Age of Conan - Nearest Future - Interview (New PvP Objectives/Content/Guild System)

IGN Vault Network Interviews AoC dev's providing some insight in to immediate and forthcoming plans for the game.

Link: conanvault.ign.com/View.php

Here is a partial, see the link for the rest:

"AOCVault: Update 6 is all the rage now, with much-hyped PVP enhancement and guild progressions, and new PVE raid content. First of all, you electrified fans with hint that Conan himself may make an appearance in House of Crom. Is that true, will Conan actually fight and show his legendary skills?

Devs: - I hate to disappoint people, but we currently have no plans for Conan to make an appearance in House of Crom. Having said that, this is something we would love to do. It would be very cool for Conan to appear and show off his legendary skills, but also a bit scary. It will have to be done right. He has to be very impressive, but the setting would have to be one that requires it – for Conan to come in and help you defeat something that didn’t really require his help would be a bit anti-climatic.

- Once we have found a proper setting and situation for him to appear in we will definitely consider it. I’m sure Conan would appreciate getting out of the throne room and see some action, not to mention that fighting alongside Conan in an epic battle sounds like fun - we just need to find an encounter that warrants his attention.

AOCVault: Well, so far it seems that he’d be most interested in sieges or raids, that sort of thing… On that note, can you explain the ideas behind guild rankings and progressions - any plans for an online ladder, is there any WWW interface planned?

Devs: - When we looked at our game, we felt there was a lack of community interaction and identity. Guild Renown is one way we are addressing this issue. The goal of the system is to provide incentive for players so that they feel like they are part of a larger effort, that regardless of playstyle their actions contribute directly to their guild. It's another way to progress, both in power and as a community, while getting cool rewards on the way, that all players can enjoy - new city buildings, pets, and so on. We also hope that it will encourage guilds to seek out and befriend new players and welcome them into the community so that they can learn to enjoy the game as much as our old veterans already do.

AOCVault: And what about the ‘Ranking’ system?

Devs: - Rankings are a more competitive field. The Renown earned by your guild in a Ranking cycle (currently planned for a week, but that may change) does not carry over to the next cycle. Everyone starts fresh, so only the most dedicated will be recognized for consecutive cycles, while still allowing room for new guilds to come in and dominate, if they put their mind to it. The fame is also tailored to the play style your guild has excelled in. Valor, Glory, and Artistry all have their own rankings, so that each guild can better set its own ranking goals and compete with other guilds of similar interests. We hope that guilds who don't have the resources to compete in the Overall rankings will still be able to identify themselves as being in a top PvP guild, a growing crafting guild, and so on.

- Further, the guild rankings contributions are limited to your top contributing members for that cycle, which allows larger and smaller guilds to both compete with their most hardcore members for top placement. However, rankings will not provide extra power to the guilds who snag even the top places, instead focusing on bragging rights. I can't say anything about Rankings on the web for now, though; you'll just have to wait and see.

 

AOCVault: Let’s talk a bit about another major additions in the coming updates, the PVP objectives. What can you tell us about the Tower PVP system?

Devs: - One of long term goals is to add meaningful repeatable content to the Border Kingdoms. In Update 6 we will introduce a Tower PvP system to one of the Border Kingdom playfields. This system will add more purpose to world PvP, giving players both objectives to complete and rewarding them for succeeding.

AOCVault: Are players right in calling it a 'mini-siege', that allows skirmishing in a more spontaneous way, not requiring full guild on guild action?

Devs: - I don’t think ‘mini-siege’ is a fitting description. These towers can be captured and held by guilds but they do not require as many players to participate as the sieges, nor do they require siege weapons. They can also be attacked by anyone that is part of a guild at any time of the day. There will be different types or rewards for capturing, destroying and holding these towers. Holding them will not be easy, because it’s not just players that are interested in them. As a result the Towers will require significantly less time and resource investment. You should not have to spend a lot of time preparing and planning to join the Tower combat; it should be possible to skirmish and be spontaneous and still have a chance of getting tangible rewards. A small group should be able to do well, at least until they meet a bigger group."

 

Nice bit of info, again more from the link above.