MMORPG Age of Conan Reporter John Humphrey writes this multi-part article detailing Age of Conan's 2009 progress toward being named MMORPG.com's Most Improved MMO. In today's opening, Humphrey provides the background for the changes to come in the year.

"The developers of Age of Conan have met their demons head-first with sword, axe, and hammer in hand. As Friedrich Nietzsche once said, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger..." In my opinion, I feel this game was released before its time for good and ill; the advanced technical requirements should give it staying power as newer systems will be better able to meet the demands of the game, and other games will eventually show their age requiring substantial engine overhauls to be competitive.

To truly highlight the progress of Age of Conan over the last year, I have to step back to November 2008, as this was when Ymir's Pass was introduced to the player-base. We, as players, often have a short memory. We tend to focus on the most recent announcements and forget much of what else has come before. An early complaint of Age of Conan players was the lack of mid-level content. Developers of the content have a keen appreciation of the original works of Robert E. Howard, and, in this case, they tapped the short story "The Frost Giants Daughter" for inspiration."