Seriously, if you haven't played AoC over the past 1.5years and you still bitch and moan about the state of the game - please stop. Why should this feature have been included upon launch? This feature is uncommon and it's cool to be added at all. AoC has apprenticeship too, which also exists in other MMOs and was added post launch - but it is there now and really, that is what matters if you are considering trying it out.

I've been on/off AoC since it went live. The craptastic launch and seriously lacking quality of the 20+ content was why I first quit. I returned to the game 2 more times and each time quit again due to low server population and activity. I resubbed to AoC a month ago and brought three of my friends along for the ride. We are each enjoying the game and playing numerous times per week. Servers are modestly populated and always active. Guilds are recruiting (sometimes at spam levels, which is annoying) and the community is engaging, helpful and passionate.

Each of my friends started with the Unlimited Free version and within a few days subscribed to the 12mo plan - which reduced monthly sub fee to approximately $9. I plan on playing regularly and plan to purchase RotGS. Yep, I like the game enough to purchase the upcoming expansion.

AoC is a fantastic MMO with greater range of options, more sophisticated and ambitious game play and creative expression, superior graphics and lower monthly subscription than the majority of the competition. Plus, you can skewer, behead, bludgeon and incinerate your enemies in glorious DX10! State of the Game = Awesome.

My 2 cents.