The total character slot limit has now been expanded to 11 from previously 8. But it’s not for everyone, and it does not come without a cost, literally. Players can now buy two additional slots for new characters via microtransactions. But as a bonus for regulars who have been playing the game for at least 6 straight months an extra free slot will be given.
So, want 11? Then keep playing!
Not strictly an Age of Conan piece of news, but China has banned gold farming says InformationWeek. It really is a ban on virtual currencies, but MMO gold farming is surely the primary target.
The trading of virtual currency for real cash employs hundreds of thousands of people worldwide and generates between $200 million and $1 billion annually, according to a 2008 survey conducted by Richard Heeks at the University of Manchester.
He estimates that between 80% and 85% of gold farmers are based in China.
Luckily this isn’t as much of an issue in Age of Conan. Yet.
Want to survive on a Player-versus-Player server? Then the two page guide over at MMORPG.com might be the solution for you. Granted, most of the stuff in there is pretty basic, but it is worth a read nonetheless.
The first thing you should do is form a group. Being a lone wolf or participating in some sort of honor bound duel is fine and all but chances are you will just be fodder for a gank group (which usually consists of 3-6 players), so make a few friends that you can call on if things ever take a turn for the worst. A group is the biggest deterrent for would-be PvPers. That Assassin that has been eying you from the shadows isn’t going to step up when he sees you have a few friends with a general dislike for his sneaky tactics watching your back.
The Clan of Conan newsletter was just recently sent to subscribers. As always, it is a graphical mash of links to promotional material, focusing on the 1.05 update of course. You can read it online, which is a lot nicer than in your email program of choice.
More news about the 1.05 update, this time in an interview over at IncGamers, who incidentally sparks a malware warning in some browsers. I dared it, and got this on rooftop gameplay, courtesy of Per Storløkken:
Rooftop gameplay. With an urban area there is room for only so much gameplay in narrow city streets, so rather than miss out on that extra ‘footprint’ we moved a large part of it to the roofs. Fighting on the roofs adds new elements, both on PvE and PvP servers. For PvE it means that in many cases you will have nowhere to run except down – and down easily means death by fall damage unless you’re near water. This makes fighting much more tight than it is on the ground, and you have to be a lot more careful. For PvP it means that this area is going to be filled with people wanting to kill you
Sounds cool. Other news includes conflicting quest storylines, where you’ll join a gang and, if you’re a devious bastard, double crosses them. Also, there are riots which could be fun.
Finally, a tiny little tidbit about things to come:
The next thing to come out is going to be The Iron Tower, a group instance set in Tarantia Common District (in which we will conclude the storyline started in the outdoor playfield).
More news about the 1.05 update, this time regarding Tarantia Commons, the previously locked area in Tarantia where gangs war with each other. You’ll join.
Gang warfare is prevalent in Tarantia Commons. You will see gangs fighting in the streets and you will be able to join the battles. Riots are also frequent in Tarantia Commons, and as a player you will be able to affect the outcome of these riots and even recruit more men to join through quests. Tarantia Commons is about quality storyline, and players have an opportunity to directly affect the conflict going on in the area.
Other news include more living guild cities and teleporting to your guild city. There will also be vendors selling pets:
We have also added new social pets to the game. Players can purchase these social pets from vendors in the guild cities, and currently the selection is cats, dogs and snakes. Social pets can not fight for you – but hey, they look pretty cool following you!
Check out the Tarantia screenshots here, while you wait for Age of Conan to download the 1.05 update.
The upcoming 1.05 update to Age of Conan gets previewed at the official Age of Conan blog, and the talk of the town is that it is the biggest one yet. We’re getting a teaser of the RPG system revamps.
[...] it allows us to enhance our items, abilities, and even our buffs better than before. This is important because it means that items and even abilities become more meaningful and rewarding to the character when receiving them. On top of that, it also allows more dynamic character and item builds in the long run.
Interesting, but it could make the game really unbalanced right? Read the rest of this entry »
The Age of Conan community news feed has a piece up on Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan and the world of Hyboria, who died 73 years ago. They call him “a true Teller of Tales” which is true. He was in fact one of the creator of the fantasy genre sword and sorcery, with his Salomon Kane and King Kull stories.
Conan entered later. This from the Wikipedia page:
Conan first appeared in Weird Tales in December 1932’s “The Phoenix on the Sword”, and was such a hit that Howard was able to place seventeen more Conan stories in the magazine between 1933 and 1936. The character had a wide and enduring influence among other WT writers, including C. L. Moore and Fritz Leiber, and over the ensuing decades the genre of Sword and Sorcery grew up around Howard’s masterwork, with dozens of practitioners evoking Howard’s creation to one degree or another.
True lovers of Conan and his world should definitely find Howard’s stories. There are collections available.
First of all, I just ran an upgrade on the publishing platform (WordPress) we use here at Living Hyboria. Let me know if something broke, although it looks OK.
Second, I though I’d outline what’s in the pipeline for this site, besides the obvious (being more content):
We’ll stay bloggish here at Living Hyboria. That’s where the fun stuff is after all.
The winners in the King’s Seal competition that Funcom ran across the web to celebrate Age of Conan turning one are out. Are you one of them?