Age of Conan - MMO review

I hope that everyone has enjoyed the Memorial Day holiday that is provided to us by those servicemen and women that have given up their lives for our freedom and comfort. As for me, this year the holiday was marred by news of the death of a friend, and another very good friend’s parent.

But let me not dwell on that. Let me discuss Age of Conan, the massively multiplayer online game (MMO). This is the latest major MMO to come out and was much anticipated. It’s based on the artwork and original storylines of Conan the Barbarian. I don’t mean the movie starring the Guvernator Arnold Schwarzenegger, but the original source that inspired the movies.

Like the source material the game is for adults, and very dark. When I say adult I mean just that. Bare breasted NPC characters and decapitating foes in battle are just a few of the things that make this game not suitable for kids. So don’t say you weren’t warned if you let your kids into the game.

Now I’m running the game on a modified older computer. With 2.5 RAM, and a Raedon 1600 Pro video card this is not the fastest computer out there. If you have similar configurations expect to drop several of the video options below the low default setting to garner a framerate of 10 -15 on average. And that’s with a cable connection.

But the graphics are very good even at this setting. And you can fight without much difficulty; though in an area with 5 or more characters fighting, expect to have problems.

The sound quality is nice. Though the voice track for quest givers really can’t be heard unless you max your volume, but then the background music will be staggering when you’re done. Other than this glitch the sound is good and not distracting from the game.

But how is the gameplay?

Addicting, like most good MMO’s. Conan starts you off with a simple storyline of a slave surviving a shipwreck and losing most of your memory and skills. The basic movements are straightforward, and reminiscent of all MMO’s. The GUI is similar to WoW and others in that the main skills are on the bottom of your screen. All the HUD boxes are of decent enough size to be seen and used but not obtrusive. There is no side skill bars but that really isn’t important (at least as far as level 25 that I can speak of).

One of the first major differences you will notice is that there are 3 directional buttons between the ability and fighting combo buttons in the skill bar. They are important and vital. Unlike any other MMO fighting is not just mashing button but it’s also about selecting direction of attack. Thus the arrows. And it makes a difference.

When facing an opponent you will be faced with shields surrounding the target. The more shields, the less damage and vise versa. Depending on your foe, and the level they have, as the battle goes on the shields shift – thus necessitating different combo attacks and style. Several targets will have similar styles in this defense, but the early game is pretty easy to lean and obvious. Questing and searching is easy enough, as is gaining new abilities and skills. Feats become available at level 10, and I’ll discuss that later.

The tutorial for the game is essentially the beginning section of the game. In this part you will be alone in the world during the daytime. You will have a NPC companion, but don’t count on her to do anything for you; she’s only there for looks at this point. Still you should have little difficulty getting through this section if you’ve played a MMO before. If you haven’t expect a couple of deaths before you get the hang of it. I doubt if it would take more than 5 unless you try to go Rambo about it.

Once this section is finished you will enter the game world, sort of. You will enter an area (at level 5, possibly 6 if you get lucky) that is the staging area for your character. A small island that you cannot escape (sort of) until you reach about level 20 is you are strictly soloing (which most seem to be doing). There are several fetch quests here, and more than a few kill X number of this guy quests. Leveling goes pretty fast up to about level 15.

One thing that is of note is that quests provide better experience than power killing in my opinion. In fact it’s hard to camp an area, though respawns are even-paced. There just are too many people in the zone to let you really hold a spot. And since the main quest areas are not instanced, be careful running too far into an area that seems extra empty. You may find that the respawns will set you beyond your capabilities quickly. And don’t expect a lot of help from passerbyers, most will leave you to your circumstances (and more than a few I noticed used my impending death to help them capture quest items).

I believe you have an option to skip the main portion of your progression in the staging area, called Tortage Island, but I have yet to take this option. And as I mentioned above this is not the main game, because you will need to pursue the night time option to advance your characters path off the island. And when you get to the end of that path, you will be given the option to go to the final stage. This is an instance, and enemies will not respawn (except in one section). But once you enter this stage there is no retreat. Any unfinished quests are unavailable, as is returning to the daytime zone, so keep that in mind.

Once this path is done you will be transported to the appropriate zone based on your nationality picked in character creation. In each you will find a few easy fetch quests, as well as several that will require you to travel to several zones far away. And at about 20 you can start to collect resources to be used for eventual crafting (which is only available at level 40+).

So what are the problems? Benefits?

There are many minor problems on the game. It’s very easy to flip or delete the directional arrows in the middle of a battle. That can be very problematic. The skill bar has plenty of space for the beginning levels, but could use more space after level 20ish. The trader is inaccessible, in Stygia at least. The bank is nowhere to be found. There are no guides to pint you towards any critical area (like a trainer or bank) though they do usually show up on the map – usually. The gem cutter crafter does not work if you don’t have gems in hand (hold onto the early gems you receive if this interests you). Space in your inventory is highly limited – just one bag – and I have yet to see an extra bag anywhere. All the weaving trainers are broken except for the one in Portia which is buggy.

A bigger problem is the feats tree and armor/weapon upgrades. At level 10 you get a feat tree with several options. Some are general and some are class specific. You may note that there are effects mentioned in feat descriptions, but you can’t find out information on them. There are really incomplete answers on the feats as well.

This works hand in hand with the gear. There is no explanation of what is better a high quality low level item or a higher level low quality item. In fact there is no way to really see the difference in one item or another. Armor for example tells you nothing about its total damage it will absorb. Just that it has X additional benefits. So a high quality low level item, like a blue (high quality) chest plate, may or may not be equal or worse than a white or green (low quality) item 2x it’s level. The weapons are a bit more descriptive since they give damage output, but it’s still not overly clear.

The game manual that came with the game is very light on information. The same can be said of the in-game manual. And the chat box channels are odd to me.

Now with these annoying problems you might think I find the game unappealing. That would be untrue. I have played one character to level 25, 7, 5, and 5. I enjoy several of the areas, except the Purple swamp which is just too dark to be real useful for anything.

Overall it’s a good MMO, but it’s not WoW. But also unlike WoW it’s not overly crowded anywhere.

Is this better than Vanguard, yes. Better than Pirates, absolutely! Does it beat Lord of the Rings, yes. Will you enjoy the game and feel good about the money you spent – so far I have to say yes. Hopefully some of the bugs I mentioned, and a couple of broken quests, will all be fixed soon. The game is less than a month old so may fixes are bound to be on the horizon.

I say it’s worth the time you will invest in it. Now how I feel in 3 months is another question. Especially when Warhammer is be out about then. So we will see.

Will 2008 be the year of the Greenskin, Barbarian or Pirate?

The question above does not refer to upcoming movies (of which I’m anticipating Iron Man to be very good) but about the crop of MMO’s coming out this year. Each has a huge back-story to work from. Each has a fanbase that is excited by the prospects of the particular theme of the massive multiplayer online industry. But which is best? Can any of them dethrone World of Warcraft (WoW)?

The answer to both of these questions depends on the player and the expectations they have. Let’s take a look at what they are each proposing to provide.

In Age of Conan, we get a slice of the classic barbarian tales that have endured in comic books/magazines and much later in movies for decades. This one character, and the world he inhabits has inspired movies such as Krull (bad but strongly influenced anyway), 2 Schwarzenegger movies, The Beastmaster and countless copycats in comics (especially Cerebus the Aardvark). The MMO plans to live up to that rich history providing an adult themed game. This one isn’t for the kids.



Finally there is an MMO that has a bit more than the watered down, ultra-kid friendly formats that are the industry today. There is nothing wrong generic MMO’s, and I enjoyed WoW as much as anyone (I had a lvl 54 Dwarven thief among several others), but sometimes you just want more action. You want to really be involved with the fight. And you want to crush the opponent. Lopping of the head of your enemy definitely fits the crushing experience.

The one thing that could be a bit unnerving for some players is the ‘twitch’ factor that is involved in the combat. The reward is that you get to target specific areas of your opponents’ body. The downside is that casual gamers will find this a bit more involved than just clicking a button and watching the results. Then again, that just makes winning a fight all the more enriching when that hit to the leg cuts it off and you win.

Looking at the other side of the coin we have Pirates of the Burning Sea (the first of these 3 MMO’s to be released). Again we go back to the family-friendly, casual gamer friendly format that is so common today. But we are talking about the chance to live out fantasies of being Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow, or Captain Blood for the Errol Flynn fans. Of course since this is family-friendly, I expect many to cry “Why is the rum always gone?”



Beyond the liquor of favor among these sea-faring ruffians, there may not be a lot of depth. Of course there will be a need for shipbuilders and other support characters. But the real action will be getting out to sea, representing either a parent nation or independently, and blasting the deck out of poopdecks of other ships on the waves. Pillaging ports of call is also an option with the naval equivalent of sieges giving you the option to take over the area and claiming it for your own faction.

It’s not the pounding action of Conan, or perhaps even WoW, but it definitely is better than Disney’s miserable foray into the same genre. And you can be sure that it will be ‘twitchless’ fighting. The real question here is, once players have their sea legs will they want to keep going? Personally I just don’t see how this can work.

The last big MMO of the year is Warhammer. Not the 40,000 series, but its fantasy counterpart. Chaos, including corrupt humans, Orcs and undead, fight the forces of good and humanity. A common theme in most RPG and MMO games. But this theme is backed by a hugely popular miniatures gaming system, and looks to take the MMO industry to a new place by having PvP on a huge scale and not just as a raid. It’s a direct and constant struggle of good vs. evil that isn’t secluded or regional but pervasive and right next door.



I think that this fundamental battle, on a constant basis, give a fresh perspective to the genre. Plus there are many fans that are dedicated to growing their faction’s position. If you have never seen the miniatures game I suggest you check it out. People, who spend hundreds of dollars building up armies, and tens if not hundreds of hours painting miniscule details on each figurine, are invested. I’d expect no less dedication in the MMO, and that makes it lively. It’s that fanbase that can give new players a boost and a reason to come back and join the cause.

So which video game will be the big winner? WoW will continue to be the big dog of the yard, but I think Age of Conan will be the runner up. It’s been too long since adult gamers, a growing population, have had anything that satisfies their tastes. Something a bit more sophisticated and darker. A more rewarding experience for the experienced gamer.

But the casual gamers will flock to Warhammer. Name recognition will capture newbie’s, and fans have been waiting for this kind of experience.

WoW may still be the king, but several others are coming up the hill fast. Change is not only a Presidential race campaign speech; it’s a reality of the evolving and growing MMO video gaming genre.