Funcom has revealed some of the PvP changes that are incoming and there's some pretty cool stuff in the pipeline based on the recent test server notes. The Murderer system I really approve of.

Here is a brief explanation of the basics of the new PvP systems. Everything listed here may not be in the current build on Testlive, and does not necessarily reflect the final system.


PVP Levels and XP
* There are 10 PVP levels.
* All players are worth 100 PvP XP when killed by a similar level player.
* When you die in PvP, you lose PvP XP. The amount you lose is static, regardless of the level of player who killed you.
* Losing PVP XP will not de-level you in PvP level.
* In order to prevent abuse of the system, there is a limit set on how many times one player can gain or lose PvP XP from another.
* You gain normal PVE XP when you are involved in a PVP kill. If you or your team get credit for a PVP kill, then you gain a certain amount of PVE experience from that kill. You get 10% of the XP from that player as though he were a monster of that level. You always get a minimum of 1 xp.


PVP Items
You can buy PVP items with normal money (there is no special currency for PVP). However, your PvP level will have to meet the requirements (if any) on any items you wish to use.
* Items are not tradeable
* Sold by PvP vendors


Notoriety System
A player is flagged in three different ways using this system: innocent, criminal, and murderer.

* Criminals and Murderers will have an icon showing their status.
* Innocent : No one can perform hostile actions on you without being flagged as a Criminal.
* Criminal : Performing a hostile action on an Innocent player will flag you as a Criminal for 5 minutes. Any further Criminal acts during the 5 minute time will refresh your Criminal Status.
* Attacking Criminal players and/or killing them will not flag you as Criminal.
* Killing Criminal Players will not cause you to gain murder points.
* Murderer : Players who have attacked and killed innocent players enough times to generate 100 or more points will be flagged as Murderers. Killing lower level players (outside your XP range) will result in a larger penalty towards the murderer limit.
* Murder score is capped at 1750 points.
* For every other real time hour that passes, your murder score is reduced by 1 point.
* If you die in PvP and lose PvP XP, you will receive a 3 point reduction to your total murder score.
* Killing mobs which yield XP will reduce your murder score at a rate of 1 point per 1% of a level worth of XP. Completing quests for XP will NOT contribute.
* Murderers and Criminals cannot access traders or vendors.
* Guard NPCs will attack murderers on sight.
* Dying while flagged as a murderer results in the following: a. 100% increased loss of PvP XP for the murder b. 100% increased gain of PvP XP for the person killing the murderer c. 100% increased chance of dropping an item.
* Any players interacting with a Criminal or Murderer (that includes grouping with them or trading with them) will be flagged as a Criminal.
* If you group with a Criminal or Murderer, you will be flagged as a Criminal for as long as you are in the team, and 5 minutes after the team disbands (or the Criminal/Murderer leaves the team).
* Any team member performing a criminal act will flag the entire team in the vicinity as a criminal.

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Update attempts to fix the memory leak issues we've been complaining about, only time will tell if this will help at all or make things worse!

- Fingers crosses!

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FunCom have implemented their buddy key program now so all you people will the collectors editions can now invite a friend to try the game for 7 days without purchase! Just lend them your DVD and away you go!


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The latest site to put together a hardware performance review of AoC is Hardware Canucks which covers performance issues and testing with the game. This is worth checking if you are thinking about getting your hands on the game, it does offer up some tips.
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At long last guys and gals!

A chat command that allows reloading the GUI was added. The command is '/reloadui'

Read it and celebrate!

Also:

Made the middle action button (between Q and E) mappable. It is called Action Button 12. E is now called Action Button 13.

Long list of fixes that WE wanted including edits to our Friends/Guild menu!
The Friends/Guild Members window has been changed. It now works with tabs that sort friends by type: Guild Members, Friends, Offline members, and Ignored characters.

Read the full notes here!
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It looks like they saved us from another patch-bug! Keep the fixes coming FunCom!


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We've been lucky enough to receive a letter from the Game Director of Age of Conan. It's here over at the community forum!
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A new interview with Erling Ellingsen has been added to our main network site IncGamers.com to find out the latest developments with AoC. Check out the interview.
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