The latest blogger to join the team, Reapersrose, checks out the upcoming game Warhammer Online, from a WoW player’s point of view.
So, my first opportunity to blog, after getting away from RL long enough to get my thoughts semi-organized to rant about something that I feel should be known by all who play WoW and those who might be looking for something else on the side. I might sound fanboi about what’s below, but I’m only trying to give you a better idea of what WAR is. I wont compare WAR to WoW, just explain the mechanics in WAR.
The WAR Preview Weekend - sort of like a three day beta before the actual beta - was just last week (Aug 22-25) and the first 50k Standard Edition pre-orders were allowed in, along with all Collector’s Edition. I was one of the lucky 50k and can compare - if this is even allowed - it to WoW. Not that its even comparable, these are two very separate games.
First I will state, before anything else, this is NOT a ‘WoW killer.’ Because of the massive fanbase of Warcraft, no game can truly kill WoW; the only people powerful enough to kill WoW would be the fans themselves or Blizzard. No other game will be able to touch it. WAR is an entirely different game suited for a different audience. While WoW is mainly a PvE game with a PvP game inside it, WAR will majorly be a PvP game. However, that is not saying that WAR is not PvE, either. There is just a higher, better emphasis on PvP, seeing as how PvP will be built into the game at launch, unlike how WoW’s PvP grew after its launch.
WAR will be mainly a PvPer’s game, for those who are looking for no resilience, no gear based, no ultimate class PvP. From my experiences with each Archtype (Tank, Healer, Melee DPS, Caster DPS) they are ALL equal in PvP, each with their own pros and cons. PvP is available from level one, both open world and Instanced PvP (At least 18 at release). If joining an Instanced PvP zone (BGs, basically, only joinable from a button on the mini-map, and not being transported to where you signed up at. Placed right back down where you were questing or killing when you accept the queue) your stats will instantly be increased to level 8 for the duration of the match, but once over you be replaced back to your normal level, unless higher than 8, then the battleground buff has no affect and you keep your stats. The combat is remarkable, there is no ‘overpowered’ class from my experience, and it is not gear based in the least. Not to say someone with bad gear against someone with high gear wont have a disadvantage, but it wont be a huge disadvantage. With knowledge of what your class can/can’t do, along with the opponent’s class, you can still win.
The open world PvP (in WAR, all PvP is called RvR) even in beta has no lag for those with a high speed connection. Their servers have been built from the ground up in order to keep a high amount of players in both open and instanced PvP lag-free. The server I played on, I managed to get into a keep siege in open RvR, where one realm (their term for faction, Destruction is one realm, Order is the other) defends a keep while the other attempts to take it over. Once taken over, the realm’s positions switch. Keeps are nearly always available for sieiging except for ten minutes after a capture. There will always be massive battles for the keeps, which have vendors inside for Renown (WAR’s PvP ranking system. It gains experience from player kills just like experience for levelling.) gear which is what will give players a slight edge over their opponents, but as I’ve said, nothing huge.
But, as I know I sound like a WAR fanboi, I’ve previously mentioned it will NOT kill WoW. The worst I see it doing to WoW’s fanbase is seducing some of the hardcore PvPers to its side, but it will not take a huge chunk out of the fans. Its a completely different game, suited for completely different people, and then there are those who will be playing both. (Like me. I can’t just give up 5 70s) WoW still has a charm to it that keeps people playing and WAR might threaten some loyalties, but not all. It might spark competition, but who wins in competition? The subscribers, that’s who!
Haha, yeah. In the end the subscribers do win, unless the said subscribers can’t stop playing one game long enough to cancel subscription and has to pay for two games monthly (worse if they have multiple accounts on each game. Invite a Friend Program FTL).
Though being a PvP-er (i just can’t bear the idea of doing robotic tasks over and over again in raids like run around the fire 3 times and then run behind the rock 2 times at perfect timing just to wipe because one person in the raid accidentally ran around the fire 4 times), I’m getting more and more interested in WAR. I’ve already canceled my WoW subscription with a plan to return for WotLK to witness their design improvements, but as Blizzard continually dumb down pvp in WoW, I think WAR will have a easier time catching up on PvP, and maybe even E-Sport and Raiding if they do it right. After all, would you rather raid an idiotic Boss that is hard just because they’re OP/Unbeatable unless you perform specific monkey tasks or would you rather fight a raid against a guild of real players with real brains and you have to out-think them every time to win?