Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures has a large assortment of emotes for players to have fun with. To make learning these emotes easier Ten Ton Hammer has established an emotes video guide for you to become familiar with these fun little emotes in-game. We have listed the commands for each emote below and attached a short video to each to give you a preview of them. Just click below to view your chosen emote. You can also pull up a shortcut list in-game by typing /emote and pressing Tab two times.
/emote afraid
/emote amused
/emote angry
/emote applaud
/emote apprehensive
/emote approve
/emote ashamed
/emote bearhug
/emote beckon
/emote beg
/emote blowkiss
/emote bow
/emote burningman
/emote burp
/emote bycrom
/emote bymitra
/emote byset
/emote cheer
/emote chicken
/emote clap
/emote combhair
/emote confused
/emote cough
/emote crossarms
/emote cry
/emote curse
/emote curtsey
/emote disagree
/emote disappointed
/emote disgusted
/emote dismiss
/emote drink
/emote embarrassed
/emote embrace - (Coming Soon)
/emote emphasize
/emote formalgreeting
/emote frustrated
/emote gigolo
/emote greet
/emote grin
/emote haggle
/emote hi
/emote horizon
/emote hugefish
/emote irritated
/emote kneel
/emote laugh
/emote laughheartily
/emote lightheaded
/emote lookaround
/emote lowembrace
/emote mediumfish
/emote ovation
/emote play - (Coming Soon)
/emote point
/emote pointback
/emote pointdown
/emote pointleft
/emote pointright
/emote pointup
/emote ponder
/emote poundchest
/emote pumpleftfist
/emote pumprightfist
/emote pushaway
/emote rude
/emote sad
/emote salute
/emote scared
/emote scout
/emote scratcharm
/emote scratchhead
/emote shakehead
/emote shocked
/emote shoo
/emote sigh
/emote slitthroat
/emote smallfish
/emote social_expression_suspicios
/emote stop
/emote surprise
/emote sway
/emote tantrum
/emote think
/emote thirsty
/emote toast
/emote track
/emote uneasy
/emote vixen_worship (Coming Soon)
/emote vomit
/emote warn
/emote wary
/emote waveaway (Coming Soon)
Thursday, May 15, 2008
AoC: The Video Emotes Guide
Early Access sold out
Hello everyone. We here at Funcom are extremely happy with the demand that has been for our Early Access program. That demand has been so immense, that we are now sold out! We know that several people will be unhappy to not receive their Early Access time, but please bear with us in the remaining days. So:
Thank you and look forward to seeing you all in Hyboria very shortly!
More than 1 million people sign up for the Age of Conan beta!
And more than 5 million unique visitors to the official Age of Conan website in 2008.
Funcom and Eidos are proud to confirm some of the impressive figures powering the Age of Conan launch, and the two companies are happy to reveal that the Age of Conan Beta has passed 1 million sign-ups! As one of the most anticipated MMO’s ever, the 1 million mark confirms the amazing interest in the game.
“Funcom has not been able to find any higher beta numbers for MMOs in the western world,” said Morten Larssen, VP of Funcom Sales and Marketing. “We believe it represents the largest ever beta sign-up figure in the history of the genre.”
In addition to the incredible beta numbers, Funcom confirms that almost 800.000 gamers have signed up for the Clan of Conan newsletter. The hundreds of thousands following the development of the game have moreover resulted in a rapidly growing forum community. Last week Funcom registered over 115.000 posts on the official forums, across four languages. This comes in addition to Age of Conan discussions on external forums and in other languages.
In 2008, Funcom has also seen a tremendous growth in the amount of people who visit the official Age of Conan websites. Since January 2008, Funcom has registered more than 5 million unique visitors, from more than 200 countries. Last week alone over 725.000 unique visitors came to the Age of Conan sites.
The coverage and interest on external gaming sites has skyrocketed as a result of the growing anticipation. Age of Conan has topped numerous charts as the most read about, most popular and most anticipated PC game in development. As an example, GameSpot.com has Age of Conan as the #1 most read about upcoming game over the last month, on any format. The game has seen a similar interest on genre specific sites, including being the #1 most popular MMO over the last 12 months on MMORPG.com. Print gaming publications have also covered the game widely, and the game now has over 20 covers, including the coveted cover of PC Gamer US.
“How all of our strong figures convert into later sales and subscription figures is still unknown,” continued Larssen. “But our pre-order numbers in some important retail chains track as among the highest for any MMO launched.”
Age of Conan launches 20th of May in North America / Oceania and 23rd of May in Europe.
To celebrate the amazing community figures surrounding Age of Conan Funcom and Eidos today unveils a brand new trailer. Aptly called the Femme Fatale trailer, the new video can be downloaded in HD quality from the media section at http://community.ageofconan.com. For more information or to pre-order Age of Conan – either in English, German, French or Spanish – please visit the official websites.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Age of Conan Race Guide
Races
Upon the launch of Age of Conan users will be able to create a character in three different races known as Aquilonians, Cimmerians and Stygian. Players will be able to roam by themselves or with their allies meeting both other online users and computer controlled people. Unlike the typical MMORPG, Age of Conan doesn't have dwarves, elfs or any other typical types of race. Each of the three races have their own advantages and disadvantages in each type of class. Cimmerians are known for their skills with a blade while Stygian's are known for their magical capabilities so picking your race carefully is a key aspect as it will help or hinder what class you might choose.
Aquilions- Their kingdom called "Flower of the west" is the jewel of Hyboria. It is a land with vast cities, great wealth, with a highly enlightened culture. Although any faith is free from oppression, Aquilionia is a land where the cultures class and chaos is always ensuing. Unlike other races, an Aquilonian is a character with not many stereotypical features which some users will like. Many people compare the Aquilonian's to the Romans because of their high regard for structure and their highly cultured state. Unlike in Cimmeria where strength is respected and war is in the blood, in Aquilonia scholars are held in high regard and the people are cultured and well educated. 
Cimmerians- If a user's favorite type of play is to charge in out numbered with blades swinging then the Cimmerian's might be a race for you. Cimmeria is a barbaric nation that is in a constant state of war between feuding tribes on this cold and rugged terrain. Crom is the acknowledge God of Cimmeria and it is told that Cimmerian's believe that at birth Crom gives them the strength they will need to face life and deal with its struggles. Cimmerian's pride themselves on surviving on their own by killing with hands or weapons and they don't rely on mysterious abilities for anything. As a Cimmerian, players will be able to dwell into three out of the four archetypes namely, Soldier, Priest and Rogue. 
Stygians- Stygians are ancient people who were born from a culture 1500 years before any other race. Stygian's are mysterious and have great magical ability which makes this race perfect for anyone who enjoys casting magic and attacking from afar. A stygian may also take on the role of a rogue whose job it is to sneak in and grab goodies from all of the upper castles. Stygians are a diverse group of people who can take may different roads of life and players will find a ton of fun and unique opportunities. Stygia is split up into three hereditary casters called "The Nobility", "The Aristocracy" and "The Peasant". The noble caste is very few and far between in this age rarely being seen in big cities or traveling around. Some are known to even spend their entire lives in contemplation in their estates. These tall, black haired and hawk-nosed Stygians are the true ruling power of the realm and provides the scholars and teachers who take care of the kingdoms many temples and libraries. The Peasant caste is there to serve the Aristocracy and to please their God Set and even a minor infraction can result in a brutally horrifying death. Due to their disdain for gruesome weapons, Stygians are more civilized, educated and enlighten folk more focused on their heightened magical ability. For this reason, the Stygians are the ONLY race that is open to the Mage archetype while also making the Soldier Archetype unavailable to Stygian users.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Age of Conan beta guide: The priests
Continuing our examination of the spellcasting classes in Age of Conan, today we're going to investigate the situation with the priest archetype. As with all of the archetypes in AoC, there are three choices when it comes to the priests: Bear Shaman, Tempest of Set, and Priest of Mitra. We'll give a rundown of the three of these during the early stages of the game, go over some of their class-defining spells, and stack them up in head-to-head comparisons after the break.Before talking about any healer in particular, one thing that is important to mention is that all healing spells are only half as potent for the caster themselves. If you start playing a healer, and then worry that the sort of numbers you're seeing on yourself won't keep a group up, remember that it's doubled if you're healing others.
Another thing worth bringing up is that healing spells in general aren't too outstanding until you get to at least the higher teens, when things start to get a little better. Finally, we haven not included values for our spell lists, as most of them scale depending on level. The comparison section at the bottom of the page will examine similar spells across classes.
Bear Shaman
The Bear Shaman is the priest that is the furthest removed from being an actual caster. Its offensive abilities are in the form of melee combos, not spells like its other priestly counterparts. The only melee weapon type that the Bear Shaman can use is the two-handed blunt variety, which gives you some idea of the intended play-style -- to get right in the thick of the battle and pummel heads off. The ability to wear Medium Armor helps them to sustain more of a beating when they're on the front line as well.
Just because the Bear Shaman is proficient in melee does not mean that its healing suffers, however. The Bear Shaman uses two heal-over-time spells, and has another direct heal that can be used every so often. After getting past the lower levels where heals aren't too good, the two HoT's combined are usually enough to keep the Shaman healthy, even during multiple-mob pulls.
Early Spells:
Healing/Buffing
Renewal: Next melee attack triggers a healing effect on the group, instant cast
Blood Flow: Powerful heal-over-time spell, 0.5 second cast time
Fierce Recovery: Powerful direct heal for the group, cannot be healed by this spell more than once a minute
Claws of Stone: Increased slashing/crushing/piercing/poison resistance, enemies attacking you have a chance of becoming more resistant to attacks
Spirit of the Bear: Maximum hp buff
Spirit Totem: Feral: Increases natural (in-combat) hp, stamina and mana regeneration Grizzled Hide: Increases defense rating Utility/Offense
Note that the majority of a Bear Shaman's offense is in the form of melee combos, not spells.
Awakening: Used to revive players Ursine Crush: Stuns mobs around the player Ferocious Smack: Instant knockback
Tempest of Set
The Tempest is defined early on by the crack of lightning that you'll see coming out of them over and over again, as groups of mobs are relentlessly AoE'd down. It has a focus on quick and deadly kills, and it's just as well because survivability isn't a really strong point for them while their heals are still not very useful at lower levels. Unlike the Bear Shaman, the strongest armor they can use is Light Armor, and they don't have a lot of hitpoints, so there's not too much room for error when planning multiple-mob pulls during the first 20 levels.
This changes somewhat when healing really kicks in later. The ToS has two HoT's, and a direct heal as well, like the bear shaman. When the values for healing scale better, after the Tortage area, the survivability of the ToS goes up. They're still not intended to be the recipient of too much beating. They have some buffs to make things better, and even at the lowers levels you can see that they have some useful utility spells to even up the playing field.
Early Spells:
Healing/Buffing
Healing Lotus: A heal-over-time spell of moderate strength, 1.8 second cast time
Life of Set: A strong heal-over-time spell, 0.5 second cast time
Vitalizing Jolt: A direct heal, 1.5 second cast time, cannot be healed by it more than once a minute
Mark of Set: Maximum hp buff Set's Armor: Increases defense rating
Degradation of Set: Lightning Strike, Call Lightning and Storm Field make the target more susceptible to electrical damage. Costs mana every tick to have this buff on. Utility/Offense
Lightning Strike: AoE electrical damage, 20m range, 3m radius
Charged Blast: Quick-casting electrical damage spell, 7 second recast
Quicksand: AoE root, 20m range, 6m radius, 1.5 second cast time
Cobra Stare: 5-second stun, 20m range, 45 second recast
Spark of Life: Used to revive players
Priest of Mitra
The last of the three priests. Similar to the ToS, the PoM spends a lot of early levels spamming one spell, in this case Smite. It is surprisingly strong, and when backed up later on with a few other spells, it is fairly easy to get through some tougher pulls. Their survivability early on does seem better than the ToS, but we'll discuss that more in a bit.
As for healing, the PoM has 2 HoT's and a direct heal -- noticing a trend? The PoM also has buffs, and can become immune to all forms of damage for a short time. For the early levels that we're comparing, a lot of the crowd control that the PoM will have is not available yet, but the extremely handy Repulse spell does have a good knockback on it.
Early Spells:
Healing/Buffing
Emanation of Light: Moderate strength heal-over-time spell, 2.5 second cast time
Wave of Life: Strong heal-over-time spell, 0.5 second cast time
Radiance: Direct heal, with the same 1 minute debuff stopping it from healing you again Divine Vigor: Maximum hp buff Shielding Litany: Increases defense rating Utility/Offense
Smite: Holy damage on target, 20m range, 2.5 second cast time
Rebuke: Quick-casting holy damage, 18m range, 0.5 second cast time, small recast timer Repulse: A cone knockback that deals heavy damage, 2.5 second cast, 15 second recast.
Hand of Mitra: Grants immunity from all forms of damage to the caster, 4 second duration, 5 minute recast
Reincarnation: Used to revive players
Comparison
It's plainly obvious when comparing these three that one class is vastly different. The Bear Shaman does not play very much like a caster at all -- you put on your 1 hour buffs, and then the only casting you'll really do is to use your HoT's before a fight. From there it's mostly melee combos with the occasional heal, and thus, the BS is far removed in play-style from the other two priests.
The Priest of Mitra and Tempest of Set feel like pure casters. People wanting that play experience and to play a priest will be tossing up between these two. So what makes the PoM seem to have better survivability early on, even with the ToS' powerful Lightning Strike? For one thing, while they each have an hp buff, the PoM's gives about twice as much hp at the same level -- but they don't end up too far apart in terms of total hp. Part of the PoM's advantage could be the Repulse spell, which is extremely damaging, and the knockback gives a chance to get off a few spells without taking hits.
Having said this, the Tempest is perfectly capable of surviving these lower levels, it may just take a bit more ingenuity. The Quicksand root can be used while groups are running back to you, or point blank while fighting so that you can step back and avoid being hit by extra mobs. Also, the Tempest's AoE killing capabilities will become more pronounced as levels increase. This is an area in which the PoM cannot compete with the ToS.
In closing, we'll say that although you may be picking a healer with these three classes, don't expect heals to get you out of too much in the whole Tortage area. Potions are usually adequate at this stage of the game to keep most classes alive, but they don't scale as well later on, whereas heals do. If you're starting out and think healing in AoC sucks, try to get to at least level 20 and see if your opinion changes.
Age of Conan beta guide: An early game audio/video tour
Below the cut, we have a series of videos showing footage from early in your game experience. Join us as we walk through the first moments of a new character's life, and make sure to check back for all of our Beta guide content!
Age of Conan beta guide: The mages
We've given you some hands-on impressions from our time with Age of Conan's mages from the Gamespot PvP weekend, but over the past few days we've had a chance to play these classes in the beta proper. Unfortunately, due to some unforeseen (and very trying) performance issues that were out of our control, our finely crafted plans of digging deep into these classes were viciously assassinated like a Necromancer in Age of Conan's PvP.
That didn't stop us from prying further information on the Herald of Xotli, Demonologist and Necromancer classes. So if you'd like the expanded low-down on these magic-manipulating mages, read on!
Herald of Xotli
The more you play a Herald of Xotli the more you realize how much in common the class has with fighters instead of magic casters. While this may be a Mage Archetype, the HoX is definitely more of a fighter than any other magic-based class with exception to the Bear Shaman.
So you might be wondering what the big difference is between the HoX and any of the martial combat classes offered. It comes from being able to unleash your combos alongside spells, as they tend to work off of each other in a specific way. For instance, the Molten Steel Slash combo will cause your target to take more damage from fire magic, which means you'll want to unleash some nasty Hellfire Breath afterwards.
Of course, the big trump card that Herald of Xotli players have is their demonic transformations, which turn them into killing machines for several seconds. Anyone can hit a button to take on demonic form, but to become an efficient Herald of Xotli, players have to know when to activate the transformation spell. Originally, we were using the transformation during battle, this led to a couple deaths. There's a cast time associated with using Desecrating Esence, so if you need to use it in an upcoming fight then activating it beforehand is a better choice.
Desecrating Essence - This is your demonic transformation spell, which is attained at level 5. It has a 1.5 second casting time, a 25 second duration and a two minute cooldown. During the course of being transformed, a player gains improved health and fire damage.
Hellfire Breath - The Herald of Xotli starts out with this very useful ability. While combat is always an options, this fire-based cone attack is extremely effective at dispatching enemies. An instant cast, this spell lasts for 2.5 seconds and has a 2 second recharge that makes it easy to use repeatedly. The actual duration and recast of Hellfire Breath seem like they could be tweaked before launch, though.
Molten Steel Slash - A Two-Handed Edged upper-right side combo, this attack has high damage with the added benefit of making your target more susceptible to fire damage.
Hell Strikes I - A Two-Handed Edged mid combo that's simply a powerful attack, good for chaining though.
Slam - Your basic knockback attack that works well as a finishing move.
Sweep - Standard starting combo that hits the upper-right side of an enemies shields. Every melee class starts out with this combo.
Necromancer
Do you like the smell of an undead minion on a hot, musky day? If you do, then there must be something wrong with you because zombies smell terrible, especially in 109 degree heat. Besides, Necromancers are all about ice and unholy magic in Age of Conan.
The first thing to know is that Necromancer pets do not hold aggro, which bears repeating -- so we're going to repeat ourselves. Your pets are essentially animated DoT (damage over time) spells and basically useless. As if this wasn't disappointing enough, there's no way to macro pet controls to your keyboard. Funcom wants all their players to click tiny little buttons just above the left end of your hot bar. Yeah, we're pretty sure that's not going to be a problem at all in PvP.
So you might be asking: If Necromancer's aren't really much of a pet class, then what are they? Well, the truth is that the Necromancer is the most pet-orientated class out of all classes in AoC. However, that doesn't mean your primary concern isn't lots of deadly spell slinging -- because it completely is that.
Knowing how to manipulate your pets into being slightly more effective in battle will definitely help, but expect to pretty much be a straight-up nuker with semi-useless pets if you play a Necromancer in AoC.
Undead Minion: Mutilater - This is your first pet summon and thus your most basic, it takes three seconds to cast. These lovely and sometimes-disgusting pets are slicers and dicers who deal bleeding damage that can build up over time.
Frenzy - One of your undead minions grows in size and receives improved attacks. This will allow that pet to actually pull aggro for a short while, as they normally can't cause any aggro whatsoever. Pets are unable to be healed "normally" in this state, whatever that means.
Vile Insight - A three-second cast time spell that buffs you for one hours, giving a plus one to Unholy Specialization at rank one.
Flesh to Worms - An Unholy DoT spell that takes one second to cast and does 13-18 points of damage over seven seconds at rank one.
Pestilential Blast - An Unholy direct damage spell that takes two and a half seconds to cast. It causes 12-20 points of damage.
Demonologist
From what we've seen so far there isn't much difference between this class and the Necromancer, aside from their spell-types and pet styles. Many would argue that the Demonologist pet is largely useless, as most -- if not all -- of what the Demonologist does is simply nuking targets with lots of lightning and fire spells.
To be honest, it feels like the pet this class summons is largely cosmetic. Beyond the fact that the Demonologist is probably the best DPS (damage per second) class in the game right now, there isn't much more to the class. We have to admit that we're feeling a bit discouraged about both the Necromancer and the Demonologist as they both feel very much alike. This is a problem that we certainly hope Funcom fixes before or soon after launch.
There is a chance that Spellweaving could change up the way that the two spell-heavy mage classes play. However, as of right now Funcom hasn't added that feature into the beta. So we'll just have to wait and see how that system plays out once released.
Infernal Knowledge - An hour long buff that takes three seconds to cast. It will increase Fire Specialization by 0.8 during the time it remains in effect.
Whispers of War - This is a buff spell that increases the attack rating of the caster and their allies, lasts one hour and takes three seconds to cast.
Fires of Gehenna - A direct damage spell that takes 2 seconds to cast and causes 42-70 points of fire damage.
Hellfire Stream - A quick-casting direct damage spell that causes 18-30 points of fire damage. Waves of Flame - Fire-based cone spell that must be channeled. Currently the game doesn't give exact stats for its damage.
Age of Conan beta guide: Your first steps in Hyborea
Epic ending to the Age of Conan Open Beta
On the 10th of May Funcom is transforming the entire Open Beta into PvP MAYHEM, while at the same time giving testers access to all which Hyboria has to offer!
Here's the whole information going out to Open Beta testers:
Dear Age of Conan beta tester
We hope you are merrily chopping off Pict heads in the Age of Conan Open Beta, and that your journey in Hyboria has been a memorable one so far. You have only seen the beginning though, as we prepare an EPIC ending to your Open Beta experience.
On the 10th of May we are transforming the entire Open Beta into PvP MAYHEM, while at the same time giving you access to all which Hyboria has to offer! That is right, as we take down our servers for a short period we are at the same time changing the entire server rule-set to Free For All PvP carnage! Your servers will ALL become PvP! Participate if you dare, or make a new character and stay in the safety of Tortage!
Details:
All servers become PvP servers. You can kill each other – no level restrictions on killing or getting killed, but you cannot PvP in the major cities.
All level 13 characters becomes level 20. Their inventory is wiped, but they have “tons” of money and really nice equipment suitable for level 20’s. Shopping bonanza!
You have access to ALL zones and ALL levels after level 20!
You will be zoned to your Race’s Hub. (Cimmerians – Conarch Village, Aquillonians – Old Tarantia and Stygians – Khemi!
This means bye bye Tortage! Welcome Hyboria at large, and what a blast you will have. It all starts at level 20, and then it’s up to you, but you can be sure your fellow players will do their best to stop you!
We will get back with detailed information on the exact time it starts on the official Open Beta forums at IGN, as well as on the Age of Conan forums and community site.
You may ask, why skip levels 14-20? The reason is simple – the story. We take it seriously, and we would like for you to experience it at launch.
We urge you to join us for some epic PvP mayhem on the 10th of May, and we hope you will leave Hyboria with a bloodied smile on your face.
Heads will roll!
Sincerely
The Age of Conan development team
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Registration now opened and new Early Access date for the EU servers
Registration for customers with pre-order keys has now opened on http://register.ageofconan.com. Registering with a valid pre-order key (such as the Rhino or Mammoth key) is the unique way to be eligible to purchase Early Access for 5€/5$. This fee includes 10 days of game-time as well as the digital download of the client. Hurry though, because the Early Access is only available while supply lasts!
Note that pre-order items such as the Rhino and Mammoth is not available on Early Access accounts. Once an Early Access account is upgraded with the retail key, the virtual item can be claimed. The originally planned level capping of the Early Access has been removed.
The launch date for early access in Europe has been moved forward! Both the US and EU servers open on the 17th of May (5pm GMT). This date used to be the 20th for the EU servers, thus European players are now getting 6 days of early access until the regular launch on May 23rd!
Early Access for Australia - Important Information
Dear Australian Age of Conan fans
The Early Access download for Age of Conan will begin on 10th May 2008. If you would like to participate and start the download, you will need to pick up your preorder key before that date. To claim your key, please contact the retailer that took your preorder as soon as possible, as all retailers should have received their keys.
An e-mail with this information will also be sent out tomorrow to Australian customers.
Thank you!
AoC: Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Age of Conan!
What is Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures?
Age of Conan is an Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMO) set in the Conan universe as created by Robert E Howard.What is a MMO?
An MMO, or Massively Multiplayer Online Game, is a gaming universe where thousands of players can connect to a vast 3D online world. In this world they can play with and against other players on servers hosted by a game developer.When will Age of Conan be released?
Age of Conan is set for release on March 25, 2008.Will there be a monthly fee to play Conan?
Yes. The game will be subscription based, and you will need to pay a monthly fee in order to play. The average cost to play a Massively Multiplayer game is typically around $12-$15 USD per month. There is currently no word as what the monthly fee for Age of Conan will be.What platforms is the game being released on?
Age of Conan is currently being developed for Windows and Xbox 360.Will Conan include a Single Player mode?
The first sections of the game will be played just like a single player title as you develop your character through an involving storyline, as you prepare for even greater adventures beyond. The whole game will always be played on online game servers.Will I need an internet connection to play?
Yes, you will require an internet connection to play Age of Conan.What rating will the game have?
Age of Conan has not yet been rated but will likely be classified as "Mature".Will there be PvP options?
Yes PvP, or Player versus Player will be a central part of the gameplay in Age of Conan. The development team is focussing on PvP to make it fun, brutal, action packed and fair. In addition, the game will feature "drunken brawling". A PvP form where every player, regardless of their level, can fight it out in the bars and taverns of the world. Your fighting ability here depends on how much you drink, and what you drink/ The more you drink the more pain you are able to endure, but the less chance you have of hitting!How many playable classes will there be?
There are twelve playable classes. While you will select your class at character creation, you will play as one of our four archetypes: Mage, Priest, Rogue or Soldier, from levels 1-20. At level 20, you will begin to truly develop into your chosen class.What is this "Real Combat" system I've heard of?
Real Combat is a multi-point melee system. This unique aspect of this system is that you swing your weapon where you direct it. This system will let the players direct, and combine, the swings of their weapon to create fancy, brutal and effective slashes and thrusts, or combine them in combos or special attacks that do additional damage. You should really "feel" the power of your character when you fight, feel the power of each and every blow."Real Combat" is easy to learn, and allows for a very different experience to both the slow studious nature of RPG combat and the 'twitch' nature of a first person shooter. When you pick it up the first time you might not even notice it as you happily slash and thrust away. With experience you might see certain attacks swinging better together. As you learn to string it into combos you become a dancing machine of brutal death. The same multipoint system is true for ranged combat and spell casting. In both cases the Real Combat engine allows you to string hits or spells together to form new fantastic effects.
The Real Combat will also work with mounted combat.
Can I play as Conan?
No, Conan will not be a playable character, rather you will be playing in King Conan's world. You can in some way see the journey through the game as many alternate ways of sampling Conan's history, and getting to know him. This will gradually bring you closer and closer to the grand King of Aquilonia, to his royal court and who knows, maybe even joining him at this top table!How will crafting work?
Players you won't pick a crafting class like you would pick an ordinary class. There is definitively room for crafters in the game, and you will be able to become one, but crafting is in another layer of the class system in Age of Conan called prestige classes. Later in the game you will be able to pick a prestige class that you develop alongside your ordinary class. Crafter is one of these special prestige classes, and as a crafter you will have access to all crafting-specific skills, whereas the other prestige classes only will have access to one or two different crafting skills.What is a prestige class?
There are four different prestige classes: The Crafter, the Lord, the Commander and the Master. Each of these has extremely valuable advantages that can be used both in solo play and in team play, and each has specific skills and benefits that can make a great difference. The commander can, for instance, expand groups and use special formations during combat, while a lord have certain rights when it comes to building cities and gathering resources. As for the master, he will be able to control a computer-controlled follower that can be of aid in battles.I'm confused, can't you pick a normal tradeskill?
It looks that way. The crafting skills planned for launch are weaponsmithing, alchemy, armorsmithing, gemcutting and architecture. Each of these gives the player the ability to make items and structures that are both beneficial for the player him or herself, as well as other players.How many levels are there in the game?
At launch the game includes a total of 80 levels. This is the main experience pool, which you advance by fighting and generally developing your character. There is also a PvP specific level-tree that contains 20 levels, and we抮e also planning specific level-trees for some prestige classes.How many races can we choose from?
Upon character creation, you will be able to choose being Aquilonian, Cimmerian or Stygian. Other races may be available in the future, but these are planned for the launch.Can't I play an Elf, Gnome or Dwarf like in other MMOs?
None! Hyboria, the world of Conan, is not your typical fantasy world of orcs and fairies. There are certainly a myriad of mystical creatures, terrible monsters, exotic races and mighty gods, but you will not find all the typical high-fantasy elements. One term often used to describe the world of Hyboria and its setting is 搈agical realism? The world is gritty, harsh and real ?but is still filled with magical locations and fantastic beings.Will there be both good and evil races?
No, there are no playable evil?races in Age of Conan. But, of course, every people have its bad apples and there are plenty of no-good characters in all the lands of Hyboria. And one nation's opinion on another can also differ greatly ?so who is to decide who is good and who is evil?Do I have to play the Single Player part of the game?
Yes, but... The Single Player experience will only last for about the first hour of the game. Once you reach the village of Tortage you will begin to meet other players. It will be a great introduction to MMOs and to Age of Conan in general, without having players go through some boring tutorial phase. You can still communicate with your friends from the Single Player portion of the game.What is spellweaving?
Spellweaving is the art of combining multiple spells into one big spell. The player will start the spellweave by activating their spellweave ability. This places them in a trance-like state where they cannot move and the only actions they are allowed to perform are adding more components to the weave. Once in the spellweave the player can add as many spells into the weave as they can manage or want to. The maximum number of spells that can be called into a weave is dependant on the players level. Deactivating the ability will then cast the spell and produce the results.Will there be any quests in Age of Conan?
Yes, lots of them. Quests are an integral part of the game (though it by no means is the only way of developing your character), and you will encounter many of them as you progress through the world of Hyboria. Quests can be given by certain computer-controlled characters, or you can stumble upon then out in the terrain and have them offered to you.Will players be able to form guilds in Age of Conan?
Yes, there is an extensive guild system in the game. There will be certain requirements for founding a guild such as a certain number of members. Anyone can join a guild, and with a bit of effort, anyone can start one too.Can guilds build guild houses?
Yes. Players can create entire cities and fill it with different kinds of buildings. There is also a town hall in each city, which should become a gathering point of all guild members when they are in town. We're also thinking about giving players the option to fast-travel back to the guild house from certain points in the world, but this is yet to be decided.What does it mean to be a Windows Vista launch title?
This means that Funcom is cooperating with Microsoft in the development of Age of Conan to make sure it takes advantage of all the new gaming specific features found in Windows Vista. As the first MMO game Age of Conan will also feature DX10 support, which allows them to bring us an even more detailed gameworld. The game can also be played in DX9.What are the game's minimum requirements?
The minimum requirements for Age of Conan have not yet been finalized. The game will be highly scalable so you can adjust the settings according to the performance of your PC.What sort of equipment will players be able to obtain?
Just about anything you can think of. When it comes to weapons, you will for instance be able to wield swords, axes, clubs, bows, lances and much more. You'll also be able to equip yourself with defensive equipment such as armor and shields, and when we're already talking about armor, it should be noted that there will be a vast variety of these in Age of Conan. Every race has their specific armor sets, and there are a lot of different ones to choose from.What sort of buildings will you be able to construct?
There are many different kinds of buildings available for player cities ?everything from smithies to town halls, taverns and shops. You can even build city walls to defend your settlement.Is the game world seamless or is it based on zones?
It is based on zones, but these zones can be quite big in size ?often up to several kilometers in both length and width. Zones are being used because they want to create such a detailed world that it would be technologically unfeasible to do it seamlessly. This, however, will in no way detract from the feeling of being in a massive, persistent game world. Age of Conan is, after all, an MMO.How many zones are there in the game?
There are dozens of different zones, or regions as they like to call them, in Age of Conan. You will find northern regions with tall mountains covered in snow, southern regions with their sand dunes and rust-colored mountains, and everything in-between that ranges from thick forests to plains, swamps, highlands and lowlands. These regions have been picked because of their importance or relevance to the lore, or what Conan did there.I'm completely new to this, who is Conan?
Conan is a fantasy character created by author Robert E. Howard. Howard wrote a series of stories during the 1930's which took place in the fictional world of Hyboria, where the protagonist was a mighty and fearsome barbarian called Conan. The Howard stories all follows Conan抯 life as he evolves from a young warrior and thief to finally become king of Aquilonia, the mightiest nation of Hyboria. In the past seventy years or so, there have been a multitude of books, comic magazines and even movies based off this popular license. Today the Conan name stands stronger than ever, and he is considered to the world抯 greatest fantasy hero.Will any of the nudity and erotic material of the Conan lore feature in the game?
Many characters will certainly be scantily clad and they are staying true to Robert E. Howard's sensual vision of the world. However, there will be no obvious nudity quite simply because they have to stick to certain rules regarding the rating process. While Age of Conan is indeed the first mature MMO, pushing their luck here could risk getting an Adult Only rating. That said, they embrace their mature rating.
Age of Conan Classes Guide
Age of Conan Class System
Unlike other MMORPG's users don't pick a specific class at the intial character creation screen. Instead users pick specific height, size, shape and other bodily features to go along with the gender and race of the desired character. At level five players choose a specific archtype that fall into the categories of Soldier, Mage, Priest, and Rogue. Each Archtype bring specific advantages and disadvantages along with archtype specific moves. Once players really get intuned with the game and achieve a level of 20 they are able to choose one of several classes that fall under their chosen Archtype. One interesting is that not every race can choose every class in the given archtype so choose carefully when you create your character as to not hinder you from choosing your favorite class. The list of classes in the archtype are as follows.
Soldier
Guardian
Conquerer
Dark Templar
Priest
Priest of Mitra
Scion of Set
Druid of the Storm
Bear Shaman
Rogue
Barbarian
Assassin
Ranger
Mage
Lich
Necromancer
Herald of Xotili
Demonologist