Six months on, how is Age of Conan's PvP going?

by William Dobson Nov 21st 2008 at 10:00AM

Age of Conan has reached the half-year mark, and a great deal has changed from release up to the current day. Many of the Player versus Player features that were planned for launch but ended up being pushed back, such as PvP levels and the consequence system, finally made it into the game over these six months. With these large additions to the game, people that left shortly after launch (and there are a lot of them) might be interested to know how things are going, now that some of the bigger promises have been fulfilled.

With this in mind, Eurogamer has reviewed the current state of AoC's PvP in detail, covering the major updates and how they have played out. Overall, the report finds that there is probably still a way to go before the new systems are where they should be, but the groundwork is there for a very satisfying experience. For the faithful subscribers, how would you rate the improvements to PvP? And for those that have left Hyboria, is Funcom on the right track to win you back?

Tags: age-of-conan, aoc, consequence-system, funcom, player-versus-player, pvp, pvp-levels

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Mr Angry said on 10:13AM 11-21-2008

Old subscriber here (1 month at launch)

With all the other games out there, it will be a cold day in hell before I decide to give Funcom any more money after the poor quality and complete lack of depth of the original product.

Skypp said on 10:29AM 11-21-2008

Yep, will never change my mind.

Even the systems they put in are nothing like they had advertised before the game launched. It is so obvious that Funcom doesn't know what they are doing, they didn't even have working code for the features they bragged about for 2 years. Its like they told their people to talk about features as if they had them in a playable form and ready to go when they had never even touched on coding it.

I really do believe what Funcom did with Conan boarded on criminal. I can't believe their employees could lie so blatantly at E3 and other game shows with a strait face. I would not work with, hire, nor EVER trust a word their sleezy employees say ever again. If any other company lied about the features and the outlook of their product so much, then put out what Funcom did, they'd be investigated for fraud.

Tom-AZ said on 11:12AM 11-21-2008

I aint no WoW carebear player and Warhammer is getting old now with seeming the whole point of the game to fight at Tor Anroc. I have EVE and a few other choices, but these changes are not enough to move me. There needs to be consequences. Losing of items or exp is the only real consequence. otherwise, there is no point to PvP. So forget trying to cater to me AoC unless you are willing to go that far. And yes Warhammer is running now into the same wall you ran into. No consequences= bored population.

djpostman1 said on 11:14AM 11-21-2008

it has always amazed me how bitter the MMO community can be....borderline criminal? investigated for fruad? really relax. if you didnt like it then fine. even the precious WAR has its own set of problems, though mystic seems a little more proactive right off the bat than FC has been.

The new pvp system is going well, there are still some bugs and problems that are surfacing with the consequence system, particularly lower level players using the murder system to reverse grief in the end game pvp zone. its irritating, but funny at the same time. the true griefers will find a way no matter what.

the pvp experience is bit lofty with the amount needed to progress and the diminishing returns. Besides constantly pvping in mini game and world pvp there isnt a way to gain extra pvp experience at this point with world pvp objective. on that not the community has spoken and given the recent increase in quality of managment that AoC has seen since the new game director took over i wouldnt be surprised if these items where beign addressed.

the massive pvp is 100% better than it was just a few months ago, though i hear there is a bug that is preventing attacking guilds from placing seige tents right now.

im still up in the air over the entire murder system right now. i understand that it serves a purpose, but there need to be some better checks in place, like with the reverse griefing. the AI on the guards around the rez pads is a little screwy. On that note there is a problem also with players getting DoTs on them and running to the guards that are ment to prevent spawn camping. this aggros the guards and one shots the attacking player. this is another item that has been brought up by the community so hopefully this gets addressed also. i actually take more deaths from people running to the guards in PVP then i do from players.

in 6 months i think this game has come around 180 degrees. the stability gets better and better, alot of bugs have been fixed along with a huge majority of the memory leaks. its still not the game that any of us expected at launch but its definatly getting there and will continue to improve. Another 6 months this game with be close to flawless i feel. its taken them some time to implement the items they talked about at launch, but I, unlike many of my gaming generation, have patience and hate dwarfs.

FC has commented that in the begiing of next year they are planning on starting a new advertising campaign as well as a "please come back campaign". those along with the server merges happening by the end of the year will really help with some of the players that arent willing to reroll new servers on their own accord.

games not perfect yet, but its a hell of alot better :)

Mr Angry said on 11:47AM 11-21-2008

Quick thread game, spot the FunCom employee!!!!

John said on 11:21AM 11-21-2008

I think the reason people get so upset about this game is that $50 or $60 for the game plus the monthly subscription...PLUS the time it took to realize what rubbish it was....that isn't always easily affordable for everyone. I'm glad if you have enough money to say "oh well"...but honestly..I'm tired of wasting money on these games and trusting what the designers say. I didn't 100% hate the game...but there was nothing that would keep my interest. Warhammer Online held my interest for about a month..but honestly...its boring and adding two new classes isn't enough to pull me back to that mess either. WoW is in no way perfect...but it does give me some sense of satisfaction when I play. Will I try other games in the future...probably...but honestly...they need to lower the monthly subscription of AoC and make real changes...

Jack said on 2:22PM 11-27-2008

100% agree!

djpostman1 said on 11:53AM 11-21-2008

im far from a FC employee mr angry. im a service tech for a construction equipment company. what im not is a troll. what i am is someone that answers the question posed by the article. i like the game, you dont. cheers

john, i can 100% see that. i dont have the liquid income to just burn $60. One of the biggest things for me, and the same held true for SWG, is the people i roll with. if i didnt have the friends in AoC that i do i have no doudt that i too would have moved on.

djpostman1 said on 11:55AM 11-21-2008

you should read what i wrote before you troll. sorry if thats too many words for you, i understand that some people cant read more than 4 sentences before running into a word thats too big, or the ADD just kicks in.

Mr Angry said on 5:24PM 11-21-2008

And I thought I'm supposed to be the angry one. I've been out angry'ed on nearly every thread today!

However, as John mentions, you really did get pretty badly screwed over by FunCom, so if it help, feel free to vent a little here, get it out of your system. I did this on the FunCom AoC forum boards, but it's all part of the grieving process. If you can just let go of the fact that your game of choice is going to be 'just fine' and realize that trying new things is not a waste of time.

Look back to the fun you thought you had, remember how great it all seemed the first time, and try to forget the less positive aspects. This is a lot more healthy in deluding yourself that AoC is stuff fun and worth waiting for. A clean break is what is needed and put your skills to better use in a game with better prospects.

The next step is then to read up on some of the other fantastic games in this genre at www.massively.com Note a lot of them do have their downsides, but be safe in the knowledge you'll be dealing with bugs, rather than bullshit.

Finally Postman, can I just say, it's great we have such articulate people supporting our construction industry, many thanks!

Vulturion said on 11:56AM 11-21-2008

Well ; never got in to WoW, WAR is boring currently (still an active subscriber though) and I do miss the graphical quality of AoC.

But still NEVER going back.

It's nothing to do with release state or features, and sadly nothing they can change - the game is just way too slowwwwww for me ever to stick with.

I thought LotR would forever be my all time worst paced game experience, but AoC has it beat by some margin - foeless resource areas and that freakin' Aquilonian capital being the pinnacle of gameplay free gaming in my eyes.

I hope that AoC succeeds and Funcom go on to make games ( more to my liking ) in the future, but my leisure time is too precious for me to ever return there.

Meanwhile said on 12:01PM 11-21-2008

The MMO industry needs to learn — you drop the ball at launch, you don't get a second chance.

Obviously things don't have to be absolutely perfect. Even the pickiest gamer (i.e., me) is willing to chalk a few things up to growing pains.

But in the past couple of years, numerous games have released in a state that could not be described as either playable or fun by MOST (not all) of their customers.

There will always be apologists and fanbois (and naysayers, for that matter), but when the majority of people trying the game feel it was nowhere close to being ready for launch, what you have on your hands is an irredeemable, dismal failure.

mikejl said on 1:07PM 11-21-2008

I had a few great PvE moments in AoC, however client stability and itemization drive me away.
I wonder how the non-PvP game is? PvE, dungeons, stability of client and instances and crafting?

Skypp said on 1:02PM 11-21-2008

Most of the games I play, I play from launch. I'm not some WoW kiddy expecting a new game to be as polished as WoW from the get go.

No, most games do not have all the features they said the game will I have, I am realistic. But I stand by my statement that Funcom's PR department was told to blatantly lie about the game. I expected Blood money and a headhunter system. I expected to lose much more than just some point system penalty. When they did finally put in a PVP system, it was NOTHING like we had been told for several YEARS it was going to be.

Its one thing to leave stuff out and eventually put it in, its another to completely lie about what's possible. So call me bitter if you want, but from the games I've played at launch, Funcom is the only one I've ever thought completely lied just to push boxes out the door.

Skypp said on 1:06PM 11-21-2008

I'm also not closed minded. My current subscription is to LOTRO, which was nothing like it is now at launch. I didn't even want to try the game when it launched, and a year almost passed before I did.

If Conan's PVP, crafting, and Siege systems were anything like was told to us by that hyper active lying PR guy that Conan shoved down our throats every game show, then I'd have planned to come back. Its not that its not in game, its that they completely abandoned what they said they were going to do. The current system is so carebear.

joe the plumber said on 1:40PM 11-21-2008

Age of Conan PC is not getting all the attention it needs from Funcom. They are merely dragging it along while the main focus is on XboX360 version of the game where they are hoping to make a lot of money from since the PC version is so dead now. also the other MMO they have planned massively erported earlier.

I am on EU bloodbrand server and on non-weekend days there are a handful of ppl on server, on weekends it reaches 30-40 players. Pathetic I'd say. It's like a ghost town when I log in it is actually an SP game with a few missions that require a team every 10 levels. I almost jumped out of my chair today when I saw another player in town since I am so much used to see only NPCs all around.

And you know how out of touch they are with their own game when the so-called update to a class completely negates their own feats. Barb had an update to butcher combo which removed the bleeding effect while the whole idea behind butcher WAS the bleeding this also made grisely wounds a useless feat since it used to buff butcher DoTs. They dont even know that they broke this!

Dash said on 2:52PM 11-21-2008

Why should we care how it is going? The game was better balanced at launch than 2 months later.

I will never play another Failcom game period. Is there a way we can opt out of more Failcom articles on Massively? Please?

judas said on 5:28PM 11-21-2008

Oh, another Failcom 'joke' - how terribly original...

Anyhoo, for all it's issues AoC has made it hard for me to go back to any other MMO for the simple reason that they're all so godawfully slow and painful to play. AoC at least has the saving grace of fast paced action and very little downtime; the devs also seemed to remember that it's a *game* - y'know, something that's meant to be fun - not something to make you wish you were back at work.