Just got the game like a week ago. Love it. be prepared for a extraordinary MMO experience.
Yes, it's very promising the first 1-2 weeks. Just give it time, you will get bored and learn to hate it, just like 90% of other players out there.
You mean the FOTM fans of OOOO NEW SHINIES?!?!
Its promising at 80.. after having played it for more than 1 year counting beta and live..
No, I think he meant rational people who aren't emotionally attached to their game of choice, and who want a deep, quality game, instead of one based more on eye candy than substance.
The game as it currently sits isn't particularly fun, in my opinion, and will have to make a lot of changes to the basic design before it would be promising.
Can it get there? Sure, just like any other game. But AoC will have to offer a lot more than it currently does.
Such a shame that yet another person has been put off by all the negative comments without giving the game a try and deciding for themselves.
Re your original Post - I was thinking on buying AoC, but I have a few questions first.
What is the community like? Are they nice and willing to help?
If you define community as a group of people brought together and playing the same game then I've found that on PvE servers the people are very helpful on the whole. If you define a comunity as a group of people on a forum who may or may not actually play the game at the moment then as you'll have seen by this one there are many wanting to give their opinion - whether that is to help you or to put the boot into Funcom or another rival game - I'll leave you to decide.
Is the game mainly PvP or PvE centered?
I play on a PvE server as is probably obvious, lvl and enjoyed the quests at my own pace, then PvP when I got to level 80. PvP servers are busier I think and with this new murder status coming in are even tempting me - but at the moment there are a lot of pvpers killing anything in the area to get their PvP points up and new armor - if that suits you great - if not stick with PvE
What is there to do at end game?
My guild raids 3 - 4 nights a week, PvP Night once a week and Gathering night once a week.
Thats 5 - 6 nights a week doing guild things without mentioning the group quests 1 want to finish, the alt I'm trying to lvl, additional pvp minigames, crafting and generally chatting.
How long does it take to get to end game (at a normal pace)?
Too long at the moment as I really want to get my new ranger up and running - but really a lot of it is down to you. Some chose to ignore the quests, areas or any content, crafting etc and just concentrate on villas to get Xp - in my opinion a very boring way of playing but it suits some. Others wander about the areas exploring and taking their time - playing a few hours a day and it can take months. I personnaly soloed the first 50 ish levels ignoring all the group quests and then spent the majority of my time in groups for the remaining 30 levels. I play around 25 hrs a week (terrible when you work it out) and it took me around 2 -3 months. Some days I got little Xp as I was helping others with quests and crafting. Other times I got loads as a group of us did an Xp run. Others have leveled in about 2 weeks but they are really working at it - which is not the way I want to play.
Is it too hard to group?
If you like playing in groups the best way is to join a guild - I've never been short of things to do and generally there are others who want to do things as well. Alternatively you can use OOC channel which may/may not get a full 6 others at the moment. Unfortunately as the forums are full of people trying to stop new people trying AoC for themselves the servers are emptier than they would ideally be - but the server merges will hopefully solve a lot of that for those that don't want to join guilds.
Can you level solo?
Yes - as I said I did the first 50 levels solo - but its more fun at times to do stuff in a group. The only lvl that you have to group is around lvl 75+ at the moment there are very few solo quests around that range - but I think that will be changing soon. There are repeatable quests like the villas or bounty posters that will get you to lvl 80 but final lvls are easier as a group.
Is this game hard to learn?
Yes/no - easy to pick up and play thanks to the tutorial - hard to master. If you like more complex games I would advise you to play a melee character or ranger with more combo's and shield abilities. In my opinion you are better off with a PoM or caster if you want more the traditional point and click
As a final note - as I've just worked out I play 25 ish hours a week. If the game costs £25.00 and has 1 month free play then the first months play cost me 25p per hour and thats without the hours that some spend on the forums discussing the game - so for those that don't like AoC - great its not for you - move on to the next game and forget all about AoC.
For those that fancy giving it a go - why not try it and decide for yourself - at the costs involved it's not going to break the bank as you'll probably spend a lot less time and spend a lot more money going out on a usual Friday night. (and we all know where money spent there ends up )
Such a shame that yet another person has been put off by all the negative comments without giving the game a try and deciding for themselves.
Um.. that is kinda the point of reviews. People read reviews and decide if they want to buy the product/service or not.
If you buy a digital camera, do you buy and try ALL different brands of digital cameras before you choose one? No. You go online, read reviews, look at features, and try to decide what camera would be best for you. Ok, digital cameras and MMO's are not the same thing but the principle is the same. Reviews help us find a good product for us without having to try all of them. It saves money and time.
You cannot blame people for saying negative comments about AoC. You know why they say those comments? Because the game SUCKS. If FC wanted people to say positive comments about the game, they probably should have made the game.. you know.. better.
You say it's a shame that another person didn't give the game a try and decide by himself. I say it's a good thing another person saved his money and time.
Such a shame that yet another person has been put off by all the negative comments without giving the game a try and deciding for themselves.
Um.. that is kinda the point of reviews. People read reviews and decide if they want to buy the product/service or not.
If you buy a digital camera, do you buy and try ALL different brands of digital cameras before you choose one? No. You go online, read reviews, look at features, and try to decide what camera would be best for you. Ok, digital cameras and MMO's are not the same thing but the principle is the same. Reviews help us find a good product for us without having to try all of them. It saves money and time.
You cannot blame people for saying negative comments about AoC. You know why they say those comments? Because the game SUCKS. If FC wanted people to say positive comments about the game, they probably should have made the game.. you know.. better.
You say it's a shame that another person didn't give the game a try and decide by himself. I say it's a good thing another person saved his money and time.
Wait for the trial, people.
You concern is admirable. Next time I see a movie I don't like I will line up at the main entrance the subsequent weeks and try to save the public from this movie I did not like.
You see thats where your reasoning completely falls appart, your opinion is always nothing more than your opinion. Other people must be allowed to have their own (at least in any modern democracy).
You concern is admirable. Next time I see a movie I don't like I will line up at the main entrance the subsequent weeks and try to save the public from this movie 90% of players did not like. You see thats where your reasoning completely falls appart, your opinion is always nothing more than your opinion. Other people must be allowed to have their own (at least in any modern democracy).
I fixed that for you.
I too, am not going to line up at the theatre, telling everyone the movie sucks. I will however tell all my friends, family, neighbors, postman, basically everyone, to not go see that movie because it's boring.
Did I say other people cannot have opinions? No I didn't. Of course they can have opinions, no matter how redicilous those opinions sound to me. That's the point of this forum. We exchange opinions.
People come here to ask what I (and others) think about AoC. I say it sucks. I give it 5/10.
Heck, I would give the OP a buddy key to try it himself. I got 5 with my CE but, gee, I have to be an active subscriber to get the code to give him. That wasn't mentioned when I bought the box but that's how it turned out. I didn't make it past the first month so there is five buddy keys that FunCON never has to worry about honoring.
Such a shame that yet another person has been put off by all the negative comments without giving the game a try and deciding for themselves.
Um.. that is kinda the point of reviews. People read reviews and decide if they want to buy the product/service or not.
If you buy a digital camera, do you buy and try ALL different brands of digital cameras before you choose one? No. You go online, read reviews, look at features, and try to decide what camera would be best for you. Ok, digital cameras and MMO's are not the same thing but the principle is the same. Reviews help us find a good product for us without having to try all of them. It saves money and time.
You cannot blame people for saying negative comments about AoC. You know why they say those comments? Because the game SUCKS. If FC wanted people to say positive comments about the game, they probably should have made the game.. you know.. better.
You say it's a shame that another person didn't give the game a try and decide by himself. I say it's a good thing another person saved his money and time.
Wait for the trial, people.
You concern is admirable. Next time I see a movie I don't like I will line up at the main entrance the subsequent weeks and try to save the public from this movie I did not like.
You see thats where your reasoning completely falls appart, your opinion is always nothing more than your opinion. Other people must be allowed to have their own (at least in any modern democracy).
And everyone here is being allowed to voice that opinion, and the OP was given a range of opinions to consider. Isn't that part of what this forum is for?
If all the opinions don't agree with your own, that doesn't make them wrong.
Ultimately, you offering your opinion is no different from what anyone else is doing here.
You concern is admirable. Next time I see a movie I don't like I will line up at the main entrance the subsequent weeks and try to save the public from this movie I did not like. You see thats where your reasoning completely falls appart, your opinion is always nothing more than your opinion. Other people must be allowed to have their own (at least in any modern democracy).
I am sorry but this is IMO just plain stupid and bordering on trolling...
Some people are posting their (negative) opinion on a forum where people come, probably looking for various opinions and you compare that to going to a game store movie theatre and FORCE their opinion on to others... Please
Please read your own second paragraph - Several times... People are allowed to express, evaluate AND form their own opinion in any democratic society...
We dont need casuals in our games!!! Errm... Well we DO need casuals to fund and populate our games - But the games should be all about "hardcore" because: We dont need casuals in our games!!! (repeat ad infinitum)
You concern is admirable. Next time I see a movie I don't like I will line up at the main entrance the subsequent weeks and try to save the public from this movie I did not like. You see thats where your reasoning completely falls appart, your opinion is always nothing more than your opinion. Other people must be allowed to have their own (at least in any modern democracy).
I am sorry but this is IMO just plain stupid and bordering on trolling...
Some people are posting their (negative) opinion on a forum where people come, probably looking for various opinions and you compare that to going to a game store movie theatre and FORCE their opinion on to others... Please
Please read your own second paragraph - Several times... People are allowed to express, evaluate AND form their own opinion in any democratic society...
Thing is i don't know if you notice , but alot of you guys seems to be very active on these forums even tough you don't play the game and have no idea of the current state of the game and you advice people about buying a product you dont know ,
Someone might call that a bit deceptive , but as long as you get your point across i guess.
those germans are bad , did you know what they did under the war ? must be the same today i guess.
You concern is admirable. Next time I see a movie I don't like I will line up at the main entrance the subsequent weeks and try to save the public from this movie I did not like. You see thats where your reasoning completely falls appart, your opinion is always nothing more than your opinion. Other people must be allowed to have their own (at least in any modern democracy).
I am sorry but this is IMO just plain stupid and bordering on trolling...
Some people are posting their (negative) opinion on a forum where people come, probably looking for various opinions and you compare that to going to a game store movie theatre and FORCE their opinion on to others... Please
Please read your own second paragraph - Several times... People are allowed to express, evaluate AND form their own opinion in any democratic society...
Thing is i don't know if you notice , but alot of you guys seems to be very active on these forums even tough you don't play the game and have no idea of the current state of the game and you advice people about buying a product you dont know ,
Someone might call that a bit deceptive , but as long as you get your point across i guess.
those germans are bad , did you know what they did under the war ? must be the same today i guess.
How do you know they don't play or have recently quit? Assumptions like that get you no where fast, there's no deception in sharing your experience with others be it good or bad.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
You concern is admirable. Next time I see a movie I don't like I will line up at the main entrance the subsequent weeks and try to save the public from this movie I did not like. You see thats where your reasoning completely falls appart, your opinion is always nothing more than your opinion. Other people must be allowed to have their own (at least in any modern democracy).
I am sorry but this is IMO just plain stupid and bordering on trolling...
Some people are posting their (negative) opinion on a forum where people come, probably looking for various opinions and you compare that to going to a game store movie theatre and FORCE their opinion on to others... Please
Please read your own second paragraph - Several times... People are allowed to express, evaluate AND form their own opinion in any democratic society...
Thing is i don't know if you notice , but alot of you guys seems to be very active on these forums even tough you don't play the game and have no idea of the current state of the game and you advice people about buying a product you dont know ,
Someone might call that a bit deceptive , but as long as you get your point across i guess.
those germans are bad , did you know what they did under the war ? must be the same today i guess.
How do you know they don't play or have recently quit? Assumptions like that get you no where fast, there's no deception in sharing your experience with others be it good or bad.
Deleted , i dont really care anymore( oh and read that sentence again , your not deceptive if you have played the game activly recently , tough if you havent make your own conclusion )
Well, it's that thing about taste. It is now about 2 weeks since I got this game and I am just amazed, still. Love it. 10/10
Lol 10/10. Listen. You have been playing for 2 weeks. Most people like AoC first couple of weeks. Then it starts to get boring and finally you will probably hate it. There is a reason why 90% of players have left.
Come back you get to endgame and then we'll talk.
Three times now you've thrown out 90% like it's a fact. I would like to see how you arrived at this statistic. I mean, a guy with a failcom icon wouldn't just pull a number out of his butt, would he?
You are playing a video game. By definition that means you are not hardcore.
Three times now you've thrown out 90% like it's a fact. I would like to see how you arrived at this statistic. I mean, a guy with a failcom icon wouldn't just pull a number out of his butt, would he?
Using different scientific methods, I estimate AoC has about 50-75k active subs left. I believe it was 750k at some point? That would make it about 90%.
You concern is admirable. Next time I see a movie I don't like I will line up at the main entrance the subsequent weeks and try to save the public from this movie I did not like. You see thats where your reasoning completely falls appart, your opinion is always nothing more than your opinion. Other people must be allowed to have their own (at least in any modern democracy).
I am sorry but this is IMO just plain stupid and bordering on trolling...
Some people are posting their (negative) opinion on a forum where people come, probably looking for various opinions and you compare that to going to a game store movie theatre and FORCE their opinion on to others... Please
Please read your own second paragraph - Several times... People are allowed to express, evaluate AND form their own opinion in any democratic society...
Thing is i don't know if you notice , but alot of you guys seems to be very active on these forums even tough you don't play the game and have no idea of the current state of the game and you advice people about buying a product you dont know ,
Someone might call that a bit deceptive , but as long as you get your point across i guess.
those germans are bad , did you know what they did under the war ? must be the same today i guess.
Well as for your assumptions: My last subscription ran out about a month ago. Please link to ANY message where you see me 'advicing' people to buy (or not) AoC during the last month?
On the subject of 'deceit' please don't strain yourself coming up with something as that 'germans' line... Last time I was hearing about deceit it involved a couple of norwegians but that is only a few months ago - Not more than half a decade.
If you are going to quote me at least try to reply to my post instead of posting unrelated and unfounded attacks.
If you are trying to get a positive message about AoC and its community across then I am convinced you could have done a lot better. Especially in a thread titled 'Thinking on Buying AoC'
We dont need casuals in our games!!! Errm... Well we DO need casuals to fund and populate our games - But the games should be all about "hardcore" because: We dont need casuals in our games!!! (repeat ad infinitum)
You concern is admirable. Next time I see a movie I don't like I will line up at the main entrance the subsequent weeks and try to save the public from this movie I did not like. You see thats where your reasoning completely falls appart, your opinion is always nothing more than your opinion. Other people must be allowed to have their own (at least in any modern democracy).
I am sorry but this is IMO just plain stupid and bordering on trolling...
Some people are posting their (negative) opinion on a forum where people come, probably looking for various opinions and you compare that to going to a game store movie theatre and FORCE their opinion on to others... Please
Please read your own second paragraph - Several times... People are allowed to express, evaluate AND form their own opinion in any democratic society...
Thing is i don't know if you notice , but alot of you guys seems to be very active on these forums even tough you don't play the game and have no idea of the current state of the game and you advice people about buying a product you dont know ,
Someone might call that a bit deceptive , but as long as you get your point across i guess.
those germans are bad , did you know what they did under the war ? must be the same today i guess.
Well as for your assumptions: My last subscription ran out about a month ago. Please link to ANY message where you see me 'advicing' people to buy (or not) AoC during the last month?
On the subject of 'deceit' please don't strain yourself coming up with something as that 'germans' line... Last time I was hearing about deceit it involved a couple of norwegians but that is only a few months ago - Not more than half a decade.
If you are going to quote me at least try to reply to my post instead of posting unrelated and unfounded attacks.
If you are trying to get a positive message about AoC and its community across then I am convinced you could have done a lot better. Especially in a thread titled 'Thinking on Buying AoC'
Hold on there people, lets continue this discussion as friends. If I may sum up, we AoC players think that it is just a tadd bit odd that ex-AoC players (quite a few quit more than 4 months ago, according to a recent poll) still spend more time in this forum than the current gamers to save customers from AoC, and yet guys like me and others have a great time in the game. Perhaps the game is not that bad by everybodys measures. Perhaps it's time to have a more sivil discussion on the game than; Guy with FailCon Avatar show up in forum and spam all threads with "I hat I hate, FC suck, tantrum, gime money back, 10000 subscribers Yehhhaaayyy"-type of posts. Different opinions are the essence of the MMORPG forum, thats why spamming of one opinion for 4 months is not very much in MMORPG's interest or in our interest (I would think). Sorry for taking the liberty to sum up like this, but understand noone are trying to intercept bad reviews or people that does not like the game, it's just that it get so increadible dysfunctional when opinions are presented the wrong way.
Hold on there people, lets continue this discussion as friends. If I may sum up, we AoC players think that it is just a tadd bit odd that ex-AoC players (quite a few quit more than 4 months ago, according to a recent poll) still spend more time in this forum to save consumers, and yet guys like me and others have a great time in the game. Perhaps the game is not that bad by everybodies measures, perhaps it's time to have a more sivil discussion on the game than; Guy with FailCon Avatar show up in forum spam all threads with "I hat I hate, FC suck, tantrum, gime money back, 10000 subscribers Yehhhaaayyy"-type of posts. Different opinions are the essence of the MMORPG forum, thats why spamming of one opinion for 4 months is not very much in MMORPG's interest or in our interest (I would think). Sorry for taking the liberty to sum up like this, but understand noone are trying to intercept bad reviews or people that does not like the game, it's just that it get so increadible dysfunctional when opinions are presented the wrong way.
Pezz, you have been playing AoC for 2 weeks. Most people here, including myself, have been playing it much longer than that. You should listen to us veterans.
And why are you always here? Don't you ever play the game? How do you have time to do both?
Everyone has a right to express his or her opinion, even if it differs from yours. I know it hurts to see so many people badmouthing your newly found best game eva, but try to join the conversation, not attack other posters all the time, ok?
I was thinking on buying AoC, but I have a few questions first.
What is the community like? Are they nice and willing to help? Is the game mainly PvP or PvE centered? What is there to do at end game? How long does it take to get to end game (at a normal pace)? Is it too hard to group? Can you level solo? Is this game hard to learn?
Thanks guys!
I haven't bothered reading through the dross between the first page and this one, so below is my answer to the OP:
1) Like all MMO's you get good players and bad. Some help, some are asshats. Just like mmorpg.com really You just hope that you pick the right server. If no joy, then reroll on another.
2) Depends on the server type you choose. One could argue that levels 1 - 80 are mainly PVE based. Of course if you're on a PVP server that changes.
3) Like all MMOs end game consists of high level group dungeons, crafting, raiding and PVP (pvp minigames if you're on a PVE server). Btw, crafting is about to get a facelift and depth, PVP's notoriety system is coming in on the next patch in the next couple of weeks.
4) Depends what you call "Normal Pace". If you LOVE the game that you cannot stop playing, then it will take you about 240 hours play (10 days approximately played time). However, if you're like my friend, it took him that long to get to level 20. Depends on your playstyle basically.
5) Currently server populations have been hit hard. If you're not in a guild, then it can be tough finding a group. Luckily you don't necessarily need a group to level to 80. Though it DOES help a lot.
6) Hard to learn? Nah. Think of a typical high-fantasy MMO like EQ2, WoW, etc and add a "combo" melee system that allows you a certain degree of choice were you hit the mobs which can govern just how much damage you can do if you choose it right. Spell casting is just like other games. Target and click the spell.
I hope that helps OP. My suggestion is, if population matters so much to you, then wait for Patch 3 and possibly the server merges to hit the Live servers and see how it effects the population. THEN consider buying it.
Lastly OP, ignore ANY review that says that the game SUCKS or that its BRILLIANT. Chances are they are biased opinions enflamed by their own subjective and often incorrect recollections of their actual experiences. Find the reviews that say neither and pick them apart. THEN buy the game and decide for yourself. It's not like it costs a lot of money (if you have the rig to play it that is
For the record, I've been playing since Beta, my account is STILL active. Although I'm not incredibly happy with the rate of development, I'm hanging in there to see what the next few months bring or until I get bored. I ain't bored of the game yet because I am in a guild that is active
Interesting to see someone who has admittedly only played the game 2 weeks lecturing folks who progressed threw all the content, hit max level, and played the end game.
Seems pretty foolish to think that the folks who have played far more of the game than you, read all of the patch notes so far (both official and player documented) are somehow completely clueless to the current state of the game.
Maybe you should spend your time more constructively by playing a few toons to 80, do the sieges, do the raiding and only than come back and tell us what you have seen, because at the moment it seems you are the operating your advertising campaign out of the bliss of ignorance.
You know , i have been reading all this with my cousin here, who is trying to figure out is this game for him or not.
I am trying to stay neutral (didn't like the game but that was awhile ago), since i have no input if anything changed for good or worse(didn't play in months), but all this extreme pro and against is just making things way more unclear.
While i can point out some bigger proponents and opponents of this game, and tell him to disregard those (just to have neutral view), it is impossible to make any reasonable assumption if game improved or not.
Everything boils down to extreme "I love.." and "I hate .." without any solid facts or hard data.Not to mention that Funcom doesn't help with being so "secretive" about almost everything (server populations, lags spikes, etc..)
Can someone please give some reasonably moderate view of game's current state with certain facts?Or point him on one already posted?
Major proponents and opponents, as well Funcom representatives please don't reply.
Thanks
P.S. even i am not trying to give him my opinion , i did suggest him not to pay for trial , because that's something that is completely unethical imho.
Hold on there people, lets continue this discussion as friends. If I may sum up, we AoC players think that it is just a tadd bit odd that ex-AoC players (quite a few quit more than 4 months ago, according to a recent poll) still spend more time in this forum to save consumers, and yet guys like me and others have a great time in the game. Perhaps the game is not that bad by everybodies measures, perhaps it's time to have a more sivil discussion on the game than; Guy with FailCon Avatar show up in forum spam all threads with "I hat I hate, FC suck, tantrum, gime money back, 10000 subscribers Yehhhaaayyy"-type of posts. Different opinions are the essence of the MMORPG forum, thats why spamming of one opinion for 4 months is not very much in MMORPG's interest or in our interest (I would think). Sorry for taking the liberty to sum up like this, but understand noone are trying to intercept bad reviews or people that does not like the game, it's just that it get so increadible dysfunctional when opinions are presented the wrong way.
Pezz, you have been playing AoC for 2 weeks. Most people here, including myself, have been playing it much longer than that. You should listen to us veterans.
And why are you always here? Don't you ever play the game? How do you have time to do both?
Everyone has a right to express his or her opinion, even if it differs from yours. I know it hurts to see so many people badmouthing your newly found best game eva, but try to join the conversation, not attack other posters all the time, ok?
Exactly..(Read my post), everybody have the right to post their opinion, and thats why first of all it is odd that I am asked to leave the forums just because I'm a noob and I like the game. Discussion is people conversing about various mechanisms in the game. I think a forum should be about discussing, and less about type FailCon avatar yell out "FunCom I'll gonna burn you down" against AoCFanboi " Conan rapes all WAR elfmen in the ass". Stuff like that is totally pointless. We and MMORPG need tolerance and discussion in this forum. I'll take off to AoC now again. See ya in next thread.
You know , i have been reading all this with my cousin here, who is trying to figure out is this game for him or not. I am trying to stay neutral (didn't like the game but that was awhile ago), since i have no input if anything changed for good or worse(didn't play in months), but all this extreme pro and against is just making things way more unclear. While i can point out some bigger proponents and opponents of this game, and tell him to disregard those (just to have neutral view), it is impossible to make any reasonable assumption if game improved or not. Everything boils down to extreme "I love.." and "I hate .." without any solid facts or hard data.Not to mention that Funcom doesn't help with being so "secretive" about almost everything (server populations, lags spikes, etc..) Can someone please give some reasonably moderate view of game's current state with certain facts?Or point him on one already posted? Major proponents and opponents, as well Funcom representatives please don't reply. Thanks P.S. even i am not trying to give him my opinion , i did suggest him not to pay for trial , because that's something that is completely unethical imho.
As far as improvements go, there have been some. Stability problems and memory leaks have mostly been resolved. The game has less holes in the content now as well, with more coming fairly soon (a new 55+ zone is on test live at the moment). I must add, lag spikes are still reported, though not from everyone. PVP has some form of purpose now (levels, armors etc..), if that's what you or he seek. Look for the thread about update 3.0, for more in depth information about the changes coming. Crafting is also getting a much needed overhaul.
There are still problems to work out (pretty much common knowledge now) so I won't bore you with to many details. However, if the game had released in the shape it is in today, things would be a lot different right now. They'd still have PR issues, but not near as severely IMO. The game is still AOC, so if instancing, the combat or the linearity bothered you before, nothing has changed there.
An issue that needs addressing you asked about is population. There are a few servers with decent activity, not very many though. A few PVP servers, a few PVE and an Rp server. That information would be easier to find after subscribing (if he makes that decision) by testing the waters a little or on server specific forums.
My personal feeling is the game is fun, but only if you have a decent amount of tolerance to over look much of what's missing. I'm not saying there's nothing to do while working your way to max level, there's quite a bit actually. There's still a large amount of things that are supposed to be there that simply aren't.
Personally I'm waiting to return (last played in late september, after 2.0), for both merges and a more polished level 80 environment.
I tried to present as many facts as possible without writting a book on the subject. There's much more that could be said, however I'll leave that up to the next guy who responds.
Edit- I forgot to add, if you have the discs you can lend them to your cousin with a buddy key and he wouldn't be charged.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Comments
Get a buddy key from someone. I know there are people on these forums that will be happy to supply you with one.
Are they still charging ppl to download the AoC client if you have a buddy key?
Get a buddy key from someone. I know there are people on these forums that will be happy to supply you with one.
Are they still charging ppl to download the AoC client if you have a buddy key?
Only like 2-3 $ for extra download speed.
Yes, it's very promising the first 1-2 weeks. Just give it time, you will get bored and learn to hate it, just like 90% of other players out there.
You mean the FOTM fans of OOOO NEW SHINIES?!?!
Its promising at 80.. after having played it for more than 1 year counting beta and live..
Yes, it's very promising the first 1-2 weeks. Just give it time, you will get bored and learn to hate it, just like 90% of other players out there.
You mean the FOTM fans of OOOO NEW SHINIES?!?!
Its promising at 80.. after having played it for more than 1 year counting beta and live..
No, I think he meant rational people who aren't emotionally attached to their game of choice, and who want a deep, quality game, instead of one based more on eye candy than substance.
The game as it currently sits isn't particularly fun, in my opinion, and will have to make a lot of changes to the basic design before it would be promising.
Can it get there? Sure, just like any other game. But AoC will have to offer a lot more than it currently does.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
Such a shame that yet another person has been put off by all the negative comments without giving the game a try and deciding for themselves.
Re your original Post - I was thinking on buying AoC, but I have a few questions first.
What is the community like? Are they nice and willing to help?
If you define community as a group of people brought together and playing the same game then I've found that on PvE servers the people are very helpful on the whole. If you define a comunity as a group of people on a forum who may or may not actually play the game at the moment then as you'll have seen by this one there are many wanting to give their opinion - whether that is to help you or to put the boot into Funcom or another rival game - I'll leave you to decide.
Is the game mainly PvP or PvE centered?
I play on a PvE server as is probably obvious, lvl and enjoyed the quests at my own pace, then PvP when I got to level 80. PvP servers are busier I think and with this new murder status coming in are even tempting me - but at the moment there are a lot of pvpers killing anything in the area to get their PvP points up and new armor - if that suits you great - if not stick with PvE
What is there to do at end game?
My guild raids 3 - 4 nights a week, PvP Night once a week and Gathering night once a week.
Thats 5 - 6 nights a week doing guild things without mentioning the group quests 1 want to finish, the alt I'm trying to lvl, additional pvp minigames, crafting and generally chatting.
How long does it take to get to end game (at a normal pace)?
Too long at the moment as I really want to get my new ranger up and running - but really a lot of it is down to you. Some chose to ignore the quests, areas or any content, crafting etc and just concentrate on villas to get Xp - in my opinion a very boring way of playing but it suits some. Others wander about the areas exploring and taking their time - playing a few hours a day and it can take months. I personnaly soloed the first 50 ish levels ignoring all the group quests and then spent the majority of my time in groups for the remaining 30 levels. I play around 25 hrs a week (terrible when you work it out) and it took me around 2 -3 months. Some days I got little Xp as I was helping others with quests and crafting. Other times I got loads as a group of us did an Xp run. Others have leveled in about 2 weeks but they are really working at it - which is not the way I want to play.
Is it too hard to group?
If you like playing in groups the best way is to join a guild - I've never been short of things to do and generally there are others who want to do things as well. Alternatively you can use OOC channel which may/may not get a full 6 others at the moment. Unfortunately as the forums are full of people trying to stop new people trying AoC for themselves the servers are emptier than they would ideally be - but the server merges will hopefully solve a lot of that for those that don't want to join guilds.
Can you level solo?
Yes - as I said I did the first 50 levels solo - but its more fun at times to do stuff in a group. The only lvl that you have to group is around lvl 75+ at the moment there are very few solo quests around that range - but I think that will be changing soon. There are repeatable quests like the villas or bounty posters that will get you to lvl 80 but final lvls are easier as a group.
Is this game hard to learn?
Yes/no - easy to pick up and play thanks to the tutorial - hard to master. If you like more complex games I would advise you to play a melee character or ranger with more combo's and shield abilities. In my opinion you are better off with a PoM or caster if you want more the traditional point and click
As a final note - as I've just worked out I play 25 ish hours a week. If the game costs £25.00 and has 1 month free play then the first months play cost me 25p per hour and thats without the hours that some spend on the forums discussing the game - so for those that don't like AoC - great its not for you - move on to the next game and forget all about AoC.
For those that fancy giving it a go - why not try it and decide for yourself - at the costs involved it's not going to break the bank as you'll probably spend a lot less time and spend a lot more money going out on a usual Friday night. (and we all know where money spent there ends up
)
Um.. that is kinda the point of reviews. People read reviews and decide if they want to buy the product/service or not.
If you buy a digital camera, do you buy and try ALL different brands of digital cameras before you choose one? No. You go online, read reviews, look at features, and try to decide what camera would be best for you. Ok, digital cameras and MMO's are not the same thing but the principle is the same. Reviews help us find a good product for us without having to try all of them. It saves money and time.
You cannot blame people for saying negative comments about AoC. You know why they say those comments? Because the game SUCKS. If FC wanted people to say positive comments about the game, they probably should have made the game.. you know.. better.
You say it's a shame that another person didn't give the game a try and decide by himself. I say it's a good thing another person saved his money and time.
Wait for the trial, people.
Um.. that is kinda the point of reviews. People read reviews and decide if they want to buy the product/service or not.
If you buy a digital camera, do you buy and try ALL different brands of digital cameras before you choose one? No. You go online, read reviews, look at features, and try to decide what camera would be best for you. Ok, digital cameras and MMO's are not the same thing but the principle is the same. Reviews help us find a good product for us without having to try all of them. It saves money and time.
You cannot blame people for saying negative comments about AoC. You know why they say those comments? Because the game SUCKS. If FC wanted people to say positive comments about the game, they probably should have made the game.. you know.. better.
You say it's a shame that another person didn't give the game a try and decide by himself. I say it's a good thing another person saved his money and time.
Wait for the trial, people.
You concern is admirable. Next time I see a movie I don't like I will line up at the main entrance the subsequent weeks and try to save the public from this movie I did not like.
You see thats where your reasoning completely falls appart, your opinion is always nothing more than your opinion. Other people must be allowed to have their own (at least in any modern democracy).
I fixed that for you.
I too, am not going to line up at the theatre, telling everyone the movie sucks. I will however tell all my friends, family, neighbors, postman, basically everyone, to not go see that movie because it's boring.
Did I say other people cannot have opinions? No I didn't. Of course they can have opinions, no matter how redicilous those opinions sound to me. That's the point of this forum. We exchange opinions.
People come here to ask what I (and others) think about AoC. I say it sucks. I give it 5/10.
Forums working as intended.
Heck, I would give the OP a buddy key to try it himself. I got 5 with my CE but, gee, I have to be an active subscriber to get the code to give him. That wasn't mentioned when I bought the box but that's how it turned out. I didn't make it past the first month so there is five buddy keys that FunCON never has to worry about honoring.
I'd look on AoC forums and join a guild.
Theres nothinking better than raiding with 24 of your friends or grouping up to defend your Battle Keep
Graphics , sound effects & combat system are excellent.
Um.. that is kinda the point of reviews. People read reviews and decide if they want to buy the product/service or not.
If you buy a digital camera, do you buy and try ALL different brands of digital cameras before you choose one? No. You go online, read reviews, look at features, and try to decide what camera would be best for you. Ok, digital cameras and MMO's are not the same thing but the principle is the same. Reviews help us find a good product for us without having to try all of them. It saves money and time.
You cannot blame people for saying negative comments about AoC. You know why they say those comments? Because the game SUCKS. If FC wanted people to say positive comments about the game, they probably should have made the game.. you know.. better.
You say it's a shame that another person didn't give the game a try and decide by himself. I say it's a good thing another person saved his money and time.
Wait for the trial, people.
You concern is admirable. Next time I see a movie I don't like I will line up at the main entrance the subsequent weeks and try to save the public from this movie I did not like.
You see thats where your reasoning completely falls appart, your opinion is always nothing more than your opinion. Other people must be allowed to have their own (at least in any modern democracy).
And everyone here is being allowed to voice that opinion, and the OP was given a range of opinions to consider. Isn't that part of what this forum is for?
If all the opinions don't agree with your own, that doesn't make them wrong.
Ultimately, you offering your opinion is no different from what anyone else is doing here.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
I am sorry but this is IMO just plain stupid and bordering on trolling...
Some people are posting their (negative) opinion on a forum where people come, probably looking for various opinions and you compare that to going to a game store movie theatre and FORCE their opinion on to others... Please
Please read your own second paragraph - Several times... People are allowed to express, evaluate AND form their own opinion in any democratic society...
We dont need casuals in our games!!! Errm... Well we DO need casuals to fund and populate our games - But the games should be all about "hardcore" because: We dont need casuals in our games!!!
(repeat ad infinitum)
I am sorry but this is IMO just plain stupid and bordering on trolling...
Some people are posting their (negative) opinion on a forum where people come, probably looking for various opinions and you compare that to going to a game store movie theatre and FORCE their opinion on to others... Please
Please read your own second paragraph - Several times... People are allowed to express, evaluate AND form their own opinion in any democratic society...
Thing is i don't know if you notice , but alot of you guys seems to be very active on these forums even tough you don't play the game and have no idea of the current state of the game and you advice people about buying a product you dont know ,
Someone might call that a bit deceptive , but as long as you get your point across i guess.
those germans are bad , did you know what they did under the war ? must be the same today i guess.
I am sorry but this is IMO just plain stupid and bordering on trolling...
Some people are posting their (negative) opinion on a forum where people come, probably looking for various opinions and you compare that to going to a game store movie theatre and FORCE their opinion on to others... Please
Please read your own second paragraph - Several times... People are allowed to express, evaluate AND form their own opinion in any democratic society...
Thing is i don't know if you notice , but alot of you guys seems to be very active on these forums even tough you don't play the game and have no idea of the current state of the game and you advice people about buying a product you dont know ,
Someone might call that a bit deceptive , but as long as you get your point across i guess.
those germans are bad , did you know what they did under the war ? must be the same today i guess.
How do you know they don't play or have recently quit? Assumptions like that get you no where fast, there's no deception in sharing your experience with others be it good or bad.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I am sorry but this is IMO just plain stupid and bordering on trolling...
Some people are posting their (negative) opinion on a forum where people come, probably looking for various opinions and you compare that to going to a game store movie theatre and FORCE their opinion on to others... Please
Please read your own second paragraph - Several times... People are allowed to express, evaluate AND form their own opinion in any democratic society...
Thing is i don't know if you notice , but alot of you guys seems to be very active on these forums even tough you don't play the game and have no idea of the current state of the game and you advice people about buying a product you dont know ,
Someone might call that a bit deceptive , but as long as you get your point across i guess.
those germans are bad , did you know what they did under the war ? must be the same today i guess.
How do you know they don't play or have recently quit? Assumptions like that get you no where fast, there's no deception in sharing your experience with others be it good or bad.
Deleted , i dont really care anymore( oh and read that sentence again , your not deceptive if you have played the game activly recently , tough if you havent make your own conclusion )
Lol 10/10. Listen. You have been playing for 2 weeks. Most people like AoC first couple of weeks. Then it starts to get boring and finally you will probably hate it. There is a reason why 90% of players have left.
Come back you get to endgame and then we'll talk.
Three times now you've thrown out 90% like it's a fact. I would like to see how you arrived at this statistic. I mean, a guy with a failcom icon wouldn't just pull a number out of his butt, would he?
You are playing a video game. By definition that means you are not hardcore.
Using different scientific methods, I estimate AoC has about 50-75k active subs left. I believe it was 750k at some point? That would make it about 90%.
I am sorry but this is IMO just plain stupid and bordering on trolling...
Some people are posting their (negative) opinion on a forum where people come, probably looking for various opinions and you compare that to going to a game store movie theatre and FORCE their opinion on to others... Please
Please read your own second paragraph - Several times... People are allowed to express, evaluate AND form their own opinion in any democratic society...
Thing is i don't know if you notice , but alot of you guys seems to be very active on these forums even tough you don't play the game and have no idea of the current state of the game and you advice people about buying a product you dont know ,
Someone might call that a bit deceptive , but as long as you get your point across i guess.
those germans are bad , did you know what they did under the war ? must be the same today i guess.
Well as for your assumptions: My last subscription ran out about a month ago. Please link to ANY message where you see me 'advicing' people to buy (or not) AoC during the last month?
On the subject of 'deceit' please don't strain yourself coming up with something as that 'germans' line... Last time I was hearing about deceit it involved a couple of norwegians but that is only a few months ago - Not more than half a decade.
If you are going to quote me at least try to reply to my post instead of posting unrelated and unfounded attacks.
If you are trying to get a positive message about AoC and its community across then I am convinced you could have done a lot better. Especially in a thread titled 'Thinking on Buying AoC'
We dont need casuals in our games!!! Errm... Well we DO need casuals to fund and populate our games - But the games should be all about "hardcore" because: We dont need casuals in our games!!!
(repeat ad infinitum)
I am sorry but this is IMO just plain stupid and bordering on trolling...
Some people are posting their (negative) opinion on a forum where people come, probably looking for various opinions and you compare that to going to a game store movie theatre and FORCE their opinion on to others... Please
Please read your own second paragraph - Several times... People are allowed to express, evaluate AND form their own opinion in any democratic society...
Thing is i don't know if you notice , but alot of you guys seems to be very active on these forums even tough you don't play the game and have no idea of the current state of the game and you advice people about buying a product you dont know ,
Someone might call that a bit deceptive , but as long as you get your point across i guess.
those germans are bad , did you know what they did under the war ? must be the same today i guess.
Well as for your assumptions: My last subscription ran out about a month ago. Please link to ANY message where you see me 'advicing' people to buy (or not) AoC during the last month?
On the subject of 'deceit' please don't strain yourself coming up with something as that 'germans' line... Last time I was hearing about deceit it involved a couple of norwegians but that is only a few months ago - Not more than half a decade.
If you are going to quote me at least try to reply to my post instead of posting unrelated and unfounded attacks.
If you are trying to get a positive message about AoC and its community across then I am convinced you could have done a lot better. Especially in a thread titled 'Thinking on Buying AoC'
Hold on there people, lets continue this discussion as friends. If I may sum up, we AoC players think that it is just a tadd bit odd that ex-AoC players (quite a few quit more than 4 months ago, according to a recent poll) still spend more time in this forum than the current gamers to save customers from AoC, and yet guys like me and others have a great time in the game. Perhaps the game is not that bad by everybodys measures. Perhaps it's time to have a more sivil discussion on the game than; Guy with FailCon Avatar show up in forum and spam all threads with "I hat I hate, FC suck, tantrum, gime money back, 10000 subscribers Yehhhaaayyy"-type of posts. Different opinions are the essence of the MMORPG forum, thats why spamming of one opinion for 4 months is not very much in MMORPG's interest or in our interest (I would think). Sorry for taking the liberty to sum up like this, but understand noone are trying to intercept bad reviews or people that does not like the game, it's just that it get so increadible dysfunctional when opinions are presented the wrong way.
Pezz, you have been playing AoC for 2 weeks. Most people here, including myself, have been playing it much longer than that. You should listen to us veterans.
And why are you always here? Don't you ever play the game? How do you have time to do both?
Everyone has a right to express his or her opinion, even if it differs from yours. I know it hurts to see so many people badmouthing your newly found best game eva, but try to join the conversation, not attack other posters all the time, ok?
I haven't bothered reading through the dross between the first page and this one, so below is my answer to the OP:
1) Like all MMO's you get good players and bad. Some help, some are asshats. Just like mmorpg.com really
You just hope that you pick the right server. If no joy, then reroll on another.
2) Depends on the server type you choose. One could argue that levels 1 - 80 are mainly PVE based. Of course if you're on a PVP server that changes.
3) Like all MMOs end game consists of high level group dungeons, crafting, raiding and PVP (pvp minigames if you're on a PVE server). Btw, crafting is about to get a facelift and depth, PVP's notoriety system is coming in on the next patch in the next couple of weeks.
4) Depends what you call "Normal Pace". If you LOVE the game that you cannot stop playing, then it will take you about 240 hours play (10 days approximately played time). However, if you're like my friend, it took him that long to get to level 20. Depends on your playstyle basically.
5) Currently server populations have been hit hard. If you're not in a guild, then it can be tough finding a group. Luckily you don't necessarily need a group to level to 80. Though it DOES help a lot.
6) Hard to learn? Nah. Think of a typical high-fantasy MMO like EQ2, WoW, etc and add a "combo" melee system that allows you a certain degree of choice were you hit the mobs which can govern just how much damage you can do if you choose it right. Spell casting is just like other games. Target and click the spell.
I hope that helps OP. My suggestion is, if population matters so much to you, then wait for Patch 3 and possibly the server merges to hit the Live servers and see how it effects the population. THEN consider buying it.
Lastly OP, ignore ANY review that says that the game SUCKS or that its BRILLIANT. Chances are they are biased opinions enflamed by their own subjective and often incorrect recollections of their actual experiences. Find the reviews that say neither and pick them apart. THEN buy the game and decide for yourself. It's not like it costs a lot of money (if you have the rig to play it that is
For the record, I've been playing since Beta, my account is STILL active. Although I'm not incredibly happy with the rate of development, I'm hanging in there to see what the next few months bring or until I get bored. I ain't bored of the game yet because I am in a guild that is active
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
Interesting to see someone who has admittedly only played the game 2 weeks lecturing folks who progressed threw all the content, hit max level, and played the end game.
Seems pretty foolish to think that the folks who have played far more of the game than you, read all of the patch notes so far (both official and player documented) are somehow completely clueless to the current state of the game.
Maybe you should spend your time more constructively by playing a few toons to 80, do the sieges, do the raiding and only than come back and tell us what you have seen, because at the moment it seems you are the operating your advertising campaign out of the bliss of ignorance.
You know , i have been reading all this with my cousin here, who is trying to figure out is this game for him or not.
I am trying to stay neutral (didn't like the game but that was awhile ago), since i have no input if anything changed for good or worse(didn't play in months), but all this extreme pro and against is just making things way more unclear.
While i can point out some bigger proponents and opponents of this game, and tell him to disregard those (just to have neutral view), it is impossible to make any reasonable assumption if game improved or not.
Everything boils down to extreme "I love.." and "I hate .." without any solid facts or hard data.Not to mention that Funcom doesn't help with being so "secretive" about almost everything (server populations, lags spikes, etc..)
Can someone please give some reasonably moderate view of game's current state with certain facts?Or point him on one already posted?
Major proponents and opponents, as well Funcom representatives please don't reply.
Thanks
P.S. even i am not trying to give him my opinion , i did suggest him not to pay for trial , because that's something that is completely unethical imho.
Pezz, you have been playing AoC for 2 weeks. Most people here, including myself, have been playing it much longer than that. You should listen to us veterans.
And why are you always here? Don't you ever play the game? How do you have time to do both?
Everyone has a right to express his or her opinion, even if it differs from yours. I know it hurts to see so many people badmouthing your newly found best game eva, but try to join the conversation, not attack other posters all the time, ok?
Exactly..(Read my post), everybody have the right to post their opinion, and thats why first of all it is odd that I am asked to leave the forums just because I'm a noob and I like the game. Discussion is people conversing about various mechanisms in the game. I think a forum should be about discussing, and less about type FailCon avatar yell out "FunCom I'll gonna burn you down" against AoCFanboi " Conan rapes all WAR elfmen in the ass". Stuff like that is totally pointless. We and MMORPG need tolerance and discussion in this forum. I'll take off to AoC now again. See ya in next thread.
As far as improvements go, there have been some. Stability problems and memory leaks have mostly been resolved. The game has less holes in the content now as well, with more coming fairly soon (a new 55+ zone is on test live at the moment). I must add, lag spikes are still reported, though not from everyone. PVP has some form of purpose now (levels, armors etc..), if that's what you or he seek. Look for the thread about update 3.0, for more in depth information about the changes coming. Crafting is also getting a much needed overhaul.
There are still problems to work out (pretty much common knowledge now) so I won't bore you with to many details. However, if the game had released in the shape it is in today, things would be a lot different right now. They'd still have PR issues, but not near as severely IMO. The game is still AOC, so if instancing, the combat or the linearity bothered you before, nothing has changed there.
An issue that needs addressing you asked about is population. There are a few servers with decent activity, not very many though. A few PVP servers, a few PVE and an Rp server. That information would be easier to find after subscribing (if he makes that decision) by testing the waters a little or on server specific forums.
My personal feeling is the game is fun, but only if you have a decent amount of tolerance to over look much of what's missing. I'm not saying there's nothing to do while working your way to max level, there's quite a bit actually. There's still a large amount of things that are supposed to be there that simply aren't.
Personally I'm waiting to return (last played in late september, after 2.0), for both merges and a more polished level 80 environment.
I tried to present as many facts as possible without writting a book on the subject
. There's much more that could be said, however I'll leave that up to the next guy who responds.
Edit- I forgot to add, if you have the discs you can lend them to your cousin with a buddy key and he wouldn't be charged.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson