one and will play a very central part in the game. Basically there are three different types of player-versus-player combat in Age of Conan - there is the massive sieges, the drunken brawling and the mini-games. The most obvious one is probably the massive sieges, where guys will be able to build or capture so-called battlekeeps in the Border Kingdoms. Guilds will have to build upon these and defend them from attackers, and we're making it possible for large groups of players to clash together on the battlefield using anything from horses to catapults in order to defend or conquer these battlekeeps. The drunken brawling is all about getting drunk and fighting with each other at inns and taverns. Your character's abilities and equipment becomes meaningless here, and its all about what you drink and how much you drink! So this is a fun way to get into player-versus-player combat without investing too much time. The mini-games will be things such as the arena battles, where player groups or individuals can fight for glory and riches.

OnlineWelten: We all have seen your impressing action combat system. Is it possible to move my character by gamepad and how important is player skill in a fight and how important is the equipment?

Erling Ellingsen: You can control your character using the keyboard, a mouse, a game-pad or any combination of these. Combat in Age of Conan is fast, dynamic, action-packed and real-time. You control the sword yourself - you direct your swings as you wish - and if you are an archer you will be able to string the bow and aim manually as if in a first-person-shooter. If you're a melee fighter, you will control the direction in which you swing your sword and you will be able to make different moves that strings into combinations such as decapitating fatality moves and more. Combat is a mix of player skill and character abilities. This is still a role-playing game, so how much damage you will be doing for instance, is determined by your weapon skill, your weapon, your strength and the equipment and statistics of your enemy. Where you hit, the direction of your attacks and how you relate to the environment around you all affects the outcome of combat. You can even hit many enemies at once by doing a sweep with your sword! Combat is just really exciting in this game.

OnlineWelten: Some questions about riding in the game. We have seen that my Conan can attack from a mount. First question: Can player only ride horses or will there be other mounts like mammoth? The second question is about the price of a mount. Can any player at any time afford a mount or are there some restrictions?

Erling Ellingsen: There will be three types of mounts in Age of Conan - horses, camels and war mammoths. Players will be able to attack while mounted, and mounted combat is actually one part of the game we have paid much attention to when designing. For instance, the speed at which you are riding actually affect how much damage you're doing, so if you're charging into a group of enemies with your sword held high - and you swing you sword the second you are close enough - you will end up doing more damage than if you were just standing still. Imagine a big group of mounted players charging into enemy footsoldiers! Apart from having a real function in the game, they are also status symbols, and they will have to be acquired through hard work - though not too hard!

OnlineWelten: We have seen NPCs attacking player cities. Can those NPC-armies destroy the hole city or only some buildings?

Erling Ellingsen: There will be a camp of enemy computer-controlled characters living close to all player cities. Players will be able to go out and attack this camp and bring the loot back to their cities. We are still tweaking how much impact the enemy can actually do to your city, and we can't go into any details on this right now. It is important to us to make sure that players won't have to walk around constantly worried about their city being attacked - it's simply no fun having to guard your city twenty-four hours a day, so we're making sure this system will - most importantly - be fun.

OnlineWelten: According to this. Can you explain a typical siege of a player city?

Erling Ellingsen: Siege combat is first and foremost centered around player-versus-player combat. In Age of Conan, guilds can build cities and battlekeeps. The cities will be located in one part of the game world and other guilds will never be able to attack your city. However, the battlekeeps that have to be built in the so-called Border Kingdoms, will always be under the threat of invasion from enemy guilds. A guild may challenge another guild by setting up a war tent outside the enemy's battlekeep. The two parties will then agree on a time and date for the battle, and when the day finally comes, hordes of players will meet on the battlefield and fight with anything from swords to catapults! If the battlekeep falls into the enemy's hands, that guild will take it over. Battlekeeps will be built and maintained by players, and will offer exclusive benefits to that guild.

OnlineWelten: An interesting feature is the headhunting system. Can you explain it in a few words and what can I do if a headhunter is looking for me?

Erling Ellingsen: We are not ready to go into details on this feature just yet, but we have said that it will involve players being able to chase other - criminal - players down. We will be spending a lot of time focusing tests on this during beta and determine how exactly it will work in the end.