Age of Conan: The Adventures Continue

I have reached level 16 in Age of Conan, a feat I wish I would have accomplished earlier, but the servers were down for several hours yesterday. Many people are rightfully worried about the game's stability. It has its share of problems, but they seem to be no more severe than most MMOs at launch. There has been some server downtime, but when in game, I have experienced no lag issues personally. However, I have encountered a broken quest (I cannot skin alligators; the loot bag shows glowing on the ground but when I click, its empty. Those damn skins are broken!) and some small issues here and there, like the existence of placeholder text in one spot. There is also a region in which some players are getting stuck. I haven't experienced this issue, but it seems to inconveniencing a number of players.

But don't be too taken aback by the fact that I started with some negative information: Age of Conan makes a hell of a first impression. It's a beast, though on my work PC, it runs pretty well at insanely high settings, though in terms of its system requirements, this is the anti-WoW. However, returns are high. From both a technical and artistic perspective, Age of Conan's production values are stunning. Never fear: I will play on a lower-quality machine at lower settings to see how it performs when the PC is closer to minimum requirements. Nevertheless, this isn't a case where high system requirements seem at odds with the result.

But I think it's time to catch you up on current progress!

Part 5: Getting in the Mood.

I recorded the game's intro for Jim to post, and it went up on the site yesterday. It's a great scene and a good way to get you in the mood for the baudy wit and carnage the ensues. See for yourself:

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I also took some gameplay video so you can see some of the early game in action.

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Part 6. The Heart of the Volcano

Renton knows stuff. And that stuff may be the key to discovering my origins. Seems I have this mark on my body that implies I was to be part of a brainwashed army, and Strom's buddy's got inside knowledge. His quest is part of the single-player introductory missions that take place at night within Tortage. It's a great way to get you engaged with the lore, and its been pretty engaging, though I have been alternating between those missions and the more standard MMOG questing.

In any case, Renton is a wuss, though his guards were tough cookies. This is me looking manly as I buff.

Part 7: Lady of the Twilight

Remember Casilda? I need her body, but not in the way she wants to give it. Rather, I need her blood. There's a volcanic ritual in progress, but if I can replace the virgin's blood used with, er, non-virginal blood, I can wreak havoc and disperse the advancing army. She seems more interested in other pleasures, but I'm focused on more important matters.

Part 8: Lava Go Boom

The trek up to the top of the volcano was not an easy one. I got crushed often, so I died maybe a good four times because I was biting off more than I could chew. Speaking of which, it seems like a good time to mention the death penalty. Before level 10, there is no death penalty. Afterwards, you take a 30-minute small penalty to stats, but you can go find your tombstone to remove the penalty. Finally I made it, but not after handling some lightning-spewing ritualists.

Eventually, I made the ol' bait and switch, and the volcano erupted in glorious fashion. At which point, I high-tailed it out of Dodge.

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Look for a review perhaps by the end of next week, and a first-impressions article and video tomorrow. Also, be sure to check out the Age of Conan gameplay marathon tomorrow. See you then!