GDC08: Age of Conan Preview

This morning, Funcom showed off Age of Conan in style. Their room at the W hotel, a short walk from the Moscone Center where GDC is taking place, was lit entirely in red and decked out with trees and, true to Conan's lore, severed heads. (We're pretty sure they weren't real. At least we hope they weren't.) Though we have full audio, some great screenshots, and additional coming later, we thought we'd give you a peak at what the AoC team was showing off at GDC with some snapshots and a brief overview.

Go ahead and check out our preview of mounted combat!


After the standard game overview (you're familiar with the basics by now, right?), we got a look at the game's mounts. You'll be able to get a mount at level 40 and we're shown a Warhorse, a War Mammoth, and a War Rhino. The horse is faster and more manuverable, while the mammoth and rhino are stronger and better armored. You can participate in mounted combat (combat mechanics on a mount seem quite similar to combat mechanics on the ground), which will be an important component in PvP.

Guilds in Age of Conan (which can be started by a single person with the click of a button -- though it will take additional people to keep the guild alive) will be able to create their own instanced cities. You'll need to collect resources to construct individual buildings, which can then be upgraded and upgraded again until you have your very own battle keep. Warring guilds will be able to fight over these cities -- with the winner able to demolish the city and build their own in the same location.

Keep an eye out for more details from our Age of Conan preview today and tomorrow!