Combat in AoC

[Gamerz]

I have found combat to be superb. The AOC combat is far more engaging than any other MMO I have played. You have your three basic attacks (left, overhead, right) which you can use with impunity, and as you level you gain more abilities (combo's) which require endurance to use. You can no longer just stand opposite your opponent, do nothing and kill them - you simply will not attack them if you try, you have to get in there.

As the game is aimed at a mature audience, there are buckets of claret thrown around, and should you finish an opponent you have around a 10% chance (which can be increased through item buffs etc) to perform the much-touted fatality moves. These are an absolute joy! So far I have beheaded opponents, run them through and then smacked them off the end of my sword with my shield, skewered them then twisted my sword in their gut before gently pushing them onto their backs, and hoisted them into the air on the end of my pole-arm. My favorite though is one of the blunt weapon attacks - you slam their knees from one side, knocking them into a kneeling position, then slam them over the head with your hammer/mace/whatever three times, each time hammering their head lower into their shoulders while they vomit blood out of their mouths. Fatality moves are rare enough that when they happen they are a treat, and have you yelling 'Fucking have some!!!' at the screen (well, I do anyhow).

Combat is not totally real-time, the system is still doing it's dice rolls behind the scene, which can be a bit jarring if you dodge after the calculation has taken place - your character leaps back out of range, and gets twatted regardless - but this is pretty rare to be honest.

Casters I don't know about, not used one, but I imagine they are more similar to the WoW staple of target and cast. They get an ability called spellweaving, which I have not seen yet, but that sounds quite cool.

[Mr. Hrm]

cool, have to try it