Editor’s note: click on screens for the super huge colossal version

Age of Conan in spite of its initial success, is a game that has been rife with turmoil since its auspicious debut. I joined in about a week or so after launch, which spurred on a massive computer upgrade for me, and I promptly fell in love with the game, just as everyone else on the web turned violently aggressive and stormed the official forums with torches and pitchforks. I played my first character, an Aquilonian Dark Templar named Asselar, into the low 40’s before I hit the “content chasm” and a general sense of malaise set in, no doubt compounded by the oncoming rush of new console titles last fall.

Approaching the game’s first anniversary, with Direct X 10 support now implemented for even prettier visuals, and upon hearing about many of the additions and changes that have come, and are coming in the very near future (including a COMPLETE overhaul of all of the game’s weapons and armor) I’ve decided to fire up the old account, blow the cobwebs off, and reacquaint myself with the world of Conan. Rather than pick up where I left off after about 8 months absence, I decided to start fresh. I’ll be keeping a journal of sorts of my experience with the new, and hopefully improved Age of Conan.

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