What the reviews dont tell you...

bond284

... is what exactly people do in endgame. I'm serious, now hear me out.  While I was installing AoC to give it a 2nd chance with the free trial periods, I went on looking through a couple of forums and re-reviews about the game. Consistently I would find reviews that touch on your usual categories like graphics and performance etc, but the one thing people never even spoke a word about is end game content. Searching the term "aoc end game content" brings me to a lot of articles that date back to 08. Nothing useful really since apparantly this game went through, and i quote, "a fuckload of changes". Sadly, I don't remember why I stopped playing two weeks after launch, so I dont have a control if you will on what exactly is new.

 So enough ranting....  I don't want to assume anything about aoc as to where the focus lies in like pvp or raiding etc so I would be incredibly thankful for anyone who could answer honestly a few simple questions that I have that reviewers just dont seem to answer.

 

 

PVP

Ok so I gather theres plenty of pvp in endgame, but what does that involve?

Do people pvp for terrirtory? 

Resources? 

Stupid currency like "honor"? 

or do people do it just to do it or for pride? 

The only thing I could gather from the aoc forums about pvp is 2 things... "casters are op" and "l2p"  so there wasn't much help there.

 

PVE

I promised myself that i would be done with raiding after having done it so much in wow back when upper black rock spire was actually considered dificult and required 15 people so forgive me, but I have to ask these questions.

what sepperates wow pve raids from aoc pve raids?

Do you beat on the same boss every week? 

Do they perform the same moves/attacks which can be somewhat predictable? 

Do the bosses drop too few pieces of loot, ensuring that your raid continues to kill the same guy for a minimum 3 months so every person in the raid can get the item they need?

 

 

Thank you for your time.

 - burned out wow raider

catlana

I will give you my breakdown.

PvP:

Sieges and Mini games are end game for pvp. Sieges are over Battlekeeps (ie ownership thereof). Battlekeeps provide sizable benefits to the owning guild. PvP combat also includes a currency for gear (ie similiar to WoW honor). Coming in 1.06 will be an effect for your Guild's ranking based on pvp.

 

PvE:

WoW raids tend to require a more dedicated raid force. You can pug more AoC raids (ie you can pug T0 & T1). The highest level of raids T2 (in 1.06 T3) require a stable raid force. Yes, bosses drop too few items (especially in T2 from what I have heard).  Once again in 1.06, your pve accomplishments will have an effect on your guild's ranking.

 

Note: I play AoC pretty casually in style. I stopped raiding in WoW because of the time commitments. I still like WoW's holiday events (I will get my Purple Netherdrake).

 

Edit: I play on Wiccana which is a pve with rp server now. I have only been in a couple of sieges. However, my sieges have been alot of fun. It does require a pretty good machine to play in a siege thou (especially with multiple necros *sigh*).  

bond284

edit: someone posted additional stuff. comment inc.

 

Ok, so seiges sound interesting. I really do like that conquering a keep has an effect on your guild rating rather than some personal rating. Mini games are battlegrounds am I correct?

BarCrow

If the return trial is over..there are probably buddy passes to be found. You really should just try it again to determine if it is a game you'd play now. I'm not going to sing it's praises..it has problems still...but it is a fun and visually stunning game imo. Don't listen to the same douche(s) who sole advice consists of constantly criticizing  the game because it wasn't everything they dreamed...or dreamed they were promised..at any rate. *sniff* Cry a tear for them and make your own decision.

p.s. If you don't like being ganked..then don't join a PvP server....just go Rp/PvE. If you like PvP...then you will likely be ganked many times. Doomspeakers bring the "gank factor" up as a negative all the time...but it is something you CAN control by the choices you make.  If you don't want to get murdered..don't walk through a neighborhood reputed for it's high crime rate. Same works for mmo servers.

catlana

Originally posted by bond284


edit: someone posted additional stuff. comment inc.
 
Ok, so seiges sound interesting. I really do like that conquering a keep has an effect on your guild rating rather than some personal rating. Mini games are battlegrounds am I correct?

 

Yup, mini game = battleground. Both are instanced pvp with objectives. AoC's mini games are 6 players to a side.

Note, AoC 's casters are stronger than melee atm but melee are in the process of getting buffs. Not real different than DKs being OP in WoTLK thou, you just deal with it till balancing occurs.

bond284

I guess I'll consider making a conqueror then.  I heard good things about them as they can actually compete with casters (i think?) My herald of xotli (sp?) and some other caster class played out kind of dull when i first played.

It is a relief hearing there is some form of struggle or some real substance to the conflict in endgame which is nice since the "they're not horde, so you kill them" routine got old since neither side actively did anything to destroy the other side. Fighting for keeps is nice, literaly and figuratively.

Thanks everyone for the direct answers  much appreciated and relieving.

catlana

Originally posted by bond284


I guess I'll consider making a conqueror then.  I heard good things about them as they can actually compete with casters (i think?) My herald of xotli (sp?) and some other caster class played out kind of dull when i first played.
It is a relief hearing there is some form of struggle or some real substance to the conflict in endgame which is nice since the "they're not horde, so you kill them" routine got old since neither side actively did anything to destroy the other side. Fighting for keeps is nice, literaly and figuratively.
Thanks everyone for the direct answers  much appreciated and relieving.

 

Good luck and have fun.

Note on servers, Tyranny houses some of the best PvPers but it is a extremely challenging place to level (lots and lots of gankings / pvp farming / general jerks). Wiccana is a nice laid back rp pve server. Cimmeria is a good pop rp pvp server between the two in ganking level. Set is a good pop pve server with alot of raiding going on.

Crashloop

Originally posted by bond284



 PVP
Ok so I gather theres plenty of pvp in endgame, but what does that involve?



In AOC you have these types of PvP;

1) sieges - these are guilds fighting over battlekeeps. the battlekeeps give the guild bonuses in PvP in form of defenses and such. Each siege can hold up to 96 players, 48 on each side and you have 1 attacker and 1 defender. On fury specially the sieges lately have been ridden with lag and often crashes so they are not in the best state atm. There is around 9 battlekeeps pr server so some guilds will not have one and compete with the others to get one.


2) Minigames - These are the typical battlegroun minigames you will fin in many other games, you join a minigame either as single player or as a group and will be matched up with other players. Each minigame has 6 players on each team and is a smaller area to make the games more fast paced and action packed. They often resolve around caturing the other teams flag or you have one where you destroy the other teams totem to prevent them from respawning after they are killed.


3) World PvP - In Hyboria you can do PvP in majority of zones, only a few zones are protected from PvP on a PvP server, On a PvE server you have the border kingdom zones as PvP instances. Since I played on a PvP server I'll describe it out from that. When travelling around in hyboria expect to be attacked. each kill gives you PvP xp as long as the opponent isn't too low level. Attacking players higher then you will give you bonus xp. Keshetta and Tarantia common district is the 2 hottest world PvP spots where you will be attacked from anything from single players to entire raids. If you plan on playing solo and not bother with groups or guilds you will not last long in these zones, Majority of your opponents will be groups. Sometimes even larger raids are formed to test strength. You will encounter gankers while you level, but somer smart thinking and changing of instances when availble will in most cases be enough to make the gankers become a smaller problem.
4) Duels - each server usually have their own duel zone, Fury had that place in epic Keshetta. This is the place people meet up for duels. Every now and then some players will go there to gank the people duelling, but it wasn't a big issue on Fury.
Do people pvp for terrirtory?
Not yet, there has been mentioned that there will be some upgrades to the world PvP in patch 1.06. These upgrades will be towers that guilds can fight over. Exactly what benefit these towers will give remains to see tho. There is sometimes fighting goin on in Keshetta about controlling Keshetta this doesn't give any bonuses in itselfm but you can find 2 large guild battling out to become the winner of the fight in the end.
Resources? 
There is some PvP resources in the dimmerian end border kingdom, these are droppable loot if killed in PvP. They are being used to build up the battlekeep for the guild.
Stupid currency like "honor"? 
AoC have PvP level, each time you kill a enemy that yields PvP xp you will increase your xp and once enough you will reach a new level. Each level you get in PvP will allow you to purchase PvP gear for a small amount of gold from a trader. This gear gives you some pvp bonuses like pvp armor.
or do people do it just to do it or for pride? 
Both yes and no, some does it for fun, some does it for pride, some PvP so they can gank others. You will find all kind of reasosn for why some people PvP.
The only thing I could gather from the aoc forums about pvp is 2 things... "casters are op" and "l2p"  so there wasn't much help there.
 
PVE
I promised myself that i would be done with raiding after having done it so much in wow back when upper black rock spire was actually considered dificult and required 15 people so forgive me, but I have to ask these questions.
what sepperates wow pve raids from aoc pve raids?
Not much really, besides different looking instances and some bosses that looks different it's pretty much the same. You raid to get gear.
Do you beat on the same boss every week? 
Yes, there isnæ't any new bosses spawning on weekly basis, some instances have rare bosses that might spawn every time you enter, but this is for the group instances. Never heard of that happening in the raid instances.
Do they perform the same moves/attacks which can be somewhat predictable? 
Each boss can be killed with some different tactics, however once you fight and have learned the best tactic for your guild the fight is pretty much the same everytime.
Do the bosses drop too few pieces of loot, ensuring that your raid continues to kill the same guy for a minimum 3 months so every person in the raid can get the item they need?
Often you will find yourself doing raid after raid hoping to get a piece, they have started handing out more loot in T1 raids now, but T2 raids still can and most likely will be time consuming. T2 raids however is slightly better then T1 raids but you can use the T1 gear without feeling underpowered compared to the T2 gear.
 

 

Unknown

PvP endgame is in a sorry state.



PvE endgame is a lot of fun.



I'm a PvPer at heart.

crunchyblack

Originally posted by bond284


I guess I'll consider making a conqueror then.  I heard good things about them as they can actually compete with casters (i think?) My herald of xotli (sp?) and some other caster class played out kind of dull when i first played.
It is a relief hearing there is some form of struggle or some real substance to the conflict in endgame which is nice since the "they're not horde, so you kill them" routine got old since neither side actively did anything to destroy the other side. Fighting for keeps is nice, literaly and figuratively.
Thanks everyone for the direct answers  much appreciated and relieving.

 

All i hear in game are complaints about conq's, if i were you i would roll another class to start on.