I'm bumping this thread up again since today was a monumental day in AoC's ongoing development/patch cycle. Not only that, but today we saw a new Game Director put in charge over the former's failings. Both are positive signs. Most importantly, the patch today gives significant weight to the PvP aspects of AoC, along with a HUGE number of bug-fixes and optimizations. Where the game was good before, it's even better now. I'll not rehash the patch entirely, but most notably PvP Gear and experience were fully implemented and PvP dmg/defense was properly tweaked and balance. Battles are now more engaging and visceral and have meaning in the long-term. Siege warfare is totally patched-in and much more stable and compelling alongside the other fixes.

And this is only the beginning.

So I'm calling TG out again even more forcefully now. We're at a point now where as a guild we cant compete with the larger ones because we dont have the numbers to field viable PvP groups. Our numbers are growing slowly at the lower levels, but we still need more swords on the playfield.

So come out and join us!

If you didnt see our last post in the AoC news section, here it is:
I'm bumping up this News thread because the game has come quite a long way since release. I'm also doing this to throw out a call to all TGers to support your TG guild on Cimmeria server (Ars Tactika). Our numbers have dwindled since the dissolution of Syndicus and Lions of Tybor TG guilds, so we need to refill the ranks. If we dont get more numbers then TG will drop AoC entirely and IMO that'd be a mistake.

I'm still of the opinion AoC is a quality product and will only get better and better. Unlike other games, Funcom has a clear upgrade path going on and they've shown they can deliver. Many enhancements are just waiting "finishing touches" and will go live relatively soon... like the DX10 client (hopefully by the end of the month) and the revamped PvP system (next week). The latter 2 elements basically change the entire game and it's worth a look just to experience it.

Well before the end of the year a whole new zone (Ymir's Pass) will also go online along with a new region inside Tarantia (the slums). Early next year an entire new expansion will be released.

Every patch usually includes new and/or improved quests as well. Recently, Eiglophian mountains saw a huge influx of quests; along with totally revamped and new quests in the lower lvl areas. So the game as it stands now has absolutely little to no grinding if played through the entire storyline. All major questlines now have voice-overs as well.

As for endgame, the new PvP system next week will bring about a brand new and improved siege system along with activation of the PvP reward system and the Mercenary and Fugitive systems. Balance tweaks will make PvE dungeon gear more logical to acquire so we'll start seeing more effort between guilds to complete them.

Right now the biggest issue is getting guilds organized to tackle these very difficult PvE dungeons since many like us are suffering in numbers. Both PvP and PvE elements fall prey to this difficulty.

It was thought originally that AoC would be a great game for TG, but for one reason or another many people have lost the requisite patience required for a game of this mass. We need you folks back and we need more support from those of you who have yet to try it out. The eventual goal is getting to a point where casual teamplay-oriented endgame raiding and pvp is a reality. Once we achieve this critical mass, it'll be easier to schedule events for people to participate in within their daily lives - AoC is the perfect game for this type of play... since it doesnt demand the amount of timesink a game like WoW or WAR does.

So give it a shot! We could use the support. And like all games, playing it with TG folks makes it all the more fun.

p.s.
I have a few free trials remaining for those interested in trying it out. Hint: right now would be a great time to do-so.

For those coming ingame, here's our info:
Guild: Ars Tactika
Server: Cimmeria (RP)
Main Officers: Nikitis, Xercos, Ophian

Come say "hi" in the AoC forum and TS channel.