Guild’s Renown level.

As your Renown level grows, you will earn new rewards for you and your guild and access new features for your guild cities, like new pet or mount vendors, and even another new building type for your city, among other amenities. Some of these new rewards will benefit every member directly, and some will be for the guild as a whole. You will get more details on the rewards themselves when the update goes to the test servers.

So that is the Renown level. What about the Renown ranking system I mentioned earlier?

Renown rankings are where the competitive element comes in. People like to claim bragging rights, and the Renown ranking system will allow players to see how their guild has compared to others both on the overall Renown earned and also in each individual category. You will be able to see which guild has accrued the most Valor, Glory, or Artisan points in any given period.

The rankings will reset after each ranking period (currently planned to be weekly, but that may be adjusted during testing), and everyone starts on equal footing.

One area we have considered here is that we don’t want to have players feel ‘forced’ into merging guilds to compete for ranking placement. Thus, we will be making the ranking calculations only count the top X contributions from members in the ranking period (the value of X to be determined during testing). So let’s say we decide the contributing cap will be 50, then the top 50 contributors within the guild will be the ones whose efforts are counted for ranking purposes, even if you have 100 members. Please note that we plan for all members to be able to contribute to the Renown level, so larger guilds may level up quicker, but they won’t necessarily do better in the rankings - they might - but it is important that success in the rankings is down to effort, not just due to overwhelming numbers. With this, we hope that even small and medium-sized guilds will be able to make appearances in the rankings.

Likewise, by having ranking for all three of the categories, we hope to able to give those guilds that choose to focus their gameplay a chance to shine. So, even if your guild focuses only on PVP, and might not gain enough Renown in the overall rankings, you will be able to push up the Glory leader-board, if you are truly successful at PVP.

With the rankings being reset regularly, we hope to avoid guilds being able to ‘bank’ and constantly top the rankings. These rankings should reflect your current status as a guild, and your current dedication to your chosen causes!

The rankings will confer status bonuses to the winning guild - mainly cosmetic items or bonuses for bragging rights. Gold, Silver, and Bronze positions, for example, will be visible in your character’s guild tag.

The rankings are not something we intend to be about bestowing extra power on the winning guilds - they are meant to be an additional part of the system that allows players to prove that their guild is up there with the best on the server, either in their chosen area of expertise, or in all areas!

In Closing

So there you have it, a little bit of insight into what is coming up in the near future for Age of Conan. Of course, there are also a couple of other significant additions coming in the next update cycle, namely new zones in the form of House of Crom and Thoth-Amon’s Stronghold, as well as new Tower-based PVP objectives in the Border Kingdoms, but those will be the subject for future letters!

Craig 'Silirrion' Morrison
Game Director Age of Conan

Two Free Weeks For Ex-Age of Conan Players

Kody — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:43:05 GMT

Age of Conan recently went through a fairly substantial revamp of numerous systems with update 1.0.5, including major changes to attributes, combat, and a new playfield: Tarantia Commons.

If you enjoyed Age of Conan before, Funcom is hoping you'll give it another go with this update, and thus are offering two weeks of free time to old players with no obligations.

Be sure to check out the updates if this piques your interest! The re-evaluation period ends on July 22nd, so make the best of your two weeks by conquering all there is to be had in Hyboria!

Age of Conan Tarantia Commons Expansion Video Walkthrough!

DoranM — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:32:50 GMT

Age of Conan had a major release this week with the Tarantia Commons added in update 5! The Tarantia Commons area offers several new and exciting adventures for players, including a riot that takes places in the area where you're able to help or hinder the peasants as they race towards the castle, and unique new quests and bosses available!

To introduce the new area we've got a video narrated by game director Craig Morrison which explains the area, its story and the gameplay within:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Visit the official site to learn more about Age of Conan!

Developer Introduction For Jarle Snertingdalen at Age of Conan!

DoranM — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:27:43 GMT

Age of Conan has posted a developer introduction for Jarle Snertingdalen who's in charge of the team responsible for combat, class design, character development, RPG systems, and items and loot tables. You can safely say Jarle does a lot. The introduction includes some of the day to day duties he manages and what it's like working on AoC!

Here's the Developer Introduction of Jarle Snertingdalen from Age of Conan:

Today we bring you the developer introduction of Jarle Snertingdalen the Associate Producer on Age of Conan Systems Team.

You'll take a ride inside the mind of the man who helps manage and drive all of the game systems under the rainbow from within the world of Hyboria.

"Famine: For those who might not know, can you tell us what an Associate Producer actually entails?

We have a few Associate Producers on Conan responsible for different areas of the game. Without getting into too much detail, my team is responsible for combat, class design, character development, RPG systems, items and loot tables. We are also involved with any feature that’s produced for the game.

My job is to make sure our plans are followed, well thought through, out on time and of quality. It’s also my task to ensure that the people on my team are able to work as efficiently as possible and that everyone has the right focus.

A normal day for me involves reading and discussing feedback, attending production, planning and design meetings, following up on tasks, coordinating with other teams and departments, and reviewing work we have done inside the team. I try to squeeze in time for playing the game, which I also do after hours..."

Find the exclusive peek from the latest developer blog Message from the King on MMORPG.COM

Glen 'Famine' Swan

US Community Manager

Age of Conan Guide to Ymir's Pass - How To Get There and What To Do!

DoranM — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:39:56 GMT

Age of Conan has undergone several changes since the original release date, and the people are coming back to the game in droves! The recent addition of Ymir's Pass has raised lots of questions about what all is available to the player in this region. The Guide to Ymir's Pass is fixing that! The guide shows you how to get there and then highlights all the cool stuff to do once you're there.

Guide to Ymir's Pass

Ymir’s Pass introduces hours upon hours of adventure into Age of Conan. Let’s take a look at some of the locations you will explore, characters you will meet and quests that you will embark on in this short-and-quick guide to Ymir’s Pass.

“It was a gloomy land that seemed to hold
All winds and clouds and dreams that shun the sun,
With bare boughs rattling in the lonesome winds,
And the dark woodlands brooding over all,
Not even lightened by the rare dim sun
Which made squat shadows out of men; they called it
Cimmeria, land of Darkness and deep Night.”

- Cimmeria, Robert E Howard -

Getting there!

If a man wishes to travel the distance from Cimmeria to the southern kingdoms, the fastest route is through Ymir’s Pass. It is a journey that captures the raw beauty of the northern lands, from the ice-tipped peaks which shadow the land to the snow-covered planes that lead further south through rocky valleys. Once through the mountains, the land slopes downward to the rocky expanses of the Border Kingdoms and the great plains of Nemedia beyond.

But would-be travelers must be cautious. Not all is well in Ymir’s Pass and the wind that sweeps down the mountains and howls across the plains carries with it the stench of war and death. It begins with the self proclaimed bandit-king, Atzel. Thoth-Amon returned Atzel to life after his death at the hands of Conan. In return Atzel swore to help the sorcerer carry out his plans.

Those plans are beginning to come to fruition.

Clan Maugh

Atzel’s men have moved into Ymir’s Pass, driving back Clan Maugh, the Cimmerians who make their home in the region. The Clan makes the bandits pay dearly for every swathe of land that they take, but life is cheap in the eyes of Atzel and even cheaper in the eyes of Thoth-Amon. The leader of Clan Maugh, Caden Chieftain, has decreed that his people will give no more ground. They will retake the land of their forefathers, or die in the attempt.

But Caden has other worries. His headstrong daughter, Ula, has gone missing in the wake of the attack and he doesn’t dare ask any members of the clan to risk their lives searching for her in enemy territory.

The Battle of the Frost gate

Further north, a skirmish has taken place between Atzel’s men and a band of Aesir travelers. In the region known as the Frost gate, a great battle was fought, with great losses on both sides. Little is known as to the fate of the Aesir. If they do still live, they are deep in enemy territory and their relations with the local Cimmerian tribe are strained at best. But for now, the corpses of their fallen comrades lie tumbled in the snow.

Those who travel will shift uneasily as they remember the legend of Atali, the Frost Giant’s Daughter. It is said that she comes to the fields of the dead she comes and walks among the dead, her naked body gleaming like ivory. She lures men from stricken fields into the wastelands to be slain by her brothers the ice-giants, who lay men’s red hearts smoking on Ymir’s board.

The Ghost Kings

In the southern swamps of the region, which the local clan has long avoided due to its dark reputation, something is stirring. Three ancient ghosts wander the landscape, wearing the crowns of long dead Acheron. And where they wander, they drive the denizens of the swamp before them, forcing the normally timid swamp demons to migrate from their beloved swamps.

Whence came these kings of Acheron? The answer lies in the ruins to the east.

The Ruins of Karutonia

The ruins which dominate the southeastern portion of the region are those of Karutonia, once the northern-most city of Acheron. Karutonia was a great city, ruled jointly by three kings. The frontier city held back the barbarian hordes and thousands of barbarian slaves were sacrificed in their great amphitheatre.

But this enraged the barbarian hordes. They stormed the city and razed it. It was the beginning of the fall of the Acheronian Empire. Today, the ruins are full of Black Ring Sorcerers and their allies, searching the ruins for the relics of Acheron. It is rumored that they have opened the way into the Amphitheatre of Karutonia and they feed upon the dark legacy of the sacrifices that once occurred there.

The Amphitheatre of Karutonia

The Amphitheatre, once the site of such horrible sacrifices, now serves as a nexus for the evil in Ymir’s Pass. Black Ring member’s come and go freely, and a few of Thoth-Amon’s greatest allies remain in the Amphitheatre.

The Dimensionalist dwells in the ruins. With the flick of his wrist, this master sorcerer can summon an entire army from the depths of the void. His creations are loyal and incredibly lethal. The Abyssal Keeper cages the spirits that he raises from the darkness. He raises the souls of the animals that once fought for sport in the amphitheatre, and trains them to do his bidding.

Age of Conan 7 Day Trial and New Getting Started in AoC Guide!

DoranM — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:10:48 GMT

Age of Conan 7 Day Trial

Age of Conan is BACK! with a vengeance we might add, they've started a free 7 day trial program to get people back into the game. Recently the Director of the Game, Craig Morrison, posted a full update on all the MAJOR improvements since launch that was absolutely designed to let old and new players know that AoC has made leaps and bounds in the past few months to put out a product they're confident players are going to thoroughly enjoy.

Age of Conan MAJOR Improvements

Craig Morrison, the Director of Age of Conan, has sent us an update on the amazing face-lift the game has undergone since it first came out; and they're excited to tell people about he changes they've implemented. We've been playing it here internally and the experience is much smoother and it's been really easy to get back into the game and start kicking butt. For a list of improvements read the MAJOR improvements since launch we recently posted.

We've also obtained and exclusive "How-to-play" guide for AoC that we think you'll enjoy reading. Whether you've played the game before or not, there's lots of good information here for you to get lost in.

AGE OF CONAN: HYBORIAN ADVENTURES

HOW-TO-PLAY IN 1-2-3!

Introduction

You're only a few moments away from entering the brutal, savage and sexy world of the world's greatest fantasy hero. Feel free to flip through this how-to-play guide, explaining to you some of the things that are good to know before setting foot on the burning beaches of Tortage Island – where the game will start out for you. For more assistance on getting started you might also visit the official Age of Conan forums where you can pick the brains of other people playing the game right now!
You can also download a .PDF version of the complete Age of Conan manual HERE!

1. Getting started

Updating your game - After having downloaded and installed the game, running it for the first time you will be greeted with the Age of Conan updater. The updater will download any changes Funcom have done to the game, ensuring that your installation is always up to date. Once updating is completed, the game will start and you will be prompted to log in using your account information (you can register at http://register.ageofconan.com).

Choosing a server – After logging in you will have to choose a server. If you are planning on playing with friends, make sure you start on the same server as them. Servers are divided into two different ruleset categories:

PvE – player vs. player activities are present but restricted to certain areas, and as such this server type is encouraged for new and inexperienced players.

PvP – player vs. player activities are prevalent everywhere in the game world, making life there a lot more challenging – but also a lot more exhilarating!

PvP-RP – these servers employ a ruleset that encourages role-playing between players, as well as the ruleset used for the regular PvP servers.

Creating a character – Next you will need to create your first character. Here you will choose your character’s name, gender, race, class and even appearance. While name, gender and appearance have no impact on gameplay, choosing a race and class most definitely will. Your race determines what class you can play, and your class determines what weapons, armor and abilities you can use as well as the general style of gameplay.

You can read more about races and classes on the official Age of Conan website.

2. Understanding the interface

Your journey starts on the burning beaches of Tortage Island after you have finished creating your character. The interface and the amount of information you are presented with might seem daunting at first, but understanding it is the key to success in Age of Conan. Here are the very basics you need to know before heading into the game.

The main viewport – This is where all the action is displayed.
The top menu bar – These buttons opens various windows that display information on your character such as equipment, skills and abilities.
Shortcut icons – These icons represent spells, abilities and combos that you can trigger during gameplay (usually while fighting someone).
Chat window – All chat with other players is displayed here, and some information messages regarding gameplay are also represented in this window.
Mini-map – The mini-map shows your immediate geographical surroundings as well as representing nearby enemies and friendly characters.
The combat rose – These arrows represent the directions you can swing your weapon in, allowing you to take advantage of the game’s innovative combat.
Character vitals – Your character’s health is shown in red, your stamina is shown in green and your mana is shown in blue. Your name and level is also shown.
Target vitals – Represents the vitals of your current target.
Experience bar – This represents how much experience points you have earned, counting towards your next level. Experience is gained through gameplay.
Social buttons – These buttons opens various social windows such as a tool that allows you to search for other players and join PvP mini-games.
Active effects – Effects that are active on your character (such as spells you have cast on yourself) will be displayed here for your convenience.
Quest tracker – Tracks the objectives of your currently active quest.

3. Preparing for combat

The very core of Age of Conan is combat. Through combat you will develop your character and progress through the levels, hopefully earning you fame, fortune and a whole lot of adventure on the way. Soon after arriving on Tortage Island you will be faced with great challenges – all solvable by force or by magic, of course!

Basic attacks
To attack a target all you need to do is start hitting in one of the directions with your weapon, or fire a spell at them (depending on your class). Move up to your target and use the directional combat arrows (as described in the interface section of this guide) and your character will automatically enter combat mode. Alternatively, if you are a spell caster, an offensive spell might already be on your hotbar ready for use. In that case, click on the target you want to hit and fire off the spell. This is the basic essence of combat. You can also use the 1, 2, and 3 keys on your keyboard to hit in various directions.

Advanced targeting
Targeting in Age of Conan works somewhat differently than in similar games. You do not necessarily need to click on an enemy in order to target them; you can also simply move up to them and start fighting. As you get deeper into the game you will see that magic casters have a particularly wide array of targeting possibilities, such as “cone targeting” that allows you to cast a spell at anything in front of you. If you are an archer you can even zoom into first-person mode and manually target and shoot your enemies!

Combo attacks
Many classes receives so-called “combo moves”. These are abilities that will allow you to deal out greater damage, and they are access from the abilities window (use the top menu bar to display this window), but you have to move combos down to your hotbar to use them. To trigger a combo, simply click on it using your mouse cursor or hit the corresponding keyboard key (usually from keys 4 to 9). You will notice that one of your directional combat arrows will light up, urging you to hit in that direction. Finishing a combo will result in greater damage and a unique combat animation.

Wrapping it up

Good work! By finishing this tutorial you should know a whole lot more about how Age of Conan works, allowing for a smoother transition into Hyboria once you log in. Keep in mind, however, that these are only the very basics of how the game works. As you get deeper into the game you will discover that Age of Conan offers unparalleled depth!

Here are a few tips that you should bring with you on the road:

Gain experience! Progression in Age of Conan is measured in experience and levels. As you kill enemies and complete quests you will gain more experience and thus also levels. You can track your progress by looking at the orange bar at the bottom of your screen.

Equip yourself! Soon you will realize that the basic weapon in your hand and the scraps of clothes on your back is not sufficient for a life of adventure. Complete quests to get better equipment – or buy them from a vendor. You will look cooler and perform better!

Go exploring! A lot of the fun to be had in Age of Conan comes from exploring. For the first twenty levels you will be “stuck” on Tortage Island, but even here there is a whole jungle to explore! Pretty soon you will have the opportunity to explore more of Hyboria.

Pick up a trade! Later in the game you will have the opportunity to become a crafter. Ask other players how to get started, or use the in-game help system. You can become anything from a weaponsmith to an alchemist – creating items other players want to buy!

Socialize! Massively multiplayer games such as Age of Conan are all about socializing. Soon you will stumble upon other players that you can communicate with. Talk to them by using the chat window, and why not go out and face the challenges together?

Join a guild! Social interaction will also lead you into guilds. Guilds are large groups of players that have formed a society, usually sporting a creative name. Guilds can share a common chat channel, as well as construct entire cities – and fight other guilds!

Fight other players! Fighting monsters is all well and good, but for that extra level of challenge you should try fighting other players such as yourself! Mini-games are an easy way of getting into combat with others (use the in-game help tool for more information).

Build and destroy! Once you reach the later parts of the game, you will most likely be helping your guild constructing an entire guild city or a battlekeep. You can even launch attacks on other guilds’ battlekeeps, opening up a whole new world of gameplay!

PS! Use the official Age of Conan website to find even more information about the game, such as elaborate information on player vs. player combat, guild cities, mounts, advanced combat, economics, and more. You can also download the complete manual in .PDF!

Good luck in Hyboria, adventurer!

Age of Conan - List of MAJOR Improvements Since Launch

DoranM — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:30:54 GMT

Today we received an update from Age of Conan by Craig Morrison, the Director of Age of Conan. The game has had an amazing face-lift since it first came out and they're excited to tell people about he changes they've implemented. We've been playing it here internally and the experience is much smoother and it's been really easy to get back into the game and start kicking butt.

We've posted the official release about the new content and changes to Age of Conan; for your reading pleasure:

MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS SINCE LAUNCH

Craig Morrison, Game Director on Age of Conan

With the impending launch of our trial offerings I have been asked to sit down and summarize the changes that the game has seen since the launch last year. I think the first thing I can say was that actually compiling this letter into a digestible size for you all was actually another good affirmation for me as to the effort the team here has gone to in order to realize the potential of Age of Conan. I am very proud of the efforts that have been undertaken since launch to address the various issues identified by our players, as well as the improvements and additions that we have made to the game.

So what exactly has been done since launch?

New Content We have added countless hours of more content through updates such as Ymir's Pass - the largest playfield yet that comes with an entirely new storyline inspired by the classic Howard tale 'The Frost Giant's Daughter'. Then you have Xibaluku, a new end game dungeon packed with dynamic and engaging boss encounters for maximum level players. In addition we have added countless more quests and rewards to the game for players of all level ranges. The launch dungeons have also been revisited, revamped and generally improved to provide new and more interesting game-play and rewards.

Enhancing PVP The world of King Conan is a brutal one and we have made sure to focus on building on the PVP offerings. One of the key elements that players reported enjoying in the game was the ability to be part of a bloody and exciting game-world and we wanted to build on that. Not only have we added a full PVP leveling system, with a host of rewards - we have also built upon this with a full PVP consequence system that adds a true meaning to PVP combat and allows those that would tread a darker path to actually become criminals based on their actions, opening up a whole new game-play experience.

Improved Sieges Building on the desire to have truly meaningful and engaging PVP in every update we are continuing to refine, add to and improve the Siege warfare PVP elements. We are striving to keep adding new features to make guild vs. guild game-play matter more. In the most recent updates new PVP specific resources required to build and repair battle-keeps have been added. These resources must be fought over between players, and can be looted from vanquished foes corpses, adding more intensity and drama to the siege experience.

Stability and Performance Our technical team has been hard at work ensuring that there are constant improvements being made to performance and stability. Framerate has been increased on a wider range of computers, memory leaks have been corrected and bugs have been ironed out making the game-play experience a lot smoother and stable for the user.

General Improvements The big main features always get the headlines and previews, but we have also gone to great lengths to ensure that the smaller points and general polish also get some care and attention. A huge amount of general improvements and enhancements have been made, some small, some larger, but all combining to provide a better Age of Conan experience. More travel options have been added, more voice-overs, a new friend interface, the raid interface has been improved, a new GUI options mean it's now easier to locate and get into PvP mini-games, tradeskills have been improved, loot rewards have been re-distributed, vanity pets are available as a special reward for those who adventure through the new Xibaluku dungeon… and the list goes on! These changes may never be in the spotlight but they all contribute to improving the experience for players each and every time they log in

An Amazing World While we already have a fantastically realized game-world we have been hard at work ensuring it continues to shine as the most stunningly rendered MMO world to date. First and foremost in this development is the new DX10 functionality that will allow players to see the kingdoms of Hyboria like never before. Launching soon the DX10 version will bring more spectacular visuals to the beautiful vistas of King Conan's world.

What the future brings

During the development of the game the key phrase that was used to establish the goals of the project was 'Combat, Combat, Combat' and I think that goal was perfectly realized in our combat system, and element of the game that continues to be a key feature and unique element players enjoy with our game. When we set out to define the goals for the development team for the ongoing production we decided to keep with the 'C' theme, so the goals of the team are to focus on 'Content, Conflict, Character and Community'

Content - Our continued desire to keep providing exciting and engaging new content for players

Conflict - Build on the game's strong PVP elements and continue to expand on the brutal world of Hyboria

Character - Strive to provide better options for character development, something that is a key focus at the moment with our impending revamp of items and statistics in the next major game update.

Community - One of the key goals for the next year will be improving upon the community and guild functionality in the game to give the players more tools to craft their own space and identity in the world of Hyboria

All of us on both development teams are looking forward to telling you even more about it soon!
Sincerely,

Craig Morrison

Game Director

Age of Conan

Age of Conan Directors Letter Detailing BIG Changes!

DoranM — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:07:05 GMT

Age of Conan's Game Director has posted an update detailing all kinds of new changes coming to the game. The update will include changes to items and statistics and will come with the next major update (after 1.04). We've got the post here for you followed by a link to the official AoC Forums so you can get to voicing your opinion!

Here's the original post:

Letter from the Game Director February 2009

It’s that time again for a little peek into what’s coming up for Age of Conan. As mentioned last time the major part of this Director’s Letter will focus on providing a first look at the details on the upcoming items and statistics update that will come in the next major update. With update 1.04 now live and players getting to enjoy the new content it’s the perfect time to kick-off the process of introducing the next major update.

Before I dive into RPG system changes though, a couple of things to note. We are preparing a lot of information for when the update is ready for the public test servers. This letter couldn’t possibly cover everything, and it won’t. The new gem system for example is an article all on its own, as are the balance changes that will be included in the update for every class. So those things I won’t be covering in detail in this letter, but we will be releasing detailed information over the course of the testing. So rest assured further information overload is coming! Consider this letter as an appetizer to the process that is ahead of us.

Revamping the RPG System

It’s also worth repeating why we have been working away on these changes in the first place.

After we looked at the feedback after launch we concluded that we had misjudged the importance of items and statistics to character progression. While the intention had always been to be less item-centric than other titles, we probably went a little too far in the other direction. Therefore we have set out to expand and develop the RPG system so that it offers better and more interesting character progression and customization.

So, now that the preamble is out of the way, let’s get rolling and take a peek inside the mechanics of the RPG system so you can start to understand where we are taking it. So, how best to provide an overview of the changes? At a basic level what we have done is add an additional range to the attribute budgets, this additional range comes from items and trickle down from your primary attributes. Mobs and encounters have been rebalanced to account for this increase. The end result is that items and trickle down now account for up to fifty percent (give or take a couple of percent variance here and there) of your overall budget for any given attribute. For comparison that contribution did not exceed twenty five percent before the changes, and ‘trickle down’ barely influenced it at all.

Our goal is that players in ‘average’ gear (if you will forgive the subjective nature of using the word ‘average’) will not feel a great change in the game, but will have the potential to get better by working up towards the higher end gear. Where you will notice a change is if you remove your armor and weapons and use lower level gear. The new system does incentivize keeping your gear up to date!

That’s not the end of the changes though. This is really just the ‘brief overview as it were. In order to achieve our goals in a good, solid way that gives us room for future development we also went through the attributes and statistics and made them meaningful, clearer to understand, and hopefully better laid out.

The new character statistics

The best way to demonstrate this in this first look at the new system is to go through the new character stat screens one by one and actually show you what your new character sheet looks like! The interface is now tabbed so that you can all your stats without having to scroll down by switching between tabs. It also means they are organized in logical groupings.

Firstly please note some of the numbers displayed in the screens are not what a player would really have, and are still subject to change through testing, but I really wanted to visualize it for you as it’s better than the text alone!

So let’s take each of these in turn and explain the new attributes and stats. On the first screen, the ‘General’ tab, you see the basics of your character. Most of this tab is self explanatory, but it does show the first of the totally new statistics – Armor. Your Armor rating is now what is used in the combat calculations to decide how much damage you avoid from a successful attack. This has replaced the old combination of resistances and invulnerabilities as the main source of mitigation of non-magic damage (we will get to magic damage shortly!).

You will still see invulnerabilities offered in some buffs, in those cases those are an additional mitigation above and beyond what the outcome of your armor calculation is.

Next up we have the Combat stats page that shows your new combat stats, both as a rating, which is what item bonuses will add to, as well as what that equates to as a percentage chance (or the percentage increase as appropriate). All of these new stats will have explanatory tool tips and we think moving to using ratings makes the system clearer and easier for you to gauge the relative worth of items.

Next we have the ‘Physical’ tab that lists your health and stamina regens and taps clearly.

Then we have the ‘Magical’ tab that displays your magic related skills, bonus spell damage and the next of the new statistics – your protections. These effectively replace the old resistance percentages and are displayed both as a rating (which again, is what appears on the item bonuses) and as the translated percentage that shows you how much damage that potentially mitigates.

Lastly we have the PVP tab that shows your PVP achievements and rankings as well as your PVP specific stats. Here as well you will now find the new PVP version of Armor and Protection that will be offered on PVP items.

Attributes and what they mean!

So what do the main attributes do now? As I mentioned above we have significantly changed how these attributes ‘trickle down’ into your actual performance. This should make the addition of stats in these areas much more visible. You will find that these are now a deal more important than before and now confer the following bonuses to your character:

Every one point of Strength

Increases Combat rating when using melee weapons (except daggers) by 3
Increases Armor by 2
Increases Natural stamina regeneration by 0.05
Increases OOC stamina regeneration by 0.15
Increases Stamina by 2
Increases OOC health regen by 0.15

Every one point of Intelligence

Increases Spell damage with 0.3 per hit for spells with Intelligence attribute (mage spells)
Increases Mana points by 3
Increases Natural mana regeneration by 0.07
Increases OOC mana regeneration by 0.38
Increases Protection from Electrical/Fire/Cold magic by 0.5

Every one point of Constitution

Increases Health points by a number depending on class, roughly 5-8
Increases Stamina points by 2
Increases Natural stamina regeneration by 0.05
Increases OOC stamina regeneration by 0.15
Increases OOC health regen by 0.15

Every one point of Dexterity

Increases Evade rating by 0.5
Increases Stamina points by 2
Increases Combat rating with ranged weapons and daggers by 3
Increases Natural stamina regeneration by 0.05
Increases OOC stamina regeneration by 0.15

Every one point of Wisdom

Increases Spelldamage with 0.3 per hit for spells with Wisdom attribute (priest spells)
Increases Mana points by 3
Increases Natural mana regeneration by 0.07
Increases OOC mana regeneration by 0.38
Increases Protection from Holy/Unholy magic by 0.5

Just the beginning…

In addition we have worked to make the item stats display better in the GUI and make the comparison of items better.

This is really just a teaser for the information that is to come. These changes have also allowed us to look at each of the classes and make changes to feat trees, skills and spells. Some of these changes were necessary due to the changes above (like the new Armor system) some for balance concerns and adjustments. A lot more information in this vein will be released as we prepare the update for the public test servers. In addition there is also a complete new gem system for crafting items that I haven’t touched on here that will also be revealed soon.

The items themselves, in particular those at high levels have received a lot of individual attention and tweaking to get the most benefit out of the system.

So as you can see there will be a lot to talk about over the coming weeks and months, which I expect, will start right about now!

Craig 'Silirrion' Morrison

Game Director Age of Conan

You can discuss this letter of the Game Director here (EU).

You can discuss this letter of the Game Director here (US).

New Producer and Game Director for AoC

Zyuu — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:24:58 GMT

Craig Morrison has been appointed as the new Producer and Game Director for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures.

Craig Morrison has served as the Producer and Game Director on Anarchy Online for several years, as well as working as the Funcom Community Manager prior to that. Funcom believes he is the perfect candidate to take Age of Conan to the next level. Mr. Morrison will replace former Producer and Game Director Gaute Godager.

Prior to starting at Funcom in 2004, Craig Morrison worked as an Operations Executive at the Telegraph group, the respected UK newspaper, taking care of operational aspects related to IT and Customer Service. Due to his passion for MMO games he simultaneously worked as an Associate Editor at IGN’s Vault Network, managing dedicated websites for several MMO games. He has extensive experience in managing various sized teams and complex projects across large media based environments. He has also played, written about, managed, produced and directed MMO games for over a decade by now. With his passion and unique skill-set he brings proven MMO experience to his new position, and during his years as Producer on Anarchy Online he has shown a unique ability to tailor development according to the needs and requirements of the players.

“Taking on the position as Producer and Game Director on Age of Conan is a great challenge but also one I welcome. I have a clear conviction I can lead the further development in a good way, evolving Age of Conan into something even better. My main priority now is therefore to listen to, and act on, player concerns, while ensuring we add additional great content to the game,” said Craig Morrison. “At heart I will always be a gamer, and the coming changes and additions to Conan will always be done with the gamers in mind. Together I am certain we will shape an amazing future for Age of Conan.”

Former Producer and Game Director Gaute Godager has chosen to resign from Funcom after working on Age of Conan since the initial conception, and he leaves the company after 16 years. Godager was one of the original founders of Funcom, and leaves a large legacy, having contributed to making Funcom the largest MMO company in Europe. “I have done my very best making this fabulous game, but I have concluded there are elements which I am dissatisfied with. I have decided to act on this, and as a result I have chosen to leave Funcom. It is time to get new, fresh eyes on Age of Conan, and I wholeheartedly support the appointment of Craig. I have had a fantastic time these last 16 years, and I am very proud of the many things Funcom has achieved. Funcom and Conan will always be a big part of me, but as I now look to new ventures outside the gaming industry I am certain Age of Conan’s future is in the best of hands.”

Hyborian Insider #4

Zyuu — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:22:48 GMT

In this edition of the Hyborian Insider Funcom take a look at some of the content to come, as well as giving you an exclusive first look at upcoming DirectX 10 features.