6. Quests& Guilds

Quests
Quests are an integral part of the game (though it by no means is the only way of developing your character), and you will encounter many of them as you progress through the world of Hyboria. Certain computer-controlled characters can give quests, or you can stumble upon them out in the terrain and have them offered to you.

We're trying to avoid having quests being all about tasks that just involve killing things or delivering items. While you will certainly find these in the game – after all, they can be quite rewarding when you don't want to dive too deep into a quest line – there are also several quests that really takes skill, strategy and planning to complete. Many quests are multi-layered and they require interacting with both characters and the environment in order to be completed. They also may include puzzle solving that may require one or several people to break. In addition many of the quests are presented in a very cinematic manner, where NPC’s with spoken dialogue will present the story of the world to you in a way you have not seen in MMOs so far.

You will find those epic adventures and quests that take a long time to complete, but you will also find quests that can be finished in a short period of time. Both is quite valuable – the long quests may give you more of a challenge and may feel more rewarding, but sometimes you're just logging in to play for a short time, and then shorter quests are more rewarding.

To a certain degree, players are able to give out quests but they will have to do that by themselves. There is no system in place for that, and players will not be able to create quests as such. A player can, of course, say that he'll pay money if another player delivers or goes out to kill certain creatures, but it has to be handled by the players themselves. Creating a system for this has not been a focus in the development of Age of Conan.

Puzzle-solving
While Age of Conan first and foremost is a massively multi-player online game, we realize that one of the major strengths of single-player games is their ability to create involving quests that can really alter the way the world works around the player. In Age of Conan there will be several quests where you will have to do more than just killing or delivering things. This have always been one of the major problems with massive online games, the fact that quests often tend to be non-interactive and not varied enough to really capture the player's imagination. We really aim to change this with Age of Conan, adding quests that are interactive, captivating and exciting.

Concrete examples
One quest that is planned for the game involves having to find food in the form of ice worms in order to distract a dragon that is blocking the player's path. By collecting the food and laying it out for the dragon to see, they might distract it long enough to slip past it. Another one is where you need to burn your way to the bushes, and in order to do so you must first find a torch, which will do the job.

Interact with characters
Whereas most MMOs feature boxes full of text which, pops up when you talk to a NPC, Age of Conan takes an entirely different angle. Funcom, the developers of the game, are also the makers of the award-winning adventure games The Longest Journey and Dreamfall, and we're using this experience to create interactive conversations with computer-controlled characters that sometimes resemble what you would find in such games. The game can take control of the camera and give you a special angle when talking to computer-controlled characters, and there will be a branching dialog-tree where you can choose what to say and what to reply when talking to these. The storytelling element is always present.

Exploration of the world tied up to quests
You will be able to explore many parts of the world without ever touching a quest, but many areas can only be traversed by reaching certain goals and meeting specific challenges. For instance, in one case, you will have to gain access to a gondola in order to make the ascent up a mountainside so that you can progress further into the region you are exploring.

See also:
Form guilds
There is an extensive guild system in the game. There will be certain requirements for founding a guild such as a certain number of members. Anyone can join a guild, and with a bit of effort, anyone can start one too.

You don't need to be in a guild to enjoy the game, but for many players this feature will probably be a significant part of the game. Age of Conan is still very much a game that is playable solo, too, and you don't need to team up with players in short-term groups to enjoy the game. We know that people enjoy playing alone as well, so we have done our best to cater for exciting solo PvE gameplay through all the levels. That said, many features of the game will require groups and guilds, especially when it comes to raids, siege PvP and the largest boss encounters.

Benefits
Apart from the privilege and advantages of being a part of a bigger group of people and feeling the companionship and power that this gives you, being a member of a guild will let you take part in the political struggles of the Border Kingdoms and also gives you a chance to build player-made cities. Only guilds are able to build and conquer battlekeeps in the Border Kingdoms, and only guilds can build player cities. Joining a guild is also a great way of getting together with like-minded people, and it is easier to find others to play with when you are a part of a persistent group of people.

Classes helpful for guilds
All characters are essentially helpful to the guild, but the prestige classes have all specific advantages that work well within the guild system. Guilds will be a very important part of Age of Conan and the prestige class system allows players to provide benefits and improvements to their guild. Here are some of the key benefits:

Lord:

Commander:

Crafter:

Master:

Wear guild colors or get guild insignias
It is an aim for us to make sure the guilds can separate themselves visually, but we will get back with more info on this closer to launch. We do recognize the value of being able to show which faction you are a part of, and it is quite natural for guilds to feel pride by flying guild colors – especially when fighting for power and reputation on the battlefield.

Guild vaults
We are quite aware that one of the benefits usually tied to being in a guild, is being able to put items or money into a guild vault that can be shared among all the members. There is also a taxation system in place for the guild to use if they want that, where the guild leader set a certain tax percentage that all members have to abide to. When a player gains money in any way – whether it may be through looting or selling items – that percentage of the sum will be taken from the player and put in the guild's treasury.

Guild houses
Players can create entire cities and fill it with different kinds of buildings. There is also a town hall in each city, which should become a gathering point of all guild members when they are in town. We're also thinking about giving players the option to fast-travel back to the guild house from certain points in the world, but this is yet to be decided.