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Introduction

You're only a few moments away from entering the brutal, savage and sexy world of the world's greatest fantasy hero. Feel free to flip through this how-to-play guide, explaining to you some of the things that are good to know before setting foot on the burning beaches of Tortage Island - where the game will start out for you. For more assistance on getting started you might also visit the official Age of Conan forums where you can pick the brains of other people playing the game right now!

You can also download a .PDF version of the complete Age of Conan manual HERE!

1. Getting started

(Screenshot of the character creation process)

Updating your game - After having downloaded and installed the game, running it for the first time you will be greeted with the Age of Conan updater. The updater will download any changes Funcom have done to the game, ensuring that your installation is always up to date. Once updating is completed, the game will start and you will be prompted to log in using your account information (you can register at http://register.ageofconan.com).

Choosing a server - After logging in you will have to choose a server. If you are planning on playing with friends, make sure you start on the same server as them. Servers are divided into two different ruleset categories:
PvE - player vs. player activities are present but restricted to certain areas, and as such this server type is encouraged for new and inexperienced players.
PvP - player vs. player activities are prevalent everywhere in the game world, making life there a lot more challenging - but also a lot more exhilarating!
PvP-RP - these servers employ a ruleset that encourages role-playing between players, as well as the ruleset used for the regular PvP servers.

Creating a character - Next you will need to create your first character. Here you will choose your character's name, gender, race, class and even appearance. While name, gender and appearance have no impact on gameplay, choosing a race and class most definitely will. Your race determines what class you can play, and your class determines what weapons, armor and abilities you can use as well as the general style of gameplay.

You can read more about races and classes on the official Age of Conan website.

2. Understanding the interface

(A typical Age of Conan interface)

Your journey starts on the burning beaches of Tortage Island after you have finished creating your character. The interface and the amount of information you are presented with might seem daunting at first, but understanding it is the key to success in Age of Conan. Here are the very basics you need to know before heading into the game.

1. The main viewport - This is where all the action is displayed.
2. The top menu bar - These buttons opens various windows that display information on your character such as equipment, skills and abilities.
3. Shortcut icons - These icons represent spells, abilities and combos that you can trigger during gameplay (usually while fighting someone).
4. Chat window - All chat with other players is displayed here, and some information messages regarding gameplay are also represented in this window.
5. Mini-map - The mini-map shows your immediate geographical surroundings as well as representing nearby enemies and friendly characters.
6. The combat rose - These arrows represent the directions you can swing your weapon in, allowing you to take advantage of the game's innovative combat.
7. Character vitals - Your character's health is shown in red, your stamina is shown in green and your mana is shown in blue. Your name and level is also shown.
8. Target vitals - Represents the vitals of your current target.
9. Experience bar - This represents how much experience points you have earned, counting towards your next level. Experience is gained through gameplay.
10. Social buttons - These buttons opens various social windows such as a tool that allows you to search for other players and join PvP mini-games.
11. Active effects - Effects that are active on your character (such as spells you have cast on yourself) will be displayed here for your convenience.
12. Quest tracker - Tracks the objectives of your currently active quest.

3. Preparing for combat

(Combat is the meat of Age of Conan)

The very core of Age of Conan is combat. Through combat you will develop your character and progress through the levels, hopefully earning you fame, fortune and a whole lot of adventure on the way. Soon after arriving on Tortage Island you will be faced with great challenges - all solvable by force or by magic, of course!

Basic attacks

To attack a target all you need to do is start hitting in one of the directions with your weapon, or fire a spell at them (depending on your class). Move up to your target and use the directional combat arrows (as described in the interface section of this guide) and your character will automatically enter combat mode. Alternatively, if you are a spell caster, an offensive spell might already be on your hotbar ready for use. In that case, click on the target you want to hit and fire off the spell. This is the basic essence of combat.

You can also use the 1, 2, and 3 keys on your keyboard to hit in various directions.

Advanced targeting

Targeting in Age of Conan works somewhat differently than in similar games. You do not necessarily need to click on an enemy in order to target them; you can also simply move up to them and start fighting. As you get deeper into the game you will see that magic casters have a particularly wide array of targeting possibilities, such as "cone targeting" that allows you to cast a spell at anything in front of you. If you are an archer you can even zoom into first-person mode and manually target and shoot your enemies!

Combo attacks

Many classes receives so-called "combo moves". These are abilities that will allow you to deal out greater damage, and they are access from the abilities window (use the top menu bar to display this window), but you have to move combos down to your hotbar to use them. To trigger a combo, simply click on it using your mouse cursor or hit the corresponding keyboard key (usually from keys 4 to 9). You will notice that one of your directional combat arrows will light up, urging you to hit in that direction

Finishing a combo will result in greater damage and a unique combat animation.

4. Wrapping it up

Good work! By finishing this tutorial you should know a whole lot more about how Age of Conan works, allowing for a smoother transition into Hyboria once you log in. Keep in mind, however, that these are only the very basics of how the game works. As you get deeper into the game you will discover that Age of Conan offers unparalleled depth!

Here are a few tips that you should bring with you on the road:

Gain experience! Progression in Age of Conan is measured in experience and levels. As you kill enemies and complete quests you will gain more experience and thus also levels. You can track your progress by looking at the orange bar at the bottom of your screen.

Equip yourself! Soon you will realize that the basic weapon in your hand and the scraps of clothes on your back is not sufficient for a life of adventure. Complete quests to get better equipment - or buy them from a vendor. You will look cooler and perform better!

Go exploring! A lot of the fun to be had in Age of Conan comes from exploring. For the first twenty levels you will be "stuck" on Tortage Island, but even here there is a whole jungle to explore! Pretty soon you will have the opportunity to explore more of Hyboria.

Pick up a trade! Later in the game you will have the opportunity to become a crafter. Ask other players how to get started, or use the in-game help system. You can become anything from a weaponsmith to an alchemist - creating items other players want to buy!

Socialize! Massively multiplayer games such as Age of Conan are all about socializing. Soon you will stumble upon other players that you can communicate with. Talk to them by using the chat window, and why not go out and face the challenges together?

Join a guild! Social interaction will also lead you into guilds. Guilds are large groups of players that have formed a society, usually sporting a creative name. Guilds can share a common chat channel, as well as construct entire cities - and fight other guilds!

Fight other players! Fighting monsters is all well and good, but for that extra level of challenge you should try fighting other players such as yourself! Mini-games are an easy way of getting into combat with others (use the in-game help tool for more information).

Build and destroy! Once you reach the later parts of the game, you will most likely be helping your guild constructing an entire guild city or a battlekeep. You can even launch attacks on other guilds' battlekeeps, opening up a whole new world of gameplay!

PS! Use the official Age of Conan website to find even more information about the game, such as elaborate information on player vs. player combat, guild cities, mounts, advanced combat, economics, and more. You can also download the complete manual in .PDF!

Good luck in Hyboria, adventurer!