Age of Conan: I am Bear, Hear Me Roar

I didn’t expect to have such a hard time choosing a class in Age of Conan.  My main is always a caster of some sort and preferably one with a pet.  When you like to solo as much as I do, having a pet provides more options for setting up encounters.  Even a weak pet can be used to pull or distract mobs.  Following that strategy, I was an Enchanter in AC2, Illusionist in EQ2 and Warlock in WOW.  WAR was the only game where I’ve had to consider something different because there is no caster pet class in Warhammer.  And I have no intention of being a Greenskin to tend squids as pets.  Knowing that I only plan to play AOC until WAR or Spellborn, I wanted to pick carefully to avoid wasting time.  However, the classes and the combat in AOC are different than most other games I’ve played so I decided to do a bit of sampling.

I started with the Demonologist which is supposed to be the most powerful straight nuking caster class.  It doesn’t have a pet but I figured I’d look here first.  The combat style was pretty good.  She easily held her own from level 1 to 15 – which is more of an experience than the WOW 1 to 15.  You’ll have less spells than you might have in WOW by that level.  However, the journey is a little more engaging.  I could see why the class had received some recent nerfs.  I was playing post nerf and just mowing through things pretty much at will.

Next I tried the Necromancer which is a caster with a large variety of pets – often more than one out at a time.  From the start I didn’t like this class.  I didn’t like her base animations.  I especially didn’t like the gory looking pets I had following me around.  DISGUSTING!  Even the special pet that spawned randomly based on me doing chain kills or fatalities, never figured out which, was pretty gross.  Nasty looking pets and awkward animations sealed the coffin on this class for me.

After seeing some really cool YouTube videos on the melee caster, Herald of Xotli, I really had to give this class a try.  Again I went from levels 1 to 15.  I only did a few of the Destiny quests and concentrated mostly on leveling in the multi-player environment.  I REALLY liked the combat style which seemed to me like what a Paladin should feel like in combat.  No heals of course but you’re a melee in cloth gear and you get spells that are applied to your weapon.  I could take on 2 to 3 mobs my own level and if I was careful, come out on top every time.  However, it was pretty close and if I messed up because I got over excited then I would die.  I don’t know how the class will fare in PVP being a melee in cloth but in PVE it was pretty sweet.

As much as I don’t really want to be a main healer and I’m gun shy about trying to level as one post the constant balancing/nerfing of offensive healer specs in WOW, the Tempest of Set still appealed to me.  Again, I’d seen some nice YouTube videos on one AOE leveling that seemed like a lot of fun.  It appeared to play more like a Mage healer.  Their healing spells are group heals and HOTs and they have totems that let them buff, regen mana and do damage.  However, when I played the class for myself, the feel of the combat wasn’t right for me.  On top of which, I think she looks a bit stupid casting.  That combined with worries about how the class would do in PVP – other players, offensive spell nerfs to keep healing classes in line, I decided to pass.

That first wave of dabbling in classes left me with two contenders – Herald and Demonologist.  Of the two, I really preferred the Herald even though it was melee and didn’t have pets.  There is something more exciting and engaging about the melee combat in AoC.  The combos and directional targeting is lost on the caster classes, leaving the most unique aspect of AOC combat on the cutting board.  My only problem with rolling a Herald is that my son had already selected one has his main. If we wanted to level together or switch accounts later on for a change of pace, that wouldn’t work out with us both having rolled a Herald. By the time I finished rolling multiple characters, his main was already level 29, which meant I needed to look elsewhere if I wanted a melee class.

I read through the forum boards and kept going back to the class descriptions online before deciding to try the Bear Shaman.  My first concern about this class was rolling a hybrid.  When it comes to balancing they can be pigeon-holed or nerfed into a corner by complaints of being OP in PVP.  The things I’ve seen happen to Druids, Paladins and Shamans in WOW, left me with the idea that I wouldn’t ever do a hybrid as a main.  Paladins and Druids have finally been given a seat to the frontlines of combat for those who don’t want to just heal.  Whereas Shamans, once the Gods of PVP, are still crying salty QQs.  Since I really wanted a melee by this time, I put all that aside and decided to give the Bear Shaman a try.

I’m glad that I tried the AoC Bear Shaman.  It provided the same exciting combat of the Herald with more survivability.  The combat moves are pretty sweet.  The knockback actually, KNOCKS BACK.  If I execute my attack plan flawlessly, I can kill mobs 4 levels higher. Only 1 to 2 levels higher and I can take on three of four at a time. For someone who levels solo that is a BIG deal.  The biggest problem as with all melee classes are ranged opponents.  If there is a caster in the pack it’s trouble.  With a ranger in the pack I just close the distance and force the mob into melee.  You can’t do that with the casters and their DOTs are too much to take with 3 other mobs on me. Regardless, it is definitely exciting.

In the end, I rolled five classes ranging in level from 10 to 15.  I selected the Bear Shaman as a main and will leave the Demonologist as an Alt.  I had to reroll the Shaman on a PVE server.  I started her on PVP server but that was a brutal slugfest which I didn’t want to inhibit my exploration, so I started her all over again on a Care-Bear server.  That is saying a lot about how much fun this class was to play.  All the other classes were on the same PVE server with my son. I had specifically wanted to do PVP with the Bear Shaman but the experience was too annoying so I just started her over once I decided on her as my main.

The AOC classes provide a twist on their fantasy counter-parts.  A mage isn’t exactly what you know a Mage to be and neither is a healer.  I would suggest people try different classes before really settling into a main.

Comments

[Nemos Folly]

I agree that the classes are a new twist and am really enjoying playing my assassin as it is the class I have been looking for in all the other games. Yes we are the cladari of AoC after the suprise we are tissue paper for toe to toe but I like the challange. And I would like to thank you for your views of AoC I almost passed on this one from other reviews but think I will thourghly enjoy it till War comes out.

[Relmstein]

I have a Herald and Assassin at level twenty and enjoyed both classes though I was dissapointed with their survivability. I ended up going for the Conqueror and now I have him 38 and trying out the first real dungeon. He plays a lot like the Captain from Lord of the Rings and has a lot of group buffs. It's interesting because he can tank but can't wear a shield like the guardian or dark templar. Instead I depend on combos that increase my parry rate. So far its a lot of fun.

[Saylah]

A POM ran by me yesterday just tearing things up. He was hitting multiple mobs with a single spell that knocked 80% of their health down. I was like DAYUM! I wonder how this will get balanced for PVP. It's great that every class seems to have offensive / DPS ability but people are going to scream bloody murder in PVP with healing classes that can do that sort of damage.

[Wolfgangdoom]

Why does every game I try completely F up the Necro class? QQ I rolled a Necro, leveled him to 18, then decided I didn't care for beging stomped on. It drives me nuts how the necros pets are only able to hold aggro every 2 min when the skill is up.

So I re-rolled Conqueror and haven't looked back. I'm loving the multi mob combos and being able to take on 3 mobs my own level with devestatingly efficient results.

I will probably try a couple more classes before I settle on a main. I'm taking AOC slow instead of hauling ass through the content like I did WOW. Good times so far :)

[saylah]

Hi hear ya on the Necro. I'd love to play one myself but as you say, every time I've tried one it's been a no-go. My pets didn't hold aggro at all. The second they hit the mobs the mobs ran to me even if I hadn't cast anything. I tested this multiple times. I would instantly gain aggro regardless of whether not I attacked the mobs. Now that is that about??

[Stropp]

That's pretty much my impression of the Necro too. Some good ideas such as multiple pets, but completely let down by the aggro issue. As you said, Saylah, the moment I unleashed my pets I gained the mobs attention. What's that all about?

At the moment, I'm playing a Tempest of Set and while it takes two or three casts to take down a mob, it's AoE so it works on any mob within three metres of the strike. Very effective. And very enjoyable.

[Relmstein]

Age of Conan follows the rule that only players are supposed to hold aggro and pets are more like intelligent damage over time spells. Necromancers are still the best class at soloing from what I hear and practically get an army of undead at the later levels.

I think the developers wanted all combat in the game to be involved and in your face. They didn't want anyone to just send in pets and stand far back and cast spells. It's very different from pet classes in every other MMO and I'm not sure if it's an improvement or not.

[blurryhunter]

I've played Necromancer to level 20 and I've not been bothered by the minions not holding aggro. In fact, I like it like that as it makes me actually have to work rather then just let my pets maul the target. On the flip side, I learned that if you use Hide, you can send your minions out with commands and it will not break the Hide. Since you're hidden, the enemies will not know you're there (unles you're close enough) and you can let your minions romp on the target until you deem it needed to help out. As I understand it, having went into the Reanimation Feat Tree for Necromancer, minions don't start becoming really good, well, minions, until you're a bit down the tree. I believe this is because unless you invest in that direction, their suppose to be more of a distraction or assistance. Like Relmstein said, Necromancers have, hands down, the strongest DoTs from what I've played with. Strong enough to drop a Conqueror's health rom 100% to 5% before he got across a room and showed me why swords + cloth = my getting slaughtered. Good thing my DoTs put him on the ground right next to me.