Get on Secret World beta with Conan sub

By Robert Purchese Published 11 November, 2009

Free fortnight and other incentives offered.

Funcom has told Eurogamer that a new Age of Conan re-evaluation period gets underway today.

To lure you back, the developer is offering two weeks of free play to returning players and two weeks of double experience for everyone. And those who choose to subscribe will be showered with even more gifts.

Sign for three months earn a guaranteed place in The Secret World beta; sign for six months to claim a beta spot plus in-game AOC helmet that boosts experience earned by 10 per cent; and sign for 12 months to earn all that as well as a free copy of Conan expansion Rise of the Godslayer when it's released. These rewards are not retroactive; subscribers from October onwards are eligible.

This is the latest part of a considerable drive by Funcom to entice players back to Age of Conan. Most recently this entailed subscriptions to the MMO being slashed in price, and the introduction of a Veteran Point reward system for long-time members.

Desperate?

"We know that coming back to a massively multiplayer online game demands effort, so for us it's all about making it worthwhile for former players to come back," answered Erling Ellingsen, the mouth on the Funcom face.

"With all the improvements having been introduced to the game, we're eager to have as many former players as possible be exposed to all the updates. So for returning players we're offering two weeks free game time, and the ability to level up twice as fast as normal."

"It is natural for any subscription business to incentivise longer-term subscriptions in order to ensure a long-term relationship with the player," he told us.

Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer introduces the new Asian-themed area of Khitai, where the new playable race, the Khitan, live. Strangely, Funcom is focusing as much on low-level content as endgame treats. There's even the chance to raise tigers and wolves from cubs into gigantic, snarling mounts. Eurogamer MMO editor Oli Welsh calls Godslayer "a horizontal expansion" in his in-depth preview from August.

Rise of the Godslayer will be out during the first half of 2010.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (13) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Pirotic #1 2 years ago

    Are they not just going to ship the beta in the box then like with the original game?

  • ZuluHero #2 2 years ago

    Is the game better past Tortage and up to the same standard now?

  • xexuxjy #3 2 years ago

    I quit after completing Tortage last year and getting to the main city. Found it completely daunting and no idea what to do next. I re-subscribed a couple of months back and was surprised how much better it was, I'm a solo only player and theres a nice progression of quests in a variety of area and it all feels pretty comfortable. Could be that I didn't give it much of a chance first time after Tortage and it was ok but it's certainly very playable now.

  • iokthemonkey #4 2 years ago

    conanlol

  • Blacknimbus #5 2 years ago

    I might need to dust off teh Fang pad and give this a shot again. The combat was a bit daunting...especially for a chronic clicker.

  • xentar #6 2 years ago

    @zuluhero: the game improved greatly since its launch. There is no doubt about that. try to read the EG re-review to get some feeling of what has been acomplished. Funcom has already proven they can turn bad launch to great game with Anarchy Online and Age of Conan i sstill the most atmospheric MMOPRG out there and the compat is above anythinkg else too.

    Thats coming from a player who spent a year in AoC but is currently inactive becaue of a 6 month old son :)

  • ZuluHero #7 2 years ago

    is it fully voiced past 20 now then?

  • xentar #8 2 years ago

    not fully if things havent changed in the last 6 months but voiceovers are much more common outside the destiny quest line. I think most of the major quests have voiceovers now but check the "what was improved" section on AoC homepage to learn more or try the trial or revealuation to check it personaly

  • ZuluHero #9 2 years ago

    yeah, i've just got the "come back and try it for 2 weeks" email. Given what you've said i might try it. I have a level 25 HoX waiting for me.

  • Darkjinxter #10 2 years ago

    Rise of the Godslayer is rumoured to have 'DX11 compatible' on the box, nonetheless i'll buy it. I'll not be buying a 12 month sub to get it for 'free'. Even so, knowing Funcom's tricks...They state RotG is due to ship 1st half of 2010, which could equate to 7 months of yer 12 month sub gone, and even then, it's likely to slip, so you could end up 8 months or more into yer 12 months and STILL waitng for yer 'free' exp pack.

  • Sideras #11 2 years ago

    It's alot better tham at release but the pvp is still pretty bad :/

  • the_mtfr #12 2 years ago

    I just bought Conan, I love it, but I hate all these experience bonus weekends, items or what not. A game's progression should exclusively be about what characters do inside the game, not what the player does outside. If they want to give extras they shouldn't touch the game balance, they should give some free posters or action figures or sountrack CD-s or something outside of the game.
    Edited by 1 at 12/11/09 @ 12:20

  • xentar #13 2 years ago

    extra xp events are as old as the mmo genre itself, its just how these things roll :)