So, call me strange, but...

I love AoC. I have a lvl 80 ToS on the PvE server Dagoth. My guild is not large, but not so small as to never see people online. We have about 20 active members with several that have dropped until the end of summer, with promises to return and an eagerness to get to 80.

The main problem with AoC, as far as I can see, is that it was a premature release. Other issues are the demanding spec's of the game, a lack of content (Due to early release), and the PvP system not being fully implemented yet.

Leveling in the game was a stop-go pace. You would fly for a few levels, then hit dry areas in the content and be stuck at one level for several days of playing with little to do other than the daily quests (reset every four hours). The crafting system, while juvenile in its simplicity, is good in so much as you can make gear and consumables that are actually useful.

Player made cities are a nice feature of the game, and my city is nearly done with T2 (of 3). Once at T3, your guild is the able to go and compete for a battle-keep for the GvG instances.

Instancing: Is not due to a technical disadvantage. It is there for the players sake. Imagine running into a zone with the graphics that AoC has, and having a couple hundred people there. ANY system would lock solid. I run my system (8800GTS, AMD 6400+, 4GB RAM) at medium-high settings, and in a largely populated area, I can only pull around 35 FPS. Sure the game could utilize dated graphics like those that WoW is using, and the there wouldn't need to be instances, but what is the use of advancing the technology in gaming systems if we are going to still be using cell shading and blocky models in ten years time?

The combat system in AoC is by far the most intense that I have seen for a one character experience. This does hinder the ability to multi-box the game, along with the current lack of a /follow command.

Healing in the game is rather dificult, but a welcome change. A healer is never just a healer. All three classes can deal a decent amount of damage, and are easily solo-able if that is your style. The issue is the current balancing of the healing, which I think is rather under-par. Each class of healer can only heal effectively if the target is not already under the effects of other healers of the same class. On top of that, healers only get three heals by default, two HoTs and one burst. The burst induces a 60 second debuff against burst heals from the same class. The HoTs are difficult. The smaller one is non-stackable, regardless of the healers class. The larger of the two stack, but only from different-class healers. This can make it difficult to keep your tank up when being hit for 2-3k dmg by Vistrix (Big dragon raid boss). Heals are also only 50% effective on the healer itself.


Well, I seem to have lost my train of thought now, and need to act like I'm actually working before my boss catches me on the net again. Hope I provided a bit of insight on the game for those that haven't tried it, or quit before giving it a fair shot.