Is it fun? Why is it "good"?

It's in the final curve of the beta process. Right now quirks are being smoothed out.

I'm not sure if I can say it's good or bad yet. Only in recent months it started to look really good. But what I CAN say is that it is "different".

I will list some major differences from usual MMOs.

1-Combat System: You don't target an enemy at all. Every attack is AoE. Which means when you swing your sword you don't only hit your targeted enemy, but also anyone who comes in contact with your sword. You can swing your weapon into different directions and it matters which side of your enemy you are hitting. They have different def ratings on each side. In time you also learn combos you can execute with combination button presses.

2-Story: Unlike many MMOs (with the exception of Final Fantasy XI and Guild Wars) the game has a main story apart from the quests and stuff. That main story has YOU as the main character. When you talk to people you don't get a list of stuff to do, instead you get proper dialog choices. There are conversation trees etc.

3-PvP: There are basicly 4 entirely different types of PvP. You have your basic team battle affairs. Or you have your one on one duels. But apart from that you can also have huge field battles with literally 100s of players (yes the engine can support that..) and giant siege engines. Furthermore you can always go into an inn and drink, and get drunk and engage into drunk fighting with another player, during which your entire skill set changes into drunk fighting moves like biting, heat butt etc.

4-MMO RTS: You can create buildings. A guild can create itself a village. Each type of building serves a purpose. They may spawn guards to defend your village, or research new tech for crafting. You can even have your own peons who go and gather resources while you are offline.

5-Mature content: They are aiming for an M rating. Which means less kids will be playing the game. And there is blood. e.g. you can perform fatalities in combat and chop someone's head off.

Right now these things come to my mind first. But there is a lot more.

That looks really interesting...will it have a monthly fee?

Replace "you answer your questions" with "to answer your questions"

Bonus data: The game is scheduled to be released for PC (XP and Vista) in May, and for XBOX 360 some time later. As of now the XBOX 360 version requires a harddisk.

I've heard of this and, at least from what I've read and heard here, the combat system is just what the MMO genre needs. Adds a bit of skill and luck to the normal diceroll tedium.

The striking system is going to do my head in.

I'm a hacky-slashy-ask-questions-later player, and typically don't stop stabbing stuff until my inventory is full >.>

Other than that - If there's a trial, I might give it a bash, see how it plays for me, but the deciding factor is going to be that combat. I'm not all that fantastic with my sword swings >.>

Being a fan or AO, I should really try this when I get more space on my computer.

I've been away for a while. Sorry
Anyway... As of last night we've gone gold with Age of Conan.

The game will be released on 20th May. (10th May for testers, 17th May for pre orders)

It turned out to be really well. I'll probably be playing it for a while.
Just to update.

I applied for the weekend pvp beta anyone else?

-AS

I bought the game. I love it. Don't feel like explaining why, too lazy, its that great. Only downside, too many dicks on the pvp server I am on. I am leveling and a group of 10's (3 of them) start attacking me while I was looting at low hp... then stalked me for about hour and half.. when I finally leveled, I had to waste ALL my skill points (about 60 of em) on hiding.. so they wouldn't spot me while hidden... so many 10 year old dicks still... thankfully a 25 came and raped them.. and my lvl 16 ass was saved!

I may get this game on Tuesday, but I'm still thinking of when ever to get either WAR, or WotLK. I just need more information on all the games to make my decision, does anyone have any critic AoC reviews? i can't find any thus far.

I just got it....it's amazing! The combat is alot different from the other MMOGs, and the graphics even on super duper heavy load low, it looks good, but I didn't like the reqs, they too big, and 32GB of hard drive needed for it! Can you believe that? It's like installing XP again! But apart from that, it's a great game, better than WoW IMHO

this looks amazing and i want it

looks good but the Lude system requirements will gimp it's popularity

-AS

I've been watching this game for some time now, and may actually have to give it a try. If only there were a trial.

The graphics look great, combat sounds refreshing, and the siege combat looks pretty interesting. Does anyone have any solid experience in this game for a time outside of the Tortage area and lower levels?

There is some stuff I said earlier in this topic but let's recap and compare with WoW.

Superficially some stuff looks like WoW. There are skill slots below the screen and a huge XP bar. Leveling up is much easier. That is due to the huge number of quests in the game. Around mid 50s and 60s the the number of quests get lower but they will soon add more stuff for that territory.

Classes are unique and most of them are not really comparable to their WoW counterparts. You have Tanks with real attack power or priests who can use two handed swords.

Party play is especially enjoyable as mobs tend to link and things often turn into an epic skirmish.

But it's the combat that really makes this game different. I written about this earlier. But suffice to say that you cannot just click on one mob and stand around, spamming a few skills every now and then. If you stand around, your character will do the same. Every swing is AoE and there is no traditional mob targeting. Mobs have defence points they assign to their sides. And you have them too. Therefore combat is very skill based rather than gear based. You have to learn to recognize combo moves from their starting animations and adjust your defence quickly for that.

Oh and you can dismember people

The solidness of mobs and players is not a problem because in AoC EVERY area is instanced. But this is not really a Guild Wars like instance. Of course you get the occasional dungeon which only exists for you and your friends. But normal public areas are also instanced like the cities in Guild Wars. Meaning you DO see a lot of other people but not and overwhelming amount of people. There are several versions of an area. If someone's being an ass and blocking a bridge or road with a mammoth, you can just switch instances and go to a version of that area in which there is no jerk.

Quests are not just windows with some text and reward listed. Each quest is a story in itself. When you talk to an NPC you switch to an adventure game type close up view and get dialog options. However if you want to get the quest quickly and don't care for the story at all you can just spam 1 on the keyboard and get the quest.

... etc.

This is really a different MMO. Oh and the graphics when compared to WoW.. hahahahahaha The visuals are so good it's not even funny.