Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[The Anvil of Crom Extra: Craig Morrison on new content, crafting, and customizable communities]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/30/the-anvil-of-crom-extra-craig-morrison-on-new-content-crafting/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/30/the-anvil-of-crom-extra-craig-morrison-on-new-content-crafting/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/30/the-anvil-of-crom-extra-craig-morrison-on-new-content-crafting/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Anvil of Crom - Spring 2012 Craig Morrison interview
It's been a little while since we've interviewed Age of Conan executive producer Craig Morrison. In the intervening months, Funcom's bloody fantasy MMO has added developers, new content, and fresh ideas at a fairly steady pace.

This week sees the introduction of tier four raiding content in Khitai as well as a lengthy Morrison-authored update letter that provides a roadmap for the rest of 2012. Follow along after the break as we talk raiding, the upcoming crafting revamp, and the community potential (and perils) of Funcom's spiffy new single-server technology.

Continue reading The Anvil of Crom Extra: Craig Morrison on new content, crafting, and customizable communities

MassivelyThe Anvil of Crom Extra: Craig Morrison on new content, crafting, and customizable communities originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanage-of-conan-unchainedanvil-of-cromanvil-of-crom-interviewsaocaoc-raidsaoc-server-rulesetsaoc-tier-four-raidsaoc-unchainedcommunityconancraig-morrisoncustom-madecustom-server-rulesetcustomizable-communitydreamworld-single-serverf2pfantasyfeaturedfree-to-playfuncomhyboriaopinionpriest-of-mitrapriest-of-mitra-revampsilirrionsingle-serversingle-server-technologythe-anvil-of-cromFri, 30 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Anvil of Crom: What's going on]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/19/the-anvil-of-crom-whats-going-on/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/19/the-anvil-of-crom-whats-going-on/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/19/the-anvil-of-crom-whats-going-on/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Funcom's Age of Conan is a title that's changed quite a bit over the two-plus years it's been on the MMORPG market. Whether you're talking about the recent Rise of the Godslayer expansion, the game-changing 1.05 update, or the hundreds of smaller tweaks, balances, class revamps, and content additions that Hyboria has seen since 2008, there's never been a shortage of things to discuss.

Through it all, AoC die-hards have debated, pleaded, flamed, and in some cases, constructively discussed the merits of the title in one primary place: the official forums. Owing to its existence as a niche title with a smallish population, AoC doesn't feature huge third-party fansites like EQ2Flames, AionSource, or any of the legions of communities that have sprung up around World of Warcraft.

No, all the Hyborian meta-gaming action is centralized in one spot, and in this week's Anvil of Crom, we're going to highlight and discuss some of the more noteworthy threads that you may have missed over the last couple of weeks (including a definitive answer from Craig Morrison as to the size of the game's development team).

Flip past the cut for more.

Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: What's going on

MassivelyThe Anvil of Crom: What's going on originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conananvil-of-cromaocconan-filmconan-moviecraig-morrisondroidfaminefeaturedfuncomglen-famine-swaniphonemobile-appsopinionpriest-of-mitrarise-of-the-godslayersilirrionthe-anvil-of-cromunderpoweredSun, 19 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Read up on Age of Conan's culture armors]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/17/read-up-on-age-of-conans-culture-armors/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/17/read-up-on-age-of-conans-culture-armors/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/17/read-up-on-age-of-conans-culture-armors/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Culture Armor, just what is it exactly? Better yet: How is it going to work? Well, Funcom has some answers to your questions. First of all, culture armor (and weapons) are designed to be end-game crafting creations, thus giving more weight to the crafting aspect within Age of Conan. Eleven cultures are being represented in the armor sets and yes, certain classes won't be able to wear culture armors that don't fit their origins. For instance, Priests of Mitra probably aren't going to be running around in Kushite gear.

As it stands now, players can expect one version of each armor from the culture. So plate, chain, cloth, etc are all going to be in representation here. Atlantean armors won't be included with this first set and it sounds like the reason is that Funcom has much bigger plans for them. We wouldn't be surprised to see them as a part of some kind of major game update.

Our impressions are that these culture pieces will be a great boon to the visual flavor in the game as well as make crafting much more worthwhile. They'll of course serve a utility role as well, but the inclusion of more variety is something any MMO should be looking to add.

MassivelyRead up on Age of Conan's culture armors originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanaoccraftingculture-armorculture-weaponend-gamefuncomkushpriest-of-mitraMon, 17 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Healer strife reaches Age of Conan]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/healer-strife-reaches-age-of-conan/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/healer-strife-reaches-age-of-conan/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/healer-strife-reaches-age-of-conan/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


It's the kind of scenario you wake up from in a cold sweat, reaching for the comforting bulk of the axe under your bed: the healer wars. City of Heroes arguably had it worst, but other games haven't escaped, and now Age of Conan is getting it. The row centers upon that archetypal figure of MMO gaming, the healer; and the argument, in essence, is 'Healers aren't supposed to do damage, so just shut up and heal, noob'.

In the case of Age of Conan, one player made a guide for Priests of Mitra, a powerful healing class. In that guide, he treated the issue of PoMs doing damage with the simple words 'You don't.' This wasn't all he said, but it was enough to cause a firestorm, particularly when one of the visiting moderators saw fit to sticky the post - which was seen as endorsing a 'you're just healbots' mentality.

It seems to be a particular curse of support-type classes that everyone you group with has a better idea of what you should be doing than you do yourself. We'd like to know, from those who've played such characters: have you ever been told to 'just heal'? Do you care whether you can do DPS or not? Would you willingly give up all offensive abilities to help a team survive better? Or, in a barbarous world like Hyboria, should everyone be dangerous in combat?

MassivelyHealer strife reaches Age of Conan originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanaoccohcoxfuncomhealhealermitrapompriest-of-mitraThu, 17 Jul 2008 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Age of Conan patch notes for the 17th of July]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/age-of-conan-patch-notes-for-the-17th-of-july/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/age-of-conan-patch-notes-for-the-17th-of-july/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/age-of-conan-patch-notes-for-the-17th-of-july/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


The next weekly update for Age of Conan has been deployed, and while it's not the PvP patch, there are a number of things to be happy about this time around. Along with the expected patch notes, Funcom decided to post their reasoning behind the bigger changes in the patch, something which they hope to do every week from now on. After the break, we've made a shortlist of some of the more interesting changes, and due to popular demand we've also included the entire patch notes for your perusal.

Continue reading Age of Conan patch notes for the 17th of July

MassivelyAge of Conan patch notes for the 17th of July originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>17th-julyage-of-conanaocassassinbarbarianbreakingcombosdemonlogistfuncommountspatchpriest-of-mitrarangertempest-of-settotem-of-originstradeposttravelThu, 17 Jul 2008 08:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Patch notes available for AoC's 10th of July update]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/10/patch-notes-available-for-aocs-10th-of-july-update/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/10/patch-notes-available-for-aocs-10th-of-july-update/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/10/patch-notes-available-for-aocs-10th-of-july-update/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

The next major patch hits Age of Conan's live servers today. The patch notes are lengthy, chocked full of details on all of the quest, item, UI and NPC fixes that made it in. Necromancers, Dark Templars and Heralds of Xotli took the lion's share of class tweaks, although Priests of Mitra, Rangers, Assassins and Barbarians also had some smaller changes.

Female characters received some fixes to the way they swing their weapons, and had their other combat animations corrected. Among the quest amendments, the "Obtaining the Noble Arena Key" fix stands out, hopefully allowing the poor people who could not enter the Arena in the Arsman's Tavern to finally complete their quests.

As good as all of this progress is, we're going to sound like a broken record by mentioning the big PvP update again -- can we pretty please have it next patch? You can take a look at what we do have for now in the full patch notes.

MassivelyPatch notes available for AoC's 10th of July update originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanaocassassinbarbarianbreakingdark-templarfuncomherald-of-xotlinecromancerobtaining-the-noble-arena-keypatch-notespriest-of-mitrapvpThu, 10 Jul 2008 10:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Sneak a peek at AoC's test server patch notes]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/15/sneak-a-peek-at-aocs-test-server-patch-notes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/15/sneak-a-peek-at-aocs-test-server-patch-notes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/15/sneak-a-peek-at-aocs-test-server-patch-notes/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Curse.com has posted a list of patch notes from Age of Conan's test server, which will likely go live in one of this coming week's scheduled downtime slots. You will notice that stat gains from equipment will finally be functioning correctly, and it's going to be interesting to see just how much of a difference this will make to the strength of each class.

The patch notes also feature another round of class tweaks, notably some buffs for Dark Templars and damage changes for Priests of Mitra. Confusingly, Bear Shamans will be getting improved Wreck Armor combo visuals and sounds -- however, this is a Barbarian combo, so is this change actually for Barbs or did they mean the BS combo Crush Armor? Other really good things: lower level mobs will knock you off your mount a lot less (although higher mobs will do it more) and attackers at your sides will have half the chance of knocking you off -- attackers from the front will never knock you off. Finally, player cities will be able to get their Trader NPC at last. Take a look through the full patch notes for some other changes, including quest and item fixes, and perhaps start speculating on what changes will be left off the list this time.

MassivelySneak a peek at AoC's test server patch notes originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 15 Jun 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanaocbarbarianbear-shamancombodark-templarhorsesmountmountspatchpatch-notespriest-of-mitratest-servertraderSun, 15 Jun 2008 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Age of Conan beta guide: The priests]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/07/age-of-conan-beta-guide-the-priests/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/07/age-of-conan-beta-guide-the-priests/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/07/age-of-conan-beta-guide-the-priests/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Continuing our examination of the spellcasting classes in Age of Conan, today we're going to investigate the situation with the priest archetype. As with all of the archetypes in AoC, there are three choices when it comes to the priests: Bear Shaman, Tempest of Set, and Priest of Mitra. We'll give a rundown of the three of these during the early stages of the game, go over some of their class-defining spells, and stack them up in head-to-head comparisons after the break.

Continue reading Age of Conan beta guide: The priests

MassivelyAge of Conan beta guide: The priests originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 May 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanage-of-conan-guideaocbear-shamanbetafeaturedfuncompriest-of-mitraprieststempest-of-setWed, 07 May 2008 09:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Spellweaving in Age of Conan detailed]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/29/spellweaving-in-age-of-conan-detailed/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/29/spellweaving-in-age-of-conan-detailed/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/29/spellweaving-in-age-of-conan-detailed/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Everyone knows Age of Conan is all about the martial combat -- or at least that's what everyone seems to think. While it's true that the up-close and personal fights in Age of Conan are pretty intense, magic isn't getting the cold shoulder from Funcom.

Magic users in AoC will be able to use Spellweaving, a trance state that will allow the combination of different spells in order to create more powerful magical effects, spells, etc. The trade-off is that the longer a magic user ( in the case of Spellweaving: Demonologist, Necromancer, Tempest of Set and Priest of Mitra) stays in this trance, the more stamina they lose. Once the stamina bar is emptied, health begins to drain instead -- lose that and a digital dirt nap is your final destination. While it's possible to gain positive buffs during a spell weave, there is just as likely a chance that a negative buff will manifest itself. Positive buffs will last for the duration of the weave, while negative ones can last beyond your trance state.

Continue reading Spellweaving in Age of Conan detailed

MassivelySpellweaving in Age of Conan detailed originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanaocdemonologistfuncomignmagesnecromancerpriest-of-mitraspellweavingtempest-of-setTue, 29 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Hands-on with Age of Conan's priests]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/25/hands-on-with-age-of-conans-priests/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/25/hands-on-with-age-of-conans-priests/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/25/hands-on-with-age-of-conans-priests/#commentsFiled under: , ,


A lot of things about Age of Conan are different from your average MMO, but some things are also similar. The healing classes in the game are a prime example of this, as each of the three classes rely on the whack-a-mole gameplay style while adding in some new choices. In other words, they all heal, but they all deal damage in different ways. I didn't realize how different each of AoC's healers truly were until I was able to sit down with them for a couple of days last weekend.

Over the course of the recent PvP weekend I did just that: fiddled around with the healing classes in Age of Conan. While I normally don't play the healer class in MMOs, I've dabbled in the selfless class archetype known as the healer. Because of this, I know how the healing gig typically goes in MMOs, but when I started playing the healers in AoC I found myself a bit surprised.

Gallery: Age of Conan Priests

Continue reading Hands-on with Age of Conan's priests

MassivelyHands-on with Age of Conan's priests originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanaocbear-shamanfeaturedfuncomherald-of-xotlijoystiqfeaturespriestpriest-of-mitrapriestspvp-weekendtempest-of-setFri, 25 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Twelve trails of blood in Age of Conan]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/07/twelve-trails-of-blood-in-age-of-conan/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/07/twelve-trails-of-blood-in-age-of-conan/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/07/twelve-trails-of-blood-in-age-of-conan/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Over the years of its development cycle Age of Conan has seen a lot of class changes and mergers. After all this time Funcom has settled on providing players with four archetypes that each have three classes to pick from, resulting in a total of 12 classes. Each class in AoC has a specific set of skills, but none are fully pigeonholed into any singular role. We've gone ahead and created an easy-to-navigate list of the archetypes and classes offered. Funcom has released more information for some classes than others, but at this point each one is pretty clear in the role they'll play in Age of Conan come May 20th.

Twelve trails of blood in Age of Conan >>>>>

MassivelyTwelve trails of blood in Age of Conan originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanaocassassinbarbarianbear-shamanconquererdark-templardemonologistfeaturedfuncomguardianherald-of-xoltijoystiqfeaturesnecromancerpriest-of-mitrarangertempest-of-setMon, 07 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Interview profiles Age of Conan's Priest of Mitra class]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/11/interview-profiles-age-of-conans-priest-of-mitra-class/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/11/interview-profiles-age-of-conans-priest-of-mitra-class/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/11/interview-profiles-age-of-conans-priest-of-mitra-class/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Imagine if Snow White's wicked queen gazed into her magic mirror and asked, "Who's the most badass priest class of them all?" Judging from the info Funcom provided in a recent interview with Ten Ton Hammer, the answer would be "Age of Conan's Priest of Mitra."

Healers in AoC don't select a target and heal just that target, nor do they automatically heal everyone in their group. Rather, they heal all friendly targets standing in a 120 degree cone of effect in front of them. We'll call those spells "CoE heals." The Priest of Mitra will get bonuses to his or her damage output based on how many friendlies he or she has healed recently. He or she will have an ability called "Reciprocal Healing" that will allow him or her to AoE heal friendlies when affected by a CoE heal from another healer -- making groups with multiple priest-types particularly potent.

Perhaps most impressively, the Priest of Mitra will have access to a wide and dynamic range of crowd control spells by level 80 -- including "stun, fear, knockback, snare, and blind abilities." All that and more in the interview. Check it out.

MassivelyInterview profiles Age of Conan's Priest of Mitra class originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanclasscoecone-of-effectfuncomhealinginterviewpriestpriest-of-mitraten-ton-hammerTue, 11 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST