Obviously I have missed a post or two recently, as I have been sucked into the world of Conan fairly heavily. The more we play, the more we find details and pieces that are unexpected. Unlike our previous survival game, Ark, this game goes into a lot more detail, especially with regards to the combat mechanics. Most you can just gloss over, but as you get more experienced, the nuances become more apparent. For example, in Ark, you simple walk up and start hitting – location, range, and maneuvering (other than to dodge a dino attack) is pretty irrelevant. In Conan, everything makes a difference. Different weapons have different reach, armor affects your ability to move quickly, or fight without getting tired, and position is fairly critical. Smaller weapons swing faster, but do less damage. And if your foe has a long weapon, he can hold you at range killing you, unless you can grab an opening and get up close and personal.
Maybe I am reading too much into the experience, but this combination of combat style vs ability is refreshing in a survival game, and adds a lot of tactics to the play. Most other games, you simply pile on more and more armor, and upgrade to the latest (and most damaging weapon), to succeed. In this game, it isn’t nearly that straight forward.
