Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures Interview

Forum member "Jyu" stopped by the official Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures forums to post an English translation of an interview originally conducted by French website JeuxOnline. A couple of gameplay-related questions:
Q: Do the blocking and the parry of a blow cancel or reduces damages which should have been taken.

A: If you block or evade a blow it you take no damage.

Q: Which will be the tools available in game in order to know the status of the Border Kingdoms in real time (conquest and loss of resources centers, battlekeeps, towers etc.) and to locate itself in each area (map and mini-map)?

A: We are aiming towards having a world map and region map information available for the Border Kingdoms to see what is happening.