Sunday, April 29, 2012

The epic saga of...COMGALL the barbarian!

Seeing how recently I have been less that satisfied with my game play I have decided to....roll a barbarian on Crom server. An alt in the world of MMOs is nothing really to brag about, but I have a special case of obsessive compulsive disorder where I can play only 1 character at once. No, really, it's a thing, ask your doctor. So I will come clean: this is not an alt. Through this barbarian I intend to re-live my Tortage experience from 2008. Yes, last time I have helped zee Resistance was 4 years ago and I can honestly say I remember nothing of it. In effect this whole Tortage stuff is a wholly new experience for me and one that clearly shows me how people can fall in love with Age of Conan. It is a delicious experience. While endgame in AOC has it's issues the pre lvl80 content, the leveling process is just great. My only regret with Slith character was power-leveling through pre lvl 80 content. Big mistake. If I could have turned back the time (which I can't, mind you) I would have went and read every single little bit of quest text in the game. ALL OF IT. The story of Tortage and the Resistance is rich a deeply stepped in REH lore. This is what I am doing with this character: I am experiencing the Tortage as I should have done so first time around and I am having a blast. However, I had to make a deal with myself right from the start that this is a temporary thing, a guild free pleasure. No plans to do whatever with this character. Early on I have caught myself thinking like this: "I really like this class, oh this feat will be great, but its lvl70, ok I can combine that with those perks...ok so I will get Brittle Blade armor, but which weapon..hm.." Oh snap! I have just planned 4-6 months of intense gaming with my barbarian and felt the DREAD of the grind ahead of me. I had to step back and remind myself that I am just messing around in here. I know that this sounds like one of the most nerdy of problems, but I can't really enjoy what I am doing unless I am clear why exactly I am doing it and what for. I am like that with all things in life: I get very good at things that I focus on, but at the same time I lack the versatility. Kind of a double edged sword, but I digress.
Ladies can literally lose their heads for Comgall
The barbarian was not a random pick. I had this idea of playing "what if game" with myself. I remember that back in may of 2008 I was seriously considering rolling one of the two classes: barbarian or conqueror (assassin kind of came out of no were). What would have happened if in 2008 I have stayed with my freshly rolled barbarian? Would I have sticked with the game? Would I have had this blog? Would I have turned more to the PVE side of things? These things I will never learn, but playing a barbarian is a pleasurable experience. So much pleasurable that at one point I felt very awkward: am I enjoying this more than my main? Have I just "wasted" four years playing the wrong class??!! Being the mmo vet that I am I remembered that the "new and shinny" feel of a class quickly wears off. I was not mistaken: around level 15 the barbarian started feeling "just ok". However this brief experience with barbarian made take a long and hard look and this class and it's feats and perks. By Bel, barbarians are unstoppable killing machines. Assassin 2.0!.  The CRUSHING advantage that barbarian has over assassin (apart from superior HP, regen, armor and reach) is especially evident in the Alternative Advancement where their perks make assassin's perks look like pile of poo. PILE I SAY! If anything I will feel less bad now whenever I get killed in PVP by barbarian player.
Halls of the Black Ones. I missed this place first time around in 2008 and I just had to come back here to finish it up
There is one more thing, a feeling that is still present with me after all those years: the generic feel of a barbarian. I simply cannot get it out my head that every barbarian is basically Conan. Conan undoubtedly had so amazing impact on pop culture (see Conan the Phenomenon) that whenever you think of long haired savage with a two hander you think of Conan. Therefor my Comgall lacks the depth of my Slith character because I have so many preconceived notions about barbarians. It is impossible for me to come up with any background story that would make Comgall "not Conan" even slightly. I know that there are (or atleast used to be) some Cimmerian RP guilds out there and that Cimmerians are very different from THE Cimmerian we know and love. There is a lot of room for a good Cimmerian RP but I just don't have it in me. Speaking of which I am penning down my "Slith's background" post. I want to flesh out a real, believable person rather that another "WTFPWN" heros of official roleplaying boards. Don't you just love "I seek bloody revenge for the death of my parents" stories? Seems like 90% of Hyborians are orphans and at least 5% are in fact vampires/dragons/demons that walk the earth in human form.

Now, if you excuse me, I have a Barachian Isle to save from a tyrant. 

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

imagine that after hitting level 80(without offlines) you can buy crafted gear and kill pvp level 10 only because you have a bit more skill or luck. The game as it used to be before. No months of grind to be competitive...

Loki Lyesmyth said...

times when tos needed three buttons to oneshot anyone but guard where competetive like hell.

or maybe you meant conq barb and bs that oneshote ppl just couz they could cut the combo in half and still do the same dmg?

Hell mayb bloody vengence times where competetive?


Some ppl belive in balance like other do in god.
Comon it does not exist

Anonymous said...

@Loki

Game is more balanced than before (class wise) but its much more grindy than before too. If you dont enjoy pve or raids you need a LOT of time to be competitive against others in pvp (premades for exmpl). It really doesnt matter which class are you playing after hitting 80. You will always be an easy pray, no matter of skill...

Slith said...

Quiet down please - both of you

Comments are for talking nice things about me, not going into discussions :D

Red Headed Tim said...

Hey Slith, loved this update. I've been away from aoc reading for awhile, but, as is usual when I visit home and can't play my normal games/any games, I started reading up on where different games are at and said to myself, "what's slith up to?"

You were kind enough to have this post, and combined with my big ol nerdiness, you have me considering hopping back into aoc part time again. Lord knows I am not good at splitting time amongst games, but between "it's conan", reading stuff like yours, and listening to the aoc soundtrack (at least 1x a week at work), aoc always manages to make me consider finding a way to make it work. Thanks for still blogging, still playing, and especially still tweeting. I mention the tweets because while I haven't kept up on aoc much, I do have you and craig on my twitter follow list, so I see most of your tweet discussions. Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

Slith said:
"Comments are for talking nice things about me, not going into discussions :D"


Red Headed Tim answered:
"Thanks for still blogging, still playing, and especially still tweeting. I mention the tweets because while I haven't kept up on aoc much, I do have you and craig on my twitter follow list, so I see most of your tweet discussions. Keep up the good work."

Red Headed Tim= Ass licker!;P

Red Headed Tim said...

That's me. Woulda posted that kiss ass crap anyways though, since this post spoke to me more than the one talking about the next expansion, mainly cause this post is what made me fire up the forums to look at what's been happening lately. More activity on the EU one's than US. No one there posting anonymously though :) Of course, now we're at 3 posts in a row with emoticons. I'm not sure who wins now.

Slith said...

@Red

Thanks for the kind comment. I do hope that you will return to Hyboria. It has it's ups and downs, but I can honestly say it's getting better and better. I might QQ about it from time to time, but really I am here to stay.

Sreen said...

Barbarian blog please? :D
Assassin class is "well-documented" thanks to you. I don't even check the official forums anymore. No changelogs, no monthly letters, everyhting I need to know about assassin is here. But unline you, I do have alts and I feel the lack of hideout when it comes to them. So, you know, if you could do a barbarian thing, then a dt thing and a conq thing... :P ok, shutting up now.

Slith said...

@Sreen

Sorry to disapoint you but my barb is lvl19 and I feel absolutly no desire to take him beyond Tortage. I just wanted to re-live the starter zone :D