To the developers - just an idea to revamp the resource zones and enhance the game
As it has been from the early days of AoC, the resource zones of Poitain, Purple Lotus, and Lachiesh Plains have always been a bit of a mixed bag in terms of content. Existing for the sole purpose of grinding resources and building guild cities, these massive zones are left by the wayside in terms of lore and quality content. In light of the impending crafting revamp, or to possibly breathe new life and add quality PvE content to the game, I have dreamed up a few ideas that some may find interesting. For everyone who sees this, I am well aware that devs probably dont really care, however Id like to hear what other players think of my ideas.
First of all I am extremely fond of the Khitan faction content. Picking your sides, waging wars, and getting immersed into the lore for high teir gear is extremely rewarding and I think it does the game a disservice that new f2p players never see this content. My suggestion is creating smaller scale faction content (much like the wolves and hyrks of the northern grasslands) for the resource fields to bring in players and breath life into these empty zones. There would be some effort involved, as gear and quests would need to be programmed. For Gear Id suggest pallet swaps of existing gear, or attatch epic level stats to weapons and armor currently in the game, worn by npcs, but not available to the player at this time. This gear should be ranke Teir 1.5 or 2.5 to allow f2p players to dip their toes into factions while giving p2p players a distinct advantage with the Khitai reputation gear.
For Poitain I suggest the Nemedians vs the Poitain Nobles. With a full scale invasion taking place at the capital, there is little to stop the Nemedian incursion upon Aqulonian soil. Poitain nobles with few resources and against all odds launch a desperate defense of their home, utilizing any mercenary they can muster. On the oppposite side we have the Nemedian Incursion force who are launching a bloody campaign against Aqulonia and seek to squash out the last resistance in Poitain. Obviously, Nemedian items already drop from the Border Lands and recoloring them should be fairly simple. Aquilonian pieces would be nice as there are several nice armor pieces in the game already that get very little use.
For Lachiesh Plains I suggest the Villagers of Brandoc vs the Pictish Tribes. Pictish tribes convene once again to shed Cimmerian blood, and the villagers of Brandoc seek to do the same in kind. I would love to see more of the Pictish armor sets available to players and there are many awesome Cimmerian pieces that could be reskinned and put to great use. Beyond that, Id like to see the more lore in the area and what the deal is with all those spiders and green giants!
For Purple Lotus Swamp, I am the most excited about. The Stygian Expedition and the Kushite Raiders. Much of the lore of the area will focus around the large Acheronian ruin in the center which, despite its awesome and ominous presence, hasnt been featured in any content what so ever (why funcom? it looked like it took so many man hours to build??). Kushite Armor already exists in the game, however it is terrible and doesn't really matter outside the style tab. The people of Kush and the south feature prominently in Conan stories, however, they are barely existent in this game.
Marks of Acclaim still have weight here, though Imperial Insignias should be worthless. Much, if not all, of the gear should be purchasable if you do not revamp the resource zone dungeons along with the zones themselves. Boss fights, quest structure, and all art assets and much of the programming could and should be recycled from the Khitai expansion and brought into the old world. Khitai was quality content and, in my opinion, some of the best AoC has to offer. Funcom has a lot to gain by exposing new players and f2p players to your awesome faction content and giving incentive to purchase Rise of the Godslayer.
