Curse

GloryFox · May 24, 2008, 07:01 PM // 19:01

Did you type /claim for your In Game Items?

Well I've got my Killer White Rhino standing by (a consumable icon will appear in your inventory), Extra saddle bag with 10 slots (you can use this ASAP BTW), XP Ring, Beer Cape... etc.
No issues here for bonus items.

~ Dan ~ · May 24, 2008, 07:08 PM // 19:08

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Originally Posted by Nevin

They're very durable too, and can out run just about anyone else. Good well rounded class in my opinion, not many weaknesses.

I've specced alot into run speed and skulking. Seems to do jack. As with the rest of attributes atm - hope it will be fixed soon

Horus · May 24, 2008, 08:16 PM // 20:16

woot, game is awesome

made a Tempest of Set char and it's just awesome

But yeh, i'll have to upgrade my comp... all on low and still FPS hardly above 20

and loading is loooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnggggg....

GloryFox · May 24, 2008, 10:12 PM // 22:12

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I've specced alot into run speed and skulking. Seems to do jack. As with the rest of attributes atm - hope it will be fixed soon

My Guardian has about 100 points now in Run and Climb. I noticed that I'm out running monsters, and other Soldiers in my area. Furthermore I'm like the lone armored lizard upon the rock as Climb has enabled me to move around better on the map. Rock facings and other area's are easy for me to traverse where others just say "Hey how did you get up there like that?"

Run Speed makes a bigger difference the more points you put into it over the long run. Give it time.

~ Dan ~ · May 25, 2008, 12:20 AM // 00:20

I'm lvl 17 and have about 90/150 run speed. I get outrun by almost all monsters

Anyways, moved out into my first FFA PvP zone today. Great fun, currently at a kill:death of 15:6. It sucks that someone can run from melee so easily though

Malice Black · May 25, 2008, 12:28 AM // 00:28

I've requested a new CE key. Will e-mail Game in the morning, and request a working Mammoth key.

That was quick, new CE key already. Still, none of the goodies showed up.

GloryFox · May 25, 2008, 04:13 AM // 04:13

Malice you need to type /claim in the chat box.

Nevin · May 25, 2008, 04:27 AM // 04:27

I had to have my inventory open as well when I typed /claim, thats how I got my drinking cape... Although it seems kinda useless, I can't even drink the one bottle of ale I got from the keg.

On a side note, I joined a guild and no longer have to worry about getting ganked. Revenge is very sweet.

arcanemacabre · May 25, 2008, 07:07 AM // 07:07

OK, well, after sifting through the AoC wiki, as well as lurking the forums before they were taken down then lurking the MMORPG.com forums after, I only have a few questions I'd like to pose to those who have played. I'm going to try the game out anyway, I'd just like to know a little more, to get an idea of what to expect.

1) The combat system - I am a big fan of FPS and fighting games (namely Tekken and Soul Calibur) and I'd like to know if the melee and ranged combat really has a feel similar to those genres. I realize there are certain mechanics that are similar, such as having to face your opponent, the combos, active defense, and over-the-shoulder view with ranged attacks. However, is there any random factors that can sway battle, such as a chance to block/evade, or chance to miss with ranged even if you targeted spot on?

2) The feel of combat - I'd also like to know how responsive key input is during combat. In other words, exactly how 'twitch' is combat. Are we talking near-FPS quality: you hit a key, the action happens ASAP; or is it a little slower, more GW (or other RPGs)-style? If it is the latter, is there input buffering/queuing? For instance, I want to do a special move followed by a combo - could I do it all in quick succession, and watch it play out; or do I have to wait for slight delays between each action as the animation is carried out?

3) Day/Night cycle & weather - Is there an actual day/night cycle? I keep reading about special solo quests you get where you switch to night manually, but I haven't read about an actual cycle that happens over time. If there is, is it game-wide (or server-wide) in that everyone experiences the same 'time of day?' Same with the weather effects...

4) Instancing/Zoning - The biggest beef seems to be with instancing and zoning. Would you say instancing helps the game or hurts it? In other words, does it effectively tone down kill stealing and camping, or does it ruin the immersion? Keep in mind that GW is not the only MMO[-like] game I've ever played, so I am aware of how instances help/hinder. I've also played EVE, WoW, CoH/CoV, LotRO, Lineage 2, SWG, as well as EQ and UO wayyy back in the day.

That is all for now! Thanks in advance!

~ Dan ~ · May 25, 2008, 09:45 AM // 09:45

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Originally Posted by arcanemacabre

1) The combat system - I am a big fan of FPS and fighting games (namely Tekken and Soul Calibur) and I'd like to know if the melee and ranged combat really has a feel similar to those genres. I realize there are certain mechanics that are similar, such as having to face your opponent, the combos, active defense, and over-the-shoulder view with ranged attacks. However, is there any random factors that can sway battle, such as a chance to block/evade, or chance to miss with ranged even if you targeted spot on?

The main difference between AoC combat and other MMO's is the lack of auto-attack. keys 1-3 are bound for directional attacks, and at higher lvls you get a further 2 directions. When fighting mobs you see 3 "lines" if you like. They may have 1 line on the left, 1 above, 1 on the right. This means they're defence is pretty balanced. However, they shift their defence depending on where you hit them. So, they may load all 3 lines of defence onto their left side, reducing damage by alot on that side - but this leaves their right side open for attack. I haven't seen these lines of defence in PvP though :S (i did hold CTRL, but that only shows mine - i don't know how to shift my own defence yet, either).

These directions are mostly used to complete combo's (you click the combo on the hotbar/skillbar, a bar pops up telling you what order to hit the directionals). Once completed you execute a stronger move. At my lvl (17) most of my "combo's" consist of just 1 direction, which is pretty pointless. You get longer combo's at higher lvls i believe.

There are chances to miss, based on luck. But i haven't seen roll based blocks/evades. I think this is because you can use "active blocking" by pressing a button where you play defensive and block most incoming attacks - but it drains your stamina. You can also double tap the movement keys to spring sideways - evade if you like. However, this seems pretty pointless atm.. sometimes they don't work, and there is an "auto-face opponent" mechanic in place.

I won't comment on ranged combat as i haven't done much of it, and i have no experience with mounted combat yet.

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2) The feel of combat - I'd also like to know how responsive key input is during combat. In other words, exactly how 'twitch' is combat. Are we talking near-FPS quality: you hit a key, the action happens ASAP; or is it a little slower, more GW (or other RPGs)-style? If it is the latter, is there input buffering/queuing? For instance, I want to do a special move followed by a combo - could I do it all in quick succession, and watch it play out; or do I have to wait for slight delays between each action as the animation is carried out?

It seems to me that i can queue the directional attacks up. But you'll have to be careful, because if it's still rolling out directional attacks and you hit a combo, it'll fail/cancel. I'd say it's alot more fast paced than other MMO's. You can also perform a fatality - which is like a dismemberment/decapitation.. basically big damage. But when this triggers (randomly) you have to sit and watch him for about 3 seconds, leaving you vulnerable.

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3) Day/Night cycle & weather - Is there an actual day/night cycle? I keep reading about special solo quests you get where you switch to night manually, but I haven't read about an actual cycle that happens over time. If there is, is it game-wide (or server-wide) in that everyone experiences the same 'time of day?' Same with the weather effects..

At lvls 1-20 on the starting island, you can go to the inn to manually toggle between day/night. During the day, you are in a multiplayer enviroment, and can group etc. At night, there are less guards around the city, meaning you can do the core questline. Night-time is completely single player mode, but most side-quests have to be done during the day.

After lvl 20, there is a proper day/night cycle, but this doesn't affect quests - you are always in a multiplayer enviroment. I think it's a few hours for each cycle - but i haven't got that far yet, so can't be sure

Also note that day/night will help/hinder your stealthing (every char has the ability to hide). You get a light indicator - so basically, the darker it is (in day this would involve keeping to the shadows) the harder you are to spot.

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4) Instancing/Zoning - The biggest beef seems to be with instancing and zoning. Would you say instancing helps the game or hurts it? In other words, does it effectively tone down kill stealing and camping, or does it ruin the immersion? Keep in mind that GW is not the only MMO[-like] game I've ever played, so I am aware of how instances help/hinder. I've also played EVE, WoW, CoH/CoV, LotRO, Lineage 2, SWG, as well as EQ and UO wayyy back in the day.

My information here might mean jack, as i haven't played another FFA game before. Most of the serious PvP'ers hate this instancing. Basically, when there are a certain number of people in a map, an instance (another copy) of that map is made - similar to districts in GW, but it's not restricted to hubs. Many people seem to think this instancing happens at too low a number (as in, there aren't 'many' people in a zone before another is instanced).

Personally, i see no issues. Sure, a ganker could gank someone and escape revenge by switching instance. But this also applies to the gankee, who can switch instance to be hassle free. I don't see much instance switching myself - gotten revenge a few times. There are still enough people around, but not too many that 211187940375350 are fighting each other for the right to kill a tiger.

Hope this helps

arcanemacabre · May 25, 2008, 10:26 AM // 10:26

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