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Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures: Rise of the Godslayer Review
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
MMORPG.com's Bill Murphy has been playing the first Age of Conan expansion, Rise of the Godslayer and today brings us his official review of the new addition.
As is well known in the MMORPG community, Age of Conan didn't have the most prestigious of births onto the gaming scene. Sure it sold extremely well, but it couldn't retain the subscriber base to match its weighty hype level. The game was written off as a letdown by many, but still retained a quite faithful bunch of fans that held on and hoped that Funcom would continue to shine and polish their version of Hyboria into a gem deserving of representing Howard's legacy. It's now two years later and Funcom has done just that. A slew of new additions, improvements to the base game, and new adventures crafted with the experience Funcom has gained from previous creations all come together to make Age of Conan one of the best games on the market. With Rise of the Godslayer, Funcom has put a much awaited crown on the King of Aquilonia.
Rise of the Godslayer is intelligently crafted to both fill in and round out the level one to eighty game and to create advancement beyond the level cap without the need of adding more pointless levels to the experience. At one time Age of Conan was distinctly lacking in content to help players get to the level cap, but returning players and newcomers alike will be heartened to know that said gaps have all been eradicated with patching over the past two years and Godslayer goes even further by giving players a whole new experience for the 20-40 range, as well as adding several new zones for players who have reached the cap already to explore. A lack of content is certainly not an issue for Age of Conan anymore.
Read the Rise of the Godslayer Review.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
TLDR (jk)
Gonna read now
Hopefully this will convince me to finally go back to AoC, i really need to play a MMO again soon before i die of boredom.. so far what ive read from the expansion pack its looking good.
But the zoned world and all the instances really turns me off still
Huge gambreaker for me, but i looked past it before and i prolly can again, but AoC would be fucking awesome if it was a seamless open world..
Currently Playing Path of Exile
AGE OF CONAN!!!
Another expansion, and I'll come back.. Maybe. I think the 'they've mended it' theme of this article is a touch overbearing.
I kill other players because they're smarter than AI, sometimes.
I came back a few months ago. The game has improved a ton. It is worth checking out.
Same. I bought the expansion to start leveling AA feats and did 10 levels in gateway, but honestly, I am still trying to catch up with all that was added before the expansion.
"Never met a pack of humans that were any different. Look at the idiots that get elected every couple of years. You really consider those guys more mature than us? The only difference between us and them is, when they gank some noobs and take their stuff, the noobs actually die." - Madimorga
Yes, thank Crom for offline leveling...um, I think not. WTB what you're smoking
The base problem with AoC is not only still existent, it's is, evidently, even worse.
Look, this game has always been TOO EASY, period. No MMO should be soloable to the cap in 3 months. AoC ladles out xp like the BP oil spill. I'm sick and tired of MMO companies catering to spoiled and impatient people who want to get to the cap lickety-split instead of earning it over friggin' time. Then once they get there they QQ about how there's nothing to do since the world blurred past. Now you don't even have to be logged in to level. What a friggin' pandering joke.
I have stated the obvious before and will now do so again: If I can move 10 levels in a week, why the hell would I bother raiding ANY zone until level I reach level 80?
Answer. When I played AoC I didn't bother because any gear I looted would have been obsolete in a weeks' time. It only took me a mere 3 months to SOLO to 80 playing an average of 4 hours a day. So it takes what?....maybe three weeks to get to 80 via grouping? It is a game that can be finished in a couple of months. You won't have seen much but you'll be 80.
So, if you're thinking of playing AoC, don't bother raiding until you hit 80. You may have to wait a WHOLE three weeks though.
Great review. This is the score I gave it when reviewing it for a friend and I agree with everything written. They need to focus on polish and bells and whistles a bit now, and keep the good stuff coming. Really enjoying my time back as i've said over and over here I can't recommend it enough.
XTC2 you do realize like 95% of this expansion is for level 80's without raising the level cap right? Come back and tell me all of this when you have a level 80 with multiple sets of epic gear from wherever you like. PvP, Raids, Factions and then tell me how easy the game is.
The bosses in this expansion are ridiculously difficult. It takes coordination and focus from 6 players to beat even the easiest bosses. Moreso than in any MMO i've played. Not to mention the hard modes that no one has even touched yet. This game is not easy. The focus is not getting from level X to level Y. If it was the expansion would have extended the level cap to 100.
The entire expansion is about post cap advancement. Alternate advancement system, different sets of gear from different methods to further customize your class into what you want it to be, and an expansion that is open to everyone from this point of 80 where the game is just getting started and expands on that. This expansion is not instant gratification in any way. Have you even read anything about it since I can tell you haven't tried it?
Have to say I agree with the general sentiment, came back late last year and don't regret it. Some of the expansion is a touch grindy, but to be honest many of us complained about lack of stuff to do earlier so we can't really complain they added a ton. I do worry that I won't have the stomach to take alts through the expansion time and time again as I have done so far, but overall a good review, and fairly accurate. Well worth checking out again if you havent played since launch or the first few months. Outside of EVE, which is a very different beast, I think AoC is probably now a joint number two in the MMO sphere with LOTRO and Aion depending on your tastes, for me the more mature setting and visuals make AoC worth the time.
Just out of curiosity.
I wonder if/when MMORPG.com will ever give a game higher than an 8.5
I came back for the expansion and I'm loving the game now. It is really really good to know that someone could turn something around this much.
Then you'll love the expansion areas.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-
Yea, Many people tell me so ^^ But its still far away from a seamless world tough..
Currently Playing Path of Exile
It will never be a seamless world. It was a design choice to enable other things in the game.
People really need to get over this. A load screen once ever 2-3 hours of normal leveling gameplay is not going to kill you.
Funcoms engine will never support a open seamless world. It is made to be used just how it is, but zoning really isn't all that bad. I would prefer no zones, but my favorite MMO FFXI had them and I didn't mind. I guess if this is that big of a deal though it could be a game breaker. To get those open world areas you sacrifice things as well. I am really excited cities to open world will be seamless in FFXIV though.
Anyway with my 80 HoX I left the main zone since I started into the expansion besides little boss areas off that zone.
You are basing your opinion on the game from a pre-expansion PVE perspective. AoC is much more than a PVE game, at it's core it is about relentless, bloody pvp battles with titties. Seriously. AoC, without the shadow of a doubt, has the BEST pvp system in an MMO since I can't even remember. It's incredibly innovative and it's skill requirement is quite high. Being good at AoC PVP is quite a difficult thing to be, and requires much more aptitude than WoW, EQ2, or any other MMORPG's pvp that I've played to date. AoC rivals being my favorite MMO I've played next to SWG when I played pre-CU.
Battles are INTENSE in AoC, especially when dueling someone who is good. Castle Sieges are ridiculous fun, but the crazy shit happens when you have open world pvp, whether it's in the Border Kingdoms, Kheshatta, White Sands, etc.
If anyone left the game long ago and needs something new, AoC is DEFINITELY your choice. Here's a video to wet your whistle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4nynSKb4iw
PS. The other great thing about AoC is that there is pvp for every tier of class. So, on a pvp server, you are guaranteed pvp no matter your level, whether it's in a minigame or out in the open when you're grinding for xp/questing/farming for mats/etc.
Brackets:
0-19
20-39
40-59
60-79
80
@ 80+ There are multiple raid instances at end level; so far there are 3 tiers of equipment levels, as well as epic gear gained through raising your pvp level(and this is the REAL leveling system in AoC..hitting max pvp level will easily take you months at playing for long periods of time).
I'm dope that was cut from the ki
Interestingly I thought a quest was bugged last night in this new expansion . So I read the quest info and found it was rather clever and it was not the quest that was bugged.
Can't believe I am having some fun with AOC on returning , what a surprise. No rat race and having fun.
________________________________________________________
Sorcery must persist, the future is the Citadel
Well, how seamless do you want it? IIt would be kind of silly if you could walk across a seamless border from Cimmeria to Khitai to Stygia, etc.
Maybe in future expansions they'll be able to fill in the world between different places so they can make them realistically seamless, but right now it just can't be done without blowing any semblence of immersion all to hell.
Now, for example, you stand on the Great Wall and you have Hykernia on one side and Khitai on the other. And you can look out over either one., jump off the wall onto either side ( provided you have high enough health and jump down on one object to another ) and enjoy, or just walk through the gate.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-
Aye, I'm liking the "puzzle" atmosphere some of the quests have now.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-
This is actually NOT TRUE. The engine itself, CAN support 100% SEAMLESS world (with loading zones as you walk). However, Age of Conan which was a first game developed on it, with it not functioning very well can not support it. Later plans for TSW and Anarachy Online update (which can use a fully developed engine) actually have minimised loading screens.
SF
4 hours a day?
Safe to assume my job, girlfriend, waistline, band, books, and hygiene would be pissed at 4 hours a day.
"Never met a pack of humans that were any different. Look at the idiots that get elected every couple of years. You really consider those guys more mature than us? The only difference between us and them is, when they gank some noobs and take their stuff, the noobs actually die." - Madimorga
Well, I thought about coming back, and now I am coming back. Thank you gentz.
Ive been with AoC for a long time, since early beta and head start - it has changed alot, but all of it pretty much improvements. Granted its a few years old now, but its just so much better now.
I recently resubbed and been playing since, i love the changes - and especially the expansion, brings so much great content. It really feels like a "complete" game now, its so much more enjoyable.
PvP is still a mess i think, and it needs a revamp imo.
Amateur
They gave Aion an 8.7
I was tempted to purchase the xpac, but I think I'll hold off. Right now I'm searching for a game that has more emphasis on grouping. AoC is a solid title, don't get me wrong...they've improved it leaps and bounds. It's just that, MMOs in general have become so solo friendly, and have been so for so many years now, that all I do in MMOs is solo. I'm tired of soloing. I think group/solo content should be 50/50, but in the current market, it's closer to 10/90. Bring back group emphasis in MMOs!
Joined 2004 - I can't believe I've been a MMORPG.com member for 20 years! Get off my lawn!
Decent review for AoC except the part claiming that the game now has "Huge, Open Zones". This statement is misleading because in the expansion FC only expanded 5 zones, not all of them. There are currently 108 zones in AoC, so not making it clear in the review that FC only has 5 expanded zones out of those 108 is misleading to those who haven't read the patch notes or read the AoC forums.