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One of the innovations Age of Conan provided when it hit the MMO scene earlier this year was an original, fast-paced combat system, involving attacking in multiple directions. As levels are earned, 'combos' are unlocked (for most classes, anyway) which, once triggered, require multiple keystrokes to complete. There's no denying that combos can be some of the most satisfying effects in AoC: firing off a whole barrage of arrows, for example, or dealing a powerful DoT, or even triggering a fatality as frequently happens.

Now, though, in a recent patch to the Testlive server, the system (described by one enthusiast as 'DDR with knives') is being streamlined, or as some players are putting it, 'dumbed down'. Combos that required multiple keystrokes have been changed, so that fewer button-presses are required. Some are reportedly even down to being one button in addition to the trigger. The objective seems to have been to increase the pace of PvP, with more frequent attacks required in place of heavy burst damage. It's a controversial change, and we should point out that it's only on Testlive so far.

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The next weekly update for Age of Conan has been deployed, and while it's not the PvP patch, there are a number of things to be happy about this time around. Along with the expected patch notes, Funcom decided to post their reasoning behind the bigger changes in the patch, something which they hope to do every week from now on. After the break, we've made a shortlist of some of the more interesting changes, and due to popular demand we've also included the entire patch notes for your perusal.

Now that the Testlive forums are up and running, Age of Conan players have a chance to scope out coming patches before they go live. Right now, there's a new patch on the Testlive servers that's a possible candidate for release on the 16th of July.

As well as a pile of fixes and alterations, a stray patch note sneaked in that would affect how combos work. More than anything else, this has caught the attention of AoC forum commentators. The change is clearly meant to prevent melee classes from 'pre-loading' combos by executing all the initial moves and then walloping a target for the last one.

However, it's transpired that the relevant change wasn't even on the Testlive server yet, and will only be included along with other changes, as Vinterstum explains: 'This change won't actually be in for a little while, and when it does come in, it'll be in a little package with a few other things that should make being a melee class in PvP a little bit easier.' Patch notes are available for those who have forum accounts. We'd just like to emphasise that none of this will necessarily make it to Live.

We haven't heard much here at Massively about The Chronicles of Spellborn, but what we have heard has been interesting. It's definitely a lesser-known MMORPG, and doesn't have the promotional power of Warhammer or some other MMOs currently in beta, but the dev team over there is definitely throwing around some interesting ideas. Want to play a fantasy MMO where gear doesn't matter, or where player skill is supposed to trump dicerolls? Then if this interview over at TenTonHammer is any indication, Spellborn might be your new favorite upcoming game.

TTH talks with Community Manager Pierre-Yves Deslandes about a game that seems to be aiming to break every MMO convention out there. Gear has no stats on it, so you can wear whatever you like anytime you want. Skills are layered, and meant to be used in conjunction with combos. And there is no auto-lock-- while Deslandes strays away from the "twitch" idea, they instead want to call it "focus." Instead of mindlessly clicking, you've got to be involved in the game.

Not all of it sounds completely new-- NPCs still give quests, and their big innovation in that area is that it's a book floating over their head rather than an exclamation mark. But Spellborn might be an interesting outing, especially if you're looking for something new in MMORPGs.