History VideoGame / AgeOfConan

!!This game provides examples of:

* NoBudget: Very apparent when the game first launched in 2008. Most of the world segments were beautifully designed and the storyline and quests were masterful up until level 40, at which point it became obvious to players that the money to develop the game had simply run out. There were practically no quests or playable content between level 40 and level 70 with a smattering of endgame quests filled out. This problem was alleviated by "Rise of the Godslayer" and further expansions that filled out the sorely needed mid level content.

* UnkemptBeauty: True of all player characters and a startling percentage of the computer-controlled ones. It's rare for a man ''not'' to be brooding, long-haired and muscular... while the women tend to look like shipwrecked supermodels.

* OurGiantsAreBigger: The "Ymirish" half-giant elite warriors of the Vanir stand roughly ten feet tall and are very hard to kill due to their heritage and magical nature. At higher levels they appear next to their full giant brethren, the smallest of whom are are ''twice as tall.''

* GiveMeYourInventoryItem: The resource gathering quests require you to hand over the resources you've gathered, including the quests for the ultra rare resources that take forever to find. The npcs demand you fork them over, rather than let you hang onto them for use in crafting later.

* AllegedlyFreeGame: Although a lot of the game is now free to play; less than half of the character types are available for free, and large amounts of the mid- to high-level content is available only to paid subscribers, or as a separate purchase. This includes the entire Khitai region outside the hub city; as well as Khitai character models. Certain gameplay mechanics and abilities are also limited to paid subscribers. Nevertheless, the advertising really pounds on the "Free To Play" thing.

* BeefGate: The Vanir Ymirish warriors are one of the earliest and most notable examples. At first glance they appear to be the same level as other Vanir foes, but hitting one is like punching a brick wall that punches back ''hard''. They are practically unkillable by a single player that isn't at least 20 levels above them. Their purpose is to force team play to take them down for better rewards and XP which are nigh useless to a high level player that would otherwise be able to solo kill them.

* BuildLikeAnEgyptian: Stygia has pyramids that are far more impressive than the ones in the world today, yet they are meant to have been built over ten thousand years before the "modern" ones in Giza.

** Most npcs wear cool armor and it can also be seen on armor racks. Can you buy it? Nope! You'll usually be stuck with what you can afford, which will be the crappy looking stock vendor armor with half a dozen different texture variations. The really cool armor all comes from rare loot drops and raids.
** Horses and horse training are expensive. So are bags for extra inventory space.

* DarkIsNotEvil: You can play as an [[MurderInc assassin]], [[BlackKnight Dark Templar]], [[TheNecromancer necromancer]], warlock or [[SinisterMinister Tempest of Set]] and still choose to aid those in need and defend the weak.
** Many of the characters met in Stygia are quite decent, despite living in a land governed by a evil theocracy.

** {{Lampshaded}} in one quest that requires you to be cursed in order to retrieve an artifact. The curse will "kill" you in ten minutes if you don't get the MacGuffin and give it to the quest giver who lifts the curse. If you die, respawn and return to the quest giver to try again, he asks how the hell you can be alive again. Your only reply is ItsALongStory.

* NoBudget: Very apparent when the game first launched in 2008. Most of the world segments were beautifully designed and the storyline and quests were masterful up until level 40, at which point it became obvious to players that the money to develop the game had simply run out. There were practically no quests or playable content between level 40 and level 70 with a smattering of endgame quests filled out. This problem was mostly fixed by "Rise of the Godslayer" and further expansions that filled out the sorely needed mid level content.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: Six years after the game's release Thoth-Amon is still stuck in his black citadel, trying to call upon dark powers to help him conquer the world.

* DarkestAfrica[=/=]TheSavageSouth: Stygia is this, being full of [[ReligionOfEvil death-loving cults]] who worship [[GodOfEvil dark gods]] and practice BlackMagic; a population that will willingly sacrifice themselves in whatever way their evil masters tell them to - all ruled by an EvilSorceror whom only King Conan himself could possibly hope to face and survive. It is a land regarded with awe and fear all across Hyboria. To drive the point home, two of the player factions (Aquilonia and Cimmeria) are under constant invasion, despite the [[TheKingdom great wealth and power]] of Aquilonia and the legendary reputation Cimmeria [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy has for its warriors]]. Nobody... ''nobody...'' is trying to invade [[TheEmpire Stygia.]]
* DarkIsNotEvil: You can play as a [[MurderInc assassin]], [[BlackKnight Dark Templar]], [[TheNecromancer necromancer]], warlock or [[SinisterMinister Tempest of Set]] and still be as heroic as anyone else.

* FakeLongevity: Especially during the initial release; before expansions with more story and character driven content were released. Mostly involving {{Mass Monster Slaughter Sidequest}}s looking for TwentyBearAsses, with a whole lot of BackTracking.
** Crafting quests invoke this trope quite strongly. In order to advance in the gathering skills necessary for crafting, players have to spend exorbitant amounts of time farming for extremely rare drops. Locations for the drops are highly limited in lower-level areas; or surrounded by strong, aggressive monsters in higher-level areas.

* LittleBitBeastly: A creepy form of the trope applies to some Stygians (though generally not player characters) - in particular, the ruling caste of Set worshippers have faint serpentine characteristics.

* OrganDrops: Most animal mobs will drop claws, teeth, tails, venom sacs, etc. All of it is VendorTrash.

* PerpetuallyStatic: Despite all the adventures a player will embark on, the game world never experiences any fundamental change. The Vanir are still always on the doorstep of Cimmeria, ready to invade. Tortage is endlessly teetering on the brink of revolution while the Picts howl outside its walls without ever actually coming over them. The Nemedians are still always trying to subvert Aquilonia and have Conan assassinated, Thoth-Amon is [[OrcusOnHisThrone still on his throne]] in Stygia, trying to call forth whatever dark gods will help him conquer the world.
* RatedMForManly: You will fight a tiger. You will fight multiple tigers. You will cross deserts and glaciers and climb mighty mountains to battle [[EldritchAbomination unfathomable horrors]]... on a regular basis.

* ShiningCity: Tarantia, capital of Aquilonia is incredibly beautiful with shining white spires and spacious buildings with beautiful facades of enormous pre-Greek columns. The whole city is made out of gleaming white limestone and is by far the most impressive city in the game.

The world is remarkably faithful to Howard's original stories; with notable influences from both film versions (the original by John Milius starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the 2011 remake by Marcus Nispel starring Jason Momoa). Needless to say, it partakes of many of the tropes present in its source material; as well as many specific to {{MMORPG}}s. Nearly all of the background music in the game is taken from the [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome soundtrack of the first movie]].

* DarkestAfrica[=/=]TheSavageSouth: Stygia is this, being full of [[ReligionOfEvil death-loving cults]] who worship [[GodOfEvil dark gods]] and practice BlackMagic; a population that will willingly sacrifice themselves in whatever way their evil masters tell them to; all ruled by an EvilSorceror whom only King Conan himself could possibly hope to face and survive. It is a land regarded with awe and fear by most npcs. To drive the point home, two of the player factions (Aquilonia and Cimmeria) are under constant invasion, despite the [[TheKingdom great wealth and power]] of Aquilonia and the legendary reputation Cimmeria [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy has for its warriors]]. Nobody but ''nobody'' is trying to invade [[TheEmpire Stygia.]]

* YouWakeUpInARoom: Yes, we know, it is one of the oldest plot devices out there. [[MST3KMantra Just roll with it, OK?]]

* YouWakeUpInARoom: Yes, amnesia is one of the oldest plot devices out there. [[MST3KMantra Just roll with it, OK?]]

* LevelLockedLoot: Just as inexplicable as it is in most massive multiplayers. Maybe more: in addition to the usual GameplayAndStorySegregation that affects armor, weapons, food and drink, you are [[YouHaveResearchedBreathing too dumb to ride a horse]] until level 40, at which time you also - after long and arduous adventures - finally figure out ''how to wear a cape.''

* DiscOneNuke: The store that sells ingame items for real cash is replete with overpowered low level gear that will make a player extremely effective for a long time. The cash store low level gear usually have stats that are 10-15 levels above the standard ingame low level gear.

** Crafting quests invoke this trope quite strongly. In order to advance in the gathering skills necessary for crafting, players have to spend exorbitant amounts of time farming for extremely rare drops. Locations for the drops are highly limited in lower-level areas; or surrounded by strong, aggro monsters in higher-level areas.

* LevelLockedLoot: Just as inexplicable as it is in other MMOs.
* MagicIsEvil: In keeping with the literary inspiration, the mage classes (as well as the fighter-mage Dark Templars) use some form of BlackMagic: at best a mage is a WellIntentionedExtremist. Fortunately, if you race through town followed by your pack of skinless demons, [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight the city guard don't bat an eye.]]

* RatedMForManly: You will fight a tiger. You will fight multiple tigers. You will climb mighty mountains to confront eldritch forces and teach them the meaning of naked steel.

* SortingAlgorithmOfWeaponEffectiveness: {{Averted}} with item vendors: the top level vendor gear is usually available at the same place that the low level gear is available, players just can't use it [[LevelLockedLoot until they have levelled up.]] Played straight with npc drops. The tougher enemies always drop higher level gear.

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: One quest in Tortage involves you killing an army of Children of Acheron... but they're immortal. They'll simply spring back to life. How do you bypass their immortality? [[spoiler: Call on ChekhovsVolcano to [[KillItWithFire reduce the whole bunch to ash]]!]]

* UnkemptBeauty: True of all player characters and a startling percentage of the computer-controlled ones. It's rarer for a man ''not'' to be brooding, long-haired and muscular... while the ladies tend to look like shipwrecked supermodels.

** Many stygian npcs are quite decent, despite living in a land governed by a evil theocracy.

** Crafting quests invoke this trope quite strongly. In order to advance in the gathering skills necessary for crafting, players have to spend exhorbitant amounts of time farming for extremely rare drops. Locations for the drops are highly limited in lower-level areas; or surrounded by strong, aggro monsters in higher-level areas.
* {{Fanservice}}: Characters can be played completely naked, with the exception of genitalia, which is covered by a sort of unremovable g-string brief. Fighting this way is generally not a good idea, given the importance of armour in the game.
** There is an option, in your inventory screen, to use "vanity" mode. With this active, you can cause select pieces of your armour to turn invisible, but you still get the full protection from it.

* ForcedLevelGrinding: This was an enormous problem for players at launch trying to get past level 40 after all the questing content had dried up. Players were forced to grind the "Villas" which were repeatable quests involving killing mobs in a npc mansion over and over and over and over and over and over and over just to level up. This was one of the major contributing factors in the early downfall of the game. Player numbers evaporated to almost nothing in the first year of release because of the content-less grindfest that didn't even reward anything except experience points.
* GhibliHills: Poitain, the Lacheish Plains and the Purple Lotus swamp are all these for Aquilonia, Cimmeria and Stygia respectively. RandomEncounters are common but not overwhelming. Poitain even reaches {{Arcadia}} levels of beauty.

* LevelLockedLoot: Par for the course.
* MagicIsEvil: All three mage classes use some form of BlackMagic.
** The same applies to [[BlackKnight Dark Templars]].

* NoBudget: Very apparent when the game first launched in 2008. Most of the maps were beautifully designed and the storyline and quests were masterful up until level 40, at which point it became obvious to players that the money to develop the game had simply run out. There were practically no quests or playable content between level 40 and level 70 with a smattering of endgame quests filled out. This problem was mostly fixed by "Rise of the Godslayer" and further expansions that filled out the sorely needed mid level content.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: Four years after the game's release Thoth-Amon is still stuck in his black citadel, trying to call upon dark powers to help him conquer the world.

* PerpetuallyStatic: Despite all the adventures a player will embark on, the game world never really changes. The Vanir are still always on the doorstep of Cimmeria, ready to invade. The Nemedians are still always trying to subvert Aquilonia and have Conan assassinated, Thoth-Amon is [[OrcusOnHisThrone still on his throne]] in Stygia, trying to call forth whatever dark gods will help him conquer the world.
* PurelyAestheticGender Temporarily subverted: A short period after the game's launch, females did less damage in melee combat, due to slower attack animations. Otherwise, the trope is in full force; to the degree that even the more "mature" dialog choices are available [[HoYay regardless of character gender]].

* ScaryImpracticalArmor: Many of the endgame armors look incredibly intimidating, yet not quite as effective at physical protection as their stats suggest.

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: One quest in Tortage involves you killing an army of Children of Acheron. But they're immortal and will only revive after you kill them. How do you bypass their immortality? [[spoiler: By obliterating their bodies completely by sabotaging a ritual that keeps the local volcano at bay. [[KillItWithFire Incinerating the whole bunch]]!]]
* TwentyBearAsses: A whole lot of the quests are this.
* UnusableEnemyEquipment: 99% of all enemies do not drop the armor off their back when you kill them. The ones that do are very rare indeed, but their equipment is usable depending on character class.

* WheelOfPain: One appears in Cimmeria. It might be the same from the 1980's film.

* WorldOfBuxom: The models provided don't even allow for female player characters with a modest bust size, even using the advanced customization feature.

* ChainmailBikini: Averted, oddly, as the comic adaptations were the trope namer. Although there are items of clothing/armour that fit this trope's appearance, the effectiveness of such armour is realistically low. The more effective the armour, the more it covers. YMMV whether this is a good thing (see {{Fanservice}}).

* TakeYourTime: In full effect with all but a precious few timed quests. Sometimes your quest journal will tel you that that time is of the essence and you have to race to get the task done. You don't.

* DarkestAfrica[=/=]TheSavageSouth: Stygia is this, being full of [[ReligionOfEvil death-loving cults]] who worship [[GodOfEvil dark gods]] and practice BlackMagic; a population that will willingly sacrifice themselves in whatever way their evil masters tell them to; all ruled by an EvilSorceror whom only King Conan himself could possibly hope to face and survive. It is a land regarded with awe and fear by most npcs. To drive the point home, two of the player factions (Aquilonia and Cimmeria) are under constant invasion, despite the [[TheKingdom great wealth and power]] of Aquilonia and the legandary reputation Cimmeria [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy has for its warriors]]. Nobody but ''nobody'' is trying to invade [[TheEmpire Stygia.]]

* BadassBoast: From The Wizard opun forst meeting Conan.
--> I'm a wizard, mind you! This place is kept by powerful gods and spirits of kings. Harm my flesh and you will have to deal with the dead!

* DarkestAfrica[=/=]TheSavageSouth: Stygia is this, being full of [[ReligionOfEvil death-loving cults]] who worship [[GodOfEvil dark gods]] and practice BlackMagic, and a population that will willingly sacrifice themselves in whatever way their evil masters tell them to. It is a land regarded with awe and fear by most npcs. To drive the point home, two of the player factions (Aquilonia and Cimmeria) are under constant invasion, despite the [[TheKingdom great wealth and power]] of Aquilonia and the legandary reputation Cimmeria [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy has for its warriors]]. Nobody but ''nobody'' is trying to invade [[TheEmpire Stygia.]]

* DarkestAfrica[=/=]TheSavageSouth: Stygia is this, being full of death-worshipping cults, dark gods, powerful magic, and a population that will willingly sacrifice themselves in whatever their evil masters tell them to. It is a land regarded with awe and fear by most npcs. To drive the point home, two of the player factions (Aquilonia and Cimmeria) are under constant invasion, despire the [[TheKingdom great wealth and power]] of Aquilonia and the legandary reputation Cimmeria [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy has for its warriors]]. Nobody but ''nobody'' is trying to invade [[TheEmpire Stygia.]]

* MoneySpider: Averted through the use of VendorTrash. The only mobs that drop anything resembling money are human or demi-human.

* DoorToBefore: {{Averted}} in all dungeons. An EscapeRope teleport is available once every half hour, otherwise BackTracking is your only option.

** {{Lampshaded}} in one quest thatrequires you to be cursed in order to retrieve an artifact. The curse will "kill" you in ten minutes if you don't get the MacGuffin and give it to the quest giver who lifts the curse. If you die, respawn and return to the quest giver to try again, he asks how the hell you can be alive again. Your only reply is ItsALongStory.