Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures Interview

GameSpy was able to sit down with Age of Conan game director Craig Morrison and fire off some tough questions about the game’s technical issues, lack of content, and more.

According to Morrison, it was the PvE players who would turn out to be easiest to satisfy. “All they wanted was things to do that were as interesting as what they had done in Tortage [the game’s first 20 levels – ed.],” he said. To that end, the team committed itself to creating and implementing content patches that would fill the PvE holes. “We’re very proud of Ymir’s Pass,” Morrison said. Ymir’s Pass, the largest content update since launch, is a huge play zone containing well over 1,000 NPCs, dozens of quests and a huge epic dungeon that ends with what Morrison calls a “cinematic conclusion.” More than just randomized content, Morrison cites the thematic cohesiveness of Ymir’s Pass as a huge selling point. The playfield marks the most ambitious and story-driven series of quests so far, marked most notably by a zone-wide plot that springs directly from “The Frost Giant’s Daughter,” one of author Robert E. Howard’s most well-loved “Conan” tomes.

Going forward, the team is now getting ready to launch Xibaluku, a new high-end single-group dungeon in the Thunder River region. This Pict-infested Acheronian ruin is home to a dozen new boss encounters and a whole bunch of new high-end loot. Access to the dungeon is gained via the new “Slaughterhouse Cellar,” a warren of tunnels underneath a ruined farmhouse that constitutes a brand-new solo dungeon, which will act as keeper for dozens of new quests to explore. While Morrison was careful not to issue spoilers about the new dungeons, he did note that Xibaluku is being designed to require several run-throughs, as the contents and bosses encountered inside will shift depending on how players proceed through it.