Category: Warhammer Online

I have to hand it to the Averheim Order guild HOSS.  For nearly a week in Tier 3 of Warhammer Online, they have pretty much been locking down all the Keeps.  It does suck that most of my guild is farther on in Tier 4, but it’s not like we don’t have Destruction players to make up a Keep-sieging warband.  HOSS (and alliance) doesn’t just ninja Keeps when Destro players sleep; they make very sound tactical choices when defending Keeps.

When defending a Keep, it seems very normal for defending players to filter in through the main and postern doors in order to build up a defensive warband inside the Keep.  The first time HOSS led order crushed my Alliance-pug warband, they all met at their warcamp and came all together like a hammer against the rock that was the first Keep door.  We were completely unprepared.  They ran over our soft backline like butter with their well communicated focus fire.

The second tactic that really gained my attention was during a pitched battle.  Our warband was a tad more organized, and we pushed the defense (including people in the HOSS alliance) pretty hard.  We rushed through the second broken door, regrouped at the bottom of the stairwell, and felt pretty good about how many defenders we had killed inside the keep.  Then just as we started to rush the Keep Lord, the Order defenders rushed from behind the Keep (it seems they all fled through the postern door just as the second door fell) came around to the front of the Keep, and again they swept us from behind while our tanks were agroing the Keep Lord and crew. Just for perspective, most the time the defenders will hole up behind the Keep Lord.

Tier 3 Order has definitely upped the skill and communication required (not to mention amount of live bodies) to RvR succesfully on the Averheim server.

–Ravious

Ten Ton Hammer has a great preview of the upcoming Heavy Metal live event for Warhammer Online.  The event is mostly focused on a new scenario, the Reikland Factory, which is availble to all tiers of gameplay.  In the event, players will be given daily tasks, which are completed in the new scenario, and by doing tasks and playing in the scenario you can rack up event influence to get some neat rewards (an event-unique trophy, a defensive cloak, and the chance to play the new classes a week before they are officially released).

I am really excited about this event for two reasons.  First, it is going to funnel people in to killing each other dead.  Warhammer Online, I think, needs population channeling moreso than any other MMO.  Second, and more importantly, I have a feeling that Reikland Factory is going to be what scenarios should have been from the start: quick tutorials on how to succeed at open RvR.  From the article, Mark Davis states that they added more content in the scenarios and made sure to include a broad swath of objectives for all types of play styles (PvE, scenario PvP, open RvR, Tome unlockers, etc.).  This focus seems to take a step away from the current e-sport-like nature of the current “balanced” scenarios and go for a more organic open RvR experience in an instanced content bite.

Turbine, developer for Lord of the Rings Online, put up an interesting article aimed at the Mines of Moria expansion on a game mechanic called a cluster.  In broad terms a cluster is a group of smaller bites of content surrounding the culminating larger, final piece of content.  The aim of the smaller bites of content is to provide a type of learning experience that a player can take with them when they choose to attack the final piece of content.

It seems to me that Mythic is taking this ideal to scenarios with the Reikland Factory to get players involved in a smaller piece of open RvR as they play instantly gratifying scenarios.  I think this is exactly the right move - making scenarios cluster around the open RvR experience.  Plus, more of the enemy (bloggers) to kill is always a good thing.

I went on a few PvE keep raids in Warhammer Online this past weekend.  As a healer (Zealot), when I get in a keep raid without any opposition there is very, very little chance for me to make a contribution to the public quest.  I did my best… throwing my weak energy bolts of Tzeentch at the keep doors and healing for the 30 seconds that the Keep Lord stood.  But, in a warband with a few extra stragglers… I was getting in 20-26th place at each keep in contribution terms.  I would even over-heal, drawing agro from the Lord or his bodyguards to no avail.

Real life hit me for 3-5 minutes after approaching another undefended keep.  I went back to the computer and through busted keep door #1 (which I hit for maybe 2k damage but missed fall). Then through busted keep door #2 (which I completely missed fall).  Up the stairs to our zerg-band, which had the Keep Lord at 20% health on the patio-area.  Healed one or two people.  The Keep Lord died.  And, I got 3rd place in contribution to the public quest.

I am going to have to re-think my healer/weak-DPS strategy during one of my next PvE keep raids…

–Ravious
Want a twinkie, Genghis Khan?

Mark Jacobs, August 29, 2008:

“Look at us six months out. Look at us six weeks out. If we’re not adding servers, we’re not doing well.”

Game launches, September 18, 2008.

War Herald, November 1, 2008:

“Free Character Transfers – Round 4” A list of 22 servers you can leave follows.

Full contents of Mark Jacobs’s blog, Online Games Are a Niche Market, since September 25, 2008:

…

: Zubon

You are rated against your hype. See also.

Warhammer Online kicked off it’s Halloween-themed event, The Witching Night, yesterday.  I am usually excited about holiday events found in MMOs because it focuses people and draws them together.  Games will draw people to go trick or treating to the inns across the world, to play rock, paper, scissors with a mad demi-god, or even eschew the pagan festival for a happier harvest celebration.

In Warhammer Online it draws people together so that they will kill each other.  Last night I logged on and immediately flew to Black Fire Pass and joined the first RvR warband I found.  Order controlled the Keep and two Battlefield Objectives, and had pushed Destruction back to the warcamp.  We then started pushing back.  I think that I completely missed the event’s Public Quest, but I did have a blast racking up the Renown (especially since they recently buffed Renown gain from healing).  It was becoming such a meatgrinder at one point that people were running back to the warcamp after being rez’d multiple times to get their rez sickness healed.

Warhammer Online might have too much content.  But, when Mythic places the candy corn (read: carrots) in the right place to unabashedly lead the two sides together to fight over Halloween goodies, it is a beautiful thing.  I hope that the RvR zones containing the Witching Night Public Quests remain this active through the event because I think it will show how much the game can shine.

–Ravious
Someday this war’s gonna end…

I do not mean to pry, but Arkenor posted some of the 1.04 patch notes for Warhammer Online, along with some commentary.  As it stands there are only two scenarios that reliably launch, at least on my server.  In Tier 3 it is Tor Anroc, and in Tier 4 it is Serpent’s Passage.  This happens because Destruction queues for all the scenarios, and Order queues for one… the one where they feel or definitely have the advantage.  In my guild, we have unofficially embargoed play on Tor Anroc, and so we dutifully queue up for the other 5 scenarios in Tier 3.

With Mythic’s awesome change, Order can still do what they want.  They won’t be randomly forced to play one of the other 5 scenarios, BUT for the long run, it is going to hurt them as a faction.  That is the sound of ultimate suffering.

I think people are jumping the gun with “math” they cannot see.  I do not think it means what you think it means.

–Ravious

EDIT: And, I am jumping the gun with “logic” I cannot see.  I’ll eat the crow to this post.

Greenskin funetik dikshun in a nutshell. I am still not back in the habit of reading quest text. This doesn’t help.

: Zubon

Would you kindly?