Trying/tried AoC

[Thales]

Hey, everyone.

Age of Conan has been getting some good press lately and, given that I'm without an MMO home, I thought I'd try the free trial.

I just went back and re-read Brasse's original review of the game and I have to say that, two years later, I still think all of her comments are on the mark.

Who are the people who think that AoC is a beautiful game?  I agree with Brasse that the foliage is pretty and everything, but as she said, the animations are terrible--distractingly awful.  My character runs like his feet aren't really touching the ground.  The combat animations are so hard to interpret that I can't tell what my character is doing. 

But let me get to the worst part of it: the pets.  I rolled a Stygian necromancer because I like pets.  My first pet is some ice monster which appears at random, runs around like a seven year-old girl, then disappears.  I can't control neither when it is summoned nor what it does.  Great.  My second pet, which is a permanent summon, only attacks things after I have attacked them.  A mob could beat me to death and this thing would not raise a finger.  Also, it appears to do next to no damage and, as far as I can tell, has no agro-holding ability at all.  I thought the root I got at level 5 would help, but as far as I can tell it also does nothing.  Of course, there's no animation of any kind to go along with it, so I can't even tell when it's active.

Did I mention that there are no casting animations?!  I click the button to cast a spell; if this were EQ2 or Aion, my character would wave his hands or glow or something to let me know that he's casting.  In AoC, there is just a little progress meter that fills up until, BWOOSH!, shards of ice come flying in from the sides of the screen.  What is up with that?  I find myself constantly clicking on spells that are already casting because I can't see the little progress meter against the annoyingly busy backgrounds.  This is totally inexcusable.  I mean, do the classes with swords just click a little button, watch their character stand there while the "slashing" progress bar fills, and then try to guess whether they have slashed yet?  Egads. 

Ack.  I wanted to like this game.  The re-reviews were glowing.  But I don't think I'll be able to play this game. 

I am sad.  I cannot find an MMO that suits me. FFXIV and Rift look like they might be good, but they're far from release--maybe another year or more for Rift.  Tera looks awesome, but I'm not jumping into another Korean game any time soon, thanks.  Gak.

Other than EQ2, are there no other at least semi-modern PvE-centric fantasy MMO's on the market which are worth playing, assuming you like mage classes (which, in my mind, seems to rule out LOTRO, which seems to be more about stabby classes)?   

Thanks,

Thales

[Reginald]

Actually you should go back to LotRO and try out the Rune Keeper.  He's a more proper 'mage' type and quite probably one of the highest damage dealers in the game.  While you don't get a pet as a Rune Keeper you do get your fireballs, lightning and frost spells that are pretty standard with most mage classes.  Add in a stun and a few heals and you have one heck of a class.  You can join almost any group and hold your own with the DPSers and/or act as a backup or if necessary primary healer.

Right now Jasia and I are playing as a Rune Keeper and a Lore Master pair.  Between the two of us there's just about nothing that we can't accomplish!

[Thales]

Hi, Reginald.

You know, you're right: I shouldn't just reject LOTRO without trying it, especially seeing as how I have no other options at the moment.  I am downloading the client now (I've never actually played it before).

Now that I think about it, two things impress me about LOTRO.  The first is that their website reads like it was written by intelligent adults.  In my extensive browsing of MMO web sites lately, I've found so many which are clearly written by semi-literate people.  Also, LOTRO has a reputation for strong community and I expect this will only improve once it becomes free to play.  I will give it a shot.

Do you recommend a particular server?  I live in the Eastern Time Zone, if that matters.

Thanks,

Thales

[Reginald]

You can always join us on the Gladden server.  That is where Jasia and I play.  It will be nice to have a new face to chat with and hopefully group with.  What times do you generally play?  Jasia and I are usually on during the day EST.  You can add my characters to your friends list:

Reginald - 65 Guardian
Rommel - 65 Captain
Soltiris - 55 Rune Keeper

While I have some others these are the ones that I'm mostly playing with Soltiris being where you'll find me most often right now as I'm leveling him at the moment.

For Jasia:

Jasiawyn - 65 Hunter
Jasia - 50ish Minstrel
Jasianor - 55 Lore Keeper

If you have any questions about what the other character classes are like or what they do, just post here or drop me a PM and I'll be glad to give you any insight I might have.

Reg