Character statistics and item bonuses also play a role in this system, however item bonuses have less effect on a character's power than in comparable games, so that whilst equipment does play a certain role other factors also have an impact, such as the player's skill or their analysis of the scenario.

The idea of "Real Combat" is to eliminate the dullness of typical MMO fighting, which often consists of an auto-attack feature.

Players can then work together and build on each other's strengths, for example a character standing in line with a 'Conqueror' when he is running will have a greater resistance to knockback effects.

Adventurers can cooperate with one another to build cities with walls, towers and catapults that can protect player-owned taverns and merchant facilities.

Mix a bit of the Roman Empire, Mongolian culture and Babylonian mysticism with '30s-era myths of undiscovered Africa...[10] The lead artist Terje Lundberg said that the look and feel of Hyboria was based on the interpretation of the stories written by Howard:When you read Howard's work you're immediately drawn into a gritty world of dark and ancient forces, and mighty and decadent civilizations.

There is majesty in Hyboria but it's of a monolithic, brutal and primitive kind – it certainly isn't "high fairie" where everything appears as though it was built only yesterday and is devoid of context.

[11]Lundberg said the game at launch will contain three countries, Cimmeria, a northern country with snow and highlands, Aquilonia, which contains "green hills, lush riverbeds, and the marvelous city of Tarantia", and Stygia, which consists mostly of deserts and "some beautiful cities"—as well as the island of Tortage which "has a diverse geography ranging from jungle to harbors".

[11] Between March 2005 and January 2006, Funcom periodically revealed concept art and screenshots from Age of Conan.

By this time, much of the pre-launch community had gathered around the forums and IRC chat of the official Age of Conan website.

Simon Poole (lead sound designer on Dreamfall – The Longest Journey) took over as audio director in May 2007, and saw the project through to completion.

For the overall sound of the Hyborian Age, Haugen studied ancient and medieval music as well as the romantic orchestra repertoire and film scores, while avoiding conventions that connect too closely to specific historical periods.

[19] Norwegian punk rock artists Turbonegro contributed three bonus songs to the soundtrack CD, one of which was written specifically for the album.

[29] Since release, Funcom has made improvements to performance and changes and additions to the game which were not ready in time for launch, as well as in response to feedback from players.

On May 19, 2008, GameZone.com presented a series of original fictional stories by Michael Lafferty, stemming from the massively multiplayer online world of Age of Conan – Hyborian Adventures.

[30] In September 2008, Gaute Godager, the producer and game director resigned from his role in Age of Conan and from Funcom, a company he had been involved in for over 16 years.

[32] In his monthly letter for August 2013, Joel Byos revealed a new major PvP event titled The Great Hyborian Race.

The developers are aiming to start the event after the server merge which was delayed due to office move by Funcom.

[33] An expansion titled Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer was released on May 11, 2010 and can be bought for Funcom Points from the item shop by all players.

[35] On September 3, 2012, Funcom announced that it is planning a new adventure pack called Secrets of Dragon's Spine which was released in a series of updates.

The pack introduces a new zone called Dragon's Spine, a row of small peaks in the southern wastes of Stygia.

[42] Seth Schiesel, writing for The New York Times, opined that the development of the game would have benefited from a few extra months of production.