So, I have decided to put down Age of Conan for the time being. The PvE is still awesome, maybe one of the best around PvE wise. Tons of stuff to do at the level cap, interesting instances and lots of faction grinds. Really not much different than WoW in that respect, with better graphics, a more visceral approach and a different combat system.
But, I am just about PvE’d out. I like to PvE and PvP in my MMOs. Mix it up if you will but AoC’s PvP is dead in the water. It should be fun. It really should be. Most of the pieces are in place. A great combat system, mini-games, sieges, PvP areas….its all there. But is just is not implemented well.
The mini-games pop so infrequently that you can go for hours without seeing one. Then, when they do finally pop, you find yourself against a twinked pre-made that proceeds to obliterate your poor PuG in humiliating fashion. Then its back to the queue for another four hours and the cycle continues. No fun.
The PvP areas and Shrines of Bori are a complete mess. Basically you PvE to get PvP levels. There are people in game that are the highest PvP level in the game that have never killed anyone in PvP. Ever. How wrong is that? It is, frankly, depressing.
To top it all off, hacks are bad in AoC. There is a program called AoCbuddy that is used frequently by players in the game. It allows for teleports, speed-hacks and radar. Apparently it has been around for a long, long time, yet Funcom has not done anything to address it. I know almost every MMO has hacks but I have never seen one so blatantly used as I have AOCBuddy.
Put all that together and it makes for a bleak PvP experience. Its very sad because when I am able to get into a PvP fight with someone around my level and not using hacks, it is incredibly fun. So are the PuG vs. PuG mini-games I have been in. The game absolutely cries out for meaningful PvP but Funcom keeps ignoring the PvP’ers.
Long story short, until they fix the PvP, I am gone. I love the PvE but it is not enough to keep my subbed. I need some variety.
So, what am I doing now? Well, I found Global Agenda. This was a game I completely ignored when it was released. It was nowhere on my radar and I can’t even remember when it was released. However, last week I was looking through You-Tube for some WAR PvP videos and I found that one of the guys who released some of the best Warrior Priest videos had quit WAR and was now making Global Agenda videos. I was intrigued so I clicked on one and was instantly impressed by the fast-paced combat.
I downloaded the demo and, soon after, bought the game. Gonna have a full review up tomorrow, as well as a PvP video I am working on. Stay tuned!
