Blood money! How’s that for currency? Just that prospect alone, money gained from PvP, makes me want to go to my local bank branch and open a savings account, with daily interest. PvP is big in Age of Conan (AoC), but that’s not all. AoC is shaping up to be quite the diamond in the rough. They have, for the most part, been taking extra steps to set themselves apart from the competition.

The game itself is based on Conan lore, from author Robert E. Howard, and stays true to the lore and much as they possibly can. That being said, it is slated to be a gory, macho, rough, bloody, alcohol fueled mess of debauchery, pillaging and womanizing. In other words, it won’t be getting an “E” rating from the ESRB. It might not even get a “T” rating (fingers crossed). In any case, this is not the MMO for the youth of the internet. We all know how the rating system isn’t enforced, but that’s another discussion altogether.

So far, it seems like AoC is trying to do things a little different from combat to character progression. Some other things are being followed, like the tried and true quest progression system, where your digital alter-ego will pick up quests and complete them for experience and loot. The true test of a game is how all of these features are packaged together. So let’s take a look at a couple of things.

COMBAT:
So far, the combat system is being touted as one without an auto-attack feature. It will be one that requires you to use your keyboard to make combos and such to land blows on your enemies. Now I have mixed feelings about this. One the one hand, auto-attack is boring and a different combat mechanism makes for a refreshing change. On the other hand, I’m worried about Street Fighter arcade combos and people just jumping around like madmen (Counterstrike anyone?) to avoid getting hit. If it fails at delivering a solid combat experience, it might just completely fail. Another aspect of combat that so far has me interested is the different take on PvE combat. It seems like AoC is taking a step back from the standard “pull-and-kill” hunting system from many current MMOs and involving players in more intense, high action, multiple mob combats. You will also be able to command combat NPCs as part of your party, along with combat formations to sway the tide of battle. This remains to be seen but so far looks like a winner. Add to the fact that all combat will have random critical kills, supported with its fitting animation, looks like it wil make AoC combat quite interesting indeed. I always wanted to see heads being lopped off in MMOs, along with legs sliced, arms dismembered and what have you. I know, it’s gory and gross to many, but it’s true to Howard’s vision of Conan’s universe.

CHARACTERS:
There are three main races in the game; Cimmerian, Aquilonian and Stygian. Certain races will not have access to all character classes, but that is nothing new in MMOGs. The class system is based on a starting archetype (fighter, mage, priest or rogue). Later in your character’s development, you will choose a class available to your archetype. Characters will also be able to pick up skills (crafting, etc), talents (based on your archetype/class), titles and other nifty things to make your character more unique. All this IS propelled by a complex character creating system where you can shape your toon’s appearance way you like, down “to the angle of your beat-up nose”.

PVP:
Instanced PvP mini-games (i.e., last man standing and capture the flag), player made guild cities, forts and battlekeeps as control points, siege engines and drunken brawling. Here’s where the meat comes in. The PvP in AoC is promising to be quite an experience. It also touts blood money, which is a currency to be used to redeem special benefits. But the large scale battles is where the fun is at. I just hope that the instanced mini-games doesn’t render the large scale battles redundant. This is where, in my opinion, Blizzard killed world PvP in World of Warcraft…by adding battlegrounds. PvP is looking good in AoC.

All these make for very interesting features in a setting and background that I do enjoy. I do enjoy the Conan universe, from its novels to its comic books. AoC is deep in beta and already has a cult-like following. It features gorgeous graphics, lush and “living” environments, a huge landmass to explore and is steeped in Conan lore. It also features a sort of “apprentice” system, that allows people that are not at the same level to adventure together (think of City of Heroes sidekick system). AoC is on my to-do list, especially if it delivers on its promises. Let’s see what the new year has in store, as its estimated release date is March 27, 2008.