Tomorrow is the day of Release in Europe

As you all know, tomorrow is the day of release in Europe, and thus I've decided to add a few thoughts on how I feel about the Priest of Mitra class and the game itself.

First of all - HEALING
This is, pardon my French, Fucking Hard the first few times you do it in Age of Conan, because you can't hang back and pop a Greater Heal or what they're all called. Most of the heals, or maybe even all of them, are HoT's (or Heal over Time spells). This makes healing in AoC much more offensive than in WoW (and AO), because you just can't afford having the tank reach 25% health or less before casting your spells. And, another thing that's new and weird the few first times, is that you can't target your tank and heal him, your spells are all AoE (Area of Effect), and you'll have to move around to be close enough to reach those you'll want to affect with your heals.

So, in my oppinion, after having played Doctor in AO and Holy Priest in WoW, a Priest of Mitra is much more fun to play, as you'll have to actually Work to keep your group alive.

Second - SOLO
A Priest of Mitra is actually a very good solo character imho. I can easily kill several opponents of my own level (talking strictly PvE now!), and I can heal myself. It all became easier when I figured out the skills, and that I could max the one called Casting Concentration, in order to get interrupted less. With the spell Repulse, that knocks the attackers off their feet while dealing damage, I can easily handle a group. And, if all else fail, I've got my mace and shield, and I actually deal a fair amount of damage that way as well.

Third - PvP
Even if I'm on a PvP-server, I haven't seen much action yet. There is no PvP in the starting zones, and you can actually reach level 15 or 16 without going to the first PvP zone (White Sands). I choose that approach, as I wanted to learn how to play my class a bit before going to battle, but when I went to White Sands, I learned that a PoM is feared by people the same level or lower, and should be feared by single players one or two levels above you as well.
I've also heard from guildies that fighting a PoM is hardcore, at least if the priest know his class.

All in all, I'm looking forward to a lot of fun in AoC, and I'm hoping to see a lot of people joining now that the game goes live. :)

For all you non-EA people out there...

Early Access

Well, it's time to start playing guys and girls, and yesterday I sat like a child on christmas eagerly awaiting 5pm GMT when the servers should open. But alas, Funcom decided to postpone the whole shebang three hours.

Well, it gave me time to eat a burger, go get a few of my girlfriends friends over here (so I could play without her getting lonely!), and feel how the butterflies in my tummy multiplied, and multiplied again. I even had time to loose at cards to my girlfriend and her friends, but then 8pm GMT!!

I ran to my computer, started the game and - patch... Then I couldn't connect to the patch server, and after a while I patched again and some more, but in the end I managed to log in on the Fury server, and I created Hanayol. Long story short, I leveled to 5, and logged off to socialize again, only to find out that our guild, Ragnarok, had changed to Battlescar.

So, today I logged into Battlescar, rerolled Hanayol and leveled to 6th level before breakfast. It's all going well, with hardly no bugs, little lag, and altough I've got low fps (down to 3 or something sometimes) I'm having fun! Soon I'll be able to go do party-/guildthings, and that'll be very fun indeed!

Priest of Mitra Builds

I haven't had the chance to test any of these builds yet, but I will when I get high enough level, and then I'll rewrite this post. What you find here is a few builds that might work.

Sacred Vengeance
24/31/24 (Divinity/Vengeance/General)
Focus: Solo PvE, Group PvE DD/Sec. healer
Comments: High dmg output, high mana regen, passive healing

Spiritual Rejuvenation
47/0/32
Focus: Group/Raid PvE healer
Comments: Hate reduction, Lower manacost/higher regen

Divine Justice
47/27/5
Focus: PvP / Solo Leveling
Comments: CC feats maxed, and I think it's a good anti-gank build if you're on a pvp-server.

Divine Warding
46/18/15
Focus: Group PvP
Comments: Resistances maxed, group buff feats

The Priest of Mitra

I'd like to take some time to discuss the Priest of Mitra, or rather to show you a bit of what I've found around the net the last couple of hours.

As a priestess of Mitra, Hanayol will be able to call upon the power of Mitra to throw back those that would confront her, keeping her party safe from harm.

Taken from the official AoC homepage:
"Priests of Mitra wield divine power that can aid, heal, and even bring the dead to life.

Their god is one of justice, security, and liberty, and their followers are ready to fight to ensure these freedoms and to battle against oppression, tyranny, and villainy. Priests of Mitra also have the strongest healing powers. They also have the ability to bombard the enemy with holy damage.

Priests of Mitra wear light armor and use martial weapons. Their powers to augment those around, heal wounds, and impair enemies make them indispensable to any party exploring Hyboria."

All in all, some real goody-two-shoes. Many a Priest of Mitra may develop the Holier Than Thou mentality, at least those who choose to play on a RP-server. Hanayol doesn't care though. She's happy when people around her are happy, because when people around her are happy she'll most likely get to go fun places, and to do interesting stuff.

Further Reading: Class Review Priest of Mitra

A few movies featuring Priests of Mitra:
PvP Weekend 01
PvP Weekend 02
PvP Weekend 03

Priest of Mitra in Tortage

A little bonus video

By Crom! The BIG Step Is Taken!

Hail adventurer.

I will use this blog to tell you the tale of Hanayol - Priest of Mitra, member of the guild Ragnarok, on the [insert name here] server in the game Age of Conan. And I hope it will be a good blog, with information, humor, hints and tips, and maybe even some pictures.

I've currently downloaded the early start thingy, the patches, and I am ready to go! Let's ROCK and ROLL!

The reason why I've choosen to play a priest(ess) of Mitra is twofold.
First - I've always thought it's fun to play a healer, and I've played one in WoW, and Anarchy Online before that. And second: I think it's fun to play a healer! Oh, and did I mention that I think its fun to play a healer?

You can have as good a tank there is, and plenty of dps, but without the healer you're going to WIPE and WIPE again.

Ragnarok will be playing on a pvp server. If you see me ingame, don't hesitate to say "Hello!" I never attack first, unless I'm out there on the warpath with the guild, so unless you're a raving lunatic and a berserker with blood on your mind, we might have a chat.

I hope you'll keep reading this blog, and I hope that I'll be able to write a witty, and informative blog here.