Age of Conan Community Q&A #1

Funcom's official Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures website has been updated with its first community Q&A feature. Since the game's still in beta, though, keep in mind that any such answers could change before release.
Q: Will wearing heavier armor or using a shield decrease your walking/run speed, or your speed in combat, compared to lighter armors?

A: No, this would in general be terribly unbalancing if the heavier classes were slowed constantly. These classes have trained all their lives in this armor, it's not just like they threw it on a whim, and it makes sense that they know how to use it. Obviously, some lighter armored classes are a bit more nimble and likely to dodge a blow or use an evasive maneuver, but they are not faster in base movement speed.