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Decided to try
rooj
Member UncommonPosts: 24
I decided to finally try the free-to-play model for Age of Conan.
I'll admit that I only played one class. Some people may find certain classes to be more fun than others. Some classes may even seem or intentionally be built to be more easily played than others. I don't know.
But by level 23, my Demonologist was still spamming 1. This was...not fun. Especially for a game that was meant to be big in PVP. PVP is meant to be about strategy. There may be strategy involved at higher levels, but what is the point if I'm not having fun already? I've found this game to be very boring. Not to mention being called a "Demonoligist," I did get a pet, but it seemed absolutely worthless.
Age of Conan doesn't really offer anything that you can't get from some other game, either. There's nothing special about it... nothing unique. You'll run around talking to to NPCs with an "!" above their heads and do their silly tasks of killing rats and picking up bottles off the ground. Sigh. Are developers even TRYING to be creative anymore?
I did think that the storyline building up to the battle for Tortage was neat, but very anti-climactic. Thus far the PVE has been very easy and simple. After the Tortage battle, you're sent to another big quest hub...and at that point I deleted the game. Was not entertained.
Not really anything else to say, the game is as cookie cutter as it sounds. If you are an MMORPGer this game will not be a long term thing for you.
Comments
I don't know what you have been smoking...
I can't believe I have never tried this game before 2 weeks ago. I guess because of all the negative hype on forums. Played FtP for a week trying out the 4 classes. after that I just had to sub up. I have played virtually every new MMO that has came out over the last 8 yrs or so (F2P excluded) and I must say I think this game is incredible. There is just soo much to take in after you leave Tortage at first I was overwhelmed after having my hand constantly held with all those other games I was playing. You can go wherever you think your "bad" enough to go and it is an explorers dream come true. At last after so many years of spooning up childhood baby cereal I just think I have stumbled upon a real jewel here and one I can see myself playing for years. Hell I have even stopped anticipating the new games that are supposed to be so awesome when they come out in the near future. I'm an older gamer 50+ and I didn't think a game like this even existed anymore. Having a blast.... Guess it just shows that not every gamer has the same tastes. Can't see how anyone with a brain wouldn't like this.....
It is great having a game to play you like so much, games like that are rare, at least for me they are. I enjoy AoC a lot too, it is the only MMO out now that I care anything about. I think the Conan IP is a big part of it. The whole Conan universe makes for an awesome game! Funcom has done a great job bringing it all to life.
I found that reading Howard's original Conan stories increased my appreciation for the game. There are so many locations, quests, and NPCs that are lifted right out of REH's stories. I walk around thinking this is Hyboria! This is what Howard had in mind! Also, Frazetta's art work is another inspiration the devs have drawn on. If you haven't seen Frank Frazetta's Conan paintings, they are beautiful. I play a Barb and there is a place in the game where I was fighting against giants up in the high country, knee deep in snow. Frank has a painting called The Snow Giants and I was playing that painting! The whole encounter was so obviously a direct inspiration that you realize these devs are true fans of the source material.
"The Pen Is Mightier Than The Demo"
I went ahead and decided to try Conan. I downloaded the client and patched the game which took awhile.
I havent clicked on the icon yet but it sure looks nice! It sort of looks like a golden cross with a red background. Im not sure why its a cross. But it is. But its a nice icon and I think I'll keep it for awhile. I might even click on it at some point and launch the actual game. Maybe.
Im not sure.
If you haven't uninstalled the game yet I'd encourage you to try a melee class like the Barbarian. I do share the feeling that Age of Conan really isn't anything special, especially with those f2p limitations. Still starting off with the demonologist (the class bored me close to death too) doesn't give you the right image of the game.
As for the game being about strategy: No. It's not. Age of Conan isn't really a game that requires a lot of thinking or much of a brain. It just (more than most other games) requires quite some reflexes and hand coordination to be successful in melee combat. Everyone that claims that the PVP there is challenging and that you can "outsmart" your opponent is simply not used to actually strategic gameplay.
To the other responders, you are both correct and wrong. Let me explain. As a long time AoC player, the original poster has some legitimate complaints, but it's not quite right either. For casters in AoC you tend to end up spamming one or two spells early on (you get a few others, but they are not very user friendly in the early levels, or at least it's just easier to spam the easy ones I guess you could say). Its the same for melee as well, one or two combo's to use for a while. As for pets, the demo pets are largley for the buffs they provide, not direct damage (although they do some dmg). The Necromancer is the one for that. Demo pets are for support - both solo and for groups. You get various types as you level up - for mana, health, damage, etc. The variety of spells and options does open up later on - but that's just progression i guess. We can't all be uber god slaying toons straight off the beach eh?
I would agree with the ! over NPC's heads situation - but really, has any dev solved this issue? GW2's no quest system looks interesting, and I really enjoyed GW1, but after playing Conan for so long I just don't think I can go back to that cartoony / disneyesque type graphics. The AoC story is quite good as far as I was concerned (personal opinion), but I usually just ignore it now I done it so many times. As for being sent to a quest hub, well, what else would you expect? They have provided multiple places after Tortage to go and level up, not just the one area - Old Tarantia, Gateway to Khitai, Conali's Valley, Khopshef Province. Each are large and should provide plenty of variety.
If you want something different perhaps try a melee class - the combo system is quite fun. I certainly aint going back to one click and wait to hit games any time soon (well, maybe Diablo III, but I have a soft spot for that :P). Besides, you can play free to the level cap, get in on the early raids and play almost all of vanilla AoC for nothing. I'd say it's worth persevering with a bit longer, or at least looking in on and leveling a bit every now and then.
And for the record, AoC does have it's issues, Im not trying to deny reality. But much has been remedied in recent months, the population is humming, and new content seems to be regular now (well, in contrast to how it was before - we can;t expect miracles I guess!). Heck they are even going to improve the tradeskill / crafting system (Not my bag, but many enjoy that aspect of MMO's).