Warhammer Online has a pulse

Back in October of last year, Bright Hub posted a fascinating look back at Warhammer Online; analyzing its strengths, weaknesses, and ultimately where it went wrong.  This was not an attempt to bash the game, as the writer pointed out from the get-go.  It was intended to help us gain a better understanding of where WAR went awry, what might be fixable, and how it could be avoided in the future.  I remember feeling that this article struck a deep chord with me when I first read it.  So I am going to post a link to the article here, and then revisit some of these points and assess where Warhammer Online stands now, from the perspective of a returning player.

http://www.brighthub.com/video-games/mmo/articles/44427.aspx

The writer’s first point goes without saying these days.  Regardless of how you try to frame your remarks, any attempt to point out the faults of an MMO tends to result in a massive…

Luckily for me, I was able to snatch a tried and true flame retardant suit off of eBay.  This thing has stood the test of time and some intense heat along with it.  Tiger Woods is still regretting the day he sold it at auction.  Ben Roethlisberger keeps calling me about borrowing it, but I think it has its hands full here so I keep having to turn him down.  I could follow that with a real low blow but my better angels are telling me to let it pass.

So moving on…

People do seem to have lost the capability to agree to disagree, or to at least disagree with some measure of civility.  But let us see how this goes.  So the writer points out that Warhammer Online is in fact, not a terrible game.  It has many enjoyable aspects and various things about it can bring a smile to your face, so to speak.  WAR is a game of ever-present action.  Battles await you at every turn and that gives the world a true sense of glee, if in a slightly sadistic kind of way.  The Public Quests introduced by Mythic were also full of win, though they could have stood to have a few less than they do now.  But as this writer said, WAR has plenty of virtues and I couldn’t agree more, so let’s get on to the stuff that ticks people off.

First Point:  No Third Realm

Yeah, this was a whopper and I just don’t know what to say anymore.  Looking at Warhammer now, it still seems painfully obvious that so many of the troubles would be cured by the presence of a third realm to balance out the warfare when it ends up too one-sided.  Most people I have spoken to can agree on this, so let us continue.

Second Point:  Too Much CC

Once again, I can’t argue.  Though I am happy to report that Warhammer has finally instituted some genuine resist timers, so things do seem to be a little better on the CC front.  I will never understand why Mythic felt the need to give everyone 3 or 4 CC abilities to begin with.  It turned Tier 4 battles into an epic clusterf*** of “You have been knocked back, You have been stunned, You have been disabled, You have been disabled, You are Dead.”  This was not exactly what people wanted to spend their time doing during a fight.  So old players will be happy to know that CC is a little bit more under control now than it was during launch.

Third Point:  Class Balance

Ahh yes, the third rail of PvP MMOs…the dreaded Class Balance card…and what a problem it has been for WAR.  Let us take for example the Bright Wizard compared to the Engineer and Shadow Warrior.  These are the 3 Ranged DPS classes for Order.  I am pretty sure that the Bright Wizard has undergone several patches of nerfs since launch and they can still outdamage an Engineer and Shadow Warrior.  The writer points out that a third realm could have helped this as well, and I cannot argue that point.  If one realm had possessed an overpowered class, the two others could have ganged up on it.

Fourth Point:  Population Balance

If it were possible for me to walk up to the Mythic offices and hold up a sign other than “WAAAGGGHHH”, it would be a sign that read “Population Balance!”  Nearly everything in WAR is dependent on population.  We have three different racial pairings and each pairing has 4 separate Tiers, each pairing has its own RvR Lakes within said Tier, each pairing has its own Public Quests that require groups, and each Tier has its own Scenarios that require people on both sides to pop, and…are you getting tired yet?

I have never played an MMO that seems so insistent on segregating its population at every step of the leveling process.  They had a model in DAOC that worked beautifully, as all three sides had their own lands where they leveled up and prepared for battle.  Then the frontier lands opened up to all and that is where the warfare took place.  Mythic is trying to alleviate some of this by streamlining scenarios and the like, but this still leaves us with RvR lakes that are void of anything except the occasional…

Fifth Point:  PvP that lack emotional connection

This is what happens when you break everything up into pairings and then into Tiers on top of that.  DAOC had realm pride, and that was because you felt a definitive attachment to your own lands.  In WAR, with all the lakes spread over pairing and tiers, it just doesn’t happen.  There is no cohesiveness to the conflict.  Taking keeps as a guild and then claiming them also feels pointless, as the segregation just leaves everything with a hollow feeling.

Sixth Point:  Performance

The article’s last point may be the area where WAR has made its greatest strides.  Performance is much improved on a wide variety of machines, making the majority of those battles a little less lag-tastic.  This is a welcome change, and WAR even looks a bit better to boot ,with recent additions like post processing.

So where does all of this leave us today?  Here is how I see it.  I think that perhaps for the first time, Warhammer Online has a pulse.  There are issues, yes…some are fixable and some are inherent to the game’s design.  But I truly feel like Mythic is on the right track for the first time since launch.  Right now their focus is on the City Sieges, perhaps the last vestige for realm pride available to either side.

The sieges that launched with the game were PvE-filled disappointments of epic proportions.  The first reports came out and the general response was…

So now Mythic has gone back to the drawing board and given us an outline for the new sieges that sounds much more like…

They have put a hold on PvE content for now, because they recognize that theirs is a PvP-first game.  Once you get that right then the rest will follow.  They already consolidated their newer players by creating a new player tutorial and funneling everyone into the same racial pairing.  They have given us better peformance, improved graphics, tweaks to RvR and how the pairing are locked down, CC timers, new RvR weapons and armor, improved ways to earn gear with special tokens, the list goes on and on.  We also have a statement coming from the head of EA’s MMO Division, Bioware.  His name is Ray Muzyka and on the topic of Warhammer Online he had the following to say.

“It’s a really high quality MMO, and it’s one of the highest-rated MMOs of all time. We are really proud of the team that did it.  They did an amazing job delivering a really high-quality experience.  It’s been very successful; a lot of people have played it.  Right now it’s really profitable business unit within my group. I think the team is really focusing on continuing to make sure it’s a stable, high-quality service for the fans who enjoy the universe.  It’s neat because,we’ve actually seen more people come into the universe which is fun.  We’ve tried some free-to-play models for some of the earlier levels, and I think that’s actually drawing people back in.  We have new content planned and all kinds of cool expansions for it.“

I highlighted the parts that should be of interest to everyone.  That is all you want to hear when the head of your division talks about your MMO.  Warhammer needs to be profitable and doing so could pave the way for an expansion and serve as a rebirth for the game.  I think Warhammer Online has discovered the light at the end of the tunnel.  I think it is slowly crawling its way out of the doldrums of mediocrity and into the haven of profitability.

Warhammer Online has a pulse, my friends.

And it doesn’t matter whether the game boast 100 servers or 10…as long as they are active and the game is profitable…that is what clears the road for continued development.  Yes, some of WAR’s faults really can’t really be undone at this stage.  I’m well aware of that and it is something I have come to accept.  I never even mentioned some of WAR’s other issues, like the total lack of a real economy to help make the world feel alive.

But all of this pales when compared to one simple idea.  If the foundation of a game is enjoyable and rewarding then people will overlook many faults.  Mythic is focusing on the right things now and that bodes well for the future of the game.  So this is one returning player who is eager to see what lies in wait around the corner.  *says a quick prayer for Skaven*  Until next time! 

Battle for the Badlands: Season Finale Write-Up

I have been playing MMOs since there were MMOs.  I have experienced everything from PvE raiding to PvP raiding and all things in between.  I have taken part in more events than I can probably remember and I have served guilds in every position from the grunt all the way to the leader.  Generally, I prefer a certain measure of civility when I am taking part in MMO activities.  My instinct tells me that leading doesn’t require you to act like this…

However…

There are occasions, pivotal moments and the like…a threshold is crossed…and suddenly we find ourselves hurtling like mad to a place where angels fear to tread and noobs dare not speak for fear of being pwned.  It is in the face of horrific, abject stupidity that we stand during these moments, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out how even a mild mannered person can go from sounding normal to sounding like this…

NOT SAFE FOR WORK

I was reminded of this tonight during another wonderful Battle for the Badlands, hosted as always by The Gaiscioch Family.  The issue was only with a few lazy morons, but it really does make you see how the poor people who try to lead raids in MMOs can go nigh-insane.  We had a few moments where, despite repeated orders, people somehow found themselves in places they were not supposed to be and doing things they were repeatedly told no to do.

But such is the way of things when you get large numbers together, right?  Now onto the Season Finale!  I was going to try and do something different this time around, so I made recordings of our adventures rather than just taking screenshots.  Sadly, during some of the more intense moments, my 3 year-old computer really started to chug and the lag is painfully evident.  But I figured what the heck, I might as well throw some of these up here anyway.

The war was still raging when I left after two hours, so I cannot speak to anything that happened while I was gone.  But things began with the raid gathering together for a lovely photo…group hug!!! 

We then quickly moved to take our first keep in what would be one of many glorious keep captures as the night went on.  The onslaught began in Troll Country, as the smoke bellowed over the hills and the howls of war blended into the whistling wind upon the treetops.

After that we stayed on the move with reports that Destro were out there lurking, and we soon discovered their strength all too well as we ran into a load of them while trying to take Mandred’s Hold.  They kept up their oil, sniping at us from atop the keep until they swept us out of sieging position with a quick burst from the keep floor.

We huddled back up at our Warcamp and licked our wounds, deciding that it was best to keep the enemy on their toes.  So we quickly hopped over to the Elven lands and began sieging keeps straight away.  We strode unhindered across the sun-lit peaks and valleys, taking the first keep we came upon with ease.  As we moved back to the Shadowlands to begin our assault there, we learned that one of our keeps was being taken back by Destro, so many of us immediately ported back to aid in its defense.

This is the part of the story where people need to learn how to…you know…read.  The Gaiscioch Family had no difficulty following the orders of their leader, but it seems that some of our other more aloof participants were not so wise.  So half the raid went back to defend the keep while the other half stayed in the Shadowlands, oblivious to the whole thing despite repeated orders.

This lead to yours truly racing into an already heavily besieged keep and discovering a big ol’ pile of destro waiting for me as they took the keep upon my arrival…then used my face to clean the shiny new floors.

Wasting know time, our leaders had us regroup and move back to the Shadowlands to continue our offensive there.  To my delight, Destro was waiting for us once again and as you can imagine…there was blood and it was glorious.  It was my hope that the video would reflect the thrills of battle all too well, but by the end of it I fear that lag will be your overriding memory.  With the recording going on I was fearful that my computer would catch fire.

As we stood victorious upon the broken corpses of our vanquished foes, we continued the rampage and moved back to Troll Country.  We took several more keeps before I called it a night, and declared the Battle for the Badlands Season Finale to be another roaring success.  It was nice to see such a positive response from the populace as well…and we received quite a few new members who were most impressed by our continued forays into the realms of chaos and mayhem. 

A good time was had by all, and once again I would like to thank my Gaiscioch Family, those who fought with us, and Destro for putting up a fun fight as always.  Until next time, friends!

WAR – Dreading Tier 3?

As I continue my journey back into the heart of WAR, I am constantly reminded of just how much I enjoy Tiers 1 and 2.  The “war is everywhere” statement truly applies to the game here, and there is a wonderful sense of joy and discovery as you plow through the early levels.  WAR bombards your senses with tips and tutorials, peeling back the veil on each layer of gameplay that Mythic has constructed for your enjoyment.

WAR pits you against the opposing faction almost immediately, giving the player no doubt that there will be blood and it will be glorious.  But something happens to Warhammer Online once you hit level 21 and pass into Tier 3.  I remember feeling that sense of foreboding back when I first played the game…the slow, gradual feeling that things are all too familiar and Warhammer Online has little left to show that you have not already experienced.

In short…WAR is far too eager to reveal its hand, so to speak.

By the time you hit Tier 3 you have participated in a plethora of scenarios, run Public Quests until you were blue in the face, sieged Keeps, tussled over Battlefield Objectives, and roamed the RvR lakes in swarming, blood-thirsty zergs.  You have done just about everything there is to do in Warhammer Online.  Oh sure, the Keeps get bigger and you get to run a few dungeons later on.  But dungeons are not the focus of WAR…it’s a PvP-first kind of game after all.

The only thing you have left to look forward too are the City Sieges, which have been so ineffective at delivering a compelling, endgame RvR experience that Mythic has gone back to the drawing board and will be launching the retooled City Sieges in the next patch.  I’m excited as anyone to hear what they have in store for us, and if they play their cards right I truly believe we could be looking at the beginning of WAR’s comeback.

The only other bit of content that is different past Tiers 1 and 2 is Land of the Dead.  But to quote another WAR player, “Adding Land of the Dead was like throwing water to a drowning man.”  It did nothing to alleviate the problems Warhammer Online was going through, and only served to exacerbate the issues of an endgame RvR system that just wasn’t working properly.  We have already been told that some major bug fixing is on the way for the Tomb of the Vulture Lord, and from what I hear that will be most welcome…as the bugs in there can be as nasty as the monsters.

But the point still stands…WAR starts off with guns blazing and then does little to surprise you past the first two Tiers.  My past experience with Warhammer Online showed me that WAR was a joyful, fun, and vibrant MMO for 20 levels.  Then a sense of “been there done that” began to set in and the whole experience became a little sour.  WAR still has a ton going for it and it stands as the best PvP MMO on the market right now, in my humble opinion anyway.  And yet I can’t help but feel a sense of dread as I slowly get closer and closer to Tier 3.

So how is it these days?  Does the bloom still fall off the rose when you transition into Tier 3?  Let me know your thoughts!