Chaos Posing

We've discussed the upcoming Warhammer MMO at length on the podcast, so I was pretty excited to get playing. Walking through character creation (clean, easy to use, nice variety) was a snap, and it was only a matter of politely ignoring the fourth dark elf class, the race sample chosen. Once inside the game, the first look at an introductory zone was surprising. It looked really good; even the dark zones had a lot of depth to them. Pulling up a map of the area, Associate Producer Spyke pointed out the local RVR (realm versus realm -- order versus chaos) lake: open PVP is only allowed there, otherwise players are safe to level as they see fit.

Next on the agenda was the first quest a player can do, and it was amazing how much thought had been put into the system. First, the quest log can be shown in brief detail, or can open up to fill the entire screen, allowing a plethora of information. In addition, once a quest is received a red "ring" will appear both on the zone map and in the player's mini-map. This is the general area where the quest items or mobs can be located. A built in quest helper will aid those who want to make the most of their limited play time. When multiple quests are chosen, simply opening the map and hovering over various areas will point out which quest is where, allowing the player to make informed decisions about what order to do quests in to maximize their playtime. It's a great addition to the game and suited to both harcore and casual players alike.

Warhammer cuts out essentially all of the ganking/griefing many MMOs suffer from. The PVP brackets are set up so that the low level players are raised up to be competitive (for example, in the 1-11 bracket anyone under level 8 is bumped up, and while they gain no new abilities their stats and current skills reflect as though they were a higher level). This is a great way to counter a lot of twinking. For those who enter into a bracket too low for them -- a level 12 in the 1-11 bracket -- will find they've been turned into a chicken; one hit will kill the player and they may peck for a whopping one damage.

Order Fighting

After that, discussion turned to RVR. Having only two towns means the capture of these towns is the focus of the RVR combat. The Order side attempts to capture the Chaos side's capital and vice versa. This PVP mechanic is core to all PVP in the game -- zones under a faction's control give that side more power and exp, among other benefits. In addition, just gaining the max character level isn't the "end game" as many other titles have it. There are also reputation ranks, of which a typical player will be one quarter to one third through just by levelling. However, the other two thirds or more must be gained once at maximum character level, so the player still has much to achieve even at the level cap.

Warhammer Online is shaping up to be a game that has learned from the folly and the favour of other competing titles and it's shaping up to be a sharp game focused on PVP without sacrificing PVE along the way. Players will definitely want to keep their eyes firmly on this title and the Age of Reckoning can't come soon enough.