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Age of Conan: Unchained conquers 300,000 new players, doubles revenue in a month
The secret is out and the jig is up: MMO studios have solid evidence that adding a free-to-play option on top of a subscription model is the way to bring in hordes of new players. Age of Conan: Unchained proved this today as Funcom announced the addition of over 300,000 players to its bloody family in the first month of service. Apparently the servers are packed full and Funcom is raking in the moolah, too. The studio announced that servers have quadrupled activity during this time period, and revenues have more then doubled. This is certainly good news for the 2008 title, which is now being supported by a mix of subscription and cash shop options. Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas is pleased as (a) punch: "The launch of the hybrid business model has been very successful so far. The activity levels on the servers are booming with a fourfold increase in players during July, we more than doubled the revenue generated from the game, and we have experienced a positive development in subscriber numbers. This definitely gives us great hope for the game's future." Age of Conan is set to release a movie tie-in update later this month called Savage Coast of Turan to take advantage of the Conan the Barbarian movie coming to theaters on the 18th.
The Anvil of Crom: Deconstructing the dev update - PvP Edition
It's been quite a while since I devoted an Anvil of Crom entry to deconstructing one of Craig Morrison's monthly Age of Conan development updates, and what better time to resurrect an old tradition than on the heels of one of the lengthier producer letters in recent memory. The end-of-July document took a decidedly pro-PvP approach, and since I've been spending the majority of my game time on the new Blood and Glory server lately, reading between the lines on the bossman's latest state-of-the-game manifesto seems like the thing to do. Join me after the cut for a bit of discussion on PvP, the future, and a bunch of interesting bullet points.
The Anvil of Crom: A look inside the Forgotten City
A couple of weeks ago I took you on a tour of the Breach, one of two new instances that debuted with Age of Conan's free-to-play Unchained patch. Today, we'll nose around the second dungeon, an outdoor playfield called the Forgotten City that -- like its predecessor -- has AoC's distinctive far-eastern flavor written all over it. The two instances are similar in that they both scale to a player's level between 40 and 80, and they're both accessed via the Gateway to Khitai zone that serves as the entry point into AoC's Rise of the Godslayer content. That's about where the similarities end, though, as the dungeons are quite different in terms of visual style and challenge level. %Gallery-129172%
Age of Conan dev update outlines PvP changes
Age of Conan game director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison has posted his latest monthly development update, and the lengthy piece focuses heavily on the PvP side of the game. While class-specific balance fixes aren't given much lip service here (Morrison says they're addressed in each game update anyway, and are an ongoing process), Funcom is looking at quite a few changes to AoC's PvP component. Morrison tasks lead systems designer Einar Forselv with talking about the specific goals, and he gives us a general look at what's on the dev team's plate. First up is the problematic minigame respawn mechanic, and Forselv says that Funcom is looking to make it more like the systems found in your average FPS as well as address the loopholes people use to perform AFK exploits. Ranger tracking will also be "overhauled," which likely means a nerf since the feature is the subject of much QQ from the non-Ranger community. Siege performance changes are also on the table, as are stamina and aggro fixes, changes to animation and combat calculation interactions, and tweaks to the stealth system. Finally, this month's dev update mentions that new PvP world bosses are on the way to Hyboria, and teases the upcoming Savage Coast of Turan content that ties in with this summer's Conan film reboot.
The Anvil of Crom: Once more unto the Breach, dear friends
Ah yes, where else but Massively can you get a lesson in both Shakespeare and Age of Conan (in the same article, no less)? Nowhere else, I tell you, and before we get to the Conan part, let's get ye olde English out of the way. Many of you have no doubt uttered today's titular phrase on your way into a particularly nasty game dungeon. A few of you may have even uttered it correctly. Here's your gold star. The rest of you, pay attention: It's unto the breach. Unto, not into. So said Shakespeare and later Olivier in his 1944 film adaptation of Henry V. And yeah, I used to say it wrong too. Anyway, on to the AoC. The Breach in question is one of two new solo dungeons added with the Unchained update, and thanks to Blood and Glory, this particular dungeon is the only one of the pair that your humble columnist has found time to sample. %Gallery-128404%
The Anvil of Crom: Blood, glory, and some Deathwish impressions
Oy, Funcom, you're absolutely killing me here. Last week I had a column written prior to a guess-what-we're-launching-Unchained-today announcement. This week I was typing away on a review of some of the new instance content that showed up alongside the F2P update when the hey-Blood-and-Glory-launches-tomorrow bomb dropped. A veritable mad scramble ensued here at The Anvil of Crom offices, and as the piles of wadded up loose-leaf and discarded notes fluttered about, I was left wondering when my previous two pieces were going to see the light of day. If I sound somewhat perturbed, I'm not really, as this is a fantastic spot for any game columnist -- or Age of Conan fan -- to occupy. There's a lot of new content and not enough time to write about it; really we should all be so lucky. Sooo, that's my lengthy way of saying won't you join me after the cut for some initial impressions of hardcore PvP, AoC-style.
The MMO Report: Oh come on can we please just drop it already edition
Welcome to this week's edition of The MMO Report. The first order of business on The MMO Report this week is Age of Conan: Unchained. Funcom's bloody MMO went free-to-play last week, and also released their new Blood and Glory PvP servers yesterday. Next up we have BioWare's latest class video for Star Wars: The Old Republic. It focuses on the Bounty Hunter class and details the progression options available to Boba Fett wannabes. And then it's... Oh, not again. Monocle-gate, okay? Do we really need to say anything else? Lastly, we come to the announcement that Blizzard's project Titan is going to be a casual MMO. Considering the fact that, as Casey puts it, many players consider World of Warcraft to be casual as it is, what this means for Titan is ambiguous at best. For the full MMO Report, including (for the first time in a while) Uncle Casey's Mailbag, jump on past the cut.
The Anvil of Crom Extra: Silirrion on Unchained, buying power, and more
It's been a huge couple of weeks for Funcom and the Age of Conan community. Unchained brought a new freemium business model, thousands of new (and old) players, and new dungeon content to Hyboria. One week later, PvP fans were treated to the opening of the new Blood and Glory servers, with hardcore rule sets that included increased PvP XP, corpse looting, and a return to the game's unforgiving free-for-all roots. AoC game director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison recently took the time to answer a few of our burning questions about Unchained and the game's immediate future. Head past the cut to see what Silirrion has to say about earning Funcom points in game, veteran point allotments, paying to skip the grind, and some spiffy new community-focused server tech.
Age of Conan's hardcore PvP ruleset releasing tomorrow
What's a good encore for the week following a huge, game-altering freemium revamp? How about a new and much-anticipated server ruleset. Yep, Funcom is gearing up to release Age of Conan's hardcore Blood and Glory PvP shards tomorrow according to an update on the official boards. The American and European servers are scheduled to receive four hours of maintenance, after which time two new shards, Deathwish (US) and Rage (EU), will be brought online. These aren't just any servers, either. The Blood and Glory ruleset features free-for-all PvP throughout the game world, corpse-looting, and one character per account. Age of Conan's PvP community has been very vocal in its disdain for the game's turn towards the PvE side of the MMO street in recent years, and the new ruleset will finally give the die-hards an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is. For more on the ruleset, check out our exclusive interview with Funcom's Craig Morrison as well as our Blood & Glory opinion piece. [Thanks to Blasius for the tip!]
The Daily Grind: What's your longest patch-day wait?
Patch days are generally a crapshoot for MMORPG fans. Smaller updates usually have a minimal impact on your gaming schedule (but still may necessitate some custom UI maintenance or an adjustment period for various game changes). Bigger updates can cut into your playtime by a significant amount, to say nothing of the changes wrought on your favorite game world. Age of Conan's 2.6 patch (or Unchained, if you prefer) falls into the latter category. It was so big, in fact, that the game servers were down for a whopping 13-plus hours last Thursday. While this was expected and Funcom did an admirable job of updating the launcher as well as a relevant forum thread, the wait tested the patience of some AoC die-hards before it finally went live around 10:30 p.m. EDT. For today's Daily Grind, tell us about your patch-day patience. Do you constantly watch for updates, or do you forget about the game for a while and do something more productive? What's the longest you've ever had to wait? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Anvil of Crom: Unchained, free at last, and some initial observations
Timing, as they say, is everything, and so I'd like to take a brief moment to thank Funcom for fouling up my carefully laid column plans this week. Also, it's a rare day that I'm not prowling the interwebs in search of news for our fair website, so of course, the second day out of the last six months that saw me take some time off was naturally the very same day that Funcom decided to launch Age of Conan: Unchained. And yeah, I said Unchained, not Unrated, and if you think you're going to have trouble referring to the game as such after cozying up to the former moniker for the last month, console yourself with the fact that you now have David Lee Roth careening around inside your head for the foreseeable future. You're welcome. In all seriousness, though, Age of Conan is free at last, free at last, thank God almighty it's free-to-play at last (even if it was a little sudden).
Age of Conan: Unchained is here, as is F2P and a lot of new content
Cue the vintage Van Halen (not to mention your Age of Conan launcher), as it's a big day for everyone's favorite barbarian-flavored MMO. Why's that? Well, there's the small matter of free-to-play, and oh yeah, 2.6 is the most significant patch since the Rise of the Godslayer expansion in May of 2010. What's the big deal? Well, you've got your item shop as well as your free and premium membership tiers. You've also got new appearance tab functionality (or vanity armor, as Funcom's patch notes are fond of calling it). Still want more? How about relaxed difficulty and more frequent rewards on normal-mode 6-man Khitai dungeon content as well a significant price cut on factional armor pieces (epic chest-piece purples are now a mere 16 gold, for example). More still? By Crom, you are one needy barbarian. You're also in luck, as Funcom has added a new queue function to minigame PvP which resurrects the late, great pre-made vs. pre-made option. Oh, and before we forget, here are a couple of new level-scaling solo dungeons (The Breach and Forgotten City), the better to see your character from his 40s all the way up to 80 should you desire. Finally, there's a laundry list of combat- and quest-related tweaks, all of which are viewable via the patch notes on the o-boards.
Age of Conan: Unchained (aka F2P) starts tomorrow [Updated]
Yeah, you read that headline right. Age of Conan: Unrated is now Age of Conan: Unchained according to a new Craig Morrison interview over at PC Gamer. Oh, and that free-to-play launch date we've been asking for? It's tomorrow today. Funcom is inviting both new and old players to check out a good portion of its Hyborian content on the house, and the company will also be unveiling its cash shop (complete with a new "temptress" pet that helps the title live up to its mature rating). Unchained also marks the release of new content in the form of the Forgotten City and The Breach solo instances. As we told you last month, these new dungeons scale to your level and offer an experience designed to relieve the monotony of the well-traveled Noble District villas. Stick with Massively all weekend as we bring you the latest AoC: Unchained news and impressions, and don't forget to check out the Unchained launch trailer after the break. [Update]: Funcom has also posted its traditional monthly dev update, which focuses on all of the new content coming soon to AoC (and there is a lot of it). In addition to the two dungeons debuting today with Unchained, players can look forward to the long-awaited House of Crom dungeon (no, really!), new tier four raids, the Savage Coast of Turan stuff, and of course, Blood and Glory. [Update 2]: AoC 2.6, and F2P, is in fact going live today -- June 30th -- and the game launcher is currently down for patching. Funcom's Glen "Famine" Swan confirms as much on the official forums, and we'll link the patch notes as soon as they're available.
