FAQ/Single-player

Is there a single-player game in Age of Conan?

Yes, a part of the gameworld in Age of Conan will be single-player, but you always need to play online on our servers. Even though you are playing alone in an instance in the gameworld you still get the chance to communicate with your friends on the same server, as well as potentially thousands of other players.

Age of Conan is still a fully-fledged MMO, but we have taken some key lessons from the other games out there and decided to feature a limited single-player experience that in some ways plays out like a traditional RPG. When you first start out in the game, you will be spending the first hour or so completely alone before you stumble into the freebooter village of Tortage where you will suddenly start seeing other players. From here on you will be able to switch between single-player and multiplayer. During the day, you're always multiplayer, but during night you're all alone. You can switch between the two by sleeping at the inn. Once you reach level twenty and leave Tortage, then you will step into the massive MMO world where you're always multiplayer and where the day and night cycle is dynamic and independent of your actions.

Due to a low playerbase and Funcom's resistance to server mergers, most of the game levels 1-79 and much of 80 will be single player content, on all servers. Leveling wise there are not enough players to saturate 79 levels or produce enough classes to satisfy a grouping instance. Furthermore, 1-79 and level 80 will have many players bored of redoing the same content over and over so they will avoid grouping, which makes group formation even more improbable. So aside from the sporatic random group and the zerg guilds PuGing players for raids, most of AoC is single player grinding, Shrines of Bori for PvP and RotGS zones for PvE.

Can I go into the bigger MMO gameworld right away?

One of the thoughts behind the single-player experience is to give you a unique and highly interactive story to get you going, a story that captivates you and intrigues you from the start. A story that is tailored to you and told in a fashion that really lets you be an important person in the game. Many other massive online games throw you into the world right away, and because of the nature of MMO games it can be quite difficult to get started and getting to grips with how it all hangs together. By letting you start out with limited single-player we're able to show you how the game is played in a more fun and structured fashion, without having to resort to often rather boring tutorial phases. Still, you can communicate with your friends, and it won’t take that long before you are able to meet other players.

Does the single-player experience have any other benefits?

Yes, absolutely. During the time it takes to complete the single-player experience your character will grow in strength and talent. He or she will evolve from nothing but a commoner, into someone who has mastered a class! As you then get ready to enter the even greater massive online world you will already be accustomed to the environments and have a much greater knowledge of how to play your character.

Why have you chosen to have a single-player part at the start?

We believe this is a new and better way of introducing MMO players into the gameworld. We felt that many online games out there are too difficult to get into, so we tried to find a new approach. The mix of a single-player experience inside a MMO gameworld is our attempt to do something about that. They form one unique whole though, so you will feel that you are playing one complete game.

How long will the single-player experience last?

Only the first hour or so of the game is completely single-player. Once you reach the village of Tortage, you will start meeting other players. You can switch between day and night by sleeping at the inn, and during day you will always be with other players, while during the night you will be all alone. At level twenty you leave Tortage island and head for the mainland, and from there on you will always be in a massively multiplayer environment.

Will I have to complete the single-player experience every time I make a new character?

This is something we are still tweaking. We realize that doing the single-player experience the second or third time may not be as rewarding as the first time, so you may be able to skip it one way or another. That being said, playing different archetypes during the single-player experience will offer different quests, experiences and opportunities, so there is definitely a high replay value.

Will I be able to meet and chat with other players in the single-player experience?

Yes, as you move forward you will gradually be able to meet other players but you won’t have access to all the features and amount of people you find in the bigger MMO world. However, you are still playing on our servers, and you are also playing in an instanced part of the bigger gameworld. When you first start out, you will be completely alone and the characters around you will only be computer-controlled. They will talk with you, interact with you and fight you but you won't find any other players around. You will, however, be able to send messages and communicate with friends and other players on the server.

What will the single-player experience actually contain?

There will be a complete story that we're able to tell in a cinematic and interactive manner. Because you're closed off in your own instance of the gameworld, we have the power to create world-changing events and really let parts of it play out like in a single-player game. When you first start you will enter the game as a galley slave. Here you will create your character, and shortly after this process is completed a sudden chain of events will lead to your character being washed ashore on the Barachan Isles off the coast of Zingara. You will have to fight your way through the jungle to reach the multi-cultural melting pot that is the city of Tortage, where you will discover great adventure and many challenges. From there on we are keeping things under wraps to avoid story spoilers.

How will my character evolve in the single-player experience?

You start off as a commoner with nothing else but a few old rags to cover your body and a broken oar to fight with. Over the course of the single-player experience, you will become better equipped, discover great treasures, complete challenging quests, and choose a class. You will have a massive amount of experience and knowledge as you step into the bigger massive online world. Still, you will just have scratched the surface of Age of Conan.

Will I have to be online to play the single-player portion of the game?

Yes, you will still be playing towards our servers, in a personalized instance of the game world. So you must log on to the internet in order to play. You will also have to purchase a retail box to play the single-player experience. The retail box includes 30 days of game time.