Do you know your characters role when it comes to Age of Conan Hyborian Adventure (AoC)? Perhaps you do, or maybe you are new to the Massively Multi-player Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG) universe and are still learning. Well fear not. We at Ten Ton Hammer are here to help you understand the role of your chosen archetype when it comes to grouping in AoC.

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style="font-style: italic;">The Guardian may be the king of defense.

AoC will have four archetypes when the game goes live in May. Those Archetypes are Soldier, Priest, Mage, and Rogue. Each one has a distinctive role when grouping with others. Each player will need to learn their role for these groups to be effective.

AoC will have a more active and engaging combat system so the role of the tank will take on a more engaging twist. The job of the tank in a group is to defend his allies from the enemies. The tank stands at the forefront of battle and engages the enemy and protecting his allies from harm by drawing their attention while his allies engage from a distance or from behind. A good tank will spin the enemy so that his foes back is to his allies allowing them free reign of death dealing from the rear.

With AoC’s new combat system traditional tanks will need to be more hands on and possibly even have faster reflexes. Split second decisions could mean the difference between defeating your enemy and having your group wiped out in the depths of a dungeon. As a Soldier, your first responsibility is the safety of your group. You are the head of the spear and thus the first to be thrust into battle.

A soldier’s true strength does not lie in his ability to deal mass damage, but rather his ability to act as a wall between the enemy and his allies. The ability to taunt their enemies into engaging them rather than the squishy priest or mage is the true hallmark of any soldier. Armor, mitigation, and hate generating skills are your best friends.

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style="font-style: italic;">The Conquerer is skilled in augmenting their group with auras.

Does this mean you can’t or shouldn’t deal damage? No it doesn’t. Being a tank will provide you the opportunity to control the pace of the fight. Everyone will take their cue from you. Once you have established aggro on an enemy or group of enemies you will be able to unload with skills relating to your mastery of fine weaponry.

Each soldier will be able to fill the role of the tank, but each will fill that role differently.

Guardian

As a Guardian you will have the unique benefit of being the only class that can wear Full Plate. The Guardian may very well be the king of tanks as they will have the most hitpoints and the most defensive options of the three soldiers. The Guardian will have the added benefit of switching his tactics, maneuvers and stratagems on the fly to allow him to switch between having more defense at the expense of offense and vice versa. The Guardian also has a unique way of putting the Pole-arm to use.

Conqueror

Of the three soldier classes the Conqueror deals the most damage, but they lack the hit points of the guardian. One of the Conqueror’s best benefits is the ability to bestow his allies with buffs in the form of auras. By using a variety of auras, the Conqueror can augment his group with benefits that will increase their attack power or increase their defenses and stamina or mana regeneration.

Managing the aura abilities will be one of the Conquerors big jobs. These will aid the groups in many different ways and will be a key aspect to performing your role as a tank. Your job becomes a lot easier if you are not the main tank and can focus on keeping the auras rotated and dealing damage.

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style="font-style: italic;">The Dark Templar makes use of dark auras and life draining skills.

Dark Templar

The Dark Templar has less hitpoints than the other two soldier classes, but his benefit comes from his ability to conjure dark auras and even suck the life from his enemies to restore his own or that of his group members.

While the three soldiers are very different, their overall goal is the same when grouping. The soldier is responsible for the safety of the group. They are the first and last line of defense. They are the defenders of the weak and punisher of those who would dare stand against their allies. When Age of Conan launches in May and you step into Hyboria for the first time; keep this in mind when you join a group and always know your role.

(Note: Some of the many informational pieces I drew on for class information can be found here at Ten Ton Hammer. I have already provided links in the story but here they are again for good measure.)

• Age of Conan Class Interview #2: The Guardian
• Age of Conan Class Interview #3: The Conqueror
• Age of Conan Class Interview #1: The Dark Templar
  

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