Six years later: Returning to Hyboria--- Age of Conan (Happy 7th Anniversary!)

Sometimes I like to pop back into games I haven't played for years. A few weeks ago I popped back into Age of Conan, seeing the seven year anniversary was close. The last time I played was back in 2009 and it was one of the first few games I wrote about here on this blog. I wasn't sure if I wanted to dive back into the game. It has been a very long time.

I fired the game up several weeks ago, then I had something come up and didn't log in again for another few days. One groggy morning I decided to log in, just playing around, nothing serious... And then Dire looks over and asks what I'm playing. After hearing 'Conan' he tells me he might give it a try. Being a huge Conan fan and all, he loves the books. And so he tries it. I have been trying to see if there is anything he'd play again with me, out of everything I play this is what he decides would be fun. And really, it has been. It just was a big surprise as I tried years ago to get him to play. 

Age of Conan has more of a classic feel to it as far as MMOs go, in my eyes. It was hyped as an action MMO, but compared to newer 'action' games out it still feels a bit slower paced and doesn't cause you to move out glowing spots on the ground either. I suppose because this isn't the 'twitchy' action where you have to constantly move and jump around. The mouse doesn't pivot the screen, which is nice for that old feeling of actually playing an old school MMO. To me, especially as playing a caster, I don't like melee that much, it feels very old school, and I like that. A LOT of the new actions game function like a port, with the cam swinging any which way you move the mouse. Which I have gotten used to, and like it some of my games. But it is nice to play those that don't do that, sometimes.

I had decided on going with a Demonologist, but I ended up switching to a Priest of Mitra. Dire is playing a tank and I thought it would be more well rounded as a duo, which it really has been. The priest is different here as it mostly has nice heal over time spells and you are not constantly spamming heals, you actually have time to do some dps in most general content. 

We have done a few groups here and there and I have to say I really enjoyed myself as a healer. Something I can't say about a lot of games these days. The groups all talk about where to go, what to do, explaining things along the way. There isn't a mad dash to the end in a speed run. Everyone has to be careful and work together, if the DPS or tank runs off, the healer cannot spam you to full health. More thought is put into pulls and it wasn't bad at all. It reminded me of the old days in WoW or even EQ, where people spoke in groups and were friendly and helpful. It was refreshing. 

We're in our mid 40's now, halfway to end game, which is 80. The game is rough around the edges, buggy in some areas, it is clunky in many ways, but it still has a draw and is a lot of fun. There is a lot more good than bad. The world is lovely. It still looks good, not as flashy as GW2 or perhaps The Elder Scrolls Online, but it looks real good. I have a much more powerful computer than I did six years ago (my first impression post from that time period LOL), and though it isn't as cutting edge as it was then, I still appreciate the art and style of the game.

Anyhow, the game has a great music track, it is pretty amazing. It looks good, The community is really helpful for the most part. We joined a nice smallish guild and they have been very friendly and kind to us. It is a solid game with a loyal playerbase. There is only one PvE server, so there always seems to be lots of people on. You see people as you level, people in chat, people looking for groups and raids. 

The game just had it's seventh year anniversary. There isn't much beyond an adventure pack to pick up in the shop, which is very tough for a duo if you want to finish the last boss together. This content needs polishing, but we had fun for the most part. There is still a lot for us to do, the game has a lot of content for us to explore and go through yet. 

I expect us to get to endgame in this title, compared to the last title we played together where he got to the end but I still was a few levels off (Allods), this game has a lot of depth in my eyes. I enjoy the classes and think it would also be fun to play some alts down the road as well. 

Also there is another Conan movie on the horizion, 'Legend of Conan'! I didn't actually see the Unchained movie.. We just loved the ones with Arnold too much, lol. He's going to be in this one, I am excited to see how this turns out as the other Conan movies are still some of our favorite movies today still.