Age of Conan: Beta leak provides a glimpse at the Ranger class
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Age of Conan, Classes, New titles
Two classes down, the Scion of Set and the Lich classes will not make into the final build, but their abilities will be implemented and spread across other classes. The class list falls to 12, and not much information has been shown or divulged about the Ranger class. Until now, apparently someone forgot they signed an NDA and posted this AoC beta video showing their level 12 Ranger dinking around outside or in Tortage. (Note: The annoying random Ventrilo chatter has nothing to do with the video.)
Not much can be discerned from the combat at such an early stage in the game. Ranged gameplay looks to utilize a soft-lock and manual targeting. There is no specific targeting to the head or leg, but according to the tester there is some discussion on the AoC beta forums about a damage bonus when manual targeting is used. Other random tidbits include the zone sizes being similar to EQ2's larger zones. The tester also claims that the character creation is so unique and versatile he hasn't come across another human character that looked exactly like his own. (I hope this is true.)
It's important to note this particular beta footage excludes high-resolution textures, and the ass-kicking Cheetah 2 engine upgrades. The client was being run and recorded on the following computer specs: C2D E6550, 2GB Ram, and an 8800GT. This is great news, as optimizing continues the performance will improve on lower-end computer builds. You can sign up for the beta over on the official Age of Conan website. Be sure to check out Massively's exclusive look at the Barbarian and Dark Templar classes if you missed out the first time around.
What do you guys think of the video? I want to play the game more than I did before.
[via The AT Wire]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-18-2008 @ 8:17PM
Markymark said...
after seeing this vid, i definitely want to play more then i did before the fighting looks sick. Hopefully i can balance playing WoW and Aoc.
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1-18-2008 @ 11:23PM
Moderndaydruid said...
WOW! Just wow. That is extremely impressive. If AoCs gameplay can even come close to matching it's visuals, Funcom has a contender!
From the looks of that, I'm there on launch day!
Reply
1-19-2008 @ 12:10AM
GRT said...
Looks pretty good, but they seem to have lots of polishing to do (some weird shadows, some weird arrows flight paths) between now and March, or am I remembering the release date wrong? I hope they take the time to get it right and make a kick-ass first impression.
"Now I get to see how gay I sound."
I really should've turned down the sound...
Reply
1-19-2008 @ 4:46AM
Max said...
It's disappointing to see the AI and the behavior of the environment/NPCs look so run-of-the-mill. I was hoping that, as a "next gen" MMO, Conan would raise the bar for environments and not just shaders and HDR effects. This video looks like any other MMO video, frankly. Guy kites some mobs, picks up an agg, all the mobs (of different types, who don't seem to notice one another) chase him until he breaks agg, and then he runs back and sits down ten feet away from a dude he just shot in the head not 15 seconds earlier. Where the fuck is my innovative gameplay and twitch combat? Why are the environmental AIs in a next gen game still set to Mildly Brain Damanged?
Ryzom remains the only MMO I've seen to-date that attempted to make the ecosystem and the NPCs behave as you would expect them to IRL (animals could see you if you could see them; they stalked you for miles and called for other members of their pack before pouncing, if you stood still the curious herbavores would come by and sniff you, examine your clothing, pee on your feet, etc). It's a pity that game was so horribly under-promoted in it's first 12 months. Best game no one ever heard of.
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