Warhammer Online

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Warhammer Online

Postby Monster on Tue Oct 14, 2008 11:21 am

So I've been playing Warhammer Online for free thanks to our old friend Kelek, and so far I'm pretty impressed. The game looks great and runs well, and it's pretty fun. The server I've been playing on doesn't seem to have a whole lot of people on it, so the non-instanced RvR portions (i.e. battlegrounds) are empty. It also takes quite a while to get into the instanced RvR games. I really think it's just a lack of people, though there are like 30 servers so I'm probably just in a more barren one.

PvE, Public Quests and Loot

The PvE is quite fun, and it's extremely easy to get groups going. One of the finest features of the game is open parties. When you create a party, it is by default joinable by anyone. This is especially helpful in Public Quests (PQ). Public Quests are ongoing quests that have multiple stages, and anyone in the quest can help. A typical public quest might require a certain number of monsters to be killed in the first stage, then in stage 2, some different monsters, then in stage 3 a boss needs to be killed. Of course, there are variations on the theme, but that's a typical example. The enemies in stage 2 are often "champions" and the boss is usually really tough, so it's basically like an instanced raid in WoW only anyone can be there at any given time. In fact, it's possible to stumble across a PQ in its third stage with the boss almost dead, and joining in at that point gives you a chance at some loot.

Speaking of PQ loot, it's handled much better (IMO) then raid loot in WoW. When the boss drops, the PQ ends and everyone gets an automatic loot roll, with a bonus to their roll based on their contribution during the PQ. Some people will get green loot bags, some white, and the lowest rollers get nothing. Everyone who gets a bag gets to choose a single item from the bag as their loot. The loot is not random, so after doing a PQ a couple of times it's time to move on.

In addition to PQ loot, you also get "influence" for participating in PQs. There are three tiers of influence in each chapter, and each tier can be cashed in at a rally master to choose one item from that tier. Tiers 2 and 3 are usually nicer weapons and armor, while tier 1 is a potion of some sort. Once you complete most of the quests in a chapter, you'll get a quest that takes you to the next chapter. In this way it's always clear where to go next, as there's always a quest to speak to someone in the next chapter.

RvR and Renown

In WAR, RvR (i.e. PvP) is supposed to be a major part. Not only do you get XP for killing other players, you can also loot them like you would any monster (though you don't actually get their stuff, just typical loot like money). You also gain renown for every player you kill (or your party kills), which allows you to buy better equipment from the renown vendors. You also gain a point for every renown rank you achieve, which can then be spent on extra bonuses (similar to talents in WoW) to permanently improve your character. There is also a talent tree similar to Wow, but you don't get it until level 11, which I haven't hit yet, as it takes quite a bit longer to hit level 11 in WAR than in WoW.

Races and Classes

There are 6 races (3 on each side) and each race has its own 3 or 4 unique classes. No race shares a class with any other race, though some of the classes are similar in how they function. Each class has an archetype... for instance: healer, ranged DPS, melee DPS, tank. The races are (Order) Empire, Elves and Dwarves VS (Destruction) Chaos, Greenskins (which includes goblins and orcs) and Dark Elves. I'm a big fan of Games Workshop's worlds, so I really like the theme. The classes are not very stereotypical either, in some cases. For instance, the melee DPS class in the Empire is the Witch Hunter, who uses a rapier and a handgun. He has both ranged and melee attacks, but is mostly melee.

Combat and Dying

Everyone has health and skill points, there is no mana. The bright wizard's spells use skill points just like the swordmaster's strikes. While there are basic auto attacks while attacking, they seem to not strike very often, so you must rely mostly on your skills (of which you gain at least one every level, called ranks in this game). Fortunately you have enough skill points so that once you've killed something, you're usually just running out. Also, your skill points regenerate fairly quickly in battle. The bright wizard can spam spells without ever having to rest and drink water like in WoW thanks to the skill point system. It's very nice and there is almost no down time in the game because you regenerate health very quickly between battles as well. It's a very fast-paced game. Also, potions are much more common than in WoW, and you can start making them yourself early on.

When you die, you respawn at the last rally point you chose. You may have a penalty that lasts a few minutes, but you can have them removed by an NPC healer for a negligible amount. So far there doesn't seem to be much penalty for dying, and the closest rally point is usually not very far away.

One other thing I should mention is that capital cities are actually not safe havens. I took an ornithopter to the Imperial capital city and on the way to the auction house I got chased by a bandit and killed twice by a level 20 (!!) skaven (ratman) hiding in a barrel. Don't check barrels in the capital city. It should be noted that the capital cities are not places for newbies to go anyway.

Overall, I'm quite impressed with the game. I could barely play the beta because it was so constrained (and somehow was a few GB LARGER than the final product), but the full game is very fun. I haven't really noticed many flaws with the game either, though crafting is obviously not a large part of the game. You can make talismans, potions and grow plants, and that's about it. There are actually just as many gathering skills as there are crafting skills (which is 3 of each), but I was never huge on crafting anyway.
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Re: Warhammer Online

Postby DarkViruz on Thu Oct 16, 2008 11:25 am

I'm just replying for the sake of replying. Also I bought Rock Band.

But seriously, I can't imagine anyone caring about warhammer much more than the name and completely expected gameplay...Of course I probably should have read everything you wrote, but I'd rather just make fun of it this way.
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