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The Anvil of Crom: Can AoC survive The Old Republic?
Can Age of Conan survive the onrushing BioWare MMO apocalypse? That's a fair question, and if you've been playing AoC lately, or really any MMORPG, you've probably heard of a competing game called Star Wars: The Old Republic. If you haven't, well, I don't believe you. Anyway, you may or may not be aware that BioWare announced the official launch date for its MMO opus a while back, and barely a day goes by when I don't hear a guildmate, a groupmate, or someone in global chat talk about it. That's Age of Conan's global chat, in case you were wondering, and as a long-time fan of Funcom's barbaric fantasy MMO, I can't help but be a bit concerned about its future health after December 20th.
Age of Conan long-term subs available, Funcom gifting weekly consumable packs
We've got more Age of Conan-related subscription news for you this morning. Yesterday we mentioned the lifetime sub sweepstakes currently ongoing at AoC's Facebook page. Today we came across some new time-limited sub offers on the game's forums as well as a blurb about free weekly login items. The sub offers come in three-, six-, and 12-month flavors, and each also features a bundle of in-game goods designed to make your Hyborian life a little easier. All three packs give you assorted potions and the basic riding skill, while the six- and 12-month varieties give you mounts to go with it. The weekly login items feature packs of consumables and are available via the special offers tab of the in-game store. This week's pack is labeled A Bountiful Harvest, while subsequent weeks will feature A Hearty Harvest, A Fine Harvest, and The Harvest Reward packs.
The Anvil of Crom: What's wrong with AoC's crafting?
In the wake of Funcom's glorious announcement that Age of Conan is due for an extreme tradeskill makeover in 2012, I thought it might be fun to brainstorm a few crafting-related design ideas. To be frank, I think any change will be an improvement, as it's hard to fathom a more boring and ultimately worthless gameplay system than what currently passes for crafting in Hyboria. This is a pretty huge topic, of course, so join me after the cut for the first part of what will likely be an ongoing discussion over the next few months. Before we can talk about solutions, though, we've got to identify what's wrong with AoC's crafting.
The Anvil of Crom: Evaluating the dev update - crafting edition
Hallelujah, amen, and by frickin' Crom! What's got me all excitable this week? Well, the latest dev update, for starters, and I apologize in advance for reneging on last week's promise to devote today's column to a deeper examination of the new Savage Coast of Turan content. The last time we met, I gave you a quick rundown on the Ardashir Coast, but with all due respect to Funcom's content designers, the most interesting bit of Age of Conan news from the last little while is the crafting revamp that Silirrion hinted at in the August 31st update letter. But Jef, how interesting could it be if it's taken you over a week to write about it? Well, you got me there, and I could throw in some excuses about needing to get something Turan-related out last week, as well as the fact that I was doing the DragonCon shuffle, but I won't. Anyhow, holy shitaki mushrooms! Funcom mentioned AoC's tradeskills! Join me after the cut and bring the smelling salts.
Funcom teases Age of Conan's Turan content with new trailer
If you haven't taken the plunge on Age of Conan's new Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack yet, you can still get a good look at the new location thanks to a developer video recently posted by PC Gamer. The clip runs for over six minutes and is narrated by Funcom's Craig Morrison, otherwise known by his forum handle Silirrion and for his deeds as AoC's game director. The video hits all the adventure pack's highlights, and Morrison says that the dev team set out to offer something for everyone in the form of new solo instances, a group dungeon, and a large quest-driven playfield. The video also delves into a bit of the lore behind the Persian-themed Ardashir coast region and mentions the cross-over between the recent Conan the Barbarian film and several of the storylines and characters that players will encounter in their adventures. See all the sights after the cut.
Funcom talks inspiration and AoC's massive Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack
Age of Conan faithful, enjoy yourselves. There's simply never been a better time to be a fan of the great barbarian and Funcom's blood-drenched MMORPG based on his Hyborian stomping grounds. The year has already seen the fantasy title adopt a free-to-play business model and push out a ton of new content, and that's really the tip of the proverbial iceberg. With the new Conan film reboot arriving in theaters this month, Funcom is gearing up to launch a huge amount of tie-in content. Dubbed The Savage Coast of Turan, the upcoming adventure pack adds a large outdoor playfield and over 50 new quests to the gameworld, not to mention two solo instances, a team instance, a new raid, and plenty of new gear. Join us after the cut as we present Funcom's internally produced look at the inspiration behind all the new content, and stay tuned to Massively this weekend for some exclusive Savage Coast news as well as an Anvil of Crom interview with game director Craig Morrison.
Age of Conan offering free potion pack for all
As if you didn't have enough incentive to log into Age of Conan lately, Funcom is giving you one more. Yes, Unchained is here, as is free-to-play and a lot of new content. On top of that, the AoC Facebook page just mentioned a promotion called The King's Reward which runs through the end of the month. Every Age of Conan player will receive a free potion pack via the new in-game store, and unlike everything else in the cash shop, the bundle is free of charge. Goodies include various flavors of XP-enhancing potions (including PvP, mastery, and regular XP), a temporary PvP evade boost, and a resurrect potion. These items may only be claimed on one avatar per account, so choose wisely if you've got a ton of toons lounging about on your character select screen.
The Anvil of Crom: Musings on MMO mortality
Most of you are probably aware that Star Wars Galaxies announced its impending closure recently. As I booted up Age of Conan for my daily faction runs and tossed around some ideas for this week's column, I couldn't help but return to the fact that the MMO space is going to be that much dumber on December 16th. What does SWG have to do with The Anvil of Crom? Admittedly not much, unless you count the fact that AoC was the first of many games I migrated to when taking extended breaks from SWG beginning in 2008. The game's demise did get me to thinking on MMOs as a whole though, and of course Funcom's fantasy title in particular. While it may seem like an obvious conclusion in some respects, the fact that MMO players are ultimately no more than renters living on borrowed time was a sobering thought.
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.
The Anvil of Crom: Can AoC Unrated keep up with the Joneses?
Sooooo, City of Heroes and LEGO Universe caught the free-to-play bug this week. Fallen Earth did so the week before. What does this have to do with Age of Conan? Quite a lot, if you think about it, and that's what I'm given to doing every week around this time as I sit down to hum a few bars relating to Funcom's Hyboria. In case you've forgotten (and it's easy to do thanks to the rash of announcements lately), Age of Conan is gearing up for its own version of freemium MMORPG madness. At this point it's anyone's guess as to when the big day will actually roll around, though, and the longer Funcom waits, the more it concerns me.
The Anvil of Crom: Server merges, separation, and why both are potentially swell
Last week I mentioned that the Age of Conan Unrated announcement has given us a lot to talk about. There's the 800-lb. free-to-try elephant in the room, there's a bunch of new content that's both coming soon and already here, and there's also an endlessly fascinating quote from Funcom game director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison that is, well, endlessly fascinating. This last bit got lost in the big announcement blitzkrieg, and because it was buried in the depths of a thread about roleplay on the EU boards, it's safe to assume that 99.99% of Age of Conan players didn't read it. Regardless, it may well be one of the more interesting and exciting developments in Age of Conan's short history. What was it about? Well, it involves servers, server merges, and new technology that could change the way we think about MMORPGs and server populations.
Funcom profiles Age of Conan's Forgotten City and The Breach solo instances
By now, everyone's aware that Funcom is getting ready to unleash the world of Hyboria on the free-to-play scene. What you may not know is that in addition to the hybrid payment model, the Age of Conan Unrated update is going to be be bringing new content to the game as well. Said content comes in the form of two new solo dungeons located in the lands of Khitai. Both instances are repeatable and designed to scale to a player's level (between 40 and 80), providing an alternative to the Tarantia Villas 40 to 80 experience that formerly filled in the gaps in AoC's mid-level curve. Funcom has told us that the new instances -- The Breach and The Forgotten City -- will be freely available to subscribers and available to Unrated F2P players for a small fee. Join us after the break for Funcom's take on the game mechanics, the storylines, and the locations themselves. While you're at it, check out the new dungeon images in our Age of Conan gallery below. %Gallery-9836%
Age of Conan merging U.S. servers today, EU tomorrow
It's server merge time in Hyboria. Age of Conan's launcher indicates that the U.S. servers are offline for up to 24 hours while the American PvP shards (Cimmeria and Tyranny) are consolidated. Tomorrow will see the European servers undergo a similar process, with Crom, Hyrkania, and Ishtar merging into a single PvE mashup and Fury, Aquilonia, and Stygia joining forces as the remaining PvP shard. Funcom has thrown up a server merge FAQ for your reading pleasure during the downtime, and in it you'll find details on everything from duplicate character names to duplicate guild names to the fate of guild-controlled battlekeeps. "Since build spots for battlekeeps are limited on each server, all build spots will be cleared and guilds will be reimbursed the resources for their battlekeep. This is to make sure that the guild gets the needed resources again and every guild gets the same chance," says the FAQ. Read up on all the details at the official AoC forums.
Funcom planning Age of Conan: Unrated F2P launch this summer
Yep, it's official: Funcom has just announced this morning that Age of Conan is switching to a free-to-play/hybrid business model. While no date has been set, a posting on the game's European forums confirms that the title will be relaunched this summer as Age of Conan: Unrated. Highlights of the new service include free access to all of the outdoor playfields in the original game (Aquilonia, Cimmeria, and Stygia), two free character slots, and access to non-premium dungeons as well as four character classes (Barbarian, Demonologist, Guardian, and Priest of Mitra). Alternate advancement points, veteran points, and offline levels are reserved for premium subscribers, as is the majority of the Rise of the Godslayer expansion content (the exception being the level 20 to 40 Gateway to Khitai content). You can check out the full list of free and premium services, as well as a F2P FAQ, on the European Age of Conan forums. Also be sure to read Massively's exclusive F2P interview with Craig Morrison to learn about plans for server merges and other details.
Funcom inviting former Age of Conan players back for free, giving away bonus XP
By Crom (or is that Mitra?), Age of Conan is having a birthday! Yep, Funcom's version of Hyboria turns three this week, and active subscribers are invited to claim a number of free potions that boost PvE, PvP, and alternate advancement experience. Each character on an active account is entitled to a single claim of all three potions through the end of May. Former Age of Conan players haven't been left out in the Cimmerian cold, either. Funcom has turned on all inactive accounts, also through the end of May, so patch up and come back to Hyboria on the house. Finally, Funcom is running a third-anniversary sweepstakes with prize packs that include free game time plus the original AoC client and the Rise of the Godslayer expansion. Check in with Massively all weekend for more Age of Conan anniversary coverage including an interview with Craig Morrison and more!
Rumor: Funcom readying new Age of Conan lands
Speculation and excitement are the order of the day on both the European and American forums for Age of Conan. What's all the hubbub about? Two new lands are purportedly in the works, and this jibes with a cryptic comment by Funcom game director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison in last month's development update. "This is where we get to the stuff we can't quite talk about just yet... yes, a little teasing I know, but trust us, it is far more frustrating not being able to talk about what is coming just yet. These will be important updates, with two new and important elements incoming," Morrison wrote. Fans are speculating that the two new and important elements are in fact two Hyborian provinces filled with a multitude of new zones, specifically Turan and Ardashir. Massively has confirmed that bringing up the in-game player search tab and filtering by region shows two new headings labeled Turan and Ardashir alongside the pre-existing countries of Aquilonia, Cimmeria, Stygia, and Khitai. There is also a bit of conjecture on the official boards regarding Funcom's annual report, which says in part that 2011 will bring "significant content and story tie-ins with the [new Conan] movie." We'll keep you updated as this story develops and as we get official word from the devs. [Thanks to Nyan for the tip!]
Funcom's Age of Conan version 2.2 patch detailed, delayed
Yesterday we told you about two new group dungeons in Age of Conan's Paikang imperial city, and later tonight you should be able to experience them for yourself. Yes, it's patch day in Hyboria, and version 2.2 is in the process of being pushed live to the game's American shards. European servers received the update earlier this morning, and there are a few issues, judging by a feedback thread on the EU boards. What's in the patch other than the previously mentioned Ai and Tian'an District dungeons? Quite a lot of stuff actually, starting with tweaks to the endgame faction grind. Funcom has made a significant number of adjustments to faction quests, faction quest rewards, and Marks of Acclaim distribution. Combat, in particular crowd-control abilities and counters, has also been tweaked in the 2.2 update, and the official patch notes have a complete breakdown on the changes by class. As of press time, Funcom's Age of Conan launcher indicates that the patch has been delayed by five hours, with an estimated up time of 6:00 p.m. EDT.
Monthly update lays out Age of Conan development roadmap
The year ahead is shaping up to be a busy one for Age of Conan, and Funcom's Craig Morrison lays down a rough foundation for the next few months in his latest monthly development update. If you're looking for the short version, it's this: Now that the Dreamworld deployment is in the books, AoC is continuing to pick up new dev talent and will be adding more content going forward. In the immediate future, players are getting crowd-control balances, two level-80 group dungeons, and a faction progression revamp, all of which are slated for the next update and currently available on the test server. Following that, we can look forward to The Forgotten City and The Breach, two new solo auto-content generation dungeons designed for levels 40 to 80. There are also a handful of technical improvements, optimizations, and general balancing scheduled to accompany the new content, and of course the much-anticipated Blood and Glory PvP server ruleset is coming sometime this summer. Finally, Morrison teases fans with a blurb about AoC's late-2011 updates, specifically "two new and important elements incoming." He also hints at some sort of tie-in with the upcoming Conan film reboot. Head to the official AoC boards to see for yourself.
The Anvil of Crom: Would F2P solve the population problem?
Howdy folks, and welcome back to another installment of The Anvil of Crom. This week I'll be taking a short break from reporting on my CMA activities. I took a bit of an impromptu vacation last week and as a result didn't get to play Oakarm much at all. He's still hanging out in his mid-30s, looking for dungeon groups, and training me on those pesky melee combos, so look for more on that tangent in the weeks to come. Today I'd like to indulge in some speculation regarding a potentially free-to-play Age of Conan. I know, I know, I've talked about this on multiple occasions before, but a recent conversation I had with a buddy (and former AoC subscriber) got me to thinking seriously about the pros and cons. Hi-Rez Studios' recent announcement of its Global Agenda F2P re-configuration also factored into my choice of column topics this week since I made extensive use of GA as an example last time. Anyhow, hop over the cut and let's chat about it.
