Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures – balancing the party

Building a balanced party in Funcom‘s Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures seems like a simple thing to do for experienced MMORPG gamers. However, because of certain mechanics in the game, even the most jaded player will soon find that the task isn’t as easy as expected. So I’d like to share with you guys a party build that has worked for me in the past. Read more about it in the full article.

Building a balanced party in Funcom‘s Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures seems like a simple thing to do for experienced MMORPG gamers. However, because of certain mechanics in the game, even the most jaded player will soon find that the task isn’t as easy as expected. Which brings us to the topic at hand: balancing the triumvate of classes in order to create an efficient party.

Since some people may not be too familiar with the triumvate of classes I am talking about, let’s touch on this a bit first. There are three main parts of a party: the tank, the healer, and the DPS. The tank is responsible for taking all the party’s damage while the healers are responsible for keeping everyone alive. The DPS, on the other hand, are responsible for speeding up each fight by killing the enemies before they become too much for the other two to handle.

In Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, parties are limited to six members at a time. So the obvious move would be to have two tanks, two healers, and two DPS classes right? Perhaps. A setup like this is good on paper but can be very difficult to manage. What I propose is a rather unorthodox setup, but one that has worked for me and the Ravens of Memory in the past: one tank, two healers, and three DPS classes.

The party works like any other grouping with a few important differences. Yes, the tank will still pull and will still be the focus of the enemy mobs. However, if you’ve been in any sort of instance before, the moment a mob pops up, all hell breaks loose since they automatically go for the healers.

The setup I propose gives up the extra tank for more damage, this way, any adds can be dealt with quickly or better yet, not even have to experience the problem of adds with the speed they can mow through enemies. Another added bonus to this build is that it makes boss battles a lot easier since the party can deal more damage than the usual two tank party.

Now, this party build works for us because we enjoy going through instances quickly and want a party which can operate with as little communication as possible (we prefer to use Vent to joke around except in the direst circumstances). If you and your friends are raiding for the first time, you might want to try using the party I suggested above and modifying it depending on your playstyle.