Age of Conan

MMORPG.com and Funcom have partnered to bring our readers some exciting news for Age of Conan players: When the new "Unrated" version of the game goes live, a new hardcore PvP server called Blood & Glory will make its debut. Funcom's Craig Morrison has an exclusive look at the new servers. Check it out and then let us know your thoughts!

For some the true appeal of the Hyborian setting is the brutal and unforgiving nature of the world Robert E Howard described. That isn't always something that is compatible with making an accessible game that appeals to a broad spectrum of users, as you are usually aiming for with an MMO, but with a license like Conan sometimes it is worth exploring other, less conventional ways, to bring that blood soaked and brutal world to life for those who are willing to live a less forgiving life.

That is where the new Blood and Glory server ruleset comes in.

Read more of Craig Morrison's Age of Conan: Hardcore PvP Incoming.

It's been awhile since MMORPG.com's Phil James has visited Age of Conan. In Part 2, Phil detailed his first baby steps out into the larger and scarier world of Hyboria. In Part 3 of his Return to Hyboria series, Phil continues his journey while simultaneously smashing things along the way. Get the details on what Phil has found and then leave us a couple of comments.

So yeah, I’ve been fighting a lot, but that’s cool as grinding is another way of saying ‘learning your class’. Hopefully, if I get to do any dungeon runs, I’ll have clicked all those buttons so many times that, I’ll be an expert by then. On the subject of dungeons, I did a brief survey in my guild regarding what there was to do before the level cap. I was which are the best instances to look out for, however, so far I’ve seen no groups forming for these. I guess this has become a level cap game. Hopefully the recent announcement regarding the free/cash shop model will see a decent intake of new players to the game.

Read more of Phil James' Age of Conan: Return to Hyboria Part 3.

The Age of Conan team has published a handy-dandy FAQ on the topic of server merges coming to the game as devs prepare it for its freemium iteration later this summer. The FAQ details several important questions players might have including characters with the same name on merged servers and issues facing guilds.

And what will happen with guild battlekeeps?

Since build spots for battlekeeps are limited on each server, all build spots will be cleared and guilds will be reimbursed the resources for their battlekeep. This is to make sure that the guild get the needed resources again and every guild gets the same chance.

Read more on the Age of Conan forum.

It's been awhile since MMORPG.com's Phil James has visited Age of Conan. In Part 1, Phil detailed his adventures on Tortage. In Part 2 of his Return to Hyboria series, Phil has left the lushness of Tortuga behind and has set out in the larger and more dangerous world. Get the details on what Phil has found and then leave us a couple of comments.

The secret of comedy is timing. The other secret of comedy is recording a loved one falling off a trampoline. I don’t think you can condense the magic of mmos down to one secret, but I’m betting if you could, it wouldn’t be trampolines – except for the one in World of Warcraft. However, timing is still pretty important.

Read more of Phil James' Return to Hyboria Part 2.