More details on monster Conan patch
New playfield, extra slot for veterans.
Age of Conan celebrated its first birthday yesterday with some encouraging news on subscriber retention - and also a letter from game director Craig Morrison.
After reminiscing about joining Funcom, Morrison discusses update 1.05 for the game, which he hopes to have ready for release "within the next few weeks".
The update will be one of the most dramatic changes to an MMO seen outside of paid expansion packs, with every character class getting a complete overhaul, and sweeping changes to the RPG system and itemisation aimed at making loot more important and rewarding.
There will be a new playfield with attendant quests and storyline added. In a recent interview with IGN, Morrison confirmed that this would be the Tarantia Commons district of the capital city, aimed at players in the level 70-80 range.
New details confirmed by Morrison include an extra, ninth character slot for all accounts over six months old, and the availability of two further slots for purchase if you really want to try every (well, almost every) class.
He also adds that improvements are being made to vendors, guild cities, travel options and guard AI. That's in addition to the ability to create new characters at level 50 if you've already passed that mark once.
Plenty more at the Age of Conan gamepage.