Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning (WAR) Review

Preface by Bladewir:

I have spent the last couple of weeks with my nose buried deep into my keyboard playing Mythic Entertainment's "WAR" as it's affectionately called within the MMORPG community. I must say, I really like this game. Because I'm tired of reading reviews of new games that solely base their opinion on how the game is just like/unlike, better than/worse than another specific game or games, I'm going to review this game without mentioning another MMORPG game or comparing it to any other. Wish me luck.

First, let me start by officially stating that I know nothing/zip/nada about the Warhammer universe or it's lore. I know there are volumes of information that are available because this particular IP has been around for some 20 years now, as created by Games Workshop. I know what a dwarf looks like in contemporary video games and table-top games, but what I didn't really know until I did some small research is that what we know as a dwarf in current MMO's, was conceived and shaped primarily by the Warhammer universe. Now, I'm not saying that Games Workshop invented the Dwarves, goodness no. Just what we currently see in current games in the fantasy genre is heavily based upon them.

Second, I am by design, NOT a PVP (player vs. player) gamer. I have for the most part of my MMORPG career (about 5 years now) been against PVP, mainly because I generally SUCK at video games. I enjoy gaming immensely, but I just suck at them. I can't play FPS games very well, and on a multi-player map, I'm usually the gimp who gets fragged like a NOOB being handed his teeth after they've been knocked out. I prefer a gaming experience in which I am not in constant danger of my character's life every 2 seconds, wondering if I'm gonna make it to my base without watching my back (and front, and sides) at all times. I like to relax more and PUT MYSELF in danger if I choose, and then pay the consequences if I don't come out a victor. That is why I'm more of a PVE (Player vs. Environment) player.

So with those 2 items out of the way, here goes my review, again my goal here is to not compare WAR to any other MMORPG by name. Just my opinion on the game as an avid MMORPG fan.

Oh Nohs! Not another fantasy themed MMORPG! Seriously, how many of these do we need? Ok, with that said, I want you to go and buy Warhammer Online! The latest entry into the MMORPG market, Warhammer Online offers a unique take on the game genre, with a few unusual mechanics, and just *fun* gameplay.

It offers a wide gamut of options and caters to most people's play styles such as PVE even though it's primarily a PVP-centric game. And actually, it takes PVP to a new level with Mythic's own RvR combat (Realm vs. Realm) where 2 factions are at constant war with each other. In fact, as one of the taglines for the game is "War Is Everywhere", and they mean it. The entire game centers on an ongoing, bloody, all-out war between 2 realms, Order and Chaos. You pick a side and get to it soldier! From your very first level you are placed right into the frey and before you know it, you've spent the past 3 hours sitting in front of your computer saying "Shouldn't I go to sleep, it's 12am!"

WAR IS EVERYWHERE, AND IT IS HELL!

Whether you are doing a solo PVE type quest, or even one of the 300 available Public Quests (PQ), fighting in an instanced PVP scenario (ladder style timed "battlefield"), engaging in larger "open" style PVP (called RvR) with battlefield objectives, or just ganking the enemy in open world PVP, you are contributing to the overall success of your realm's battle against the enemy. By glancing at your map and war tracker, you will know who is currently in charge of what city / keep and where it is safe to go, or where you are needed. What's really cool, is that the end-game is a final, all-out war, the objective of which is to capture/overthrow your enemies capital city (which is HUGE by the way) and dethrone the king, for a final victory of your realm. These battles, which I've heard can handle hundreds of people on the screen at once involve one-on-one melee, and huge siege weapons such as battle rams, catapults and the like to take down groups of people as well as their large battle keep doors.

PUBLIC QUESTS

One of your objectives from an NPC quest giver in town tells you that they need you to seek out a certain individual at one of the warcamps set up along the perimeter of a skirmish between your realm and the local vermin that have popped up unexplained. So you head in the general direction that the NPC gave you and you wander into a designated area where you see a few other players engaged in combat with strange creatures. You've stumbled into a Public Quest (PQ) where there are objectives listed on your screen that need to be fulfilled before that stage of the quest is complete. Usually there are 3 - 5 stages that as a group of people (some of them all strangers to each other) working together to accomplish a task that alone, they couldn't do. But with help from each other the task is completed, and by the time the final boss-stage occurs you feel a sense of accomplishment as the beast falls. It's like a mini-raid that occurs more frequently out in the open. You can participate as often as you like, as they repeat indefinitely in sequence so you can always get in on the action from the beginning, and as you complete stages you collect "Influence" (INF) points that you can cash in for some really good weapons and armor. This is a new spin on boring old Fed-Ex type quests and adds some flavor to PVE. And the spoils are pretty good too!

As the final boss drops, a random die roll generated by the server creates a loot table. Your participation factors heavily as to your placement on the list, adding a bonus to the value of your roll, but it is not the final deciding factor. The system then at random picks the winning #'s, and distributes the loot based on die roll. So everyone has a shot at winning the best loot. There is also lesser loot bags to win as well. Generally, there are at least 5 winners for each final encounter. Just stick with it and you might win big!

FINALLY, AN MMO WITH MEANINGFUL PVP!

As I stated earlier, I am not a fan of PVP, which despite that I wanted to give WAR a chance as it was offering a few unique takes on the genre. There are multiple opportunities to engage in PVP, and a mechanic that can simple preclude you from participating. You have to CHOOSE to engage in PVP on the Core servers by either walking into an area with a giant warning you are about to be flagged for PVP, giving you time to about face and run back, or you can simply just flag yourself as a PVP player.

Finally, PVP makes sense - this is WAR after all! Take down thy enemy with vengeance and make it count! As you level up your PVP rank which levels separately from your character rank (known as Renown) you obtain Renown points which can be spent on better abilities and goodies for PVP. And every death counts towards the war tracker.

And no real death penalty other than a sickness that lasts 15 mins that reduces your hit points, but can be removed for a small fee by an NPC healer. And none of your stuff can be looted from your character. Your body can be looted by the enemy, but the system generates an item randomly which does not come from your inventory.

EVERYTHING ELSE IN LIST FORM:

• The game has a pretty modifiable UI right out of the box, which allows you to change the overall scale of the UI as well as placement of each UI element.
• Money is not hard to come by, as selling vendor trash can put cash in your pocket..and the quests pay pretty well too.
• Items available as rewards for turning in INF and RENOWN points are very good
• The Tome of Knowledge keeps track of every event in your characters life, allowing you to go back and revel in your accomplishments, or look up a quest or lore item you may have forgotten...this is perhaps THE best feature of this game, IMO - very well executed.
• Horse mount is available at level 20 for very little money
• Open group system is unique and allows you to find groups very easily
• You can specialize your career in one of 3 paths of your choosing
• Client seems pretty stable, have yet to CTD (see my computer's specs in right column)
• Graphics are really good, especially for all the simultaneous number of people on screen in battle at any given time
• Audio quality is fantastic, and there is a lot of spoken "ambient" dialogue going on

IN CONCLUSION

Over all, the game is a blast, and I look forward to leveling up my character and helping out in the war. There are a lot of unique ideas in the game which separates it from the pack, and that kind of innovation will make it a success. Mythic brought to life a very well known and beloved IP which will have the fans trying it out..perhaps even people who have never played an MMO will come and check it out because they are a Warhammer fan.

From the very onset it seems that Mythic wants to go to war with gold sellers and power-levellers. They have instabanned at least 600 accounts in the past week, and have on display, right on the Warhammer webpage, "The Banhammer", a tally of gold sellers that have been banned so far. Way to go Mythic!

The game is not without it's bugs and issues, but they are small and for now don't dominate the picture. The launch was a success I'd say and server downtime was minimal. The game appears to have quite the polish that most MMO fans look for and the experience is a well-rounded one, with most important details fleshed out, without placeholders for future expansions. I believe they have delivered on their promises, and even have the end-game fleshed out. I wish Mythic the best of luck as they are a bunch of great people over there in Virginia. And that Mark Jacobs, he's a riot...you really should read his blog, it's great!