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The Anvil of Crom: Savage Coast first impressions
Oy, the life of a game blogger. Earlier this week I teed off a bit on subscription-based games that tack on a cash shop. The short version of that particular rant is that I'm not a fan of the practice, at all, and as far as my personal gaming time goes, I've bid adieu to all of the double-dippers formerly denting my wallet -- with one exception, of course. Whether that one exception makes me a hypocrite or is simply part of my job description is something I haven't quite figured out yet. In any event, it's somewhat ironic that I'm now about to tell you what a good time I had after spending 20 bucks in Age of Conan's item store. Yep, there I was, forking over for 2400 Funcom points -- I only needed 2000 for the Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack, of course -- and enjoying it for the most part. Luckily, it only costs 520 Massively points to read my first impressions after the cut. %Gallery-132491%
The Anvil of Crom Extra: An exclusive look at The Isle of the Iron Statues
Hey kids, it's time for another Massively Age of Conan exclusive! A couple of weeks back we took a look at Dead Man's Hand, a level 50-80 solo instance that's part of the new Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack. As you know if you've been reading Massively today, Funcom is getting ready to launch the Savage Coast content on September 8th (or August 31st if you purchase an early access pass). What you didn't know is the details on the level 80 solo instance that rounds out the content drop, and this extra edition of the Anvil of Crom will give you an inside look at the Isle of the Iron Statues instance from Funcom's perspective. Join me after the cut as we see how the devs drew inspiration from an original Robert E. Howard yarn and married it to some engaging modern-day MMORPG gameplay. %Gallery-9836%
The Anvil of Crom: An exclusive preview of Dead Man's Hand
Welcome to a special edition of The Anvil of Crom. It's not often that I give up the captain's chair on this here column (in fact, today is the first time, if you want to get technical about it). In the interests of bringing you fine folk an exclusive Savage Coast of Turan content preview, though, it seemed like the prudent thing to do. Today's installment will give you a first look at Dead Man's Hand, and no, I'm not talking about the unfortunate Xbox title that I once purchased in the hopes of playing Red Dead Redemption six years prior to Red Dead Redemption. No, this Dead Man's Hand is a new single-player instance in Age of Conan, and it's debuting shortly with all the rest of AoC's movie tie-in adventure pack content. Head past the cut to join me in discovering what Funcom has to say about its latest dungeon endeavor (and oh yeah, I've got some exclusive screens and concept art for you as well). %Gallery-9836%
The Anvil of Crom Extra: Silirrion on Turan, open-world PvP, and those pesky Funcom points
It's almost time for another Age of Conan content drop, and that means it's also time to catch up with game director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison to chat about it. This weekend I interviewed the Funcom executive producer about a range of topics, including all that's new and shiny with AoC's forthcoming Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack. As we told you earlier, the pack features a boatload of new material, from new solo dungeons to a new raid to 50 new quests and a large outdoor playfield. While that's quite a bit of stuff, Funcom isn't done yet, as the devs are also hard at work implementing the bullet points Morrison covered in his latest dev update. Join me after the cut as we explore Turan, combo-skipping fixes, the riskiness of AoC's new open-world PvP content, and the question of whether subscribers are getting a good deal in terms of point rewards.
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's Morrison talks Savage Coast dungeons and gear
Interested in learning more about Age of Conan's newly minted Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack? Eurogamer recently talked to Funcom game director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison about everything from the marketing opportunities represented by the upcoming Conan film to specifics on the new tie-in content. Morrison riffs on new instances, both the solo and group variety, including an encounter with pirates called Dead Man's Hand and another tryst based on the Island of Iron Statues from the original Robert E. Howard lore. There's also a new raid in the Temple of Elric that features Ela-Shan, a master thief whom Jason Momoa's Conan encounters in the new film. Still want more? How about a new epic quest line and various loot upgrades? The drops from the team instances will be "slightly more powerful than the rewards we give for max-level content in Godslayer," Morrison explains. He also drops a hint about the adventure pack's new armor. "You can't go into an area like Turan and have that magnificent Persian theme without bringing in new armor sets." Despite the high-level nature of some of the drops, it appears that much of the Savage Coast content is aimed at players around level 50. Head to Eurogamer for more.
Funcom prepping new Age of Conan adventure pack inspired by film reboot
It looks like rumors of new film-related content for Age of Conan were pretty accurate, as Funcom has officially announced The Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack for its fantasy MMORPG. According to a new press release, the pack "includes but is not limited to" content from the forthcoming Conan the Barbarian film reboot and will see players traveling to the lands of Turan some 20 years after the events of the movie. Players will explore the city of Ardashir and take on new quests, encounters, raids, and dungeons, all inspired by the film and on display in the recently released Conan trailer. Conan the Barbarian debuts August 19th, and while there is no firm release date for The Savage Coast of Turan, film producer Fredrik Malmberg says that fans will appreciate the synergy between the movie and Funcom's MMORPG. "Many of the concepts, locations, and designs from the game development were utilized by the film team for consistency," he said. Check out our AoC gallery below for a glimpse of some Ardashir concept art that includes new Turanian armor. %Gallery-9836%
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!]
A look at the Turan race in Requiem: Bloodymare
The Temperions are the player characters of Gravity Interactive's Requiem: Bloodymare. They are the poor souls who are condemned to fight the horrors that their world has been invaded by. Temperions are divided into three races: the human-seeming Turan, the mesomorphic Bartuk, and the wraithlike Kruxena. If you choose to play as a Turan, you're going to enjoy the inclusive, versatile skillset of the best-balanced race in R:B. From Gravity:The Turan Race fights with honor and virtue. They rely on cunning, speed and agility to do battle with the most horrifying creatures known to man. No wonder they are the representative race of Ethergia – no other race displays such valor in the face of danger. It takes courage to be human in a world filled with monsters.Check out the latest screenshots of the Turan in action. Note: There will be blood.%Gallery-23458%[Thanks, Luis!]
