Much of what I have written over the past few days about Age of Conan has appeared negative. It’s important that I start this morning’s post off by saying that it’s never my intention to be overly negative or harsh about a game. It’s a very unfortunate reality that last week several articles were released about Age of Conan revealing many gameplay mechanics and features that I truly do not like. Please don’t take offense or consider it game bashing when I say that I dislike something about a game. No game is perfect. I hope that you will walk away from this post today realizing that there is still much that I am looking forward to in AoC. This is my blog. You should not expect me to always look at everything with a level head and certainly never expect to me always see your side. I know what I like and I really know what I dislike about mmorpgs and this industry in general.
With that out of the way I want to talk briefly on a few topics that have come up over the past few days and clarify where I stand on them. I hope that this goes a long way toward answering some of the questions that have been raised in comments on where I stand and what I want out of ‘today’s’ mmorpgs.
1. PvE Raiding Gear that influences the outcome of PvP
I simply do not like it. This is one of those issues that people feel strongly about and I know there are some of you out there who don’t care and even some of you like this system — and there is nothing wrong with that. This is how World of Warcrafted used to be before Burning Crusade. Even Blizzard saw the error of their ways on this one and changed it so that PvP gear > PvE gear in PvP. At the very most PvE gear should be on par with PvP gear if the effort necessary to obtain both sets of gear is the same.
2. Raiding Treadmills: The art of raiding for gear to raid for more gear and so on…
This is one of the biggest things about mmorpgs in the past 5 years that I really, really can’t stand. I am well aware that there are millions of people out there who enjoy this. I’m just not one of them. I feel that raiding shouldn’t be about the gear and yes I honestly believe that there are alternatives. For years I have been saying that raiding is about the experience, the adventure, the kill, and not about the loot that drops afterwards. Why can’t the emphasis in mmorpgs be taken off of the gear and placed back on the other forms of character development? Some ideas that aren’t about gear:
- Why not introduce cosmetic changes to your character? Wouldn’t it be awesome if after participating in mighty epic battles you had the choice of altering your character’s appearance to reflect that? If you just slew a dragon perhaps your character’s stature could be increased. If you are a dwarf your beard can grow longer or muscles bigger. Perhaps give players the opportunity to alter their armor to reflect that they have seen great battles. Maybe the dragon dropped a special shard that forever imbues any weapon you wield with flames. These are just examples and would be optional. It would give players something to show off and have pride in.
- Reward players who raid epic dungeons with skills they can’t find anywhere else. These skills wouldn’t be game breaking or capable of altering PvP in anyway but they could surely play a role in PvE and truly make the CHARACTER more powerful because of the CHARACTER’s abilities. The emphasis is moved away from gear.
Those are just quick examples. Bottom line here is that mmorpgs were never designed to be all about the gear and they are not forced to continue down the same thoughtless path. Gear comes and Gear goes. A new dungeon comes out and your previous gear means nothing. It gets sharded, banked, destroyed, or forgotten. Changes to your character can stay with you forever.
2.1 Epic Dungeons and Raids can be fun if you design them that way!
In the IGN Article Funcom stated that their raids would be more than clearing trash mobs working your way to a boss. I think that’s great. I have never enjoyed having to kill crap on the way to a boss. It felt like a lot of busywork in World of Warcraft, LOTRO, etc having to clear trash mobs just to find out the end boss fight was unimaginative and dull. Funcom’s idea for a more dynamic and involved boss fight is absolutely what raiding needs. I look forward to *hopefully* getting the opportunity to fight some of these encounters.
3. Should only the Hardcore players get the gear? PvE and PvP.
In the recent IGN article Funcom stated very clearly that only the most skilled players will rise to the top and gain access to the PvP gear. I feel that everyone who PvP’s should eventually have access to the same PvP gear. I’m perfectly fine with those who invest more time in the game obtaining it first. If the average player can not even eventually obtain PvP gear then what are they to use? PvE Gear? See #1.
PvE Raiding for gear is something I already dislike. See #2. However, if a game is going to have PvE raiding for gear then I feel that again it should be easily accessible and not a painfully unpleasant experience. Funcom is getting this right - at least I think they are because they have said many times that they want their raids to be less about killing trash mobs and more about the boss fights.
3.1 PvP Death Penalties and Progression
Mixed feelings here. Funcom’s Death Penalty for Age of Conan fits the system they are going for because they want the PvP gear to be reserved for only the most skilled players. While I dislike that system altogether and feel that it forces players to turn to the PvE alternative, I can’t knock them for using what works with their system. I do not like death penalties in PvP. I feel that death penalties do not make it harder - just more annoying. Time =/= difficulty!
4. AoC Specific: Battle Keeps and who gets them. The role of the Mini-games.
My thoughts on Mini-games are clear. At first I was very skeptical about Funcom’s decision to reward those who do well in Mini-games with the ability to have first dibs on sieging cities. But I think they are on to something here and just need to expand upon their initial thoughts. Why not extend it from just mini-games and include all forms of PvP? The guilds who deserve the honor of a Battle Keep and who would be capable of defending such an honor should be the top ranked PvPers. Limiting it to just Mini-games diminishes the other forms of PvP in the Border Kingdoms. Guilds will form 6 man groups and go into CTF games instead of taking resource objectives. Don’t sell yourselves short Funcom!
5. Zergs… For the Swarm!
Zerging will never go away. As much as I wish for fair fights it’s just not the way of things. I think in Age of Conan specifically it will diminish some of the more carefully developed combat mechanics. When players win because of numbers it takes away from the directional attacks and precision psuedo-twitch combat. But I’m also not ready to accept the consequences of restricting fights either. This is one of those “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situations that is probably better left alone.
6. Hardcore vs. Casual
This one bothers me. When I see people drawing the line between hardcore and casual and taking sides for one or the other I question why people can’t open their eyes and see that both playstyles can coexist in perfect harmony. Guess what? If you’re Hardcore that doesn’t make you better. Guess what? If you’re casual that doesn’t entitle you to something special. Snap out of it! Some of the biggest issues in mmorpgs are drummed up because of this very debate and I think the constant desire to defend ones click stirs the pot daily. Bottom line: You can’t please everyone. With that said developers need to balance their content and make everything accessible to everyone. The hardcores have more time of their hands so they should do it first. But don’t exclude the casuals from being able to eventually work their way towards the same goals. (I have only scratched the surface of the surfaces surface on this one. It’s too big an issue to take on here and now.)
7. World of Warcraft
For some strange reason there have been comments on my blog recently telling me to go back to WoW or to play WoW because that’s what I want in a mmorpg. Please know that you are wrong. That is all! 
(To be more specific… you’re currently reading the blog of someone who is very anti-WoW and all that it once was and has become. Please, for the love of all that is holy, unholy, and good… just don’t go there.)
8. Fun, involved, and innovative gameplay
This isn’t AoC specific, but I want to touch on why I feel AoC has totally hit the ball out of the park here. The PvE (what little I have played of it) is awesome. I am really looking forward to leveling up a character and adventuring in Hyboria. I feel the combat system is superb. This psuedo-twitch style really gets the player involved with the fights and goes a long way toward bridging the gap that has left me feeling detached from the games. AoC’s PvP (although currently feeling like it’s unbalanced) has enormous potential. With loads of AoE attacks, knockbacks, and attention grabbing details like shielding and active dodging, there is never going to be a dull moment.
That’s all I have time for right now. These are far from complete thoughts and should read more like notes on how I feel about the issues currently facing mmorpgs (and specifically Age of Conan). I am definitely looking forward to AoC and can’t wait to see what Funcom does with the enormous potential. I hope I have cleared a few things up for some people on where I stand.
I welcome comments. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. I know there are people out there who are just as passionate about mmorpgs who think the opposite of everything I just wrote. But I ask that your comments be constructive and conducive to a healthy discussion. I will be deleting NDA violations and obvious attempts at trolling. Thanks!
