Already lvl 13? How does it compare so far to FFXI and WoW? My friend from Seattle and I are going to give this baby a whirl in a few weeks. I am buying a tricked out computer to get full use out of it too.
Well there's 80 levels, so the first 20 or so are pretty quick.
Combat is the biggest difference, as it's far more involved than any other MMO system out there. It actually forces you to pay attention, which is kinda nice.
The world so far also has a great feel to it-- really makes you feel like you are your adventurer. It's a little tough on weaker end comps, but I'm consistantly 30+ FPS in the worst areas with my build (1x Geforce 8800 gts 512, duo core e6600 2.4 ghz, standard drive, crappy oldschool 1280x1024 standard LCD monitor, etc)
My big criticisms so far would probably be:
1) the learning curve-- which may or may not drive away casual type players who simply don't want to take the time to learn how to play. It isn't overly complicated, but it does take awhile to feel comfortable with the basic controls.
2) i havent figured out how to involve my g15 or msx gaming mouse in the control situation. the ability to program some macros would be absolutely key in executing combos efficiently. so far I havent figured out how to do it for this game yet.
3) no real /who all function for quick player searching. The menu for this is separate and elaborate and takes awhile to locate people
Other than that, this is by far the most successful MMO launch in history I think. There was a 3 hour patch extension, and then Funcom delivered exactly as they said they would, and I'm sold. If end game/dungeon crawling is as fun as the early stuff is, I may be playing AoC longer than I thought.
