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Title: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falconeer on April 24, 2010, 04:16:43 AM
And looks and smell very good.

Seems to me it's digital download only. Should be about 25$ or €


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Xuri on April 24, 2010, 04:56:18 AM
There will be both retail and digital download versions. Retail version includes original game as well, I believe.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Famine on April 24, 2010, 07:04:07 PM
There will be both retail and digital download versions. Retail version includes original game as well, I believe.

Correct, retail will include both the original game and the expansion. You can also purchase the collectors edition digitally as well.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falconeer on April 25, 2010, 03:44:17 AM
So really Famine, no new class? No martial artists?


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Famine on April 25, 2010, 12:14:39 PM
So really Famine, no new class? No martial artists?

Yep, one new race and one new progression system for all classes. We added more abilities to the game than what we did with the original classes. This includes new trees for each class and new functionality. I would call it a re-branding of the existing classes instead of just giving one new class that everyone and their mother would play on launch day of the expansion. Therefore, you have new abilities without a level increase that makes every class contain something new rather than just giving one new class all the good stuff.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Cheddar on April 25, 2010, 02:50:50 PM
Will DX10 finally work well?  Serious question.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Nija on April 26, 2010, 01:41:15 PM
DX10 is working pretty well for me on my older machine. It's a C2D lightly overclocked, 8 gigs ram, gtx260.

I had to flip a couple of switches to get performance where I wanted - i can't remember if it was one of the lighting or one of the water reflection ones, but a single switch somewhere doubled my framerate.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falconeer on April 26, 2010, 02:10:27 PM
Yeah DX10 is working fine for me too.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Cheddar on April 26, 2010, 02:40:37 PM
DX10 is working pretty well for me on my older machine. It's a C2D lightly overclocked, 8 gigs ram, gtx260.

I had to flip a couple of switches to get performance where I wanted - i can't remember if it was one of the lighting or one of the water reflection ones, but a single switch somewhere doubled my framerate.

hmmm.  If you remember please let us know.  I might give this a try after my FFH2 mod obsession is over.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Brogarn on May 06, 2010, 07:27:17 AM
Bought the expansion yesterday and resubbed. I've got a handful of characters on Wiccana and one on Crimm. Started up a new Necro on Wiccana so i can figure out what the fuck I'm doing. Don't know yet if I'll play on Crimm for the full PvP experience.

I've had more fun in one night of PvE Tortage that I had in most of my last 2 weeks of WAR. Here's hoping it continues.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Nebu on May 06, 2010, 07:43:02 AM
I've had more fun in one night of PvE Tortage that I had in most of my last 2 weeks of WAR. Here's hoping it continues.

I really enjoyed tortage.  After that, not so much. 

Let me know what your experience is.  I'm looking for a game to dabble with.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falconeer on May 07, 2010, 01:46:09 AM
There's a whole new lot of stuff to do after Tortage, as the new "race" has completely new zones to level 20 to 80. If anything, it's worth the exploring. But well, I love the game so I am totally biased.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Ollie on May 07, 2010, 04:30:07 AM
20 to 80, really? I was under the impression it was from 20 to 40, and then from 70 to cap. I thought you still had to do Fields of the Dead, Eiglophian mountains and Atzel's Approach / Thunder River with no alternative new zones in the 40 to 70 range? I might be easily mistaken though, I haven't really paid close attention to the expansion.

If you're right, I might actually consider popping back for a spell. I played my bear shammy to cap back when the game launched and ran Kyllikki / Vistrix / Yakhmar a few times, but never really got over how small the world was. With no alternative zones to level an alt through, it sort of felt like I had already seen everything the first time around. This might make me reconsider.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falconeer on May 07, 2010, 04:42:06 AM
Mmm I am trying to check my facts but I can't find anything useful. I guess I went by memory, reading who knows where about the whole new leveling experience. I am more inclined to believe your version now that I can't find anything to prove mine, but a clarification from Famine would be appreciated.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Xuri on May 07, 2010, 11:39:34 AM
There's one new 20-40 outdoor region, and four new 80 regions.

Don't forget Ymir's Pass in the 40 to 70 range, Ollie.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Ollie on May 08, 2010, 12:05:09 AM
Good catch, forgot about that one. I haven't seen the Pass, nor Tarantia Commons, apparently. That would make it five new outdoor zones with the expansion, plus the two released previously, as well as a bunch of new instanced dungeon content.

Oddly tempting. I think I'll give AoC a second look once the dust from the expansion settles.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Nija on May 09, 2010, 11:25:24 PM
So if there are new 70-80 zones, does that mean that I should spend my free levels in the 60s to get to them quicker? I was going to save up and go from 70-80 via free levels, but now I'm not sure.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falconeer on May 10, 2010, 12:31:23 AM
Xuri said "four new 80 regions", not 70-80. Now that is confusing, but my take is that with offline progression getting to 80 is easier than ever. Hence, their interest is to strengthen the level 80 game, focusing on horizontal progression (Alternate Advancements) instead of vertical progression (levels). Characters spend much more time at the level cap (80) than in the 1-79 bracket, so it's not a bad idea to throw (almost) all your new content in that area.

So Nija, if the new zones are 70-80, seems to me you are right, it's best to spend them in the 60s. If instead the new zones are just level 80, then best to save the free levels for the last, hard stretch (70-79).

Personally, I plan to level up a new Kithai char and to use a free level every now and then, every time I hit the grind to just move to the next bunch of quests.

All thngs considered, the more I think about Offline Progression and this "a level every four days" and the more I am convinced is a stroke of genius.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Xuri on May 10, 2010, 12:40:15 AM
All the new zones - apart from the single new 20-40 one - are lvl 80-specific, yes.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falconeer on May 10, 2010, 02:14:05 AM
A few days old, but new trailer (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-launch-aoc-rise-of/65184) is out and I think it's pretty cool.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Brogarn on May 10, 2010, 07:44:12 AM
Level 28 and still enjoying myself. Playing on a PvP server has added some excitement along with running into inter-guild politics for some interesting head scratching and "ah crap, how did I get into the middle of this?" moments. There's still that wiffle ball bat to the skull when you get out of Tortage that reminds you you're playing an MMO. Takes some time to adjust to that but I managed. Fun will probably increase even more once I actually stop being solo anti-social necro guy and find a guild and all that.

Still a bit early, though, to say "Ya... kick ass game! Everyone come play!"  because I haven't gotten any farther along, really, than I did last time. It's more stable, though, so there's that. Well, when I'm not trying out DX10. Gave the client fits.

Population on both Wiccana (PvE) and Cimmeria seems healthy. No shortage of folks in the starting areas and plenty in Old Tarantia on both servers. Khopshef is rather quiet on Cimmeria, but I think that has something to do with where folks go to PvP or whatever. I'm predicting things will be very busy tomorrow with the new expansion. No clue how long that'll hold out, but hopefully it does for some time. I like the game and plan on playing for a couple months at least.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 10, 2010, 07:45:53 AM
Can you share a link to what has been specifically added/changed for each class?


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falwell on May 11, 2010, 04:36:51 AM
We've had a bunch of our guys back in there for about a week or two now and I'm pretty damn impressed with the improvements.

The engine is a FAR cry from the launch version. Considering the looks : performance aspect, they MIGHT have the best in the business atm. This being the DX9 version, the DX10 still needs some work but it's pretty serviceable with decent hardware.

AoC combat is still AoC combat. Either you liked it or you didn't and it's changed fairly little from the getgo. The RPG system changes, however, were a huge boost and they alone have made it a far more enjoyable game.

If you guys want a group to run with The Grubs are on Wiccana. Our T1 city principle buildings are fully complete and we're doing 6 mans / scenario groups almost nightly. Sanctum, BC, CoD etc. as we're all leveling new toons or picking up where we left off at launch. That spot being, of course, the brick wall of zero content at the 55ish range which has thankfully been rectified.

Give Falwell a yell for an invite or just let any of the other cats know you're from f13 if I'm not on.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Soln on May 11, 2010, 10:25:59 AM
guys at work are playing this and saying good things (and they're old and jaded).

Any reason not to try it out? 


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 11, 2010, 10:43:58 AM
We've had a bunch of our guys back in there for about a week or two now and I'm pretty damn impressed with the improvements.

The engine is a FAR cry from the launch version. Considering the looks : performance aspect, they MIGHT have the best in the business atm. This being the DX9 version, the DX10 still needs some work but it's pretty serviceable with decent hardware.

AoC combat is still AoC combat. Either you liked it or you didn't and it's changed fairly little from the getgo. The RPG system changes, however, were a huge boost and they alone have made it a far more enjoyable game.

If you guys want a group to run with The Grubs are on Wiccana. Our T1 city principle buildings are fully complete and we're doing 6 mans / scenario groups almost nightly. Sanctum, BC, CoD etc. as we're all leveling new toons or picking up where we left off at launch. That spot being, of course, the brick wall of zero content at the 55ish range which has thankfully been rectified.

Give Falwell a yell for an invite or just let any of the other cats know you're from f13 if I'm not on.

I might take you up on that offer later in the week/next week.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Ollie on May 11, 2010, 10:53:46 AM
guys at work are playing this and saying good things (and they're old and jaded).

Any reason not to try it out? 

Depends on the reasons you left in the first place. Some things have changed for the better, others not so much. Unless, of course, you're trying AoC for the first time, in which case the only reason would be that it's Funcom. Prepare for naughty touching.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falconeer on May 11, 2010, 10:57:41 AM
Well, seriously, reasons NOT to try it out? Zero.

Reasons not to stick with it? I guess plenty. Apparently, despite it being very solo friendly, many lose interest in going around alone pretty soon. Works better with a group of friends or an active guild, especially now that all the dungeons have been revamped and the loot is finally meaningful.

EDIT to add, after reading Ollie's comment: Call me a Funcom fanboi if you want, but to me FC is one of the very few MMO Western developers that has always tried to think out of the box, or at least to add something to it, for good or bad. To me Funcom is always good news, a promise of something fresh. Yes, even with all the fuckups. And yes, I was in AO and AoC since launch.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 11, 2010, 11:08:57 AM
So there is no place to look at all the changes to classes (minus the AAs) for the expansion?  I'm curious what the changed.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falconeer on May 11, 2010, 11:16:59 AM
Not that I know of Draegan. First of all, classes has been tweaked SO MUCH since launch it would be very hard to list all the changes, on top of the ones that affected all classes. Second, they are gonna change so much more due to today's expansion and Alternate Advancements that whatever has been written is probably gonna be obsolete in a few hours.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 11, 2010, 11:18:47 AM
I'm just talking about the additions they've made with the expansion, not the content patching over the last year.  I thought I read that instead of adding classes they've added new stuff to each class. (or is that AA?)


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Lantyssa on May 11, 2010, 12:20:41 PM
EDIT to add, after reading Ollie's comment: Call me a Funcom fanboi if you want, ...
I think it's because you like naughty touching. ;D


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falconeer on May 11, 2010, 12:21:42 PM
Haha!

Anyway, here's the Conan 2.0 (Rise of the Godslayer) patch notes.

Quote

‘Rise of the Godslayer’ – The Gates to Khitai open!

Players who purchased the first expansion for Age of Conan can start their journey to the empire of Khitai today! Explore many new world regions such as the level 80 playfields Northern Grasslands, Paikang, Kara Korum and Chosain Province or the level 20 to 40 playfield Gateway to Khitai. This new land offers ample opportunities to explore vast landscapes such as mountains, jungles, plains, and even some areas that defy all laws of nature.



How to get to Khitai

Existing characters can start their travel to the lands of Khitai by going to Khemi in Stygia and talking to the new available caravan master. You can either pay for your journey and be a passenger on the caravan to the Gateway to Khitai region. Or you choose to save the coin and be hired as a caravan guard. But the journey is long and as a guard you will have to deal with any dangers that the caravan might encounter on the way!

Or you start with a new Khitan character and fight your way through Tortage before heading to Khitai and continue your adventures there. The Gateway to Khitai playfield will provide players of level 20 to 40 with tons of adventure and content to explore.



New Playfields, Raids and Dungeons!

Khitai is a massive new location with five sweeping new playfield region and twelve new team dungeons as well as the start of the fourth tier of raid gameplay!
The Gateway to Khitai (Levels 20-40)
Northern Grasslands (level 80+)
Chosain Province (Level 80+)
Kara Korum (Level 80+)
Pai Kang (Level 80+)



Dungeons, Raids and Encounter
The Kang Pagoda (6 man Dungeon in Northern Grasslands)
The first group encounter you will find in your journey to Khitai pits you against an Obese and corrupt governor. His Pagoda towers above the courtyard immediately inside the Great Wall

The Warmonk Monastery (Three 6 man encounters in Northern Grasslands)
Reliquary of Flame
Vortex of the Storm
Coppice of the Heart
In the South West of the Grasslands the Warmonk Monastery looms tall from its perch high in the Mountains above the Grasslands. Here you will find three instanced encounters are you explore the story of the ancient warmonks!

Pillars of Heaven (6 Player Dungeon in Northern Grasslands)
This massive and majestic dungeon location offers a true dungeon crawl taking place in this ancient temple built high above the escarpment. Battle your way through a host of great new boss encounters as you attempt to climb to the peak of the Pillars of Heaven!

The Mines of Chosain (Three 6 Player encounters in Chosain)
The Jade Dugout
Den of the Crowmen
Abyss of Kun Whu
Explore the dangerous Chosain mines, from the Jade dugout through the Den of the strange creatures known as the Children of Jil to the mysteries of the Abyss.

Palace of Yun Rau (6 Player encounter in Chosain Province)
Pit yourself against a local warlord in Chosain in this team instance

The Kara Korum Crater (Three 6 Player encounters in Kara Korum)
The Cavern of Malice
The Celestial Necropolis
The Enigmata of Yag
The strange crater in Kara Korum plays host to the hardest of the single team challenges in Khitai. Those who travel here will seek to get to the heart of the corruption that taints Khitai!

The Jade Citadel (Two Raid encounters Tier Four)
The bravest of souls can dare to challenge the emperor’s army itself! These encounters mark the start of the fourth tier of Raid progression! Approach with caution!


Pick your side

An all-new faction system has been introduced, allowing players to join one of many warring factions in Khitai. Take on jobs for them, rise in their ranks and collect the rewards. And maybe you will betray them in the end as you swear allegiance to their enemies?

This article provides more information on the different factions.



Ride the Tiger and the Wolf

Acquire the Wolf and the Tiger, two new mounts available in the expansion! But that is not an easy task, for you must train them and nurture them as they grow from being a cub and into being a powerful battle companion.

More about the two new mounts can be found in this article.



Alternate Advancement System

You can now take your character even further by exploring the all-new alternate advancement system. Acquire new powers and abilities, and even progress while your character is logged out. The new system will take your character further than ever before!

Read more about the Alternate Advancement System here.



New content, new experiences

You can now start out as a Khitan character and head straight to Khitai after your time on Tortage Island is over. Experience content across several level ranges, and unlock a vast number of fantastic new armor pieces, incredible weapons, and numerous other exclusive rewards.



Additonal Updates

Together with the launch of the ‘Rise of the Godslayer’ expansion, there are also improvements and changes to the original game being deployed to the live servers.


CLASSES

Assassin
The Lotus Overdose effect can now only be triggered once every 10 seconds.
Dark Templar
Drain Strength will now have a chance to be applied when using Mind Wrack, Mind Shatter, Warped Dread, and Dooming Presence.
Sadistic Soul has been changed to a toggleable ability. When on, area damage will pulse from the Dark Templar every 15 seconds, and this damage will no longer require a full 10-stack of Sadism, but will rather scale the damage based on the amount of Sadism.
Necromancer
Updated the description of the Death's Channel effect to be more clear.
The particle effect of the Mutilator’s spell now follows the target instead of lingering in the air.
Ranger
Traps can no longer be placed while the Ranger is affected by crowd control.

GUILD RENOWN
Fixed the recipes for the Soldier’s Haversack and the Commander’s Haversack so they will now give the correct bag when being crafted.
The Farmer NPC should now always offer his goods when a player interacts with him.

GUI
Fixed an issue with Group Invites which sometimes didn’t show the invitation accept window to a player.
Texture Quality and Audio Quality in the launcher options now have text descriptions.
Fixed an issue that made it impossible to rename/delete custom map waypoints that didn't have a name.
Removed a wrong yellow travel point marker from the Khopshef Province map.
The ‘Main System’ and ‘Villa Lentulus’ in the Tarantia Noble Districts now correctly show on the map.

GUILDS
There is now a cooldown of 24 hours on a reinvite after leaving a guild.

PVP

Massive PvP
A friendly mercenary should no longer have a red nametag during a siege.

NPCs/MOBS
Instead of two, there is now only one Watch Captain Falco standing around in Tarantia Noble District.
Catus from the ‘Nobles of Tarantia’ quest can again be found in the Tarantia Noble District.
Fixed an issue where mobs that run faster than a player would follow a running player around without attacking.
Both smugglers in Purple Lotus Swamp and Kheshatta do now offer to bring you to Khemi.
The smuggler in Poitain now offers to bring you to Old Tarantia.
The Scorpion Abomination in Scorpion Cave will no longer reset at improper times.
The Essence of Winter in the Pyramid of the Ancients now should show its particle effect correctly at all times.
A feared Ravenous Crocodile Follower in the Slaughterhouse Cellar will now correctly attack you after the fear spell has run out.

ITEMS
The Putrid Hand generic item is no longer bound on pickup.

GENERAL
Changed the idle animations of some character faces to make them look more lively.



Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 11, 2010, 12:30:07 PM
I think I may buy this to see the new content after Tortage, and for $25.00 it's not that bad of a price point.

I'll just have to pick a class though.  Not sure what to play.

I've got a 70 something assassin and 50-60 something Demo from release and I leveled a DT into the 40s I think when F13 went back for a month.

Hmmmmm. I always wanted to try out a HoX or a Ranger.  Last I played Rangers were meh after level 30 or so and HoX's were always awesome.

Edit: Or I could play easy mode and make a Necro which I always wanted to do but never did!.



Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Ollie on May 11, 2010, 12:54:58 PM
Call me a Funcom fanboi if you want, but to me FC is one of the very few MMO Western developers that has always tried to think out of the box, or at least to add something to it, for good or bad. To me Funcom is always good news, a promise of something fresh. Yes, even with all the fuckups. And yes, I was in AO and AoC since launch.

Oh, I'm not really as against Funcom as it might seem, I was just making the obligatory snide remark. And you're absolutely right about their willingness to push the envelope, which is far too rare a trait in this age of design by committee and carbon-copy Dikus.

Still, Funcom does make for an easy target for ridicule with its perennial inability to get its technical shit together. If they could up their game with the Secret World and launch with the kind of performance we're now seeing in AoC, they might actually have a title with healthy retention.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falconeer on May 11, 2010, 01:34:25 PM
Alternate Advancements. (http://community.ageofconan.com/wsp/conan/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&template=content&func_id=3204&table=CONTENT)

Quote
The alternate advancement system gives anyone from level 20 to 80 new ways of progressing or earning new combos, powers and abilities.

Earning Alternate Advancement
The new system features three new 'trees' for all classes, totaling a lot of new abilities available to players, with most of these abilities having five ranks. Players will be able to buy abilities using points earned through the alternate advancement system. The general tree is available to characters at level 20, while the archetype and class trees become available at level 80. The abilities in the general tree will scale with the player's level and means that lower level characters can also benefit from these new trees.

Players can purchase abilities using alternate advancement points. These points come in three different varieties: Prowess, Mastery and Expertise. Prowess points are earned through PvP, mastery represents PvE and expertise points are awarded alongside prowess and mastery at a fixed ratio. For example, if a player earns 10 prowess or mastery points, he will also be rewarded a certain number of expertise points. As the player progresses through content in the expansion, they will be awarded alternate advancement points after accumulating enough alternate advancement XP, the variety of which depending on whether it is PvP or PvE content.

"Alternate advancement XP may be gained both in the expansion, and in the live game. It was important to us that existing live content is continued to be supported," explains Dave Williams, the Lead Systems Designer for the expansion, "although because expansion content will inherently be more challenging for a player new to that content, it will reward alternate advancement XP to an appropriate degree which reflects this."

Feats and Perks
There are two types of purchase-able abilities players may obtain in the alternate advancement system. These are called Feats and Perks.

Feats in the System are passive abilities which are "always active." When a player purchases a feat, it is effectively treated as an innate boost to his overall character power. Some of these feats, while considered passives in the tree, may still enable a new ability or spell - it just means that the player always have the option of using that ability in combat.

Perks on the other hand are something new altogether. These are special abilities which must be equipped on a new Perk Bar in order to be active and/or useable. Perks are deadly and dangerous abilities that become formidable tools on the battlefield. The new Perk bar though has a finite set of spaces available for active perks. This means that players must make the strategic choice of which perks they want active for any given fight.

Perks are subdivided into Major Perks and Minor Perks. Minor Perks take up one slot on the perk bar. Major Perks are extra-powerful class-specific abilities that take up two slots on the Perk Bar which represents just how greatly they can swing the tide of battle.

We really want the players to have some real tactical choices. This means that unlike the previous feat builds (which of course remain intact) and combos where you simply accrue more of them, the perk system will force you to make key, strategic choices about which abilities you bring into battle. It will also add the additional tactical layer that you will never quite be sure what abilities your opponent might be using, and even allow players of the same class to specialize into very different roles should they choose to. Ultimately it will also allow players to adapt and change their possible role on the battlefield depending on their needs. As they earn more alternate advancement perks they will be opening up more choices and opportunities for themselves.

Over Time Mechanic
The alternate advancement System will also have an over-time mechanic, available online or offline. This is a straight conversion of points-to-time. A player will be able to select the Perk or Feat he wants to train, and as the clock ticks away AA points will trickle in to that Perk or Feat. The gain of course will be far less than what one would get by actively playing the content which generates points. This is intended to reward subscribers but also casual gamers, and will also give an additional method for PvP players to pick up desired feats in the PvE tree and vice-versa.

With the introduction of the alternate advancement system, players all the way from level 20 to 80 have access to a mass of new opportunities. Combined with the fantastic new gameplay of the expansion, the alternate advancement system means there has never been a better time to play Age of Conan, both for new and experienced players.

New Horizons
Overall we really wanted this system to be about choice. While some players will for sure be able to master all the options over time, this system ensures that they always have to make a choice as to which abilities they bring to a fight. They get to choose how to specialize their character, they get to choose what order in which they wish to progress, they get to choose whether they aim for mastering one area before another, or choose to focus on a broad range of skills and abilities, but take longer to master them all.So with this system we really feel that we will be providing players with an in-depth experience that will allow them to tailor their character to their personal preferences and create a meaningful and interesting set of progression choices for each and every player.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falwell on May 11, 2010, 02:00:41 PM
I might take you up on that offer later in the week/next week.

Right on, just flag one of us down if / when ya get there.

Edit: I just changed our recruitment up so even if one of us isn't on, go ahead and apply in game and I'll accept the app next time I log in.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 11, 2010, 03:07:32 PM
I went out and got it this afternoon.  I remembered I had some Gamespot dollars sitting around and that basically covered the expansion.  Installing now.  I have the disks so it should take 4 hours instead of 8.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Stormwaltz on May 11, 2010, 10:10:55 PM
I'm going to be giving this a spin. The expansion's is in the mail from GoGamer. I got the Collector's Edition back when it released and then - as with so many games I buy - it sat on my shelf collecting dust. But damn if they didn't make a gorgeous Asia that never was.

What server is everyone on?

EDIT: Looks like Wiccana is the PvE server of choice? Sounds like a good name to me. (But then, I married a witch.)

MMORPG.com is giving away codes for a free non-combat crocodile pet here (http://www.mmorpg.com/giveaways.cfm/offer/175/Age-of-Conan-Rise-of-the-Godslayer-Loyal-Crocodile-Giveaway.html). Grab one before they disappear.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falconeer on May 11, 2010, 11:29:06 PM
Sweet Stormwaltz, thank you! And 3000 more keys left.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Cadaverine on May 12, 2010, 10:09:14 AM
10,004 keys left is what it just said when I grabbed one.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 12, 2010, 01:42:42 PM
I got to play a bit late last night, about 20 mins, and all I did was run around real quick, play with the character creator and  mess around with the graphic settings.

I'm trying to get the dx10 client to work well with my two 4850's.  I got a ton of shadow flickers.  Might just play in dx9.

Tonight I'm going to start in earnest and try a Ranger (I hope I don't regret the class).  If I hate it, I still have my free level 50 boost.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Riggswolfe on May 12, 2010, 02:58:03 PM
Hey Falwell, if you're not on who should we contact? I'd like to get in a guild but also don't want to be roped into raiding and stuff all the time. My character is only level 28 right now since I just started playing a month or so ago.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falwell on May 12, 2010, 07:16:33 PM
Hey Falwell, if you're not on who should we contact? I'd like to get in a guild but also don't want to be roped into raiding and stuff all the time. My character is only level 28 right now since I just started playing a month or so ago.

Any Grub can get ya an invite. Just tell em you're from f13.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Nija on May 12, 2010, 07:26:54 PM
Since people are having trouble with DX10, I'm going to share the settings that work for me.

Video options / Basic

Display Res: 1680x1050
Enable full screen: Unchecked
AA Quality: 4x
...
View distance: 1000 m

Video Options / Advanced

DX version: DX 10 Test
Shader model: 4.0

Shadow quality: From everything
Shadow res: Low
3d ambient occlusion quality: Disabled

HQ view distance: 50%
Particle view distance: 250m
NPC view distance: 201m
Grass view distance: 20m
Ground quality view distance: 32m
Animation hq view distance: 75m

Texture filtering quality: Anisotropic
Texture res: High
Anisotropic filtering quality: 2
Enable parallax: unchecked
Enable advanced transparency: unchecked
Remove foliage around character: checked

Enable grass: checked
HQ grass: unchecked
Grass physics: unchecked

Water reflection quality: From ground only
Enable world particles: checked

Video options / DirectX 10 Test

Adv Shadows: unchecked
Screen space ambient occlusion lighting: unchecked
Godrays: unchecked
Godray Intensity: 25%
Specular on Ocean: unchecked
Underwater Caustics: HQ
Enable Caustics only while submerged: checked
Volumetric light: checked
Wind in Trees: unchecked
Shockwave Distortion: on all characters
Radial Blur: checked


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 12, 2010, 07:33:24 PM
Ooh thanks for that, except my resolution is 1920x1200.


I've made like 4 character tonight to level 6.  Gotta find the right fit.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: schild on May 12, 2010, 07:55:29 PM
I have made my 6th Priest of Mitra.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Lum on May 12, 2010, 08:12:38 PM
I'm in as a baby Khitan Necromancer, because I hate fun. On Wiccana, because I hate witches. And fun.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Lum on May 12, 2010, 10:47:07 PM
You know, if you use the DLC 100% XP potion, you can go through Tortage without ever doing a single day quest (at least so far! I'm at level 11 after a few hours).

And yes, I know I'm skipping the best part of the game, because I've played the best part of the game.... quite a few times now.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Ollie on May 13, 2010, 02:04:41 AM
I resubbed too, and just in time to enjoy the massive Euro server downtimes. The game has been down a good 24 hours here since the 11th with various patches and fixes. Go team!  :yahoo:

I did have time to run around Keshatta briefly and tickle a few mobs just to see the PvE combat changes. Boy, have they changed the classes since launch. My bear shammy seemed pretty solid with my old spec, handling groups of three to four on-level mobs with little downtime between pulls. (After the appropriate amount of practice, of course. The first few pulls – not so pretty.) My poor guardian, on the other hand, has been reduced to a simpering wuss. Going sword and board and stacking counterstrike really doesn't work anymore. At all. I guess it's polearm all the way, though I need to do a bit of forum digging to really get up to speed. Too bad that would mean mandatory re-specs between PvP and group PvE, which is far too nerdy to even contemplate. I want to be soothed by violence and gore, not agonize over builds.

I know I'm skipping the best part of the game, because I've played the best part of the game.... quite a few times now.

There are only so many times a sane person can listen to Saddur's "You will not sacrifice yourself to the Deeeeemon?" before swallowing one's face.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Velorath on May 13, 2010, 02:26:33 AM
Wish I could join you guys.  Too much other shit to play though.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Shatter on May 13, 2010, 04:15:47 AM
Been reading there have been issues, bugs and other crap going on.  True/false? 


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Ollie on May 13, 2010, 06:17:24 AM
A bit of crashing has been going on, mostly while zoning. The new zones are seeing horrid performance, which is to be expected as people hammer them constantly. Other than those boo-boos, nothing major here on the EU servers.

To Funcom's credit, they've been pretty above board about the whole thing and haven't tried to sweep anything under the carpet. Morrison came out early on with an announcement (http://forums-eu.ageofconan.com/showpost.php?p=1636734&postcount=2) that they're working on it.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Brogarn on May 13, 2010, 07:04:42 AM
I've run into the occasional lag spikes, but nothing "ZOMG FAILCOM!" yet. I'm on Cimmeria, though, so there might be population differences.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Pennilenko on May 13, 2010, 07:07:13 AM
I am downloading as we speak, I am pretty sure all of my characters are on a pvp server. I just don't remember which one.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 13, 2010, 07:22:58 AM
After making my second Bear Shaman last night I got up to level 13 and into the guild.  We'll stick with this guy for a while.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Stormwaltz on May 13, 2010, 07:44:27 AM
Boy, it would be great if my fucking preorder box would get here sometime.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Nebu on May 13, 2010, 08:12:26 AM
I'm very tempted to give this expansion a try, but I'm waffling between this and a resub to LotRO.  

Can any of you here break down what might push me toward one game over the other?  I prefer to play casters/support and primarily solo/duo most content.

I've actually been playing DDO recently and it's making me crabby. 


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 13, 2010, 08:40:07 AM
Well I just recently went LOTRO -> DDO -> AOC (currently subbed to DDO and AOC now).

LOTRO is just the same thing again, though I never got far in the game, you guys have.

DDO is great but I got my sorcerer up to level 9 and the solo-ness got real slow-grindy or nonexistent.  I didn't want to pug and didn't wait around for guild groups.

AOC, you can solo all you want.  The holes have been filled and if you pick a class you can have fun with you should have a good time for a while.  The game looks gorgeous and I want to check out the new 20-40 areas.  The only reason I quit the last time F13 got together was because my Dark Templar was starting to be boring and something shiny caught my eye I think.

Also, the population should be decent with server mergers and the expansion bringing people back.

So, AOC has shinier graphics, different gameplay, more solo-ability and it's something you haven't played in a while.  DDO the solo stops at level 10ish.  And LOTRO, though a good game, doesn't grab me (not sure why it doesn't grab you).

Also, AOC has Asian boobs now.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Lum on May 13, 2010, 10:24:31 AM
It's great how Moore's Law has caught up to AoC. I can actually run the DX10 engine at 1920x1080 at 30fps!


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falwell on May 13, 2010, 12:59:22 PM
You'll also be happy to know that the wonderful mechanic of falling about two feet and receiving a roughly twelve hour snare for your trouble is still alive and kicking.



Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 14, 2010, 10:15:04 AM
Can someone suggest a piece of software I can use to map buttons to my mouse for AOC only?  I really don't want to install my lachesis software.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Nightblade on May 14, 2010, 11:14:44 AM
Can someone suggest a piece of software I can use to map buttons to my mouse for AOC only?  I really don't want to install my lachesis software.

I'm pretty sure the game has support for mouse binding now... Or am I thinking of something else? Last time I played this I dont remember having to install any additional driver software.

Im curious about these changes, does combat still require a ridiculous amount of micro managing? I still have a free product key from an MMORPG contest I won a few months ago.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 14, 2010, 11:22:45 AM
I can't bind mouse buttons as of two nights ago.

Also combos have been cut down.  They're all 1-2 now and I think the highest may be 3, I can't remember.  If the game released in the shape it is today it would be much more successful.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Nightblade on May 14, 2010, 12:36:29 PM
I can't bind mouse buttons as of two nights ago.

Also combos have been cut down.  They're all 1-2 now and I think the highest may be 3, I can't remember.  If the game released in the shape it is today it would be much more successful.


The cut down combos are nice, however I'm talking more about the

"Barbarian Damage ability"
"Barbarian Damage abilitty 2!"
"Barbarian Damage ability 3 with speed buff!"

"Barbarian anti CC 1"
"Barbarian anti CC 2"


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Ollie on May 14, 2010, 01:06:03 PM
Well, you could always play a necro or a demo. You get to press about four buttons all the way to the level cap, which is exactly as exciting as it sounds.

No, really, it is.  ;D

All melee classes require a bit more button mashing, though some are less of a fuss to play than others. Brute specced conqueror and berzerker barbie are still the faceroller's solo PvE options of choice. It takes considerable skill to fail with those two.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 14, 2010, 01:30:05 PM
I can't bind mouse buttons as of two nights ago.

Also combos have been cut down.  They're all 1-2 now and I think the highest may be 3, I can't remember.  If the game released in the shape it is today it would be much more successful.


The cut down combos are nice, however I'm talking more about the

"Barbarian Damage ability"
"Barbarian Damage abilitty 2!"
"Barbarian Damage ability 3 with speed buff!"

"Barbarian anti CC 1"
"Barbarian anti CC 2"


There are different attack abilities.. yes and each one gets extra ranks.  They all attack different directions but they also don't share a GCD so you can use rank 2 and 3 right after each other.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Riggswolfe on May 14, 2010, 01:50:40 PM

All melee classes require a bit more button mashing, though some are less of a fuss to play than others. Brute specced conqueror and berzerker barbie are still the faceroller's solo PvE options of choice. It takes considerable skill to fail with those two.


Ok. Why is Brute spec so awesome? I've been looking between the trees and Brute seems more 2h oriented whereas Carnage seems more DW. Is 2h just that much better for some reason?


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Nightblade on May 14, 2010, 01:59:01 PM
I can't bind mouse buttons as of two nights ago.

Also combos have been cut down.  They're all 1-2 now and I think the highest may be 3, I can't remember.  If the game released in the shape it is today it would be much more successful.


The cut down combos are nice, however I'm talking more about the

"Barbarian Damage ability"
"Barbarian Damage abilitty 2!"
"Barbarian Damage ability 3 with speed buff!"

"Barbarian anti CC 1"
"Barbarian anti CC 2"


There are different attack abilities.. yes and each one gets extra ranks.  They all attack different directions but they also don't share a GCD so you can use rank 2 and 3 right after each other.

I'm talking about the overlapping and redundant abilities that would compel someone to just have them all trigger from a single button; it becomes more apparent once you get closer to the level cap; so I guess not many here know about it yet. It also may have been purely a Barbarian issue.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Ollie on May 14, 2010, 02:40:48 PM
Nightblade lost me there. A weapon-swapping hybrid Barbie at 80 would do a rotation that goes something like:

Staggering Blow to get Reverse Swing ticking
Stunning Punch
Weapon swap
Wreck Armor
Jagged Cut
Whirlwind (depending on mob number)
CoS what's left, using highest rank first followed by next highest rank.
You could also do a couple of Butchers with the two-hander after CCing, if needed.

I'm a bit lost as to what redundancy you're referring to. Maybe I'm just dense.  :headscratch:

Why is Brute spec so awesome? I've been looking between the trees and Brute seems more 2h oriented whereas Carnage seems more DW. Is 2h just that much better for some reason?

Two-hander is a much easier spec to level in than dual-wield. You have better survivability, more range, so hitting multiple mobs is easier, and most importantly you have better CC options. Carnage does more damage, but becomes more viable at cap and with better gear. (The same reasons hold true for barbies; reaver is a really poor levelling spec due to limited survivability.)

A basic brute levelling spec would go something like this. (http://aoc.yg.com/feat-planner?class=22&tpl=526-15,547-13,537-15,538-15,528-13,533-15,525-15,536-13,542-13,541-11,578-12,540-11,551-11,4001-25,4000-25,4002-25,4012-25,4013-21) That's mapped out to level 67.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Nonentity on May 14, 2010, 06:15:25 PM
What the hell? When did everyone start playing AoC when I wasn't looking?


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Pennilenko on May 14, 2010, 07:52:28 PM
Are there enough people giving it a romp on wiccanna for me to use up a character slot to try out that server?


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Cadaverine on May 15, 2010, 03:53:47 PM
Normally I play on Set, but I've been wanting to play a tank for shits and giggles for a while now, so Wiccanna it is.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Redgiant on May 15, 2010, 04:25:49 PM
Sigh, guess I may reactivate after ... well I have no clue other than it's been at least 12 months.

My 80 PoM on Wiccana is still squatting in Noble's I think.

Someday, a new MMO will come along that I don't have to unsub for 6-12 months to forget enough about it to want to play it again. I just know it will.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 17, 2010, 06:47:25 AM
Make sure you /claim the xp pots.  I thought about saving these for later levels but I discovered on Saturday that they last for 12 hours.  I could of saved myself a ton of time.  They are soooo good.  And you get 10 of them.  Use them as soon as you get to Tortage and begin questing.

Playing up quests in Khitai is tough though.  There are many wholes in quests there.  But there are some cool repeatable quests that are quick and easy.  I'm just worried I won't have enough money for a mount and pots if I'm leveling quickly.  Luckily my Bear Shaman doesn't need them as much as I remember my assassin/demo needed them.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Ollie on May 17, 2010, 10:19:56 AM
Yep, the need for pots and downtime is minimal compared to some classes. The Bear Shaman is a bit of a late bloomer, though, or at least was when I was levelling mine back at launch. The early levels were actually the hardest, as the class was still hurting from the lack of core skills and feats. After hitting thirty or so, things became a lot easier.
 
I've been dabbling with a Guardian and a Barbarian this past week, but the Shammy is still my favourite. Relatively weak CC aside, the BS has the widest toolset in the game.  In a way, playing a BS reminds me of LotRO's Lore-master, even though their group roles are different. There's never a dull moment and you always have a skill for any given situation, which makes group play a hoot.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Draegan on May 17, 2010, 10:38:43 AM
I hit 27 on my BS.  However at 25 it's where things became easier with the new blood flow rank.  It's still relatively simple though.  You've got your blood flow heals along with the procing heal thingy skill.  Then your Manifest and they your regular melee combos.  Nothing very interesting... yet.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Ollie on May 25, 2010, 08:30:33 AM
So, I've been exploring the expansion zones and getting acquainted with the AA sytem as well as the new PvP levels and gear, which didn't exist back in the day. Looking at the amount of grinding I would have to do to get any semblance of progression out of the faction system, I can safely say that this expansion offers precious little to someone with my limited playtime. Were I the cynical type, I'd say Funcom turned the whole game into one gigantic resource grind. Even Shrines of Bori pretty much requires a guild group, at least on Crom EU.

Going into this, I knew Funcom focused their lateral progression more around dedicated group content, so I can't say I'm exactly disappointed. I guess I'm just surprised how little there is on offer for the casual solo player. So, two weeks in and yawning already.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Morfiend on May 31, 2010, 10:49:36 AM
Looking at the amount of grinding I would have to do to get any semblance of progression out of the faction system, I can safely say that this expansion offers precious little to someone with my limited playtime.

I was looking in to the expansion, and this was a complaint I heard from a lot of people. Kind of a bummer. I hate grinding, so I guess I wont be resubbing to try it.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Pennilenko on May 31, 2010, 11:42:33 AM
All my characters are on cimmeria, with all the pvp I have been doing I haven't even noticed a grind. I also have yet to step into any expansion content. I came back for the expansion and haven't even see it yet. LOL


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Brogarn on June 02, 2010, 09:51:39 AM
All my characters are on cimmeria, with all the pvp I have been doing I haven't even noticed a grind.

x2

Cimmeria is fun. World PvP is fun if you have the patience for it. The added inter-guild and ganker drama can turn your standard kill/collect quest into a real heart thumping fight or stealth mission. If you're just interested in getting your quests done so you can get that next level or loot item, then really, you're not going to have any fun on a PvP server. For me, though, the PvE stuff is redundant, repetitive and boring without the danger of being jumped. It's not always the one-sided gankfest that people say it is. Plus having a guild helps a lot. When things are getting one-sided, you get your friends and clear out the jerks. Good stuff all around.

Oh and I'm still having a blast with the game. Dungeons are actually challenging which is great. Close to original EQ toughness without the corpse runs. And like I said, PvP makes it all come together.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Pennilenko on June 02, 2010, 09:55:47 AM
All my characters are on cimmeria, with all the pvp I have been doing I haven't even noticed a grind.

x2

Cimmeria is fun. World PvP is fun if you have the patience for it. The added inter-guild and ganker drama can turn your standard kill/collect quest into a real heart thumping fight or stealth mission. If you're just interested in getting your quests done so you can get that next level or loot item, then really, you're not going to have any fun on a PvP server. For me, though, the PvE stuff is redundant, repetitive and boring without the danger of being jumped. It's not always the one-sided gankfest that people say it is. Plus having a guild helps a lot. When things are getting one-sided, you get your friends and clear out the jerks. Good stuff all around.

Oh and I'm still having a blast with the game. Dungeons are actually challenging which is great. Close to original EQ toughness without the corpse runs. And like I said, PvP makes it all come together.


I got wrapped up in a crappy guild at first but recently I was rescued by Brotherhood of Darkness. Wow what a difference when you get into a guild that is heavy into pvp and is full of amazing RPers.

I tried to hop on wicanna when i first reactivated. I couldn't take it it was pretty horrible without the chance to get face stomped to keep the heartbeat up.

P.S. Fuck assassins. Kill em if you see em. :grin:


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Azazel on June 02, 2010, 11:42:46 PM
I saw "Rise of the Godslayer" in the most-recent-post section of the board, and immediately thought of Grunk. How disappointed I am to see it's unrelated.  :cry:


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Brogarn on July 04, 2010, 05:28:56 AM
Still playing. Still having a good time. Having a raiding guild also helps. Plus, the Khitan dungeons are pretty damn fun. Actually, there isn't a dungeon in AoC that I've really disliked so far. AoC's PvE is pretty top notch.

PvP could use a lot of work, though. There's only 4 mini scenarios, which can get extremely repetitive and Cimmerian End which is just silly with its resource gathering and sacrificing. Frankly, and I never thought I'd say this: WAR has better PvP. Even with all of it's flaws, it was far more interesting than banging on rocks. Even taking empty keeps in RvE fashion in WAR was far more fun than banging on rocks. What a goddamned ridiculous system this game has for large scale PvP.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Nebu on July 04, 2010, 07:13:48 PM
Having a raiding guild also helps.

I've come to believe that this is a mandate for being able to enjoy all that an MMO has to offer.  Beyond that you can appreciate the solo game and a few pugs, but that's rarely where the heart of any MMO lies.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Brogarn on August 11, 2010, 06:17:45 AM
After having been sieged last night, I can now say that I've seen every aspect of AoC's PvP. My verdict is that outside of the combat itself, it's complete and utter shit.

World PvP is hindered by Mega Super Guards. A better system would have been to put quest givers in safe zones so that you have time to read the quests and get a feel for the zone. Instead, you get asshats attacking you while you're fighting mobs, then running to the guards when you have the upper hand. What happens then is if you've got a bleed or DoT or anything on that asshat, the guard kills you. It's a bullshit ridiculous system.

Mini games are hindered by a mix of OP classes, unbalanced groups, high PvP ranking pre-mades, the same 4 maps over and over from your very first mini to your last, and a stupid 19 level discrepancy in the lower brackets.

Zone PvP (kind of like RvR lakes in WAR, but it's own zone) consists of farming resource nodes and sacrificing them on an altar for PvP like I mentioned above. Instead of fighting other players over objectives, you try to avoid other players. It's just dumb and not in the least bit fun. They've made some changes and more PvP happens here, but the core design is still completely flawed.

Sieging is hindered by lag, exploits, poorly designed keeps that make it more fun to be an attacker than a defender, and this odd sign up system that I can't really explain. It's just odd to me. You can't have your window to be attacked aligned with anyone else's. You can have your window in the middle of the night to try to avoid people even attacking in the first place. I don't know ... it's just an odd set up. I don't know of a good alternative, but I do know I don't care for this system. My biggest complaint, though, is that defense of your keep sucks. You have everything to lose, but aren't given the tools you'd really need to defend with.

Finally, for a game that should have been PvP first, the lack of being able to level up and gearing up by doing it, is just embarrassing. I have better gear from PvE raiding than I do from PvP levels. FOR PVP! That's asinine.

Beyond PvP, the expansion is nothing more than a massive grind fest. Good dungeons, but the rest of it is boring as shit and because of faction rewards being class and preference based, splits up your guild into farming different factions, making it more effective to solo. That being the opposite thing you'd want in an MMO.

Anyways, I'm pretty sure this is more rant than informative. I'm just highly annoyed, in the mood for an MMO, but don't see anything that's going to be what I'm looking for: A good mix of PvP and PvE with large scale PvP battles and interesting classes. WAR is so close, but they've always been there and I don't think they'll ever make it over the hurdle into awesome. If I were to try WoW, I'd want to wait until Cataclysm. Fallen Earth just has too many issues and I don't trust the game to be around long. Plus, I'm not big on crafting and that's the drawing point of that game. The list goes on and I'm being rambly so I'll just stop there.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Nebu on August 11, 2010, 07:39:42 AM
If I were to try WoW, I'd want to wait until Cataclysm.

If you're interested in trying WoW, you'd want to start leveling and gearing up now.  Then you'd be close to where you want to be by the time that Cataclysm releases.  That is unless you already have characters at cap.

Thanks for the AoC rant.  You confirmed many of my initial feelings and saved me the pain of giving the game another try. 


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: ghost on August 11, 2010, 07:52:44 AM
My verdict is that outside of the combat itself, it's complete and utter shit.


The combat is a bit of shit, too, unless you play ranged or caster.  Having to chase someone around and go through a sequence of 3 or more button pushes to do a combo while doing PvP is hardly fun.  I think there are two reasons people like playing a "rouge" on WoW:  1.  It's fun to spell it rouge and piss people off, and 2. You only have to mash a few buttons. 


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Falconeer on September 30, 2010, 05:46:02 AM

The combat is a bit of shit, too, unless you play ranged or caster.  Having to chase someone around and go through a sequence of 3 or more button pushes to do a combo while doing PvP is hardly fun.

Sigh. No combo is more than 3 buttons since more than a year ago. You are doing too many things wrong to be able to find fun.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Chinchilla on November 15, 2010, 10:17:03 AM
Wow, reading all that makes me go "stay away"!  The weird thing is I decided to download and install this as I was just wanting a little break from Darkfall.  I love Darkfall for how open ended it is, but sometimes I just want to be lead instead of me deciding.  So I figured I'd try it.  So far it isn't too bad, but then again I'm still in the newbie area.  I just made it to my first town where I will start those quests and see a few other people running around.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Nebu on November 15, 2010, 10:38:09 AM
Wow, reading all that makes me go "stay away"!  The weird thing is I decided to download and install this as I was just wanting a little break from Darkfall.  I love Darkfall for how open ended it is, but sometimes I just want to be lead instead of me deciding.  So I figured I'd try it.  So far it isn't too bad, but then again I'm still in the newbie area.  I just made it to my first town where I will start those quests and see a few other people running around.

Tortage is a wonderful gaming experience.  I'm interested in hearing your opinion once you get past level 25. 


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Chinchilla on November 15, 2010, 10:59:36 PM
Wow, reading all that makes me go "stay away"!  The weird thing is I decided to download and install this as I was just wanting a little break from Darkfall.  I love Darkfall for how open ended it is, but sometimes I just want to be lead instead of me deciding.  So I figured I'd try it.  So far it isn't too bad, but then again I'm still in the newbie area.  I just made it to my first town where I will start those quests and see a few other people running around.

Tortage is a wonderful gaming experience.  I'm interested in hearing your opinion once you get past level 25. 

After 20 is when u have to subscribe right?


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: ghost on November 16, 2010, 02:02:22 PM
Tortage is a wonderful gaming experience.  I'm interested in hearing your opinion once you get past level 25.  

Read what I said above-  the PvP is clunky if you're not a caster, no matter what Falconeer says.  Three button combos still suck ass in PvP.  There's just no need for it.  They've improved the post Tortage experience significantly from launch, but it's still a bit of a bog down after level 40 or so.  Open world PvP is what you'd expect-  lot's of ganking which can be fun at times.  


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Chinchilla on November 16, 2010, 07:36:42 PM
What do u suffer if u die in PVP?  Damage to ur gear from death?  Do u lose any gear?


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Xuri on November 16, 2010, 08:30:50 PM
Bruised ego.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Lantyssa on November 17, 2010, 06:22:05 AM
Mockery for not being able to spell 'you'.


Title: Re: Rise of the Godslayer expansion launches May 11th
Post by: Chinchilla on November 17, 2010, 07:29:35 PM
Mockery for not being able to spell 'you'.

Typing on my cellphone do kinda lazy to be hitting every letter.