Create new level 50 in Age of Conan

By Oli Welsh Published 1 May, 2009

Next patch offers short-cut.

The next update for Funcom's Age of Conan MMO will allow players to create one brand-new character of any class at level 50, over halfway through the game's levelling curve.

That's according to the latest letter from game director Craig Morrison. Morrison says the new option is intended to give players a chance to experiment with other classes and the new RPG system that is the focus of the 1.05 update.

The feature will be available to any player who already has a character at level 50 or above (and a free character slot, naturally), but it's a one-time-only deal.

Morrison says Funcom will be "offering something else in relation to these changes" during the game's first anniversary celebrations this May, but he can't say what it is yet.

The 1.05 update to Age of Conan will completely overhaul the game's itemisation and the way character stats work, making equipment more important and bringing its system closer in line with the MMORPG standard. Many players have complained that Age of Conan's loot seems lacklustre compared to rival games' and makes little difference to their characters' performance.

Since he took over from original director Gaute Godager last year, Morrison has overahauled every aspect of Age of Conan, from the questing to the crafting and player-versus-player systems. The RPG system is the last piece of the puzzle.

We recently revisited the game and found it vastly improved, especially in the middle levels. We also have plenty of free trial keys if you'd like to see for yourself.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (35) Latest comment 3 years ago

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

  • iokthemonkey #1 3 years ago

    Conanlolconanlol

  • Nasty #2 3 years ago

    Playing it (and enjoying it) just now. It's night and day compared to how it was on release.
    Edited by 1 at 01/05/09 @ 10:40

  • Vistrix #3 3 years ago

    I played it a 2-3 months back...

    They still havent implemented DX10 and the PVP system still wasn't fully implemented...

    I cancelled sub within a few days.

  • DFawkes #4 3 years ago

    That's actually a good idea. I kept bitching about all the late game content they were adding of no use to the new players they're so desperate for, but being able to leap to 50 would help with this. I think I'll even finally go to the effort of downloading the client to see how it is.

  • Plewt #5 3 years ago

    lolConan

  • Roxette #6 3 years ago

    hmmm....only good compliments for conan. and ......i already play conan with dx10 for several months. They implemented it a while ago.

  • Roamer #7 3 years ago

    @Vistrix:

    I think they have now...

  • Nasty #8 3 years ago

    Dx10 is in ( although only recently; not 7 months ago O_o ). PvP update is next I believe.

  • Lunaticorc #9 3 years ago

    I've still yet to figure out why DX10 has always been one of the major complaints about AoC. The DX9 graphics were already very pretty and not the reason why people quit playing.

    This latest patch is very good news though and i'm definitely tempted to reinstall AoC and give it another go. Awful itemization was a major problem for me personally.

  • iokthemonkey #10 3 years ago

    New Egress!

  • iokthemonkey #11 3 years ago

    I've still yet to figure out why DX10 has always been one of the major complaints about AoC. The DX9 graphics were already very pretty and not the reason why people quit playing.

    This latest patch is very good news though and i'm definitely tempted to reinstall AoC and give it another go. Awful itemization was a major problem for me personally.

    ---

    DX10 came to represent everything that was wrong with Funcom's handling of the game. It was one of the many features they promised at launch (and failed to deliver) then withdrew mere days before the game's release (in an announcement hidden away at the bottom of a press release regarding their pre-order numbers) and then kept insisting was "coming soon."

    Almost a year after release and it's only just now going live.

    DX10 was NEVER a launch feature and Funcom knew full-well it wasn't going to make it, yet continued to insist it would be there up until the verge of release.

    Essentially it's a perfect representation of the "marketing" (i.e. lies) Funcom spouted prior to launch in a very cynical exercise to simply get money from people in return for services/goods/features they had no intention of delivering on at that time and - in a number of cases - still haven't.

    What's hilarious to watch now is that this same company is now hyping its newest shitfest and everybody's having orgasms over how amazing it's going to be based solely on a pre-rendered video and a few "enigmatic" hints from the developers. We'll see how great it is a year after release when they're only just then implementing the features they promised.

  • Plewt #12 3 years ago

    edit: iok beat me to it
    Edited by 1 at 01/05/09 @ 12:05

  • Spekingur #13 3 years ago

    Seeing as how DX10 itself wasn't fully ready/working-as-intended when the game shipped and thus hardly surprising that it wasn't fully implemented at launch. Funcom weren't the only ones having "problems" with DX10, just so you know.
    I think everyone can agree that the launch of the game wasn't very good but amazingly some games CAN survive to become better (especially with new management) - which seems to be the case with AoC. Hopefully.

  • Plewt #14 3 years ago

    Seeing as how DX10 itself wasn't fully ready/working-as-intended when the game shipped

    Bullshit.

  • MaxiSleep #15 3 years ago

    "Seeing as how DX10 itself wasn't fully ready/working-as-intended when the game shipped and thus hardly surprising that it wasn't fully implemented at launch"

    No whats surprising is if the above is true why you would promise it.....

  • iokthemonkey #16 3 years ago

    So a feature they were promising slipped. Not good but had they been more open about it, fine. For one, the "announcement" - and you can look it up, as it's still online - forms a couple of paragraphs at the end of a statement crowing about their pre-order numbers.

    The press release was issued mere days before the game's release.

    So how is it that a feature that "wasn't quite finished" was listed in all marketing materials up until that point.

    The game's gold disc would have been duped a month in advance of the release. So a month ahead of that date, they knew they had issues. Yet they waited until the eve of the release - when a lot of players had (by their own admission) - pre-ordered the game (and thus couldn't cancel.)

    Now here's the real kicker:

    A feature that's "not quite going to make release" takes almost an entire YEAR to implement?

    All that says to me is that Funcom NEVER had any intention of shipping the game with DX10 support in place. There's no way they could have, based on that timescale. And yet they continued - mere days prior to release - to insist DX10 support was in there, presumably as a counter to LOTRO's DX10 support, which was introduced SIX MONTHS PRIOR to AoC's release.

    The simple fact is, Funcom's coding staff are inept and their marketing department are liars. Mix the two together and the result is Age of Conan.

  • Spekingur #17 3 years ago

    That's a good point, MaxiSleep.

    Iok, Marketing departments are often just full of people who shouldn't be allowed any control at all.
    I have no idea how Funcom coders work but it might all come down to how coders are managed. If you have bad management then you will end up with not-so-good stuff even if the rest of the staff is very good at what they do. What I don't understand though, Iok, is why this DX10 is such an issue for you?
    I'm not protecting Funcom, I played AoC at launch. It wasn't always enjoyable. But I do believe that it certainly deserves a chance since it had, and still has, massive potential.
    Edited by 2 at 01/05/09 @ 12:49

  • iokthemonkey #18 3 years ago

    I work in the industry, so trust me, I know how deadlines are managed. :)

    And that's why I can see that this whole thing was a sham from the start: effectively they've taken over a year to implement a feature that was supposed to be there at launch. If you can't see what's wrong with that, then I can't really do much to explain it beyond repeating it.

    I've used this analogy many times, but it's true: if you paid to subscribe to a movie channel and - only after spending your cash - did you discover that they didn't actually show the movies you'd been promised and that the station repeatedly cut-out, was in black and white and that they knew all along that their schedule was actually not what they'd promised, you'd be pissed off, right?

    So why is it that Funcom can not only KNOWINGLY release an unfinished pile of crap like AoC but also LIE about the content, then have people defend them?

  • Nasty #19 3 years ago

    iok paragraphs of doooooooom :D

    What is your issue with the game as it stands today?

  • iokthemonkey #20 3 years ago

    What is your issue with the game as it stands today?

    ----

    Badly designed corridor zones, horrible use instancing to "hide" the fact that the engine isn't up to the task, poor combat (yes, I know that's a matter of taste, personally I think it's gimmicky) and - worst of all - Funcom's attitude to it all, namely "it'll be there soon" promises and half-fixes, bodges and plugs that are considered fixes.

  • Nasty #21 3 years ago

    I can appreciate you just don't like it's approach but you can hardly call a complete re-itemisation a bodge. Craig Morrison has done a good job so far and it's looking like I might stay with it for a while.

  • iokthemonkey #22 3 years ago

    Good luck to him.

    And we'll see how well the itemisation works. Their last "upgrades" to the PvP system are full of exploits and considering they're offering everybody a "free" Level 50 charater, it sounds like the upcoming changes have got them worried, too.

  • sizusizu #23 3 years ago

    Jesus.

    The most interesting and polished section of Conan was the starting instance and the early lvl content. Now their answer is to skip 50 levels?

    It would be ok if they introduced a new area at 50, or a new class in a similar fashion to WOW and their lvl 55 hero class. I'm not a massive WOW fan but that at least offered new content at that level.

    Conan was, and will always be a failure. EG were caught out on the hype. Steak and Wine interview..../shudders.

  • Chufty #24 3 years ago

    and bringing its system closer in line with the MMORPG standard

    Hurrah for every game int he MMORGP genre being exactly the same.

    Also some people need to read the article before they talk about new players jumping straight to level 50...
    Edited by 1 at 01/05/09 @ 18:22

  • theleif #25 3 years ago

    I didn't buy it when i came out, and then after reading all the criticism i wrote it off my list. However i signed up for the trial a month ago, and now I'm pretty stuck. It's a (Warning! Personal opinion!) really good game. I'm playing on a PVE server right now, and from what I've heard you should avoid the PVP ones. So far, i'm enjoying myself more than what i did during my year in WoW. The game is beautiful, the combat is fun and i love the classes.

    But there's no reason to take my word for it. Sign up for a trial and see for yourself.

  • Darkjinxter #26 3 years ago

    Morrison is merely continuing the 'soon' aspect of AoC, its' updates and improvements are always around the corner. I still play AoC and enjoy it. But, like most peeps playing the game we take these announcments with a large pinch o' salt.

  • Orange #27 3 years ago

    Itemisation was one thing this game didn't need. Itemisation unbalances pvp away from skill towards grinding.

    Conan really needed to find its feet as a pvp game, it had massive potential in that area and they should have focused on that and not the pve tards who will just end up back in WoW or whatever other shiny graphic grind-a-thon comes up next.

  • Silvervein #28 3 years ago

    @Orange
    I think you might enjoy Darkfall.

  • Macdory #29 3 years ago

    Got to love it .. the only part of teh game that was complete (level 1-20) will now be skipable so you can join the drudgery of grinding out levels to get to the max cap and play the deserted pvp game :p

  • SleepyMagpie #30 3 years ago

    I spent 4 hours at a friends house trying out Age of Conan again. The bugs are gone mostly and the engine is much smoother and less erratic...

    But it's still no fun. And dat is dat.

    Conanlol

  • Slabbathepave #31 3 years ago

    I had another look at Conan recently with the free trial (8500 left by the way owch!!) and it still has a personality all its own. The look and feel of it on a moment to moment basis is very enjoyable and it can still hold its head up high as being something slightly different and that is always good. I think it has the makings of an excellent MMO and if it manages to survive and carve out a piece of the market for itself i suspect alot of people will go back.

    But..

    They fucked up. People taking your money in exchange for empty promises they never had any intention of honouring is wrong, always has been and always will be. I still remember some of the absolute bollocks they were spouting after the first month about some kind of in game...'stay with us and subscribe forever token of loyalty' gimmick, i remember thinking it was a little odd back then and shock horror a year later they havent even imlplemented that. The whole fiasco made me feel a little foolish for spending money on what was obviously unfinished and erratic cocksnot and if i could sit the people down responsible for stealing from me i would very much enjoy smacking them around for a bit.

    I cant think about AoC without feeling a little bitter and therefor cannot imagine myself going back in any serious capacity. The problem is not that i dont care, its that i really want it to fail ... massively, because the people responsible for the metaphorical arse rape i recieved last year should know better.

    Sorry about the long post, couldnt help myself. When it comes to AOC i cant help but brain-poo all over my keyboard.

  • spudsbuckley #32 3 years ago

    I just started playing this last week.

    I don't give a shit what anyone says, it's a really good game even past level 20.

    I know that's not cool to say, so, hurf durf conanlol.

  • 1simen1 #33 3 years ago

    Slabbathepave are you Mokeyboy's twin?

    Atleast you must be related ;-)

  • Slabbathepave #34 3 years ago

    He is my lover.

  • Vaughan422 #35 3 years ago

    i friggen love this game... i've played evey MMO under the sun and for me personally this is the one, its fast, hard and less grindy than anything else out there.