Age of Conan

http://forums-eu.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=58201

AOC items and stats - Another intresting topic to look at now that the game has been out for a month.

To make it short.  Stats system in terms of items is none existing.  Like shown above - it doesn't really matter if you keep the same dress on from lvl 1 to 80.  This game is supposedly about player "skills"   - Oh and then few character abilites that Funcom is now changing around every patch.  

Im not gonna go into the PR promises that Funcom made about armors and items ingame.  Instead  - Im gonna look at it from the dress up perspecive.   Many AOC palyers have been testing what the diffrent kinda armor does really mean (cloth - light - medium - heavy)  It seems to be very little diffrence - other than to make sure that necros dont wear plate.   

Im still waiting for a game where its the other way around.  Where the lvls become worhtless - and the armor makes you what you are.   Cause lets face it - while playing MMO is just about getting to next lvl and not about improving yourself in any other way, then we end up with game like AOC.  You wonder why noone bothers with the dungeons and just lvls to 80 in their lvl 40 gear ?   Maybe cause there is no point doing it ?  You get more out of the lvl stats anyway...

Another failed system in AOC.  System that does not support grouping up - Grouping means less xp and you spend extra amount of time for absolutly nothing.  

Sounds like a good Xbox game to me. 

Time to dress up barbie !

Originally posted by AOCtester

http://forums-eu.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=58201

AOC items and stats - Another intresting topic to look at now that the game has been out for a month.

To make it short.  Stats system in terms of items is none existing.  Like shown above - it doesn't really matter if you keep the same dress on from lvl 1 to 80.  This game is supposedly about player "skills"   - Oh and then few character abilites that Funcom is now changing around every patch.  

Im not gonna go into the PR promises that Funcom made about armors and items ingame.  Instead  - Im gonna look at it from the dress up perspecive.   Many AOC palyers have been testing what the diffrent kinda armor does really mean (cloth - light - medium - heavy)  It seems to be very little diffrence - other than to make sure that necros dont wear plate.   

Im still waiting for a game where its the other way around.  Where the lvls become worhtless - and the armor makes you what you are.   Cause lets face it - while playing MMO is just about getting to next lvl and not about improving yourself in any other way, then we end up with game like AOC.  You wonder why noone bothers with the dungeons and just lvls to 80 in their lvl 40 gear ?   Maybe cause there is no point doing it ?  You get more out of the lvl stats anyway...

Another failed system in AOC.  System that does not support grouping up - Grouping means less xp and you spend extra amount of time for absolutly nothing.  

Sounds like a good Xbox game to me. 

Time to dress up barbie !

There is already this popular MMO called World of Warcraft that relies heavily on itemization. Soon it will get another expansion where people can throw all their epix in the bin and start questing for better greens again.

Then we have Guild Wars, where armors are just for looks. Where skill setup and teamwork is the only thing of importance.

I am hoping AoC will end up closer to Guild Wars than WOW, because I do not personally think that items should be the deciding factor in the outcome of a (player vs player) battle.

Then again, some carrots for the PvE players need to be in place. I am just hoping they aim for variation over maximization.

AoC has made a conscious decision to make items less important. Thats not saying they are unimpiortant. Just less than what most people think of as the norm from their experiences in World of Warcraft

Originally posted by Czzarre

AoC has made a conscious decision to make items less important. Thats not saying they are unimpiortant. Just less than what most people think of as the norm from their experiences in World of Warcraft

Thats just something some players just cannot grasp. Levels and Gear, Levels and Gear.  AoC sure its about levels, not so much about the gear. I sat and watched a demo hold his ground against a barb 4 levels higher earlier fpr about 15 mins. Its all about the skill set at your disposal and your knowledge of your class and the environment around youself.

Aoctester, I remember when you joined here, pretending to like the game with maybe 3 posts and even before the game came out you started on it. Very suspicious and makes me wonder why you keep bothering, unless there is another reason of course.

I for one don't like an emphasis on itemization. It doesn't take any talent nowadays to create a game based solely on levels, stats, and items. Hell, it seems every MMO relies on itemization...

...but then again, there's no point in stats if they're worthless either. Why even have gear if it's 95% cosmetic? From what I've seen, +spell damage items work significantly, but everything else is so minimal in gains, that it's not even worth using. Also, if you're not going to have stats mean anything significant, why tout crafted and slotted items as being useful? I mean, really, wasn't the purpose of having a Battlekeep and a Tier 3 guild city, to have buffs from them? (Note: They aren't in-game/don't work as far as I know. Please correct me if I'm wrong)

I do, however, agree that restricting "skill" to level difference is worthless. One of the reasons I always loved Diablo 2 was the fact that, whether you were level 40 or level 99, if you had the "right" build, you could win. In AoC, WoW, and most of the newer MMO's, it doesn't matter if you're pimped out in purples, or sporting whites, the higher levels can win. Maybe that's why ganking is so prevalent here; because people KNOW that they can't lose.

A design flaw, really :(

Originally posted by Cymdai

I for one don't like an emphasis on itemization. It doesn't take any talent nowadays to create a game based solely on levels, stats, and items. Hell, it seems every MMO relies on itemization...

 

...but then again, there's no point in stats if they're worthless either. Why even have gear if it's 95% cosmetic? From what I've seen, +spell damage items work significantly, but everything else is so minimal in gains, that it's not even worth using. Also, if you're not going to have stats mean anything significant, why tout crafted and slotted items as being useful? I mean, really, wasn't the purpose of having a Battlekeep and a Tier 3 guild city, to have buffs from them? (Note: They aren't in-game/don't work as far as I know. Please correct me if I'm wrong)

I do, however, agree that restricting "skill" to level difference is worthless. One of the reasons I always loved Diablo 2 was the fact that, whether you were level 40 or level 99, if you had the "right" build, you could win. In AoC, WoW, and most of the newer MMO's, it doesn't matter if you're pimped out in purples, or sporting whites, the higher levels can win. Maybe that's why ganking is so prevalent here; because people KNOW that they can't lose.

A design flaw, really :(

Hey Cymdai,

I kinda agree with you too a point, if you want the videos from January from the community event posted in early feb here i think, they do talk about not making the game as number cruching as AO. A lot of people hated that idea. Stats in game on items were partially broke and now work so far so good from what I can see.

In crafting, done as tiers, progression is limited by types of building put up in the guild city. For example we have guys who can cut level 80 gems and can make high tiered armor, based on different buildings put up by us. Their progression is partially matched how fast the guild pulls together. Since the get go there has been no limitation and the "hardcore" crowd in not being able to craft things to improve gear. Gems and stats do improve and I forsee a nice list coming soon.

I think FC are taking a fine line with number crunching in AoC, its not as important as some people think, but it does play a part. I think no one really knows how important or relevant percentages to factor in all the differences yet. The game is still so new, because of its growing pains too, we are going to have to wait and see how well people know their class at a later date and revisit the level difference issues.

Oh, btw Tier 3 is up, buffs are inconsistant or non existant on the whole. Waiting for next weeks patches. having the higher tiers makes for higher level of building types to put down for better crafting. That in itself is very useful at the moment.

Originally posted by AOCtester

Another failed system in AOC.  System that does not support grouping up - Grouping means less xp and you spend extra amount of time for absolutly nothing.  

 

 

Forgot to ask - have you been in a 24 man group yet? 12 man?

Done this on a raid or holding down a grind or resource area? its not all about XP later on in the game.

At level 60 as an example you, by yourself kill another lvl 60 monster. You will get about 1200 XP.

Go grouping in around a 12 man group with apprentice on you, and go kill some level 80 monsters, your going to get about 800 XP but about 8 times faster than you can do by yourself. making it very important, not only on a social level but for your much needed leveling.

Got to level 80 already? then you will want grouping to stop splash dmg when holding down important areas from other guilds.

Your argument flawed - very - just like the ability to get flawless level 80 gems when your level 60 - something you couldn't do by yourself.

And all we have is bitching and moaning by people who dont fully understand the system and have little to none experience in it. Wait for a few more weeks and the intracies will show themselves - there is alot more tied here than meets the eye - decepticon. All these vocal people who want to leave before the fun about starts...

Originally posted by AmazingAvery

And all we have is bitching and moaning by people who dont fully understand the system and have little to none experience in it. Wait for a few more weeks and the intracies will show themselves - there is alot more tied here than meets the eye - decepticon. All these vocal people who want to leave before the fun about starts...

I am probably with you. But shouldnt the fun start a bit earlier ? I am well aware that my ranger has feats to make hidden foes visible. What a lot of people, inlcuding me, dont get is the design that always points into the future while having problems to deliver in the present.

I think both, haters and fans, are a bit off road. If funcom wants us to group, then why is the game not fully designed to make grouping fun at lower levels ? Why make people think the game is soloable for 50 levels and then force them to grouping ? Its not surprising that a lot players are upset and call fraud and lie...

This