Meandering through MMORPG's...

  Obviously, i quoted him in red. My responses are based solely on the fact that they admit they want us, as players, to be able to advance solely from RvR if we choose. So you PvE fanatics need not reply. I believe equivalence should exist between RvR and PvE.

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" The renown gear isn’t meant to be the strongest equipment in the game (as many of those players were supposing). It’s there to make sure that players who advance solely through RvR and don’t do quests have access to gear that is similar to what a PvE player would get. "

This seems to be an incorrect statement. For tier 1 there are several pieces of equipment not attainable with renown rank. These pieces include a cloak, a helm, main armor, shoulders etc. These items are attainable for tier 1 from PvE.

So, for people like me, who want to level solely through RvR, wouldnt it be nice to have such gear made attainable from renown and RvR mobs/players?

" That being said, at the top of each tier in the game there is an RvR armor set of those players that just haven’t really been discovered yet. This armor is actually the most powerful stuff you can get for the tier. "

This seems to be another incorrect statement. My character (a black orc named kruunk) had far superior equipment to this gear at level 11. You can do a character search on him now, he is level 13 with mostly level 11 gear. Kruunk, black orc, red eye mountain. This shows that PvE gear is far superior to renown gear.

Another problem with renown gear is how it is attained and the requirements to wear it. Mostly my characters are 1 level apart when comparing level to renown rank. Most renown gear requires several levels higher in level than renown gear to wear.  Experience gain from world RvR is slow. This forces you to run scenarios to advance. So, in turn, i end up having the renown rank to wear decent equipment, but not the level requirement to wear this equipment.

In tier 1, having a bunch of no geared level 1-6s pretty much guarantees a loss. This is mainly because there is no real renown gear for tier 1 and the starting gear is nonexistent. When reaching level 12 and going over to tier 2, how can you possibly compete if your missing a helm, shoulders, cloak, etc, that you can not gain from tier 1 RvR play? From the beginning of tier 2 (level 12) up to level 14, you still do not have a cloak, helm, shoulders, etc gained from renown rank.

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In closing, all i ask for is three things.

1. Equivalent gear for RvR players who do not want to quest or grind PQs.

If you force me to PvE to gain gear, your defeating my reason for playing the game.

2. Decent rate of advancement for RvR players in World RvR.

Now I am not asking for equivalence with PvE. I just want a decent ammount of XP gain.

3. A method of turning your experience gain off.

I would like to hit to cap for each tier, then sit there for a bit and enjoy the RvR before advancing beyond the tier.
 

  [Leveling]

  My prefered method of leveling is through world PvP. At Tier 1, leveling through world RvR is extremely slow. Having said that, I would be fine with leveling extremely slow, aslong as in doing so, i am having fun. One of the main problems with leveling through world and scenario RvR is equipment and how it effects each individual class...

 [Equipment]

  Equipment is an important factor in this game. Depending on your class, gear can make or break you. Certain classes can perform quite respectable in low end gear and certain classes can not. The biggest issue that I have with this game, is how you attain equipment.

  The only reliable way to attain the equipment that you need is to complete PQs. Personally, I almost refuse to PvE. This is a personal choice that I hoped this game would support. This game does not. Now your going to say, " hey, use renown gear". Lets take a look at how flawed the renown system is set up in Tier 1. Next time you visit a renown vendor pay close attention to the gear. You get like boots, then gloves, then possibly a main body, then eventually a weapon, with scattered trinkets. So where are the helms and shoulders for Tier 1 renown. Ive seen drops for shoulders and helms for level 1s.

  Equipment is a huge part of RvR in tier 1. For those of you who think equipment doesnt matter think about this, my black orc has over 600 armor at level 11 with over 2700 hitpoints. This armor puts me over 65% mitigation. Tack on the 200 armor buff for the black orc shield bash and you got a beast.

   If you play somewhat like I do. You will notice that your renown rank is always equal to your level. This is a flawed way to play the game due to how equipment is given out. To equip a level 10 renown item requires you to be level 15. So the way they set gear up forces you to be higher than than renown rank. With how slow you level through world RvR, this causes problems.

   I believe simple changes to how gear is attained through RvR and an increase in world RvR experience gain, people with my style of play will be more likely to stick around.

 More random thoughts on Age of Conan and mmorpgs in general...

 Leveling and Questing

 Leveling is simply monotonous. Leveling is similar to every other mmorpg ever made. You can choose between two methods of leveling, grind mobs OR quest. The quests are similar to to every other mmorpg ever made, Kill 50 blahs or gather 10 blahs. There is absolutely nothing innovative about the questing or leveling system.

 I would like to see more options for leveling in mmorpgs. I would like to see...

         Leveling through pvp

            This can be accomplished in several ways. Leveling through pvp mini games, world pvp, sieges, etc... I would like to see pvp/pve quest as well as other pve/pvp goals. PvP should not simply be an end game event.

         Leveling through world events

             I would like to see rare events take place that force the players that simply happen to be in the right/wrong location to band together and fight. Like having an army of pirates attacking tortage or some such thing.

Magic

             The melee system is a decent add on to the standard mmorpg. It spices things up a bit. I decided to play a caster to see what new and unique things they bring to the table. To my disappointment, casters for the most part seem lame as hell. Here are some reasons why...

            CLONES

            Why are casters simply clones of each other or basically any other caster in any mmorpg ever made. Hmm. lets make a caster that relies on dots and pets, then lets make another caster that focuses on direct damage spells. Lets give these casters some mes (roots/fears). Lets give every caster in the game protection buffs to make up for their lack of armor (why give every damn caster the same spells with different names). Lets give every caster a damage buff that they can use on themself.

              We really need a new caster based system. One with a logical method of gaining spells. Not the normal method which is completely random. Woo I got an ice spell, i got good with this ice spell, woo i got a fire spell thats better. If I practiced an ice spell over and over why would i instantly get a better fire spell. Wouldnt it be logical if I got a better ice spells.

               I will give the game credit for its healing classes. The healing classes in this game are far more fun to play than most mmorpg for several reasons.

  I will begin with the fact that these statements are my opinions...

Game Play vs Beauty

 I can understand that Funcom wanted to make a beautiful game. Personally, I would like an mmo with graphics above that of Warcraft. With that said, I will not sacrifice game play nor will I sacrifice the word massive, simply to cater to the visual crowd. I believe that over-instancing is a problem. Over-instancing takes the word massive out of mmo. The game simply becomes a multiplayer game.

 Player VS Player

 In no way does Conan resemble a PvP game. Forced leveling through PvE makes this game a PvE focused game that minors in PvP. Forcing people to PvE to attain max level, then creating PvP for end game, makes this a PvE game with the option to PvP. When there is no equipment gain through PvP, when there is no experience gain through PvP, this is not a PvP game.

 I know some of you will moan " but there are PvP levels". 20 PvP levels vs 80 PvE levels is total nonsense. This in and of itself shows the game is PvE focused with minor PvP options.

 Final Thoughts

 In my opinion, AoC differs little from World of Warcraft. AoC is primarily a PvE Quest based game that dabbles in PvP. The melee system is a nice idea wrapped in the same old MMORPG package.

 - Unique and Diverse Racial Choices

    I am really into the idea of diverse racial/faction choices. I want non-humanoid choices in the mix. I want language barriers to be in place so that factions/nations can not communicate. I love the idea of playing a gigantic insect like creature that can communicate through a hive mind. I like the idea of realistic abilities to go along with said race. Maybe this insect creature can fly, maybe it has an exoskeleton and does not need armor. Maybe this race evolves as it levels, cocooning itself and emerging with new armor or appendages. Maybe we could have a centaur like race that actually moves faster than normal due to being half horse. Why would a human run as fast as a centaur. Why must games totally defy logic.

- Advancement Through PvP

    If you kill a mob or player, you should gain exp and loot. There should be pve and pvp titles to obtain. There should be a multitude of rewards to gain by doing what you enjoy.

- Minor Increase In Power Due to Leveling and Gear

    Gear should matter some. Levels should matter some. Skill and intelligence should matter the most. A smart and well played level 10 should have the potential to kill a level 15. A level 60 should not own 6 level 10s easily. The numbers should add up. 6 level 10s should greater than one level 60. Two level 30s should be greater than one level 60, due to mixing of 2 classes/skill sets vs one class/skill set. I want everyone to feel as if they have an effect on a battle even at low levels. It might not be a huge effect, but a minor effect is an effect and could turn the tide in a battle.

- A Sandbox World with Real World Objectives

    I want player controlled and conquerable cities. I want NPC guards and armies. I want the feeling of a huge world with huge conflicts.

 Simply put, I want a big world, with diverse races, and lots of conflict between player controlled nations.

 I figured hey, I want PvP and I am totally bored of pretty much everything out. I figure why not try out Monster play on LotR. I am playing on vista, I played the game with max settings until I hit level 10 and went into monster play. When 60 people where on the screen, damn the game bogged down fast. SO, after setting everything to super low, i still got some skipping, im sure this is fixable. Bar this problem, here is my take on Monster Play.

 To be honest I was pretty excited about the idea of being a monster. So right of the bat I ignored the Orc choices due to them feeling to humanoid. I went straight for the warg and later tried out the spider. Just so ya know there are, orc reaver, orc black arrow, orc warleader, spider, and warg.

  As I walk around in my new wolf body, I am digging it. I like the warg look and I love the inhuman feel. This is until I realize a wolf runs the same speed as everyone else. Hmm. I get passed that. Then I realize that I have bags and can use potions. Uhh. Ok, i ignore that to. I figure out the few abilities that I begin with pretty fast, set up my UI, and head outside right into....  30+ freeps attacking Gram. Im like ok, lets do this. I stealth. I sneak around the back and find a Loremaster pretty far behind the group all by himself. I commence the gankage. He must be afk, man this aint fun. He is at half health. He finally moves and CC's me. He takes his time, he summons some pets, he drinks some potions, he reads a book, he masturbates... All this time and I am still in that 1 CC. Then he pretty much owns me easily.

 Ok, so I am thinking I need to get some rank and destiny points. I gotta upgrade I guess or I wont be able to kill anyone. So I figure I will do some quests, then I realize what Turbine has done, it hits me. This aspect of the game is about creeps doing quests while the freeps gank you. Heh. Ok, so I wont do quests, I figure the only way to get some rank is to get in a raid and leech. This gets boring real fast as a warg. I have no ranged abilities so I try to stealth around and get a couple quick hits and run. This works for a bit til one person lands a stun and im blinked dead.

 Hmm, so this aint going so well. So I figure I will try to get in a small group and go gank some solo targets. Sweet, we find one and get the kill, there are 9 of us vs 1 guy. It takes us a couple minutes to kill him. To be fair we were all green, but 9 rank 0 vs 1 guy, damn. Laff. By this time I am like, nevermind. They seriously do not want creeps to have a chance.

 So in conclusion, I love the idea of roleplaying a monster. I love the concept of being the bad guy. I just wish companies like turbine would use some logic when they try and mold these concepts into a fun and interactive game.

 People seem to think that FFA PvP is for the hardcore type and that casuals simply cant hack it. This is an incorrect theory. FFA PvP only differs from Faction based PvP games in that you choose a faction from the start and that your allies can not harm you physically. Here are some ideas for an FFA PvP game that would tailor it for the casual player as well as the hardcore.

1. Non PvP Areas

     By simply adding several areas for non pvpers you allow the to level while not being griefed. I know that PvP isnt for everyone. This can also be solved on a server level, by having a server thats all pve, a server thats all pvp, and a hybrid server.

2. FFA server and a Faction based server

     Who says FFA and Faction based can not exist in the same game? You could make a server where its FFA and players can choose any race and ally with anyone they choose AND you could have a server where factions are initially formed by your racial choices or nationality.

3. Safe Zones and Guard assisted zones

    Not all FFA games have to be PvP everywhere. Cities could be safe zones where you can log out and such. There can also be zones where guards may assist a player being attacked.

 Personally, I would like to see a game where a player could rise to be the king of a race. Where this player or a senate of players vote and decide who their race or nationality is allied with. I believe this is the next step to gaming. I am tired of the same old, dwarves hate elves bullshit that is always forced down our throats :)

  I just built a new PC, mainly because im tired of the little glitches my other one had. I was gaming on ...

•  abit 939 mobo
• 2gig corsair 800
• athlon 4200 x2
• sapphire  x1950 512mb agp

   Now I am on...

• MSI k9a2 platinum am2+ mobo
• 2gig ocz 1066 sli
• phenom 9500
• sapphire x3870 512mb pcie

  My new set up is far more stable than my old, which is really kind of strange. I believe I had a bad part in there that was causing intermittent errors. I have also decided to try Vista out. So far so good.

  Now as I sit with my new PC ready to play, I cant, for the life of me, find something to play in DX10. I mean, there is always crysis, but come on, is that it. By the time Conan comes out my PC will probably be a few hundred dollars cheaper and the new batch of phenoms will be out. Damn you gaming companies, damn you to hell. Please give me something to spend my money on :)

 I grow tired of seeing the same comments over and over. Its always the same replies, you dont want an mmo you want an fps,  X mechanic doesnt work in an mmo, or skill based systems are just to hard to implement. I do not really understand why people believe that certain things, no matter how they are implemented, just can not be done or will not be fun.

 (X) Mechanic does not work in an MMO

 This discussion is mainly focused toward stealth. I love the idea of stealth in an MMORPG and I do not understand why people bash it so. Yes, blizzard can not balance stealth right. No, blizzard is not unique in this. A lot of games have had bogus stealth systems. There are a myriad of ways to create a stealth based system that could function in a balanced way.

I would love to see an aliens vs predator mmo, where players can be any of the three races. Obviously, aliens and predators rely on stealth. An alien with out stealth is a dead alien. Aliens lack any ranged offensive capability, so their reliance on stealth is a two edged sword. Stealth would be an advantage, but this advantage exists to counter their inherent weakness of lacking any ranged combat. It all comes down to how you implement stealth into the game.

 Skill based systems are to hard to balance

  Why would a skill based system be any harder to balance than a class based system? Where does this myth come from? People do what they see. People copy what works. A majority of the successful games have been class based, so class based is what we get. There are a few games that are hybrids (guildwars, anarchy online). I see no more difficulty in balancing these hybrids as opposed to a class based game. In all seriousness, I have yet to see a game balanced well. So I say again, why would a skill based system be harder to balance?

  In a skill based system with player choice the difficulty lies in making all the skills viable (Although I could say the same about a class based system). If all the skills are not viable, players will follow the standard cookie cutter paths as those before them. You end up with a few defined set of skills that players use which might as well be classes. With a huge variety of skills to use that are each effective in their own way, through some means limiting players to a set number of skills, and by allows players choice to determine their advantages and weaknesses, you would have a successful skill based system.

To often enough, most class based systems that I have seen, classes lack several skill options that allow them to differentiate themselves from others of the same class. So the player feels like he is a peon in an army of clones. They also seem to lack real weaknesses that can be exploited during a fight. This destroys the concept of tactics in an mmo. Hunters are a good example in WoW. Hunters minimum shot range was a real weakness to exploit. When fighting a hunter, you would develop several methods of getting into that dead zone. With WoW this is a rare example of weaknesses and tactics. On the flip side you mainly have classes that pretty much fight everyone the same way.

Frost mages are a good example. Summon pet, frost nova take a few steps out of melee range, frostbolt/insta cone of cold for a quick double crit. The only time you cant do this is when a player can break roots, which is every damn class now due to trinkets. Tactic one out the window. Now simply frostnova and cone of cold real fast before they break it (Yes, I am anti trinket, why give advantages to a class then give every damn class the ability to nullify this advantage). You could ponder the tactics of an affliction lock, err not. I had an affliction/demo lock as my main. I pretty much fought everyone the same, fear, run while triple doting, try to fire off a shadowbolt, deathcoil if needed, player is usually dead by now. Did I need different tactics for different players, not really. Any decent warrior/rogue should kill me right off. Everyone else shouldnt even be a fight. No tactics. Bah, i got on a WoW rant. My bad. I appologize :)

 I figured there isnt a new mmo out that interests me so maybe I will reinstall an old one and give it another shot. Enter DAOC.

  Graphics

 For such an old game I am pretty impressed with its graphics. What really impresses me is Mythic actually updating the graphics of the game. Most MMO's never receive this kind of attention. To be honest, graphics are not everything to me. If the game is fun, the graphics really dont matter that much.

 Controls

 This game has a decent control layout. It takes a bit to learn. This game is not noob friendly. The controls are not as tight and immediate like WoW, but they will do just fine. I am just glad that there is a jump button.

  Gameplay

 Killing mobs is pretty simple. Most classes can solo just fine. Gear is easy to come by. My only beef comes in the form of lag. It gets old, seeing a player lag through a wall and cast an instant off on someone thats on the other side. I also tire of chasing ghost characters. Then there are the horrible pet AI problems. I love pet classes. I just wish they pets had a decent AI.

   Balance

  Balance does not exist in the 1v1 sense. Also, i dont really believe it exists at all. People will say that the game is balanced upon group tactics, but I do not buy that. Some classes are horribly built for group combat. If the game was balanced around group tactics than why make certain classes solo well and certain classes totally gimp solo. If it was based around group tactics than shouldnt all classes be gimp solo?

 Balance is also thrown off through leveling. You might find your <insert class> was OP in killaloe but in Thid you get stomped. Heavy tanks are a good example of horrible balancing through the levels. Heavy tanks are one of the worst classes at low levels for RvR. At high levels heavy tanks are indispensable due to their mes breaking abilities, etc.

  In the end certain classes stand out above the rest. If you ignore balance and just pick a class that you enjoy, the game is fun even with out real balance.

   RvR

  For a game thats supposedly all about player vs player interaction, it seems you get little reward for it. You may gain exp and level through RvR, but it seems the game forces you to PvE to attain gear. Would it be so difficult to create PvP attainable gear or simply have aurulite drops on fallen players.

  My biggest beef with RvR is that the game is to mes heavy. The game is all about putting your opponent in a position to where he can not retaliate. Its annoying as hell to be mesed for 40+ seconds, standing there watching you group die. There are realm abilities to counter mes, but in my opinion, you should not create over powered abilities to counter over powered abilities. Basically its a never ending chain, you get an OP ability, I get an OP counter, than you pick up a new must have OP ability, then I pick up a new must have OP counter.

   Summary

  For the most part, I do enjoy this game. I like that there are objectives to the BGs. I love how I can level while RvRing. I simply wish there was a bit more balance and the ability to obtain gear through RvR.