AoC Character Art, etc

[El-Producto]

Priest of Mitra + Repulse = FTW!

[CeeKay]

Here's my 2 current toons:

Ceelina, a level 30 Stygian Ranger:




and Kaycee, a level 19 PoM:

[Jafisob]

I'm going to try and post some pics later of my Guardian in Full Plate.  I want to wait a few levels until I get a matching set because right now I look pretty FABULOUS.

Oh my.  Are you wear.....PANTS?!?!  Short pants but pants still the same.  I am re-rolling a Guardian because they can wear pants. NERF GUARDIANS.

[Blackjack]

Our Conqueror skirt lets "our boys" (as Seinfeld would say) breathe!   

[Booner]

Action shot from the Sanctum this evening.....

[YellowKing]

This is another Sanctum shot from my group's encounter. Note the blood coming from the warlord's chest.



This is a shot of me with my new Sanctum loot on. Got a new skirt, new mace, new necklace, new ring, and a new cloak! Not bad for an hour's work. That black building in the distance behind me is the Sanctum.

[Razgon]

very nice shots! keep em' coming!

as soon as I get a chance to get in-game again, I'll post some nude pictures of my Tempest of Set, delivering kick-ass damage to a ton of mobs ;-)

[Blackjack]

Action shot from the Sanctum this evening.....

** Hey, are those right side vertical toolbars from a UI mod? Or am I missing something in the UI options? 

I'm dying for more toolbars, but the Mirage install intimidates me a bit (when I have to Winzip to specific folders, I tend to screw up and litter my C drive).

[Bcarle]

The right side bars are not a mod I think its a check option, also they can be horizontal as well and scalable.

bob

[CeeKay]

some screenies from outside of the Sanctum:

[Blackjack]

Shot from a large Sanctum team I spent a couple hours with tonight, mostly upper 30s/lower 40s characters. There's a neat cape on one in the lower left. And at this stage of the game there's some nice differentiation in armors, looks etc.

Sanctum's fun but to me it's rather disappointingly buggy -- one main quest seems broken altogether, and there's a fairly important boss who's broken (she just sits there and you can pummel to your heart's content). And there's a jumble of quests from other areas that reference into Sanctum, and an NPC or two in Sanctum that can give you more (but one of them, for me, the conversation dialogue went into a loop of sorts and I couldn't get a quest out of it that my party-mates got).

It's fun and well worth doing still, I just hope it's at the top of their fixes list.

City of Heroes fans who loved the sidekick mentoring feature there should be pretty pleased with the Apprentice option in this, btw. Which seems to work fairly similarly (BJ was apprenticed up from 36 to 40 for this by a level 41 player).

[Blackjack]

Life at 40. Now I can complain about never being able to afford a mount or rider-training. 

And I forgot I read this in previews, but now I know at 40, is when the "full combat" system comes into place with the Q and E key, lower attacks. Surely my fingers will get even more confused now. 

[Razgon]

hey, you'r wearing the same armor my lvl 19 Guardian is!!

ahem...in other news, what the HECK is lower attacks?!

[CeeKay]

And I forgot I read this in previews, but now I know at 40, is when the "full combat" system comes into place with the Q and E key, lower attacks. Surely my fingers will get even more confused now. 

oh yeah.. I've spent the last few levels staring quizzically at the screen anytime one of those came up for a combo.  what's even worse is I had been using the 2,3,4 keys for the attacks, and now it's all being thrown off by being forced to use 1,2,3.

oh, and I have to say the Mammoth is really, freaking... S.......


L..........


O.....................................................................................




W.

[Harkonis]

And I forgot I read this in previews, but now I know at 40, is when the "full combat" system comes into place with the Q and E key, lower attacks. Surely my fingers will get even more confused now. 

oh yeah.. I've spent the last few levels staring quizzically at the screen anytime one of those came up for a combo.  what's even worse is I had been using the 2,3,4 keys for the attacks, and now it's all being thrown off by being forced to use 1,2,3.

oh, and I have to say the Mammoth is really, freaking... S.......


L..........


O.....................................................................................




W.

I use ~1234 for the five attacks.  since I was used to using 123 for the middle and didn't want to relearn it.  You can reprogram yours to however you want it on the key bindings menu.

[Blackjack]

That's a thought.  It was late and I didn't get a chance to try the 5-keys attack yet so we'll see if I can get comfy with the default or not.

[Blackjack]

Got a slightly more interesting sword in the low 40s. It could be my imagination, but I swear it has slightly different sounds than other swords. 

[CeeKay]

that's a big sword you got there.

[Blackjack]

Actually I'm just happy to see you!

Probably dual-wielding is the way to go, but I've long complained about two-hand weapons getting the short end of the stick in hack'n'slashes and MMOs, generally speaking. So I just decided to embrace two hand swords (and I try to keep an eye out for 2-hand-edge-weapon buff characteristics on equipment). And maybe someday I can respec the feats to make the best use of them.

[Blackjack]

Got a slightly different looking 44 sword. My goal was to get one that's taller than my character, even if that might make walking challenging. 

[Blackjack]

Not that I can ever afford one (I do finally have just about enough to afford the riding skill but the fancy mounts will be outta my league unless my guild floats me a mega-loan), but here's a close-up of the armored horse.

I have finally found myself piling up money much faster in the mid 40s, so I am hopeful maybe around 50 or so that I can have the riding skill and the cheapest, lowliest horse. 

[Blackjack]

Here be some videos from my experiences in the mid 40s (Blackjackian's just about 48). Nothing I would consider terribly spoiler-ish, fwiw.

Click here to watch Age-of-Conan-duo-combat-gameplay

Click here to watch Age-of-Conan-instances-gameplay-video
This is some close-combat in a "mini instance" in the Nobles area north of Old Tarantia. If you go up there, don't forget to go visit Conan's castle. Some interesting political discourse in there, even if they won't let you see old Conan himself. 

On this one you have a little AI help (the guy with the shield).

Click here to watch Age-of-Conan-Field-of-Dead-epic-quest
Had a blast this morning on a big team tackling a tough Epic quest in Field of the Dead. The respawn rates are a bit nasty but it does give you more flexibility in how to tackle it even if other groups are doing the same.

I was worried all the combo and combat would get tiresome or overly repetitive, but so far I've never really gotten tired of it.  I'm not much of a tank though, need to work on the taunt/hate stuff, but I'll get there eventually. Got a couple different knockback attacks now (one group, one single), and a feat that reduces the cooldown timers on several combos. Some interesting optional goodies coming up including a "damage flag" buffing the whole team, a stun attack (throat slash) and others.

One of my teammates claimed I now have a "random resurrection skill" that triggers sometimes, but I don't see anything like that on the feats/abilities lists, at least not one I've put points in. 

[Blackjack]

Not sure if this is a new update "feature" or a resurrection bug.  I just call it "Statue Face." I'll grant that it looks cooler than Blackjackian's Regular Face. 

Second one is called, "Why you shouldn't try to solo bosses in areas designated as Group Quests."  I think it eventually spawned about 10 minions. And of course BJ died with the boss at about 1 hp. 

[Blackjack]

Sometimes you have to stop and smell the corpses... I mean the roses, and enjoy the Big Picture. If nothing else, the game renders mountains and sunsets like about nothing I've played, although you can only enjoy it for a few moments before you get restless. 

[Blackjack]

Had a pretty fun time teaming with a Guardian tonight. I share this pic only because, by golly, he seemed to have a cape color/design I've not seen before (he was lower level than me, 47):


And fwiw (and it's worth nothing!  ), I'm far and away the highest level Conqueror in my guild. *blows a kazoo*

[Blackjack]

This experience last night (at 48) taught me not to Freak Out when I get swarmed by minions because, afterall,
They're Just Minions.  I've really got to register FRAPS sometimes so my movies don't get cut short
before the happy ending...
Click here to watch Age-of-Conan-Field-of-Dead-solo-swarm

I tend to panic when I get swarmed, it's something I'm working on. 

[Blackjack]

Trying to get some portrait-type pics (something that would look good on an AoC Playing Card  ) of classes I've teamed with. Here's a couple...

Bear Shaman


Guardian

[Blackjack]

I really like this Vanir Armor (upper 40s drop), and it matched the belt bj's been using, but the stats were so-so:


I didn't have a "live" shot of Blackjackian with some snazzy boots that dropped in Frost Swamp, but here's a "dead" shot  :


The pants are kind of strange-looking, but excellent stats and hey! - pants, not skirts.  Frost Swamp can be a real bear, even if you numerically think your group is overqualified for it. But it seems to have some great loot drops, not even from anything special (the armor pants and boots weren't from Bosses).

[Blackjack]

Some M-rated gore (you've been warned ). Not posting from my Photobucket space, not sure they would approve.  The first one was a really annoying boss that seemed to be teleporting away from me (I know, maybe a bug  ) so it was enormously satisfying to finally finish it off. The second one I blacked out the quest description so as to not spoil anything. And the sword is an Bastard Sword (at 50), love the basic look...

[rittchard]

Not really sure where to put this, but I love this shot I took recently of Kheshatta.  Some of the visuals in this game just blow me away, can't wait to see if DX10 makes it any better.

[Blackjack]

It'll probably just make it slower.  (which is the impact it has in stuff like Company of Heroes)

Couple battle videos. Lot of Conq attacks have different animations for the 40-59 variations, it turns out (like Batter Aside, and Dancing Steel).

Click here to watch Age-of-Conan-Field-of-Dead-epic-surrounded [Not really Epic, somehow snuck into the file name]
I was running back through Field of Dead and ended up in the middle of a couple of "kited" groups. Even with a 6-7 lev difference it can still get a little challenging if you get carried away...

Click here to watch Age-of-Conan-Cannibal-Battle

[Blackjack]

Got some neat group screenshots from a moderately successful Tomb instance team (we at least got the Ancient Weapons quest done, and a couple of the guards). These give an idea of how 50-ish toons look.

The Fellowship of... I mean, the Hyborian Brotherhood of...

We had what seemed to be a pretty good mix, I think of 6 different classes.


The Polearm guy is a Guardian who sort of apologized for not being a Shield-tank Guardian.


I'm not really a big fan of the Fear Affect animation where your character basically becomes Michael Jackson on Roller Skates, doing this wacky, uncontrolled moonwalk in every direction in the near vicinity.  So that's me and the archer doing our required moonwalking... We needed a second try to beat this boss (not a quest boss, just an Annoying one).

[Blackjack]

I was so worried the mounts wouldn't live up to my expectations. I finally got a horse mount tonight (a guild mate was kind enough to donate about 65s when I mentioned I was counting down until I could afford one). It turns out to be unbelievably fun to ride  , and you can do basic combat from one (only basic attacks + the mount's innate attack -- a healthy front leg kick for the horses). Since the other's day update buffed up most mount's speeds, it's quite sprightly and a lot faster than walking. I actually rode from Tarantia out to Eiglophian, Just for Fun. 

Here are some pics:

Steering takes just a bit of practice. You really only need to use your run-lock key and mouselook movement to steer - it's hard at first to resist trying to use keyboard keys for movement.


In combat.


Spacebar gooses the horse to pop a wheelie and "neeeeigh."   

[CeeKay]

I'm thinking about picking up a horse to compliment my mammoth.  Binky is just a bit too slow for my tastes, plus he tends to cause traffic jams.

[Blackjack]

So when I'm battling giant mammoths, how the devil do I see their health meter????    Actually I guess there's the "target" meter on the lower right of the HUD, guess I'm more used to using the one *on* the target. 

[CeeKay]

So when I'm battling giant mammoths, how the devil do I see their health meter????    Actually I guess there's the "target" meter on the lower right of the HUD, guess I'm more used to using the one *on* the target. 

heck, when fighting mammoths I have enough trouble seeing their shield layout let alone health.

[Blackjack]

Here's a basic, brief video of a horseback ride in the mountains. Sorry about the "Blair Witch Project" camera work, I just like to see how it looks from different angles. 

Click here to watch Age-of-Conan-horse-riding-in-snow

I guess technically spacebar is a front-kick attack key for the horse if you have a target; a jump key if you're moving; and if your mount is stopped, and don't have a target, then it's more of a "high ho Silver!" key. 

[Blackjack]

Tordeilbach's Tomb team attempt #2. I think there's 3 quests in there, and I've gotten to complete the medallion thing. The Guards quest I get about two per time before we repeatedly wipe out. If you hear a Giant Sucking Sound, it's that Tomb instance sucking the life and patience out of just about every team that tries it (even the ones with L60s who think it's going to be a breeze at that point).

This time had variety but no Guardian. And yet we had some points where we were pretty effective. Other times we just constantly got the whole caverns on our tails as we fled to our doom.

[Blackjack]

Got on a solid group that got through the grueling Whitehand group quest (we could only get one of the 3 officers for the second quest in the area though). It was worth it to finally get a helm I felt like "enabling viewable helmet" for.  Now if Blackjackian can just ditch his L30 quest reward armor for something fresh soon...

Frankly, I think they need to sprinkle a lot more unique-looking helms around, cause pretty much everyone in a given class ends up stuck with the same helm type unless they're sticking with something older for style reasons. If they need inspiration, I say steal from the movies! 
http://www.strongblade.com/prod/sbh-gladiator.html

This game definitely teaches you to "Clump to Survive!"

Order of the Dark Tower is the Thog guild I'm in. We don't really team up all that much, but the founders have helped me on occasion and Max joined a pickup group when I asked. 

[Blackjack]

So if your team has someone who can rez, for Conan's sake, don't let them stand in the middle of an area full of roving patrols and sometimes wandering baddies while they take a few seconds to rez someone.  I guess this pic's a testament to Ventrilo and the like, cause by the time I could type, "Look out behind u!" the enemies in the background had already moved over and swamped us. 

The rez animation is quite a show though.