Post by Morreion on Jun 28, 2010 9:06:05 GMT -5
The Anvil of Crom: A tale of two Conans (Massively)
Great summation of the evolution of AoC. Jef Reahard is a good writer (and a roleplayer to boot), I enjoy his Anvil of Crom columns.
In a grossly simplified nutshell, prior to 1.05, survival in Funcom's Hyboria was highly dependent on player skill and mastery of the intricacies of AoC's newfangled melee combat system. After 1.05, the game took a marked turn away from this original direction and headed more towards the gear- and level-based paradigm so common to the MMORPG genre. That's not to say there weren't levels before; of course there were, but they didn't matter quite so much in terms of player-on-player competition, and gear mattered not at all (aside from a hilariously overpowered gem exploit).
It's clear that Funcom supposed most players wanted a more traditional set-up, as they basically nuked the core of AoC's original game systems and put in lots of new itemization and gear dependency. Whether or not they were successful in their plan is debatable, and depends upon which side of the PvP/PvE fence you happen to sit on. Financially, the game is clearly in good health, as it simply makes no sense to lavish the kind of time and money obviously spent on Rise of the Godslayer if your game were hemorrhaging customers.
It's clear that Funcom supposed most players wanted a more traditional set-up, as they basically nuked the core of AoC's original game systems and put in lots of new itemization and gear dependency. Whether or not they were successful in their plan is debatable, and depends upon which side of the PvP/PvE fence you happen to sit on. Financially, the game is clearly in good health, as it simply makes no sense to lavish the kind of time and money obviously spent on Rise of the Godslayer if your game were hemorrhaging customers.
PvP guys, honestly, I love you all to death because you're so cute when you cry about MMOs in general and AoC in particular.. I just want to run over there, wrap you in a big carebear hug and pinch your little rosy-red QQing cheeks. In all seriousness though, I do feel for you a little bit as I can relate to having games (and heck, even the sandbox genre) basically disappear before my eyes. Yes, Age of Conan started out being your type of game. Reality set in fairly quickly though, as Funcom realized that PvP-centric MMORPGs really don't make a lot of money, hence the huge dearth of them on the current market -- and thus the 1.05 patch and the slow reversal of AoC's fortunes that we're still witnessing to this day. Craig Morrison, the architect of AoC's seismic shift, is the devil to a lot of pro-1.04-and-earlier players, but the reality is that his direction saved Age of Conan from turning into Shadowbane, which is often held up as the shining beacon of PvP awesomeness and is also tellingly dead and buried due to an unpopular, unsustainable design.
Now, this is not to say that MMORPG PvP, or Age of Conan PvP, is a lost cause. It isn't, and even though I'm not a big proponent of the playstyle, I still enjoy both minigames and the Border Kingdoms as much as anyone. That said, they aren't the reason the game, or the genre, exists, and the folks pretending that they are anything more than a sideshow to the main event (PvE) are deluding themselves. MMORPGs are, and likely always will be, about two things: your character and your stuff (maybe we could add a third thing if you want to allow for the minority roleplayers in the audience, your humble author included, but for all intents and purposes, these games are about you and your items). Notice I said items, not skills. If it's truly skill-based PvP competition you want, I have to tell you that you're playing in the wrong genre, and I highly recommend Call of Duty, Counterstrike, and their ilk. The majority of MMORPG players want their time invested (in the form of level progression and gear acquisition) to translate into advantages in both PvE and PvP. That's why they play RPGs. And it's why you shouldn't play them if you want a level-PvP field, true skill-based tests, or the ability to hold your own with someone who has been playing a lot longer than you.
Now, this is not to say that MMORPG PvP, or Age of Conan PvP, is a lost cause. It isn't, and even though I'm not a big proponent of the playstyle, I still enjoy both minigames and the Border Kingdoms as much as anyone. That said, they aren't the reason the game, or the genre, exists, and the folks pretending that they are anything more than a sideshow to the main event (PvE) are deluding themselves. MMORPGs are, and likely always will be, about two things: your character and your stuff (maybe we could add a third thing if you want to allow for the minority roleplayers in the audience, your humble author included, but for all intents and purposes, these games are about you and your items). Notice I said items, not skills. If it's truly skill-based PvP competition you want, I have to tell you that you're playing in the wrong genre, and I highly recommend Call of Duty, Counterstrike, and their ilk. The majority of MMORPG players want their time invested (in the form of level progression and gear acquisition) to translate into advantages in both PvE and PvP. That's why they play RPGs. And it's why you shouldn't play them if you want a level-PvP field, true skill-based tests, or the ability to hold your own with someone who has been playing a lot longer than you.
Great summation of the evolution of AoC. Jef Reahard is a good writer (and a roleplayer to boot), I enjoy his Anvil of Crom columns.
