Gameplay Preview #2 Class Tree Explained
- Mar 17, 2006
Want to know what classes will be available to play in Age of Conan? Look no further as today sees the first reveal of our playable classes!
So how do you develop your character in Age of Conan?
The first thing you choose in your character development is your class. Here you can choose from Cimmerians, Aquilonians and Stygians. Cimmerian is Conans race. They are tall, grey-eyed, dark haired and fair skinned. They are typically tall, muscular and fierce. Aquilonians are the "Romans", if you like, and they represent the pinnacle of Hyborian culture. They are darker in skin, but they have a larger variation of skin and hair tones than the Cimmerians. Both the Cimmerians and the Aquilonians can choose from three different class types: Warrior, Priest or Thief archetypes.
To become a Mage, you must choose the Stygian race. They can be understood as the Egyptians from the age of the pharaohs. They have the darkest complexion and are the smallest, but they have a rich and mystical culture. The Stygians can not become warriors.
You choose the main archetype (warrior, thief, priest or mage) at level five as you reach the city of Tortage in the beginning of the game (after around twenty minutes of play).
The class specialisation then happens when you reach level twenty. This happens when you leave the single-player part - and enter the multiplayer universe. You can then choose your class from those available for your archetype!
Over the next few weeks we will be exploring the different archetypes in more detail, but for now you can check out the entire listing of available classes!
That's not the end of the character development either! In Age of Conan there will be special Prestige classes available for players who join a guild to choose from. These are first available from level five and are in addition to your archetype and class! These prestige classes give the players extra abilities to benefit their guild. Being in a guild is always a key factor in any MMO and in Age of Conan prestige classes provide a deeper and actually meaningful way for players to contribute towards their guild!
There are four prestige classes that players can choose from: Lord, Commander, Crafter or Master. Each brings something different to the guild, from the city building and taxation benefits of the Lord, through the team skills of the Commander and the crafting skills of the crafter to the Master's ability to have an NPC follower to do their bidding! There will be more information released on the prestige classes in the weeks to come as well!
Guilds will be a very important part of Age of Conan and prestige classes are very much your incentive to join up into a guild! Each prestige class that exists in a guild will give benefits to the guild (on a 'by account' basis to prevent players bolstering their ranks with 'alt' characters! You can have alt characters but only the prestige class of the first to join will benefit your guild)
Finally it's worth noting that this structure for character development is slightly different to what we had mentioned in some of the original interviews. We have moved prestige classes earlier into the development and allowed players to select their final class at level twenty instead of later in the game. As we worked on the character development tree and listened to the community feedback through our forums we realised that it might not have been wise to force players to get to level forty or beyond before making final choices that they might find don't suit their play style! Therefore this system allows players to choose their class and prestige class earlier and avoid any disappointments later in the game!
That's it for today and keep your eyes out over the coming weeks for more details on the archetypes and Prestige classes!
Class Tree