Mammoth Rewards For Pre-Ordering Age of Conan
By 
Hib in
Age of Conan, Funcom, beta, features on
April 17th, 2008
Okay, it’s a bit more complicated than the title suggests. Funcom has announced several things regarding their impending MMORPG Age of Conan, including the open beta period which will start May 1, but will only be available to 50,000 players.
That, however, is a topic for another post.
Funcom has made another announcement, this one about the rewards players will receive if they pre-order. MMOers are used to getting a spiffy jacket, a nice jaunty hat or a non-combat kitty familiar as their reward for pre-ordering a new MMORPG (along with early entry to the game), but Funcom decided that pre-orders needed a better reward than that.
Would you believe that one of those pre-order rewards is an angry elephant with a saddle that deals massive combat damage and tears down buildings? No, really.
The War Mammoth is a massive, but slow mount that does tremendous damage in player-versus-player battles. These gargantuan beasts, mounted by skilled riders, stride across the blood-soaked fields as mighty battleships set to conquer some unknown harbor. A vital instrument in any siege attack, a War Mammoth may very well determine the outcome of a battle. Employing these beasts in your attack means that you can break down walls and damage buildings even without siege weapons.
There are other pre-order rewards (depending, as usual, on where you pre-order from), but this one really stands out, especially when you consider this footnote about the Mammoth and the War Rhino:
Those receiving the War Mammoth will also get an inventory bag from the beginning of the game, as the mount itself can not be used until you reach the required level for using mounts in the game.
Which leads us to this question…how do you know you’re playing against a pre-order player?
Answer: He just stomped your keep flat single-handedly.
I eagerly await the balance issues and whining on the forums in a few months from those that didn’t pre-order. Sigh.
For those of you wondering, here’s the list of what pre-order item you get from each retailer:
- Amazon
- naturally, if you pre-order here you get the Amazon Curved Bow
- GoGamer - you get a 128-page Age of Conan guide book
- GameStop and EB Games - the War Mammoth shall be yours for elephantine fun in-game
- European retailers - the Killer Rhino, which means they get a less-powerful pre-order bonus item and have to wait three more days for release, but before everyone starts screaming about the Europeans being singled out, remember Funcom is a Norwegian company
(I’ll update the list as more information is released.)
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April 17th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Certain EU online retailers like Game.co.uk have preorders that include the War Mammoth, so Europe gets a choice between the two. I think it’s the same for the USA, although there have been people who’ve said they’ve had trouble finding the War Rhino (eh, Killer Rhino is the correct name, I think).
April 17th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Correction: The mammoth is exclusive to game.co.uk, or so the website says. Play.com also claims to have the rhino exclusively.
April 17th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
@Mallika: You’re right, it’s “Killer” Rhino…I’ll correct that. (I apparently had “War” on the brain, for some reason).
There seems to be more than a fair share of disorder with the pre-orders…for lack of a better term. It may take a few days for the info to settle out and the “get what from who” to become clear.
Thanks for stopping by, Mallika (and excellent blog, by the way)!
April 18th, 2008 at 3:43 am
Heh, I’d been calling it War Rhino for a while too and only realized last night that that wasn’t actually its name. “Killer Rhino” sounds kind of cheesy, if you ask me.
And yeah, the preorders are kind of crazy. I’ve read about people canceling orders from one retailer (e.g., Amazon) and going for another due to the first not having any sort of mount. I don’t really blame them, though. I’d totally have done the same. The mount is what seals it for the preorder.
I didn’t preorder until yesterday, when I had information at hand (I decided to go with a mammoth after much agonizing). I’m a little terrified of being disappointed, I have to say–I hope AoC turns into something I enjoy. Time will tell, I suppose.
Are you preordering? Which mount are you getting?
PS Thanks for the compliment! I’ve been so busy these days that I’ve hardly had time to update the blog. Yeah, excuses, excuses.
May 4th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
im an american, and i did find the rhino, which i had been looking for specifically because though its a bit weaker it is much faster and more maneuverable than the mammoth, also the rhino and mammoth will be attainable for those that didnt pre order, however it will be at a later date( not yet specified) —- got the rhino from gogamer though they didnt list it as the reward, i read on another forum that it was and am very glad they were correct so now i get a booklet and mount. <—- very excited
May 9th, 2008 at 7:00 am
In the US most people will get the mammoth cause its hard to find kiler rhino, here it europe u can easy find rhinos and mammoths for your own choosing, but it looks like on forums and websites that the killer rhino will be the rare one cause almost every player will have a war mammoth, and alot of rhinos are better then alot of mammoths that’s for sure, i ordered a mammoth cause i just choosed, it was a hard choice but break down walls will be very useful indeed
May 14th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
I just preordered from Game.co.uk there and still not sure if I’ll get the mount.
A friend working in game told me they stopped the preorders a few days ago and now I’m panicing I might have missed the Mount, it’s what really sealed the deal for me to get this game as well as the amazing combat.
Any ideas if I’d still get it or to hunt on Ebay for a Code would be appreciated very much
June 17th, 2008 at 8:56 am
I just tried to claim my pre-order war mammoth but when I enter my subscription key I get “Invalid Key”. Anyone have similar problem? I preordered from EB Games.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:41 am
@bolo: From what I understand, you have to create your account using your retail key and then apply your pre-order key to your account. Several people have had this problem. If that’s what you’re doing (or you try that and it still doesn’t work), the best advice I’ve seen is to contact EB and request a replacement key.
Hope that helps!
June 17th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Thanks Hib. I’ll give it a shot.
July 7th, 2008 at 10:58 am
I didnt pre order the game is their any way i can get a war mammoth