Put simply, its a sub-standard World of Warcraft clone with a few gimmicks thrown in to try and make it seem different. The only real areas where you have an improvement over WOW is in the graphics, and in order to enjoy the graphics you need a ridiculously high spec computer. My machine met the 'recommended' requirements on the box, yet I had to play it on low graphics settings in order for the game to be playable in any shape or form.
There are simply no areas apart from the graphics mentioned above where the game improves on World of Warcraft, and in most important areas, the game just doesn't even come close to the standards set by Blizzard (note* I dont play wow anymore either - bored of it). So basically, if you like this type of game (fantasy mmo) there's really no reason to play this game over and above WOW. If you've never played AOC or WOW, just play wow. If you are bored of WOW, like loads of people that tried AOC, you wont find anything new in AOC that isnt simply an inferior version of what WOW offers.
Just a few issues to make a note of:
- The combo system sucks. Its far more clunky than the wow pvp system. Its a regression if anything, not an innovation or an improvement. Think of those stupid guitar hero games for the WII and you will have an idea of how it functions.
- The game is heavily instanced and it feels extremely small as a result of this.
- Character progression is a joke. Many talents dont work in the talent trees. Stats dont actually do anything so upgrades just feel pointless.
- Itemisation is terrible and feels as though it was just tossed in without a moments thought or care. Level 20 items are in some cases superior to level 60 items.
- PVP system doesnt yet exist.
- Bugs galore. I dont like criticising a new game for bugs as all new games have them, but Ive never encountered the vast numbers of bugs that were and are present in this title.
- Chat interfaces are counter-intuitive and poorly thought out, as are guild UIs and the main UI itself is your usual standard fare. Nothing new or interesting.
- Customer Service doesnt exist. For those used to having a wow GM answer a ticket within 1-2 hours tops, prepare for a lesson in appalling customer care from Funcom if you decide to try this game. I think I opened 7 tickets within the first 4 weeks playing the game. Not a single one was ever answered. They either timed out and got auto-deleted, or they sat in queues numbering 100s for days, with no sign of the queue shortening. It got to the point where if something went wrong, you just accepted it as there was no possibility of a GM fixing anything, or even trying to it seemed.
- Grouping is another lesson in frustration with a litany of bad design decisions and bugs making the experience one to be avoided while levelling.
- The game also seems totally unstable at certain times. As others have mentioned, memory leaks and lag spikes plague the gaming experience.
---
I know a lot of what I have typed above is extremely negative, but Im afraid those are my honest impressions of the game after 2 months of playing. I genuinely enjoyed the game for 2 weeks as I gritted my teeth through the release bugs but eventually I got bored. There is nothing new here that hasnt been done better by others in other MMOs. Its a shoddy, badly designed game, and it will sink very fast in my opinion.
Of the 30 people that moved to AOC from my wow guild, only 2 still play the game.
Out of about a dozen different subscription mmos, AoC was my absolute shortest sub, at 2 weeks. My longest was 8 months. In fact there were many incomplete beta tests that entertained me over a longer period of time than AoC did at release. Your mileage may differ, depending on how much depth you are looking for, however if I personally felt there was anything remotely enjoyable with the game past those 2 weeks, I would have played it longer. But it seemed pretty clear to me that I would be waiting a while before the fun got patched in.
Waiting for: A skill-based MMO with Freedom and Consequence. Woe to thee, the pierce-ed.
Keep in mind that the volunteer mods on the forums ban people for asking about the game's features. Keep in mind that the game has been losing mature content from the day it launched. Keep in mind that while the #1 complaint was that the game lacked content at launch, they've only added a handful of quests since then. Keep in mind that when in doubt, Funcom blames YOU for any problems you have with the game.
So, if you are submissive and want to get slapped around like a dog, play AoC. Otherwise, move on.
Error: 37. Signature not found. Please connect to my server for signature access.
Well i play AoC since january - and I loved evry minute of it!
Is full of bugs - check
It needs balancing and tweaks (not class vs class - that was never thei aim of the game) - check
Is NOTHING like WoW - check
It dose not have itemisation (a full epic player is better than a green player by 2-5% at most) - check
A player lvl 40 can kill a lvl 60 - AS INTENDED - check
Has BattleKeep fights (48 vs 48) (bugged as hell atm) - been in 2 of them - and OMG did i Love it - check
It has PLENTY of 'features' that favor to build a community/guild (need of ppl to work together for a common goal) - check
It has RAID instances - bugged - not balanced - but due to the way close combat/healing/LineOfSight works - is alot more fun (for a healer) than WoW style
All in all is a matter of taste - but imo for an old scool mmo gamer - is far more atractive than what the market offers atm.
Prometeu - Bear Shaman - Wildsoul server
Always a Keeper of The Dark Side [KDS] Visit us at www.kdsguild.org
Just my opinion but overall the game rocks, graphics are the best of any mmo I have been in. Gameplay is fun and most of the people I have met in game are great. Bad points though are intermittent lag spikes, memory leaks combos not going off or going off and doing little to no damage. Hotbar lag (hit the button and it takes a min). Cutomer service is a joke, billing department is the worst I have encountered in ANY business mmo or otherwise.
If you can get over the bad points though, the game is pretty solid but they definately have some things to work on. If they can fix the bad points I mentioned they will blow the mmo genre away.
Just out of curiosity, what reasons did you have to contact Customer Service and their Billing Department?
account@aoc.com sent them a mail, got an instant copy/paste response read it (though I knew it wouldn't help) and replied explaining AGAIN what the issue was (tried to pay the account last night and as of noon today they STILL haven't fixed it or charged the card even once).
Damn i hate those copy/paste responses... Blizzard are the kings at that , emailed them about my email being changed on one of my accounts once without me knowing, about 7 months ago, still no reply. Sent others too, only to get some useless copy/paste crap.
But from the comments in this thread, you should probably be happy they haven't charged you
Warhammer Online Crnobog, The Black God Chaos Chosen <Guildless>
Well i play AoC since january - and I loved evry minute of it! Is full of bugs - check It needs balancing and tweaks (not class vs class - that was never thei aim of the game) - check Is NOTHING like WoW - check It dose not have itemisation (a full epic player is better than a green player by 2-5% at most) - check A player lvl 40 can kill a lvl 60 - AS INTENDED - check Has BattleKeep fights (48 vs 48) (bugged as hell atm) - been in 2 of them - and OMG did i Love it - check It has PLENTY of 'features' that favor to build a community/guild (need of ppl to work together for a common goal) - check It has RAID instances - bugged - not balanced - but due to the way close combat/healing/LineOfSight works - is alot more fun (for a healer) than WoW style All in all is a matter of taste - but imo for an old scool mmo gamer - is far more atractive than what the market offers atm. Prometeu - Bear Shaman - Wildsoul server
Sounds like it can be a pretty decent game in time... its like Vanguard all over again.
Warhammer Online Crnobog, The Black God Chaos Chosen <Guildless>
Well i play AoC since january - and I loved evry minute of it! Is full of bugs - check It needs balancing and tweaks (not class vs class - that was never thei aim of the game) - check Is NOTHING like WoW - check It dose not have itemisation (a full epic player is better than a green player by 2-5% at most) - check A player lvl 40 can kill a lvl 60 - AS INTENDED - check Has BattleKeep fights (48 vs 48) (bugged as hell atm) - been in 2 of them - and OMG did i Love it - check It has PLENTY of 'features' that favor to build a community/guild (need of ppl to work together for a common goal) - check It has RAID instances - bugged - not balanced - but due to the way close combat/healing/LineOfSight works - is alot more fun (for a healer) than WoW style All in all is a matter of taste - but imo for an old scool mmo gamer - is far more atractive than what the market offers atm. Prometeu - Bear Shaman - Wildsoul server
Nothing like WoW? You have got to be kidding me right? Its almost identical to WOW apart from a few minor things here and there.
The only part of the game that isn't virtually indistinguishable from WOW is the graphics. It doesnt LOOK like WoW but that's an aesthetic issue only. Apart from that it is basically an attempt to copy WoW with tits and blood thrown in to make it seem 'more mature'.
Lets go through the game shall we?
Dungeons: Same as WoW except the boss encounters dont have any design. Basically every single endgame encounter is a tank and spank fest. No innovation from Conan here.
Quests: Exactly the same as WoW. 'Go collect 50 X and bring it back to me' or 'Kill 50 x to complete the quest'. You know the drill. Unfortunately there isn't even half of the variety of quests that are present in WoW, and there is zero innovation from Conan in this area either. AOC even copies WOW with quest givers having ! above their heads and ? for completed quests. They dont even try and change the colour.
Character Progression and levelling: Same story as WoW. You learn new abilities as you level up and spend points in 'talent trees'. Again, same as WoW.
Gear: Same as WOW again except for 1 important area. In AOC gear is pointless. You could be wielding an epic (yes you guessed - epics are purple, and rares are blue in AOC too!) sword or a green stick from level 20 and you wouldnt know a difference in damage output, so gearing up is pretty pointless. The reason for this seems to be that stats dont seem to work well and dont seem to matter much to your character. As a result its hard to appreciate when your character 'grows in strength' through gear or levelling.
Combat system: There is a slight difference here due to the new 'combo system' in AOC. This could have been made interesting, but its tedious and boring. Instead of some abilities just happening when you activate them, with this system you must follow a little onscreen queue to press directional movements. The result however is not a more fluid and skillful combat system but one that is more clunky and over-dependant on running around like a headless chicken. Which leads naturally to...
The Stamina system: This is new and different from WOW i will admit. However the system is so fubared, it basically needs to be removed completely until they get it right. Using stamina allows all classes to sprint, and functions as the equivalent of a 'mana' pool for melee offensive abilities. This 'novelty' is such a total mess at the moment that its probably, in my opinion, the biggest reason why the game is totall imbalanced between classes at the moment.
PVP: Same as wow. Several mini-games to play and world pvp. There are sieges to take part in but servers cant seem to handle even the 10 v 10 mini games, so ill be astonished if they can handle 48 v 48. This however is a part of the game that admittedly I never really got to experience. I just got bored before the opportuntiy arose.
--
Basically Im dying to know where exactly this game is DIFFERENT to wow in any meaningful area (apart from its looks). Its the same old nonsense with a few gimmicks to make it seem different. And in the many areas where this game offers the same things as wow, it doesnt do it as well.
Again my apologies for the negativity of the post, but Im needing a bit of a vent about this game. I find all the sneering about WOW frankly laughable when this game is basically WOW with different clothes on and with a million more flaws.
Your right its near identical, except for the way better graphics in aoc and ofc the siege/city element. Although i believe wow is getting siege functions too. Cant think of anything else thats different.
I've never looked into AoC to be honest, i knew WAR was coming and set my heart on it. Months ago it was known that both AoC and WAR will be released close together and the community here at mmorpg.com were 50/50 on which to go and play as their main mmo. Now, all i see is threads and posts about this game saying how bad it is, how it has failed and that even some people want their money back??? Is it really that bad? or did most people just expect to much from the game? A friend of mine plays the game and he says its not bad, but will continue with Lineage II. I'd just like some more reasons why not to try this game out encase WAR doesn't deliver.
Combat system in AOC has alot of potential, but the game is bug filled and the code is very inefficient. The art is stunning, but the programming is very sloppy. There are huge preformance problems in certain areas that just should not be.
Many features were simply left out of game. The customer service department is the WORST EVER I have seen even compaired to SOE.
The add direction also is a scam with it's "Death never looked so hot". They used to claim nudity was in game to "stay true to the Conan story", but in the end it's just a gimmick to parade hot girls in attempt to try to draw teenage boys. The community is full of a horrid element. The RP servers are not quite as bad, but overall I would highly advise you keep away from this game.
I have a hard time playing AoC and not because of my PC. Its the dam patches that get me every time,one patch will come out that makes it were I can't log in and the another one that comes out a week later fixes it. The C.S. is ok at best all they tell me is when I send a email to C.S. is for my PC specs then bascily wait for the next patch to come out and hopefully that will fix my problem.
Greetings,
Thank you for contacting Funcom Technical Support.
If I may ask, what region are you playing the game from?
We have received reports of players from certain areas of the globe
being unable to access the Authentication server at this time, and we
are working to resolve these problems as quickly as possible.
--
Regards,
GM-Uncounted
Alright, we are aware of the problem with the Assertion Error. We are
currently working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, and rest
assured that any time spent unable to play the game will be compensated
gratuitously.
--
Regards,
GM-Uncounted
Last's week patch did that to me but they did says that I will be compensated for any game time missed so thats why I gave there C.S. and ok. I just hope they get it togather is all.
The game is still very much in development, but I personally find the combat to be very satisfying, and would find it hard to go back to the kind of combat WAR seems to be offering. (although the rvr concept and public quests sound appealing there)
The problem is that there really is a lack of stuff to pvp over... no world objectives and so forth. And battlekeep raids are still beyond most of the player base (and still not working very well).
So a pvp - centred game has no meaningful pvp content.
That, however, may all change significantly with the forthcoming patch. Who knows.
Its a fun enough game, but don't come looking for a new reason to live.
I think this game has the best combat system out of any other MMORPG i have played. It is intuitive and engaging and requires skill (which skill button to press), prescision (don't mess up the combo or you'r f'd!), agility (dont stand still or you'll die). It has amazing PVP combat and that is what holds this game high compared to other games.
And for those that are so worried about this being similar to WOW...i don't believe this to be true at all. And besides even if it was and it is in some small aspects, then WOW copied off of EQ and Halo copied Couter strike so now Valve owes Bungie a lawsuit. Get over it.
WOW is not the first of its kind. THank you.
I really feel like a lot of hatred is stemming from the fact that people are fed up with the fact they cant just click a button and watch stuff die. They don't want to have to work for their kill. But hey, maybe that's just me.
Basicly - the game doesn't add up. THere is nothing compleeted in the game and alot of things are badly broken. Even the fundemental core systems are so naive in build that its a discgrace to a MMO company to release such a horror.
From the combat system and PVP all through the crafting and economy. This game has no future. Big fat Zero. It is single player content game that simply can not work with these navie game systems.
Originally posted by demo3210 WOW is not the first of its kind. THank you. I really feel like a lot of hatred is stemming from the fact that people are fed up with the fact they cant just click a button and watch stuff die. They don't want to have to work for their kill. But hey, maybe that's just me.
No one said WoW was the first of anything, ever. You've just pulled that statement out of thin air.
What I will say, is that WoW is the benchmark for all fantasy MMOs now. That's just a reality. It took many of the very best traits from a variety of MMOs and perfected them and put them together in a wonderfully polished package.
If new MMOs cant offer something new or different then why would anyone bother with them? As for AOC, it basically offers a different looking clone of WOW with a vaguely adult theme (which is now being gradually watered down patch by patch). The content is so unbelievably similar (and inferior) to WOW I just cant imagine why anyone would elect to play AOC instead of WOW. The only possible reason that comes to mind is a: they just have an irrational hatred of WOW (but then why play a game that is basically the same?), or they are b: bored of WOW and are hoping for something new (this was my reason and it was a waste of my time).
yep, AoC is a very bad attempt to copy wow and put better graphics on it. well, better landscape graphics because the armor and weapons in AoC are horrible. there is magic in the world of conan and your sword can do fire damage but you cant tell by looking at the sword = stupid and lazy.
they tried to take concepts from wow and interject their own stupid idea's of "low fantasy" which is lame.
Well i play AoC since january - and I loved evry minute of it! Is full of bugs - check It needs balancing and tweaks (not class vs class - that was never thei aim of the game) - check Is NOTHING like WoW - check It dose not have itemisation (a full epic player is better than a green player by 2-5% at most) - check A player lvl 40 can kill a lvl 60 - AS INTENDED - check Has BattleKeep fights (48 vs 48) (bugged as hell atm) - been in 2 of them - and OMG did i Love it - check It has PLENTY of 'features' that favor to build a community/guild (need of ppl to work together for a common goal) - check It has RAID instances - bugged - not balanced - but due to the way close combat/healing/LineOfSight works - is alot more fun (for a healer) than WoW style All in all is a matter of taste - but imo for an old scool mmo gamer - is far more atractive than what the market offers atm. Prometeu - Bear Shaman - Wildsoul server
Nothing like WoW? You have got to be kidding me right? Its almost identical to WOW apart from a few minor things here and there.
The only part of the game that isn't virtually indistinguishable from WOW is the graphics. It doesnt LOOK like WoW but that's an aesthetic issue only. Apart from that it is basically an attempt to copy WoW with tits and blood thrown in to make it seem 'more mature'.
Lets go through the game shall we?
Dungeons: Same as WoW except the boss encounters dont have any design. Basically every single endgame encounter is a tank and spank fest. No innovation from Conan here.
Quests: Exactly the same as WoW. 'Go collect 50 X and bring it back to me' or 'Kill 50 x to complete the quest'. You know the drill. Unfortunately there isn't even half of the variety of quests that are present in WoW, and there is zero innovation from Conan in this area either. AOC even copies WOW with quest givers having ! above their heads and ? for completed quests. They dont even try and change the colour.
Character Progression and levelling: Same story as WoW. You learn new abilities as you level up and spend points in 'talent trees'. Again, same as WoW.
Gear: Same as WOW again except for 1 important area. In AOC gear is pointless. You could be wielding an epic (yes you guessed - epics are purple, and rares are blue in AOC too!) sword or a green stick from level 20 and you wouldnt know a difference in damage output, so gearing up is pretty pointless. The reason for this seems to be that stats dont seem to work well and dont seem to matter much to your character. As a result its hard to appreciate when your character 'grows in strength' through gear or levelling.
Combat system: There is a slight difference here due to the new 'combo system' in AOC. This could have been made interesting, but its tedious and boring. Instead of some abilities just happening when you activate them, with this system you must follow a little onscreen queue to press directional movements. The result however is not a more fluid and skillful combat system but one that is more clunky and over-dependant on running around like a headless chicken. Which leads naturally to...
The Stamina system: This is new and different from WOW i will admit. However the system is so fubared, it basically needs to be removed completely until they get it right. Using stamina allows all classes to sprint, and functions as the equivalent of a 'mana' pool for melee offensive abilities. This 'novelty' is such a total mess at the moment that its probably, in my opinion, the biggest reason why the game is totall imbalanced between classes at the moment.
PVP: Same as wow. Several mini-games to play and world pvp. There are sieges to take part in but servers cant seem to handle even the 10 v 10 mini games, so ill be astonished if they can handle 48 v 48. This however is a part of the game that admittedly I never really got to experience. I just got bored before the opportuntiy arose.
--
Basically Im dying to know where exactly this game is DIFFERENT to wow in any meaningful area (apart from its looks). Its the same old nonsense with a few gimmicks to make it seem different. And in the many areas where this game offers the same things as wow, it doesnt do it as well.
Again my apologies for the negativity of the post, but Im needing a bit of a vent about this game. I find all the sneering about WOW frankly laughable when this game is basically WOW with different clothes on and with a million more flaws.
WoW was the same as many games before it. AoC IF THEY had of actually had the game done as advertised it would of been vastly better than WoW. They did not..the list of things not done is far to large to bother to list. Add onto that the poor performance of the game for anyone without a high end computer and AoC is an epic faliure. Toss in the worst possible customer service and you have a game that does nothing for anyone much less a WoW fanboi. PvP was why I bought the game. With all the whinners ( never will understand why people play on a PvP server and bitch about PvP) and Funcom that never amounted to anything. Failure of the company not the concept offered. Why why why do the WoW fans insist on bitching about other games everywhere. Play your Blizzard copy of the games that came before it and let the rest of the gaming community play what they want.
they tried to take concepts from wow and interject their own stupid idea's of "low fantasy" which is lame.
actually, the issue is it's not low fantasy enough.
Overall, they do a good job of recreating the conan atmosphere.
But when half the server is running around bouncing up and down casting lightning bolts and fireballs and sending hordes of undead minions all over the place... well - that's pretty high fantasy.
It's hard.
You want to have the magical and demonic adversaries, after all they were there in conan, but you dont want them infesting every square inch of the place.
Its also hard as so many players want, it seems - to bunny hop around in circles casting nukes.
As a result, much potential for great atmosphere has been wasted, I fear. There is no sense of mystery in this game. No sense of discovering dark deeds untold of; hidden places where the locals dare not venture; ancient evils yad yada. THAT was what Conan was all about; this is a bunch of superhumans all whisking around clicking on quest markers and farming villas. Three months after launch, there is no meaningful pvp in the game that is accessible to the average player.
Wonderful concepts on paper - going to hell, corruption for using too much magic, have gone out the window.
Bottom line is players who want to be supercharged fireball flingers appear to be sufficiently a large proportion of the desired playerbase that it's felt they must be catered to. Heck, I am a HoX, and while it's not quite the same I do love being a fiery roaring demon.
All said and done, however, there is still room to make this an entertaining game. But the lack of communication has reached a level of truly psychopathic neglect, and leaves a slighty nauseating feeling in the air. I like much this game has to offer, but feel deeply antipathetic towards Funcom. The thought of them makes my flesh crawl... how on earth is that possible? I never felt this way about the people who ran a company ever before. It's because this is a game requires so much time investment, as all MMOs, and where customers are treated with such loathing by the company.
Yep, that's it. I actually think Funcom despises each of its customers on a deeply personal level. Nothing else could explain their sheer lack of respect.
As a reply to the OP... the answer is yes. (at least once you are out of Tortage.) I didn't even enjoy my full free 30days. Lots of good ideas that weren't ready for release... and as far as i know still aren't (but don't quote me on that)
Well i play AoC since january - and I loved evry minute of it! Is full of bugs - check It needs balancing and tweaks (not class vs class - that was never thei aim of the game) - check Is NOTHING like WoW - check It dose not have itemisation (a full epic player is better than a green player by 2-5% at most) - check A player lvl 40 can kill a lvl 60 - AS INTENDED - check Has BattleKeep fights (48 vs 48) (bugged as hell atm) - been in 2 of them - and OMG did i Love it - check It has PLENTY of 'features' that favor to build a community/guild (need of ppl to work together for a common goal) - check It has RAID instances - bugged - not balanced - but due to the way close combat/healing/LineOfSight works - is alot more fun (for a healer) than WoW style All in all is a matter of taste - but imo for an old scool mmo gamer - is far more atractive than what the market offers atm. Prometeu - Bear Shaman - Wildsoul server
sounds pretty damn good. I have an AMD Phenom 9500, GeForce 7600GT , 2 gigs of ram, WinXP. Will that run AOC well?
Been playing since beta. Still playing today. Will be playing for the near future. I am enjoying the game and Funcom is improving things quickly. I have noticed massive game stability with the latest patches and my FPS are staying high even in some places that have lots of particle effects (Villas).
I agree with Prometeu about most things and feel the game is worth sticking with.
And for those who say it is like WOW, quit smokin the dope kids. It is NOT like WOW other than the fact it has elements that are common to almost ALL MMOs to date, INCLUDING many games that came BEFORE WOW was a sparkle in Blizzards eye. These things have just become staples of the standard MMO genre (fantasy anyway) and are not unique to WOW at all. If that makes it similar to WOW or a clone of WOW then 90% of the games out there are, even EQ, AC, and DAOC (Not sure how Blizzard time traveled to work that out but hey-go figure).
I've been playing this game since may 17th and I love this game, i've loved it since the start. I might crash every now and then, but I did that when I played WoW and LotrO as well, and shit happens, so I don't really mind.
In my opinion, I think that Funcom is doing a great job, I don't really understand what people are complaining about. I mean in the first 1,5 month they added patches 2 times a week!
And GM's usually respond quite quickly and help you out, I've never had to ask a GM for help, but some of my guildies have and they've recieved help quite quickly and the GM's have been really cool and nice.
Oh, yeah, people whine about "loads of bugs", well, I haven't seen thart many bugs, and If I do encounter a bug, so what!? It's a game. nothing is perfect. I know WoW, after about 4-5 years(?) still has a lot of bugs, Age of Conan has been out for about 2 months and Funcom is working actively on fixing every bug that gets reported.
Only proplem i've noticed so far is that between lvl 55-60 it might be a bit hard to level, but there are several repeatable quests that scale to your level. And there's a new area coming up soon called Ymir's Pass(for lvl 55-60) wich will take care of that "issue".
And yes, I am really into R.E. Howards books and I love the world of Conan.
So I give 5 thumbs up for this game out of 5 possible!
Jusy creating alts is fun, since the destiny-quests are different for every archetype(soldier, priest, mage and rogue).
I know I'll stick to this game for a long time.
EDIT: Oh, I forgot to add. Kids? You know that every MMO that has been released has had issues, right? That no MMO that is to be released will be perfect at launch. I'm gonna sit back and enjoy the flame war and whining that will erupt when WAR is finally released, when people realise how buggy that game will be(not that I know anything, not in beta), but I do know that every single MMO that is to be released will be more or less buggy. It's a child desease, happens to the best even. So relax, have a coke and try to look pass the flaws(since they come with every MMO) and try to enjoy the game as a whole(I mean that to every MMO out there, not just AoC).
Comments
AoC is just like a politician, full of promises and hype about you are going to get. Then a massive dissapointment that delivers nothing in the end.
Age of Conan is a lame duck.
Put simply, its a sub-standard World of Warcraft clone with a few gimmicks thrown in to try and make it seem different. The only real areas where you have an improvement over WOW is in the graphics, and in order to enjoy the graphics you need a ridiculously high spec computer. My machine met the 'recommended' requirements on the box, yet I had to play it on low graphics settings in order for the game to be playable in any shape or form.
There are simply no areas apart from the graphics mentioned above where the game improves on World of Warcraft, and in most important areas, the game just doesn't even come close to the standards set by Blizzard (note* I dont play wow anymore either - bored of it). So basically, if you like this type of game (fantasy mmo) there's really no reason to play this game over and above WOW. If you've never played AOC or WOW, just play wow. If you are bored of WOW, like loads of people that tried AOC, you wont find anything new in AOC that isnt simply an inferior version of what WOW offers.
Just a few issues to make a note of:
- The combo system sucks. Its far more clunky than the wow pvp system. Its a regression if anything, not an innovation or an improvement. Think of those stupid guitar hero games for the WII and you will have an idea of how it functions.
- The game is heavily instanced and it feels extremely small as a result of this.
- Character progression is a joke. Many talents dont work in the talent trees. Stats dont actually do anything so upgrades just feel pointless.
- Itemisation is terrible and feels as though it was just tossed in without a moments thought or care. Level 20 items are in some cases superior to level 60 items.
- PVP system doesnt yet exist.
- Bugs galore. I dont like criticising a new game for bugs as all new games have them, but Ive never encountered the vast numbers of bugs that were and are present in this title.
- Chat interfaces are counter-intuitive and poorly thought out, as are guild UIs and the main UI itself is your usual standard fare. Nothing new or interesting.
- Customer Service doesnt exist. For those used to having a wow GM answer a ticket within 1-2 hours tops, prepare for a lesson in appalling customer care from Funcom if you decide to try this game. I think I opened 7 tickets within the first 4 weeks playing the game. Not a single one was ever answered. They either timed out and got auto-deleted, or they sat in queues numbering 100s for days, with no sign of the queue shortening. It got to the point where if something went wrong, you just accepted it as there was no possibility of a GM fixing anything, or even trying to it seemed.
- Grouping is another lesson in frustration with a litany of bad design decisions and bugs making the experience one to be avoided while levelling.
- The game also seems totally unstable at certain times. As others have mentioned, memory leaks and lag spikes plague the gaming experience.
---
I know a lot of what I have typed above is extremely negative, but Im afraid those are my honest impressions of the game after 2 months of playing. I genuinely enjoyed the game for 2 weeks as I gritted my teeth through the release bugs but eventually I got bored. There is nothing new here that hasnt been done better by others in other MMOs. Its a shoddy, badly designed game, and it will sink very fast in my opinion.
Of the 30 people that moved to AOC from my wow guild, only 2 still play the game.
You will probably never really know until you buy the game. This could be the game, you have always been waiting for. However it wasn't for me.
Watch Led Zeppelin, Darkfall Tribute
Watch Johnny Cash, Darkfall Tribute
Out of about a dozen different subscription mmos, AoC was my absolute shortest sub, at 2 weeks. My longest was 8 months. In fact there were many incomplete beta tests that entertained me over a longer period of time than AoC did at release. Your mileage may differ, depending on how much depth you are looking for, however if I personally felt there was anything remotely enjoyable with the game past those 2 weeks, I would have played it longer. But it seemed pretty clear to me that I would be waiting a while before the fun got patched in.
Waiting for: A skill-based MMO with Freedom and Consequence.
Woe to thee, the pierce-ed.
"You will probably never really know until you buy the game. This could be the game, you have always been waiting for. However it wasn't for me."
lol you could say that about computer checkers!
Keep in mind that the volunteer mods on the forums ban people for asking about the game's features. Keep in mind that the game has been losing mature content from the day it launched. Keep in mind that while the #1 complaint was that the game lacked content at launch, they've only added a handful of quests since then. Keep in mind that when in doubt, Funcom blames YOU for any problems you have with the game.
So, if you are submissive and want to get slapped around like a dog, play AoC. Otherwise, move on.
Error: 37. Signature not found. Please connect to my server for signature access.
Well i play AoC since january - and I loved evry minute of it!
Is full of bugs - check
It needs balancing and tweaks (not class vs class - that was never thei aim of the game) - check
Is NOTHING like WoW - check
It dose not have itemisation (a full epic player is better than a green player by 2-5% at most) - check
A player lvl 40 can kill a lvl 60 - AS INTENDED - check
Has BattleKeep fights (48 vs 48) (bugged as hell atm) - been in 2 of them - and OMG did i Love it
- check
It has PLENTY of 'features' that favor to build a community/guild (need of ppl to work together for a common goal) - check
It has RAID instances - bugged - not balanced - but due to the way close combat/healing/LineOfSight works - is alot more fun (for a healer) than WoW style
All in all is a matter of taste - but imo for an old scool mmo gamer - is far more atractive than what the market offers atm.
Prometeu - Bear Shaman - Wildsoul server
Always a Keeper of The Dark Side [KDS]
Visit us at www.kdsguild.org
Just out of curiosity, what reasons did you have to contact Customer Service and their Billing Department?
account@aoc.com sent them a mail, got an instant copy/paste response read it (though I knew it wouldn't help) and replied explaining AGAIN what the issue was (tried to pay the account last night and as of noon today they STILL haven't fixed it or charged the card even once).
Damn i hate those copy/paste responses... Blizzard are the kings at that
, emailed them about my email being changed on one of my accounts once without me knowing, about 7 months ago, still no reply. Sent others too, only to get some useless copy/paste crap.
But from the comments in this thread, you should probably be happy they haven't charged you
Warhammer Online
Crnobog, The Black God
Chaos Chosen
<Guildless>
Sounds like it can be a pretty decent game in time... its like Vanguard all over again.
Warhammer Online
Crnobog, The Black God
Chaos Chosen
<Guildless>
Nothing like WoW? You have got to be kidding me right? Its almost identical to WOW apart from a few minor things here and there.
The only part of the game that isn't virtually indistinguishable from WOW is the graphics. It doesnt LOOK like WoW but that's an aesthetic issue only. Apart from that it is basically an attempt to copy WoW with tits and blood thrown in to make it seem 'more mature'.
Lets go through the game shall we?
Dungeons: Same as WoW except the boss encounters dont have any design. Basically every single endgame encounter is a tank and spank fest. No innovation from Conan here.
Quests: Exactly the same as WoW. 'Go collect 50 X and bring it back to me' or 'Kill 50 x to complete the quest'. You know the drill. Unfortunately there isn't even half of the variety of quests that are present in WoW, and there is zero innovation from Conan in this area either. AOC even copies WOW with quest givers having ! above their heads and ? for completed quests. They dont even try and change the colour.
Character Progression and levelling: Same story as WoW. You learn new abilities as you level up and spend points in 'talent trees'. Again, same as WoW.
Gear: Same as WOW again except for 1 important area. In AOC gear is pointless. You could be wielding an epic (yes you guessed - epics are purple, and rares are blue in AOC too!) sword or a green stick from level 20 and you wouldnt know a difference in damage output, so gearing up is pretty pointless. The reason for this seems to be that stats dont seem to work well and dont seem to matter much to your character. As a result its hard to appreciate when your character 'grows in strength' through gear or levelling.
Combat system: There is a slight difference here due to the new 'combo system' in AOC. This could have been made interesting, but its tedious and boring. Instead of some abilities just happening when you activate them, with this system you must follow a little onscreen queue to press directional movements. The result however is not a more fluid and skillful combat system but one that is more clunky and over-dependant on running around like a headless chicken. Which leads naturally to...
The Stamina system: This is new and different from WOW i will admit. However the system is so fubared, it basically needs to be removed completely until they get it right. Using stamina allows all classes to sprint, and functions as the equivalent of a 'mana' pool for melee offensive abilities. This 'novelty' is such a total mess at the moment that its probably, in my opinion, the biggest reason why the game is totall imbalanced between classes at the moment.
PVP: Same as wow. Several mini-games to play and world pvp. There are sieges to take part in but servers cant seem to handle even the 10 v 10 mini games, so ill be astonished if they can handle 48 v 48. This however is a part of the game that admittedly I never really got to experience. I just got bored before the opportuntiy arose.
--
Basically Im dying to know where exactly this game is DIFFERENT to wow in any meaningful area (apart from its looks). Its the same old nonsense with a few gimmicks to make it seem different. And in the many areas where this game offers the same things as wow, it doesnt do it as well.
Again my apologies for the negativity of the post, but Im needing a bit of a vent about this game. I find all the sneering about WOW frankly laughable when this game is basically WOW with different clothes on and with a million more flaws.
To above poster.
Your right its near identical, except for the way better graphics in aoc and ofc the siege/city element. Although i believe wow is getting siege functions too. Cant think of anything else thats different.
Knights who say Ni website!
Combat system in AOC has alot of potential, but the game is bug filled and the code is very inefficient. The art is stunning, but the programming is very sloppy. There are huge preformance problems in certain areas that just should not be.
Many features were simply left out of game. The customer service department is the WORST EVER I have seen even compaired to SOE.
The add direction also is a scam with it's "Death never looked so hot". They used to claim nudity was in game to "stay true to the Conan story", but in the end it's just a gimmick to parade hot girls in attempt to try to draw teenage boys. The community is full of a horrid element. The RP servers are not quite as bad, but overall I would highly advise you keep away from this game.
SHOHADAKU
I have a hard time playing AoC and not because of my PC. Its the dam patches that get me every time,one patch will come out that makes it were I can't log in and the another one that comes out a week later fixes it. The C.S. is ok at best all they tell me is when I send a email to C.S. is for my PC specs then bascily wait for the next patch to come out and hopefully that will fix my problem.
Greetings,
Thank you for contacting Funcom Technical Support.
If I may ask, what region are you playing the game from?
We have received reports of players from certain areas of the globe
being unable to access the Authentication server at this time, and we
are working to resolve these problems as quickly as possible.
--
Regards,
GM-Uncounted
Alright, we are aware of the problem with the Assertion Error. We are
currently working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, and rest
assured that any time spent unable to play the game will be compensated
gratuitously.
--
Regards,
GM-Uncounted
Last's week patch did that to me but they did says that I will be compensated for any game time missed so thats why I gave there C.S. and ok. I just hope they get it togather is all.
The game is still very much in development, but I personally find the combat to be very satisfying, and would find it hard to go back to the kind of combat WAR seems to be offering. (although the rvr concept and public quests sound appealing there)
The problem is that there really is a lack of stuff to pvp over... no world objectives and so forth. And battlekeep raids are still beyond most of the player base (and still not working very well).
So a pvp - centred game has no meaningful pvp content.
That, however, may all change significantly with the forthcoming patch. Who knows.
Its a fun enough game, but don't come looking for a new reason to live.
I think this game has the best combat system out of any other MMORPG i have played. It is intuitive and engaging and requires skill (which skill button to press), prescision (don't mess up the combo or you'r f'd!), agility (dont stand still or you'll die). It has amazing PVP combat and that is what holds this game high compared to other games.
And for those that are so worried about this being similar to WOW...i don't believe this to be true at all. And besides even if it was and it is in some small aspects, then WOW copied off of EQ and Halo copied Couter strike so now Valve owes Bungie a lawsuit. Get over it.
WOW is not the first of its kind. THank you.
I really feel like a lot of hatred is stemming from the fact that people are fed up with the fact they cant just click a button and watch stuff die. They don't want to have to work for their kill. But hey, maybe that's just me.
Basicly - the game doesn't add up. THere is nothing compleeted in the game and alot of things are badly broken. Even the fundemental core systems are so naive in build that its a discgrace to a MMO company to release such a horror.
From the combat system and PVP all through the crafting and economy. This game has no future. Big fat Zero. It is single player content game that simply can not work with these navie game systems.
No one said WoW was the first of anything, ever. You've just pulled that statement out of thin air.
What I will say, is that WoW is the benchmark for all fantasy MMOs now. That's just a reality. It took many of the very best traits from a variety of MMOs and perfected them and put them together in a wonderfully polished package.
If new MMOs cant offer something new or different then why would anyone bother with them? As for AOC, it basically offers a different looking clone of WOW with a vaguely adult theme (which is now being gradually watered down patch by patch). The content is so unbelievably similar (and inferior) to WOW I just cant imagine why anyone would elect to play AOC instead of WOW. The only possible reason that comes to mind is a: they just have an irrational hatred of WOW (but then why play a game that is basically the same?), or they are b: bored of WOW and are hoping for something new (this was my reason and it was a waste of my time).
yep, AoC is a very bad attempt to copy wow and put better graphics on it. well, better landscape graphics because the armor and weapons in AoC are horrible. there is magic in the world of conan and your sword can do fire damage but you cant tell by looking at the sword = stupid and lazy.
they tried to take concepts from wow and interject their own stupid idea's of "low fantasy" which is lame.
Nothing like WoW? You have got to be kidding me right? Its almost identical to WOW apart from a few minor things here and there.
The only part of the game that isn't virtually indistinguishable from WOW is the graphics. It doesnt LOOK like WoW but that's an aesthetic issue only. Apart from that it is basically an attempt to copy WoW with tits and blood thrown in to make it seem 'more mature'.
Lets go through the game shall we?
Dungeons: Same as WoW except the boss encounters dont have any design. Basically every single endgame encounter is a tank and spank fest. No innovation from Conan here.
Quests: Exactly the same as WoW. 'Go collect 50 X and bring it back to me' or 'Kill 50 x to complete the quest'. You know the drill. Unfortunately there isn't even half of the variety of quests that are present in WoW, and there is zero innovation from Conan in this area either. AOC even copies WOW with quest givers having ! above their heads and ? for completed quests. They dont even try and change the colour.
Character Progression and levelling: Same story as WoW. You learn new abilities as you level up and spend points in 'talent trees'. Again, same as WoW.
Gear: Same as WOW again except for 1 important area. In AOC gear is pointless. You could be wielding an epic (yes you guessed - epics are purple, and rares are blue in AOC too!) sword or a green stick from level 20 and you wouldnt know a difference in damage output, so gearing up is pretty pointless. The reason for this seems to be that stats dont seem to work well and dont seem to matter much to your character. As a result its hard to appreciate when your character 'grows in strength' through gear or levelling.
Combat system: There is a slight difference here due to the new 'combo system' in AOC. This could have been made interesting, but its tedious and boring. Instead of some abilities just happening when you activate them, with this system you must follow a little onscreen queue to press directional movements. The result however is not a more fluid and skillful combat system but one that is more clunky and over-dependant on running around like a headless chicken. Which leads naturally to...
The Stamina system: This is new and different from WOW i will admit. However the system is so fubared, it basically needs to be removed completely until they get it right. Using stamina allows all classes to sprint, and functions as the equivalent of a 'mana' pool for melee offensive abilities. This 'novelty' is such a total mess at the moment that its probably, in my opinion, the biggest reason why the game is totall imbalanced between classes at the moment.
PVP: Same as wow. Several mini-games to play and world pvp. There are sieges to take part in but servers cant seem to handle even the 10 v 10 mini games, so ill be astonished if they can handle 48 v 48. This however is a part of the game that admittedly I never really got to experience. I just got bored before the opportuntiy arose.
--
Basically Im dying to know where exactly this game is DIFFERENT to wow in any meaningful area (apart from its looks). Its the same old nonsense with a few gimmicks to make it seem different. And in the many areas where this game offers the same things as wow, it doesnt do it as well.
Again my apologies for the negativity of the post, but Im needing a bit of a vent about this game. I find all the sneering about WOW frankly laughable when this game is basically WOW with different clothes on and with a million more flaws.
WoW was the same as many games before it. AoC IF THEY had of actually had the game done as advertised it would of been vastly better than WoW. They did not..the list of things not done is far to large to bother to list. Add onto that the poor performance of the game for anyone without a high end computer and AoC is an epic faliure. Toss in the worst possible customer service and you have a game that does nothing for anyone much less a WoW fanboi. PvP was why I bought the game. With all the whinners ( never will understand why people play on a PvP server and bitch about PvP) and Funcom that never amounted to anything. Failure of the company not the concept offered. Why why why do the WoW fans insist on bitching about other games everywhere. Play your Blizzard copy of the games that came before it and let the rest of the gaming community play what they want.
actually, the issue is it's not low fantasy enough.
Overall, they do a good job of recreating the conan atmosphere.
But when half the server is running around bouncing up and down casting lightning bolts and fireballs and sending hordes of undead minions all over the place... well - that's pretty high fantasy.
It's hard.
You want to have the magical and demonic adversaries, after all they were there in conan, but you dont want them infesting every square inch of the place.
Its also hard as so many players want, it seems - to bunny hop around in circles casting nukes.
As a result, much potential for great atmosphere has been wasted, I fear. There is no sense of mystery in this game. No sense of discovering dark deeds untold of; hidden places where the locals dare not venture; ancient evils yad yada. THAT was what Conan was all about; this is a bunch of superhumans all whisking around clicking on quest markers and farming villas. Three months after launch, there is no meaningful pvp in the game that is accessible to the average player.
Wonderful concepts on paper - going to hell, corruption for using too much magic, have gone out the window.
Bottom line is players who want to be supercharged fireball flingers appear to be sufficiently a large proportion of the desired playerbase that it's felt they must be catered to. Heck, I am a HoX, and while it's not quite the same I do love being a fiery roaring demon.
All said and done, however, there is still room to make this an entertaining game. But the lack of communication has reached a level of truly psychopathic neglect, and leaves a slighty nauseating feeling in the air. I like much this game has to offer, but feel deeply antipathetic towards Funcom. The thought of them makes my flesh crawl... how on earth is that possible? I never felt this way about the people who ran a company ever before. It's because this is a game requires so much time investment, as all MMOs, and where customers are treated with such loathing by the company.
Yep, that's it. I actually think Funcom despises each of its customers on a deeply personal level. Nothing else could explain their sheer lack of respect.
As a reply to the OP... the answer is yes. (at least once you are out of Tortage.) I didn't even enjoy my full free 30days. Lots of good ideas that weren't ready for release... and as far as i know still aren't (but don't quote me on that)
I'm glad i started this thread, many different opinions that really help make anyone who is considering this game think twice or go for it.
I'll say it again though, it really does sound like this is another Vanguard, a game that COULD be the next big thing, just needs time to finish.
Its one to watch i guess.
Warhammer Online
Crnobog, The Black God
Chaos Chosen
<Guildless>
sounds pretty damn good. I have an AMD Phenom 9500, GeForce 7600GT , 2 gigs of ram, WinXP. Will that run AOC well?
Extremism in the defense of Liberty is no vice.
Been playing since beta. Still playing today. Will be playing for the near future. I am enjoying the game and Funcom is improving things quickly. I have noticed massive game stability with the latest patches and my FPS are staying high even in some places that have lots of particle effects (Villas).
I agree with Prometeu about most things and feel the game is worth sticking with.
And for those who say it is like WOW, quit smokin the dope kids. It is NOT like WOW other than the fact it has elements that are common to almost ALL MMOs to date, INCLUDING many games that came BEFORE WOW was a sparkle in Blizzards eye. These things have just become staples of the standard MMO genre (fantasy anyway) and are not unique to WOW at all. If that makes it similar to WOW or a clone of WOW then 90% of the games out there are, even EQ, AC, and DAOC (Not sure how Blizzard time traveled to work that out but hey-go figure).
I've been playing this game since may 17th and I love this game, i've loved it since the start. I might crash every now and then, but I did that when I played WoW and LotrO as well, and shit happens, so I don't really mind.
In my opinion, I think that Funcom is doing a great job, I don't really understand what people are complaining about. I mean in the first 1,5 month they added patches 2 times a week!
And GM's usually respond quite quickly and help you out, I've never had to ask a GM for help, but some of my guildies have and they've recieved help quite quickly and the GM's have been really cool and nice.
Oh, yeah, people whine about "loads of bugs", well, I haven't seen thart many bugs, and If I do encounter a bug, so what!? It's a game. nothing is perfect. I know WoW, after about 4-5 years(?) still has a lot of bugs, Age of Conan has been out for about 2 months and Funcom is working actively on fixing every bug that gets reported.
Only proplem i've noticed so far is that between lvl 55-60 it might be a bit hard to level, but there are several repeatable quests that scale to your level. And there's a new area coming up soon called Ymir's Pass(for lvl 55-60) wich will take care of that "issue".
And yes, I am really into R.E. Howards books and I love the world of Conan.
So I give 5 thumbs up for this game out of 5 possible!
Jusy creating alts is fun, since the destiny-quests are different for every archetype(soldier, priest, mage and rogue).
I know I'll stick to this game for a long time.
EDIT: Oh, I forgot to add. Kids? You know that every MMO that has been released has had issues, right? That no MMO that is to be released will be perfect at launch. I'm gonna sit back and enjoy the flame war and whining that will erupt when WAR is finally released, when people realise how buggy that game will be(not that I know anything, not in beta), but I do know that every single MMO that is to be released will be more or less buggy. It's a child desease, happens to the best even. So relax, have a coke and try to look pass the flaws(since they come with every MMO) and try to enjoy the game as a whole(I mean that to every MMO out there, not just AoC).