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It has been more than a year since Age of Conan's launch and what a turbulent ride it has been!  Boasting an impressive initial sale followed by a deep fall in interest, then managing a slow climb back up again in gamer favor, Age of Conan is doing what many MMOGs cannot; recovering from a launch flop.

Even though I was and still am a fan of the game, I still can't deny the troubles that have plagued AoC from the start.  I was one of the lucky few invited to experience technical beta and while I loved the concept of the game and enjoyed the gameplay immensely, I was not blind to the many issues that were pushing gamers away by the hundreds of thousands. A year later, has much changed? 

I've often called Age of Conan the hardest working MMOG in the industry and I stand by that statement.  Funcom has gone beyond just adding shiny new zones and content; they have a dedication to make the game better in every way.  Game systems have been overhauled, class balance has been re-worked, PvP has been put under the magnifying glass repeatedly, and technical troubles have been ironed out.  Over the next few weeks Ten Ton Hammer will be re-visiting Age of Conan and sharing what changes have been made and what aspects of the game still need some attention.  For those who haven't been in AoC since launch, it may inspire you to take a second look.

Signed, Technically Yours.

One of the biggest frustrations for players at launch had been the plethora of technical troubles in AoC, including low frame rates, frequent crashing, and low playability for many machines.  While the system requirements remain the same, average systems are catching up, making AoC more playable for the general public.  Along with this, performance has greatly improved.  During beta I was lucky to get 12 frames per second.  Shortly after launch I worked up to 30 FPS.  When I had stopped playing a few months ago , I was up to 40+ FPS.  Now I can rely on 60+ FPS and much quicker zoning.  I still have minor stuttering in the cities when I'm in highly populated areas. This could be a performance thing or simply because there might be another machine on my network streaming YouTube.  Either way, performance is nothing like it was at launch and many of the scary technical troubles that so many had to deal with are a thing of the past.

Hello?  Is Anyone out There?
After launch and just before the server merge, chat was just a little too quiet for an MMOG.  I think the last time I actually saw a global channel that silent was back when I was forced to check out Asheron's Call 2.  Silence in a game that depends on player community is a scary thing and it ends up being a sort of domino effect.  “No one else is playing?  Well then I'm not gonna play either! “ Community population can make or break a game.

Server mergers were announced, and the doomsayers came out of the woodwork to build the coffin and dig the grave for AoC. However, I feel that the server mergers were some of the smartest moves that Funcom could have made.  Nothing is worse than a game clinging to high hopes of a better population while they watch the few followers they have left flounder on dead servers.  It's a hard call for developers to make, but this server merge was well timed and much needed.

I currently play on the Wiccana server which is enjoying a decent population.  Even when I log in late at night on west coast hours, there is still quite a bit of activity happening.  I see people harvesting in the tradeskill zones, players running through the cities, and groups being formed in global chat.  All great signs that players are in game and looking to have some good gaming fun!

There are How Many Gems?  *Faint*
I'll get more into the crafting changes in another installment but this particular change deserved its own entry.  I have a gemcrafter and spent countless hours documenting the gem recipes for player guides.  I was outright flabbergasted at the sheer complication!  Anyone that has done any gemcrafting knows what an overwhelming feat that was prior to the gem changes and anyone who has crafted or used gems knows how badly this system needed a complete overhaul.  Basically, gems made very little sense to the average player and a feature that requires good balance and usability was at times overpowered, underpowered, or completely unusable.  This has all been rectified!

The sheer volume of uncut gems has been reduced by more than half.  Inventories and banks everywhere heaved a sigh of great relief at this news!  There are less gem colors and there is only one gem quality now.  Even better, cut gems now stack so they will take up less space once they have been crafted. 

Another great feature of gems is the scaling system.  When you create a gem, it will show in its tool tip what effect it adds and how much of the effect will be added for each tier.  The tier applies to whatever item you are socketing the gem into.  This way you can create a single gem and have it be relevant regardless of an item's tier, making it much easier to market your product for sale.

Along with scaling, uncut gems now have the ability to be transformed by an alchemist.  Basically what this means is, an alchemist can take a higher level gem and transform it into multiple lower level gems in the same gem family.  What does this mean for the player?  A level 80 player who picks up gems in this tier through typical gameplay will not have to farm low level content just to obtain lower level gems.  This player can take high level gems and have an alchemist transform them into multiple lower level gems.  Less need for gray farming = good.

And There's More!
These changes are just the tip of the iceberg!  Be sure to check back next week to hear more about the massive happenings that have been shaking up Hyboria.  In the mean time, be sure to get in on the limited time offer from Funcom that invites former players to come back and try Age of Conan again free for a couple of weeks.   There is no obligation and if you like it, there are special offers for renewing your subscription.