Well it has been 4 days now since Open Beta (OB) started for Warhammer Online (WAR). I was never part of closed beta, nor the preview weekends, so this was my first look at the game. I saw some videos on youtube, on their official site (www.warhammeronline.com), and read reviews where I could. Most were positive, game play looked ok, but that really didn't mean much. I think I spent the same amount of time researching Age of Conan (AoC), before I was quite disappointed on so many levels...which I won't get into. Although, very much unlike AoC, the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) was lifted by EA-Mythic days before OB, while I believe AoC never lifted their NDA, so that was a positive going into OB.
At first, I wasn't too impressed; and the look and feel seemed like World of Warcraft (WoW) with quests, rewards, items, etc. I have been telling everyone it's WoW 2.0 from what I have researched prior to the game, and although that might be the quickest and easiest way to explain to someone the initial look and feel of the game, it does not do it justice.
Let me first start off by saying, WAR is actually a good game. Currently, I would rate it 7.5-8/10 and I would rate WoW 5.5/10. My views are quite different because my likes are going to be quite different from many other people. First off, I really dislike doing quests. As my "About Me" page states, I started with UO which had no quests. I have been playing Eve for over 1.5 years, and though it has quests (missions), I haven't done one in about 1 year. I just hate running around looking for some creature or thing to do, finish it, and then go running back saying it's done like some errand boy. Sure some of the quests are fun and interesting, but for the most part I dislike 80% of the quests I have ever done.
I don't grind for pure xp (experience points) either. Though, I sometimes don't mind grinding for a purpose, be it drops or rep (reputation) as long as it's not ridiculous amounts all the time (i.e. farmcraft/warcraft). I mean I think I grinded from level 67-69 on my mage in WoW just to get netherweave cloth. Mindless killing while chatting away with your friends in game can be relaxing in a sort of demented way. Another thing about me, I am not a fan of huge guilds or farming big raids. I just can't stand 20-40 man raids every week for like 5+ hours just to maybe get something, and furthermore to wait for people who go afk, need to handle rl (real life), or in any way slows down my gameplay. And since I don't like being a part of such big raiding guilds, my chances for experiencing such raid loot is almost null. If I ever do raid it is a huge pain to organize a PUG (pick up group), which could take hours, only to endure PUG raiding. So I basically logged into WoW for the latter half of how long I played the game to PvP, that's it.
How does this all fit into WAR, well surprisingly very well. I am actually amazed at how well they took those lacking aspects of WoW and made positives out of them.
First, I will address the issue of raiding, organizing PUGs for raiding, and raid loot. Well, I am sure big raids exist in the game; however, I have not been a part of any nor how could I at level 12. Although, I have been a part of many Public Quests (PQ). I heard a lot of talk about PQs before OB and I wasn't sure what the big deal was. Well they are an amazing idea that have actually been implemented very well. As you enter a PQ area, which exist throughout the game world, you will receive a message that you entered the PQ area. Right away you can contribute to the PQ by killing the required monsters in order to unlock the next stage, which will bring tougher monsters, etc, until the last stage of the PQ. WAR also has a great open party system, where a person can start a party and leave it open for whoever wants to join. Usually, there are many PQ parties that exist as it just makes sense to team up together for the PQ (the final stages require a group of people, although you don't actually have to be in a group. i.e. there are boss-type monsters at the final stages).
While killing in the PQ to get to the next stage, you will also receive influence points which will build up as you contribute to the PQ. When enough influence points are achieved you can get rewards based on your influence. Also, after the PQ is over (i.e. the boss is dead), there is a random 1000 roll on loot at the end. Added to this roll is a bonus amount to whoever contributed the most to least. The top scorers, usually around 4-6, will receive a loot bag which has a list of items to choose from. All in all, a great way to encourage grouping, have a raid-like experience right away, and get good loot in the process.
Next I will talk about the PvP (player vs player), or as EA-Mythic likes to call it RvR (realm vs realm). This aspect is also well done from what I have seen. Again, I have only created 2 characters up to level 12 with about 8 other characters to about level 6. I have leveled almost exclusively on all my characters through PQs and RvR, as well as equipped them with PQ, influence, and RvR gear.
There are a few different types of RvR:
1) Scenarios: These are like BGs (battlegrounds) of WoW; however, a player can just request to join one and when it pops you can enter it from anywhere and after it is done it will send you back to where you were. Also, you get xp from both killing players, as well as, for finishing the scenario. Furthermore, there are quests for RvR, like kill x amount enemy players or finish x scenario. A player can actually level from 1 to 6 quite fast just through RvR. And even though he or she might only be level 1, the system will buff your stats/level for the particular tier of RvR a player enters. So at tier 1 (levels 1-11) the player will be buffed to level 8 stats (i.e. hit points, etc).
2) RvR in non-RvR areas: Along my travels as a greenskin, I encountered an interesting PQ. At chapter 3 there is a PQ for both sides at the same place. It seems it is a race to see which side can kill enough of their assigned mobs (movable objects = usually refers to monsters/npcs) of stage 1 to get to the next stage of the PQ. It's not RvR in the sense that it is not an RvR designated area, so you are not flagged unless you attack another player, which case you will be flagged for RvR...although, how can you resist? I spent hours fighting back and forth at this PQ quest area. Sometimes caring about the PQ, but mostly just to PvP.
3) RvR in RvR areas. These are designated RvR areas where upon entering you will be flagged to be attacked. I haven't had much experience at these places yet, since they are not that populated. By which I mean I think I have seen perhaps a total of 10 people in the times I have looked around these areas. I expect it to be much more populated come launch, since there is not much point to capture keeps, etc in OB. Although, one time there was a large group (perhaps 12) that came and attacked the battlekeep in Barak Varr. I was the only one around in that area, so I had my first example of trying to defend the keep.
Overall, EA-Mythic is doing a good job with WAR. They have a solid game foundation to work from (unlike AoC), and I see improvements to the game every day I play. They also seem to be listening to the community (they do not have a forum on their website but www.warhammeralliance.com is as official as they come (the devs post there)). There is already a great database of information at www.wardb.com for the game, as well as, add-ons already being created found on war.curse.com.
I see a good future for WAR and I plan to continue to play it come launch.
