Combat
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[edit] Real Combat
The Real Combat engine is based on five directions, or ways, of attacking an opponent with a sword, each relating to a directional slash. The point here is that these directions lend themselves naturally to being strung together in combinations. These combos unlock additional damage and faster combat, if done well. At the start of the game, melee characters will only have access to three directional attacks – the additional two are unlocked later as the character progresses in levels.
The most important thing to remember in Age of Conan is that it does not have indirect combat. When you click, you will swing! It doesn't matter who is in front of you. It doesn't matter if you are too far away. It doesn't matter if you have an opponent at all. When you swing, you swing. This is not a turn-based game, although there is difference in weapon speed and spell speed, so you can't win by punching buttons faster than your opponent. Naturally you can't be locked in battle with this type of system. You have to be careful, move about, and think quickly to survive.
You will most definitively be able to learn new combat arts during the game. We are investing heavily into the combat aspects, and are doing our very best to make sure that you are constantly rewarded with new possibilities. With our motion capture studio and combat mechanics we have also been able to create combat into something incredibly lifelike and even realistic (that's why we have called it "real combat"). It's therefore not just about getting new special attacks and feats, but also mastering the system itself. It should be easy for anyone to learn, but it will take some time to master fully.
Stringing directions together might lead to a special move. Imagine raising your hands, holding the long heavy chain, and swinging against the right-side neck of the bloated slaver - as he is grinning at you with his blackened teeth and cracking his wet whip, soaked in slaver blood. Would it not, after slicing his right neck, make sense to swing against the left side of the neck, one second after? It would seem easier than swinging at his legs, would it not? It comes with the motion of the weapon I would think, and players will learn this instinctively as if they held the chains themselves. "Real Combat" analyzes (with our help - hehe) the motion of the professional fighters we used for motion capturing the animations, giving players room to let instinct and feeling guide their moves! When I pick up the rumble-joypad, it almost, almost, feels like I am there. There in the lush, sinful and brutal Age of Conan, crushing skulls. When the deck rumbles as the slaver gut crumbles the floor, you will know you chose correctly.
[edit] Siege Combat
Finally, there's "siege PvP". This will take place in the infamous "Border Kingdom" lying on the borders between Cimmeria, Aquillonia, Brythania, Nemedia, and Hyperboria. The "Border Kingdoms" were always a constant place of battle, skirmishes and war in the books and Conan visited these areas on numerous occasions before he settled down as King. Now, as King, he has let it be known, that anyone proclaiming one of these areas part of "Greater Aquillonia" will be rewarded with a title at his court. This means that several court-based individuals will sponsor forays into Border Kingdoms with the goal of setting up a castle to control an area in Conan's name.
There are 3 distinct forms of siege combat. Two are found in the PvE environment. In one you will defend your village, city, or castle against a rush of monster opponents. In the other you can take the battle to their village, and crush them in an RTS style of gameplay. The third is the PvP Border Kingdom battles we already discussed. The walls and buildings in Age of Conan are attackable. In fact you can swing at them with any weapon. The only problem is that they will only take damage from the siege engine and magical attacks. To break through you need to find a weak place in the wall, and hit it with all the siege engine powers you have. Even then, though, you're not home free. You need to knock out the automated defense towers firing NPC controlled volleys of arrows to enter safely. And yes, these towers can also be controlled by players. Naturally, the siege engines are slow moving and slow firing. They're also easily crushed by rushing cavalry attacks. They can also be knocked over by attacks by other siege engines. I guess they need protection to be functioning properly. I wonder whose responsibility that is? To win an attack, you need to destroy the Keep in the center of the village.
[edit] Attack Windows
Guilds in control of BattleKeeps will be able to choose their attack windows (when their keep is open to attack from other guilds) in terms of days. More frequent attack windows (and therefore more siege combat encounters) will provide bigger resource bonuses to the guilds that win and keep hold of keeps.
[edit] Formation Combat
Players learn different types of formations through feats. Each formation has a distinct look, set of benefits and special attacks and moves. The formation leader controls the location of the players in it, by assigning them to a location. Within the formation, each player has like a "rubber circle" he may move freely within, orient himself and follow. The player can at any time leave the formation. If a certain amount of players leave the formation, through death, volunteering to disband or being kicked, the formation breaks.
Only other formations or special bosses might break a formation against the players will. I will not disclose the list of formations, at the moment, but there are several - from 4-6 party formations up to massive battle formations of 20+ players. You can also use mounts in formation battles.
[edit] PvP
There will be PvP in many forms on release as PvP is important for these types of multiplayer games, and they are increasing in importance with the increasing number of players flocking to participate in the online experience.
Basically, there are four types of PvP. Naturally, they all have the same types of basic rule set for the player - except one. If you have learned PvP in one part of the game, it should be easy to take it to another. Let me start on this topic by talking a bit about Age of Conan's PvP concept first.
No other fantasy license lends itself so well to bloody battle and bloody PvP as the saga of Conan the Barbarian. Here, crushing your enemy is the definition of the soul of the license, and it has grown on us how profoundly that should influence the in-game battles. We are really thankful for having such a clear combat vision to guide us, and it will be something we know will be more brutal and honest than anything you have seen before!
[edit] Mounted Combat
The mounted combat will come in two forms. First, you can fight from horseback with almost any weapon. You'll move quicker, but you won't have as many combat options. You can't strafe with a horse, for instance. Second, you can access special moves which include charges that have a fair chance of flinging your opponent around as you thunder past.
As with any NPC player follower, the mount can be beaten unconscious, and can not be revived until the end of battle.
There are currently three speeds of mounted combat - walk, trot and gallop. Walk is slower, but you can turn more quickly, trot is slightly faster, deals more damage but it can't turn as well, and gallop is the same as trot, but to a higher degree.
Ranged combat is also included in mounted combat, and perhaps two passengers; it has not been decided as of yet.
[edit] Magic
Magic in Hyboria is darker, scarcer and more powerful than in most other RPG campaigns. You delve into the arcane arts at your own risk, your soul being the only truly powerful bargaining chip. Our focus has been to give magic a visually more realistic look, less floating shiny things, and more the rumblings from hell.
The users of magic fall, as normal, into two main categories, the ones with magic being offered from their gods or the earth, and the ones where magic is created through rituals and bargains with darker powers. In both cases, you memorize spells into your spellbook, and use mana to cast them.
The current system allows you to prepare a set number of spells for casting into your arcane wheel - our ritualistic shortcut system. Casting the spells in a certain order will allow for magical combos and criticals. Most buffs will be team-based only, to eliminate the need to run around targeting everyone all the time.
[edit] Special Moves
Special moves will be a way to move faster, dodge more or similar move-based abilities. Among the available move types are rolls, flips, charges, entering defensive modes, entering combat stances, sprinting etc. But you also access special abilities like listening, hiding in the shadows, opening doors, locks or even more. Climbing buildings will also be available, and possibly swimming.
[edit] Ranged Combat
Ranged combat will operate from a number of different 'stances', each different stance will offer the player a chance to use a different style of ranged attack, from a 'snipe' type shot to blanketing an area with as many arrows as they can fire.
Most of the ranged combat stances see the action shift into a kind of first person view. The camera zooms into and over the shoulder or first person view and displays a targeting crosshairs. Here you aim with your weapon, and fire towards advancing opponents much like you might find in a FPS game (but not quite as fast-paced). This serves to try and bring the player "there", into the action, and into the world.
The crosshairs changes color to indicate whether the target is in range or not to give a clear indication of whether you have a good chance to hit your target. This introduces a great combination between actual player skill (targeting and choosing your targets) and the more traditional RPG skill systems. The different classes will have varied skills with ranged weapons so stats, and how you have chosen to advance your skills, will still bear heavily on your chance to hit, and how much damage you might do (and how quickly you can do it!) whilst still needing the player to have their wits about them and actively have their foes targeted!
The good old-fashioned 'ToHit' roll is still present and correct, but there isn't any easy 'lock on target' mode here, if your target is moving (and lets face it anything that might be aware you are trying to poke holes in it with a well placed volley of arrows is going to be trying to move!) you'll have to keep your aim straight and true to keep it in your sights.
Therefore ranged users will always have to be paying attention and choosing their targets carefully, picking the right target at the right time, and always having to consider the reaction of their target to being shot at! The best bow skills in the world won't help much if a stray arrow attracts the attention of an entire village of angry Picts you might have been better of avoiding!
The system blends in with the rest of the real combat engine so that it hopefully doesn't become a pure 'twitch fest' that you might find in a FPS, it won't be that hectic, but just like its melee counterpart ranged combat will put some of the finesse and skill back in the hand of the players!
Overall we really feel this brings a degree of realism to using ranged weapons that is very different to anything that you might see in most fantasy MMOs.
