You've probably heard it by now - Age of Conan is now "free to play". So let's get the ugly bit out of the way, first: It really isn't that free. You can grab the game and get started and get all the way to the maximum level without ever paying a single penny, but you'll have to deal with some major cuts such as:
- Only 4 out of 12 playable classes available (tank, healer, magic dps, physical dps)
- No access to some of the dungeons
- Raids are limited to the beginning of the lowest tier
- Limited chat and mail functions
- Limited PvP
- Character development stops at max level
- Limited inventory space, especially at the early stages
- Only 2 character slots
At first glance, the whole thing doesn't seem to be much more than an extended trial. And yes, some of the limitations can be a bit frustrating and unfair. 75% of all classes are labelled "premium" and require a monthly subscription (15 Euros) or a special unlock token, which costs 5 Euros per class? I'm pretty sure nobody would shell out extra bucks for so-called premium classes in games like Allods or Runes of Magic. To be fair, though, Hyboria is worlds apart from most of the F2P stuff you know and hate and unlike the majority of cash shops out there, the stuff in Age of Conan doesn't have any annoying time limits on it.
So, let's say you really want to play an assassin, so you go unlock one for some small change. Or you want more inventory space and you go buy a bigger backpack in the item shop. That stuff stays with you for good and doesn't magically disappear after 7 or 30 days.
So, if you just try the game for the heck of it and find yourself enjoying it, it's perfectly alright to spend small amounts here and there to add bits and pieces of convenience to your overall gaming experience. Still beats shelling out 50 Euros for a game you end up hating after a few hours.
If you're not a total newcomer and you want to have another go at the game, you may reactivate any two of your existing characters, even if they're premium-classes. In this case, there's no need to resubscribe or unlock anything to get back to your old toon, though all the other f2p limitations still apply.
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| AoC has tits, pissing pirates and you can rip people's beating hearts out of their chests and eat them. Yay! |
In the event that you have spent the past couple of years under a rock and you have never even looked at Age of Conan, go poke yourself with a sharp stick. Now! Harder!
If you're looking for a game, which is hard, unforgiving, dirty, violent and full of scumbags, which make the WoW community feel like a friendly tea party in comparison, then Age of Conan is for you. You can rip a defeated enemy's heart out of their chest, take a hearty (durrr) bite and laugh at their face as they drop on their knees and die before you. Swing a massive two-handed sword and cut people's arms off before sending their severed head flying all over the place. Grow a beard and show off your manly six-pack when you take off your armor. Or your tits, depending on your character's gender. That's right, kids - girls have boobies and there's plenty of them to be seen here in all their polygonal glory!
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| Off with his head! Fatalities cover your screen in strawberry jam. |
Age of Conan's combat system is a lot more dynamic and fast-paced than the relaxed button-klicking you know from other MMOs. Just activating a hotkey won't do the trick on here - you'll have to actively pull off a combination of swings and blows to perform your special moves. And it doesn't end there: If you want to truly master your class, you will have to learn how to switch weapon sets on the fly and impale a baddie with your lance, then switch to sword and board the next second and send his friends flying with a mighty shield bash. Skill counts more than gear, especially in pvp. Same goes for your abilities and skills - assign them the way it suits your style and personal taste instead of cloning the current flavour of the month and playing exactly like everybody else. Of course there is still plenty of room to fuck up, but you do get lots of space for individualism.
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| AoC looks amazing and performs incredibly well! |
Age of Conan is easily one of the most impressive-looking MMORPGs out there. It might not look as breath-taking as, say, Final Fantasy XIV, but it runs like a charm on most semi-decent systems. To be fair, it took them long enough to get there, but now that it's practically free... well, gift horse and all that.
I won't lie to you: Beneath the rough, gritty surface, behind all the violence, fancy graphics and the fast-paced combat, Age of Conan isn't anything highly innovative or surprising. You get your run of the mill quests (kill this, loot that), a handy selection of dungeons (solo and group ones) and once you hit the level cap, you get to fight your way through three tiers of raid dungeons or fight other players in pvp battlegr... pardon, "minigames" to get your epic pvp gear.
So if you're bored with that same old kind of MMO or you're generally offended by tits and gore, then Age of Conan is not for you. If, however, you're looking for an online game, which shares most of its features with games such as World of Warcraft, without being as candy-coloured, retard-friendly and dumbed down as, well, World of Warcraft, then Age of Conan might be worth a try. The download costs you nothing at all, neither do the four basic classes or your first two character slots and if you ever want full access to everything the game has to offer, then all you have to do is subscribe and pay the usual monthly fee. No need to actually buy the game, no need to use the item shop - and if you ever cancel your subscription, you'll still get to play it. With heavy drawbacks, mind, but that still beats having no free access to the game at all.
-Cat
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