regnarog
08-11-2008, 12:54
Introduction
Conquerors are a sword-wielding fusion of heavy armor and battlefield command, rare individuals rising from the ranks of Aquilonian generals and barbarous Cimmerian war-leaders. Conquerors fall under the Soldier Archetype and are unmatched masters of the battleground. They wield formidable two-handed weapons and can dual-wield for even more offensive power. Conquerors have two permittable races, Aquilonian and Cimmerian. They can wear heavy armor, so will usually be found on the frontlines taking the direct hits.
Starting Out
When you begin your journey on Tortage Beach you will be equipped with a broken oar, and the "Sweep" combo. Regardless of your lack of gear and skills, you will find that even at Level 2 you can take on large groups while barely losing any health. The Conqueror is a heavy-hitter and the chain-kills are yours for the taking. You will find no need to rest from Level 1 through 5. Once reaching Level 5 you are rewarded with a couple of new combos, including "Hail of Furious Strikes" and "Engaging Strike, which are often one-shotters (for a brief period) and fatality magnets.
If you wish to continue your powerhouse streak through to Level 20, then be sure to upgrade your gear as you go along. Once reaching the city you may choose to purchase items for your empty slots. Having the best available weapon possible at all times is also a must.
As a Soldier you will not receive spells, so no mana for you. But keep an eye on your stamina if you're a sprinter, as you'll need stamina to lay waste to all whom oppose you.
Weapons
Weapon choice will be an area in which you will have to weigh the pros and cons. Two-Handed or Dual Wield? Some of your combos will require a Two-Handed weapon, while others will require that you Dual Wield. You can set yourself up with both. Equip your Two-Handed weapon of choice on one side of your weapon inventory screen, and equip your two best Dual Wield weapons on the right. Then open up your abilities screen and drag the "Switch Weapons" button to your hotbar. Now you can switch on the fly, allowing you to use both Two-Handed and Dual Wield weapons in the same enemy encounter. You'll have to be quick though, and switching on the fly may take some time to get used to.
In addition to using Two-Handed and Dual Wield weapons, the Conqueror may also use certain thrown weapons, such as daggers, spears and throwing axes. You can equip these for pulling mobs at range. However, at the lower levels the range on thrown weapons is pretty short.
Armor
The Conqueror will begin Age of Conan wearing light and medium armor. You will not be able to equip cloth or plate, but at Level 30 you can start to wear heavy armor. Watch for gear with +health, +strength, +dexterity, +hate and resists to increase both your defense and offense.
Skills
When you first start gaining skill points at Level 5, you will not notice many options available. Recovery, Running and Climbing are three that you may want to consider putting points into initially. While bandaging is also available, you probably will not find yourself using it much pre-Level 20. If you enjoy the hiding skill then it would be a good idea to save up some points for when it becomes available to you at Level 18. Also available at Level 18 is taunt. This will help you generate added hate in a group situation, so that the mobs focus their attention on you instead of the rest of your group.
Auras & Stances
While the Conqueror is a combo-based class and does not get "spells" per se, you will receive a selection of "Auras". These are beneficial spells which can be used to increase the Conqueror's defensive or offensive skills, as well as those of your group. In addition to their Auras, the Conqueror also receives a couple of stances, such as Defensive Stance to greatly increase their defense and Frenzy Stance which will greatly increase your damage. Those stances come at a cost though. While you are dealing more damage your defenses will be lower, and while your defenses are raised you will deal less damage.
Furious Inspiration
Furious Inspiration is a little known self buff which triggers automatically. When Furious Inspiration procs it has the ability heal group members when they inflict damage on an enemy. Additionally, it offers a chance to resurrect fallen group members. You will have to watch your buff icons to know when Furious Inspiration is active.
In order to proc this ability you must be in the right scenario. If you purchase the Brute tree feat called "Angel Fury" then your Two-Handed combos will have a chance of triggering Furious Inspiration. In addition, "Improved Furious Inspiration" is also available through the Brute feats tree, this feat will increase the healing power of the ability. Additionally, if a group member is struck you have a chance to proc Furious Inspiration.
Combos
The Conqueror has many high damage combos available to them, several of which will continue to upgrade and see you through to Level 80. Such as Hail of Furious Strikes and Bloody Hack, to just name two favourites out of the many. In addition, you will receive combos that will decrease the defenses of your enemies and also combos which will provide you with taunts to gain aggro in a group situation.
Feats
This is always an area of personal preference. However, the Soldier General feats do seem a bit weak when compared to the Conqueror specialty feats. Both Brute and Carnage offer a number of damage increasing feats, as well as shortened reuse timers. The Carnage tree also offers a couple of additionals combos. Try out the Age of Conan Vault Feat Calculator to plan our your feat choices in advance.
Solo Play / PvP
When solo'ing a Conqueror remember that you can queue up combos so there is no lapse in your attack. Don't wait for one combo to end before starting the next, especially when fighting more than one mob at a time. The speed of continuous strikes can make the difference between life and death, and will also speed up your levelling time if you are trying to power level. If mobs are too tightly grouped then you can switch off to a ranged weapon for the pull. Eventually you will be able to use a crossbow.
When battling more than one mob try to position yourself so that you can do weapon damage to all at once. You may need to pull back a bit to get them in striking distance. If all enemy health bars are going down then you've hit the spot!
Keep those heal potions handy. Since the Conqueror doesn't have much in the way of buffs, food and drink is always good to have on hand as well. If you find that you are having trouble solo'ing then you may need to take a better look at your where your feat points were invested.
Group Play
Every group needs a meat shield (tank!), and that's where the Conqueror comes in. As the group tank it will often be your job to "pull" mobs without getting more than the group can handle, and then maintaining aggro (hate) from the mobs to protect the other classes in your group. Taunt will be vital, especially if your group is using a puller other than yourself. In such a case it will be your job to taunt the mob before it kills the puller. Additionally, Mages are known to "over-nuke" at times, and while they should not attempt to steal aggro from the tank, it does happen. You should be prepared to taunt mobs off of the casters if needed.
If your group encounter is close to a win but your healer is having some trouble keeping you up, then you can help to keep yourself alive for a brief time by using "Active Blocking". By default active blocking is set to your "X" key. When used, this ability drains stamina at a very quick rate. However, it can completely block all damage if you are using a shield, and at the very least you will dodge a lot of incoming damage. It may give your DPS enough time to finish off the mob.
If you are not tanking then hold off on the taunts but go in swinging. Conquerors do decent DPS.
Conquerors are a sword-wielding fusion of heavy armor and battlefield command, rare individuals rising from the ranks of Aquilonian generals and barbarous Cimmerian war-leaders. Conquerors fall under the Soldier Archetype and are unmatched masters of the battleground. They wield formidable two-handed weapons and can dual-wield for even more offensive power. Conquerors have two permittable races, Aquilonian and Cimmerian. They can wear heavy armor, so will usually be found on the frontlines taking the direct hits.
Starting Out
When you begin your journey on Tortage Beach you will be equipped with a broken oar, and the "Sweep" combo. Regardless of your lack of gear and skills, you will find that even at Level 2 you can take on large groups while barely losing any health. The Conqueror is a heavy-hitter and the chain-kills are yours for the taking. You will find no need to rest from Level 1 through 5. Once reaching Level 5 you are rewarded with a couple of new combos, including "Hail of Furious Strikes" and "Engaging Strike, which are often one-shotters (for a brief period) and fatality magnets.
If you wish to continue your powerhouse streak through to Level 20, then be sure to upgrade your gear as you go along. Once reaching the city you may choose to purchase items for your empty slots. Having the best available weapon possible at all times is also a must.
As a Soldier you will not receive spells, so no mana for you. But keep an eye on your stamina if you're a sprinter, as you'll need stamina to lay waste to all whom oppose you.
Weapons
Weapon choice will be an area in which you will have to weigh the pros and cons. Two-Handed or Dual Wield? Some of your combos will require a Two-Handed weapon, while others will require that you Dual Wield. You can set yourself up with both. Equip your Two-Handed weapon of choice on one side of your weapon inventory screen, and equip your two best Dual Wield weapons on the right. Then open up your abilities screen and drag the "Switch Weapons" button to your hotbar. Now you can switch on the fly, allowing you to use both Two-Handed and Dual Wield weapons in the same enemy encounter. You'll have to be quick though, and switching on the fly may take some time to get used to.
In addition to using Two-Handed and Dual Wield weapons, the Conqueror may also use certain thrown weapons, such as daggers, spears and throwing axes. You can equip these for pulling mobs at range. However, at the lower levels the range on thrown weapons is pretty short.
Armor
The Conqueror will begin Age of Conan wearing light and medium armor. You will not be able to equip cloth or plate, but at Level 30 you can start to wear heavy armor. Watch for gear with +health, +strength, +dexterity, +hate and resists to increase both your defense and offense.
Skills
When you first start gaining skill points at Level 5, you will not notice many options available. Recovery, Running and Climbing are three that you may want to consider putting points into initially. While bandaging is also available, you probably will not find yourself using it much pre-Level 20. If you enjoy the hiding skill then it would be a good idea to save up some points for when it becomes available to you at Level 18. Also available at Level 18 is taunt. This will help you generate added hate in a group situation, so that the mobs focus their attention on you instead of the rest of your group.
Auras & Stances
While the Conqueror is a combo-based class and does not get "spells" per se, you will receive a selection of "Auras". These are beneficial spells which can be used to increase the Conqueror's defensive or offensive skills, as well as those of your group. In addition to their Auras, the Conqueror also receives a couple of stances, such as Defensive Stance to greatly increase their defense and Frenzy Stance which will greatly increase your damage. Those stances come at a cost though. While you are dealing more damage your defenses will be lower, and while your defenses are raised you will deal less damage.
Furious Inspiration
Furious Inspiration is a little known self buff which triggers automatically. When Furious Inspiration procs it has the ability heal group members when they inflict damage on an enemy. Additionally, it offers a chance to resurrect fallen group members. You will have to watch your buff icons to know when Furious Inspiration is active.
In order to proc this ability you must be in the right scenario. If you purchase the Brute tree feat called "Angel Fury" then your Two-Handed combos will have a chance of triggering Furious Inspiration. In addition, "Improved Furious Inspiration" is also available through the Brute feats tree, this feat will increase the healing power of the ability. Additionally, if a group member is struck you have a chance to proc Furious Inspiration.
Combos
The Conqueror has many high damage combos available to them, several of which will continue to upgrade and see you through to Level 80. Such as Hail of Furious Strikes and Bloody Hack, to just name two favourites out of the many. In addition, you will receive combos that will decrease the defenses of your enemies and also combos which will provide you with taunts to gain aggro in a group situation.
Feats
This is always an area of personal preference. However, the Soldier General feats do seem a bit weak when compared to the Conqueror specialty feats. Both Brute and Carnage offer a number of damage increasing feats, as well as shortened reuse timers. The Carnage tree also offers a couple of additionals combos. Try out the Age of Conan Vault Feat Calculator to plan our your feat choices in advance.
Solo Play / PvP
When solo'ing a Conqueror remember that you can queue up combos so there is no lapse in your attack. Don't wait for one combo to end before starting the next, especially when fighting more than one mob at a time. The speed of continuous strikes can make the difference between life and death, and will also speed up your levelling time if you are trying to power level. If mobs are too tightly grouped then you can switch off to a ranged weapon for the pull. Eventually you will be able to use a crossbow.
When battling more than one mob try to position yourself so that you can do weapon damage to all at once. You may need to pull back a bit to get them in striking distance. If all enemy health bars are going down then you've hit the spot!
Keep those heal potions handy. Since the Conqueror doesn't have much in the way of buffs, food and drink is always good to have on hand as well. If you find that you are having trouble solo'ing then you may need to take a better look at your where your feat points were invested.
Group Play
Every group needs a meat shield (tank!), and that's where the Conqueror comes in. As the group tank it will often be your job to "pull" mobs without getting more than the group can handle, and then maintaining aggro (hate) from the mobs to protect the other classes in your group. Taunt will be vital, especially if your group is using a puller other than yourself. In such a case it will be your job to taunt the mob before it kills the puller. Additionally, Mages are known to "over-nuke" at times, and while they should not attempt to steal aggro from the tank, it does happen. You should be prepared to taunt mobs off of the casters if needed.
If your group encounter is close to a win but your healer is having some trouble keeping you up, then you can help to keep yourself alive for a brief time by using "Active Blocking". By default active blocking is set to your "X" key. When used, this ability drains stamina at a very quick rate. However, it can completely block all damage if you are using a shield, and at the very least you will dodge a lot of incoming damage. It may give your DPS enough time to finish off the mob.
If you are not tanking then hold off on the taunts but go in swinging. Conquerors do decent DPS.