Mystic Worlds

WAR: A Destruction force gets farmed to the point of no Renoun on Averheim

Barely versed in massive multiplayer online role-playing games, a reporter interviews an avid gamer with a love/hate relationship with Blizzard/World of Warcraft, who’s quickly becoming a Warhammer Online fanboi, about recent events on Averheim.

21-Oct-08: To be clear, this is a mock interview.  Yikes, some of you drank too much of the cool-aide.  *Sheesh*

Reporter:  Averheim seems to stay busy in the area of Open RVR.

Alysianah:  It sure does.

Reporter:  I was contacted by one of my sources claiming that a large force of Destruction players was farmed to the point that Order stopped receiving Renown. 

Alysianah: (Laughs with wicked glee)

Reporter: You were there?

Alysianah: Yep, I was there from beginning to end.  It was a terrific guild event.

Reporter: Event?

Alysianah: Yes, it was an Open RVR activity planned by our guild leaders.

Reporter:  By guild you mean, Casualties of War?

Alysianah:  Yes.  We were raiding Tier 3 until about 1 AM ET.

Reporter:  My goodness, that’s awful late.

Alysianah:  Yes, I was pretty exhausted the next morning.  It was the second night in a row that I’d stayed up until the wee hours playing WAR.

Reporter:  I see. (Taps pen on pad)  How long do these events normally last?

Alysianah: (Smiles)  That depends.  In T3 it can go anywhere from an hour to a few hours depending on how many Destruction players show up to defend or are out doing offensive raids. 

Reporter:  Really, that's longer than I would have thought.

WAR: Scenarios are Fine! Improve the Rest Instead

I’m concerned about the growing number of comments and opinions I’ve read/heard stating that WAR Scenarios are ruining world RVR, so nerf them.  One of the huge assumptions being made is that people are doing them because they provide more experience and renown.  I want to challenge that notion.  For a player to know that and use it as a basis for their choice of content, presumes that speed of advancement is the primary driver.  I don’t agree.  Only min/max players do those calculations and allow the sum of numbers to drive their in-game behavior. Think raiders…think hardcore, and we already know that those types of players ARE NOT the majority of the MMO population.

Highlights:

• Some of the Scenario popularity stems from the myriad of reasons people consider themselves casual players
• Scenarios guarantee the player a completion time that does not exceed fifteen minutes
• Order aligned players have virtually no wait time to get into Scenarios
• It's not all about better XP and renown for the average player - people continue doing them even when they lose repeatedly
• Post Tier 1 Public Quests require enough players and take more time
• Post Tier 1 Public Quests require the right team mix
• I enjoy Scenarios but Solo PQ Stage I is full of win for casual players.
• Open RVR works best with preformed teams - requires time to assemble
• PQs and Open RVR require you to stay until the end in order to get the best XP, Renown and a chance at loot
• Open RVR is too chaotic to support players taking breaks
• Scenarios and quests provide the most flexibility to casual players
• Scenarios and quests have the best risk vs. reward options for casuals
• You can't force players into doing content that doesn't meet their needs or schedules
• If not enough people are doing Open RVR fix it in a meaningful way that doesn’t include ruining the other content options
• MMOs should be about options not narrowly defined and barely disguised forced choices

WAR: Less Anxious to Start New Characters

When I first started playing Warhammer Online, I could barely decide which class I wanted to anoint as my main.  I usually play magic casters, preferably with pets.  My second choice tends to be a hunter because of the pet.  If I get around to a third character it’s always a healer.  My choices from the Order faction were all equally compelling, plus I wanted to try a Goblin Shaman on Destruction.

I was consciously restraining myself from starting any alts this early in the game but that’s changed in the past week.  I’m less anxious to start my alts because I’m having way too much fun at Rank 23!  I’m now more excited about being Rank 40 so that I can be effective and competitive in the activities I’m doing now.

Order on Averheim say, “No, you can’t take it during prime time!”

This is long and may be poorly typed.  I'm beyond sleepy but I wanted to get this in black and white for my fellow Order players on Averheim, who stood together tonight to tell Destruction, "Hell no, you can't roll us during prime-time hours," so bite me!  Unedited pictures here.  I'm too tired to clean up any lighting or crop them to make them look good.  And way beyond adding any captions to the pictures tonight.  The story of what unfolded is below...

I popped on around 9:30 ET just to check some auctions.  I immediately noticed that a siege was being mounted by Destruction.  How?  Not because the game indicated anything special but because I’d learned a lesson from the Sunday sleep-attack and had the Objective Tracker HUD turned on.  I started asking around but most people in the guild didn’t seem aware that an attack was underway.  I asked about the existence of an all Order channel and was given the slash command for it < /chan Order >.

Sleep with One Eye Open - Altdorf Captured on Averheim

I was all set to post that I didn’t have much to tell about my playing time in Warhammer Online this week.  My two week reprieve from working really long hours had come to an end, so my adventures were curtailed.  No pictorial journals to report since I’d spent most of my time when I was playing in Scenarios or farming up some seeds for crafting.

I like to spend Sunday afternoon soloing.  The quiet before the Monday storm.  I find a nice spot that will get me seeds and coin, and then just grind my time away.  This Sunday I logged on to the game much earlier than usual.  I had babysat my two year old nephew over night so I wasn’t able to sleep in until noon or so.  By 9:36 we were up and had already finished breakfast.  After putting on Disney’s Tarzan movie – I know the whole dang movie by heart because he insists on watching it every time he’s at my house and he’s here quite a bit.

WAR: My Fallen Brethren – Ostland Sanctified Ground Quest Chain

I was out farming crafting materials and gold in Ostland, when I ran into a quest chain that piqued my interest.  I’d traveled far south to find an unoccupied Public Quest area.  I had a nice spot all to myself for almost two hours.  My backpack was overflowing with seeds, coin and four nice pieces of uncommon armor.  Eventually others came along and started killing the mobs that would trigger Stage II of the PQ.  Since I wasn’t in the mood to play nice with others, I mounted up and moved on.  As I was reviewing the map for my next option I noticed that I had a quest completion showing nearby and headed in that direction.

After fighting my way up a dark winding road, I came to a gated cemetery.  The quest NPC was a ghost.  She was inside the gate, pacing back and forth across the headstones.   Ghost NPCs are typically a bit more interesting than the usual fare.  Their quests can involve why they died, why their spirit is haunting that location or how you can help avenge their death.  I completed the quest and while considering if I wanted to take the next one when it was offered, I noticed a tunnel behind me.  “Hmm,” I thought.  “This could be mildly entertaining or at the very least, it might unlock something new in my Tome.”

Pictorial accounting of my adventure...

WAR - Order Zergs Across T3 on Averheim

It should be obvious from the length and frequency of posts, that I’m really enjoying Warhammer Online.  The game suits my play-style well and its mechanics abate many of the reasons why I usually solo.  As a result, I only solo now when I really want to be alone, which is down from 90% to maybe 30%.  Combine those factors with having fallen in with a great group of people in the Casualties of WAR guild, and you have a recipe for success.  I’ve tried all aspects of the content and things are going well.  However, tonight I experienced what WAR is really all about – open field skirmishes and conquering RVR objectives.  Sure, I’d done this is small groups but it doesn’t come to the zerg force we had rolling tonight.

I wish that I’d been able to participate with the graphics settings on high but that wasn’t an option.  Regardless, these are fun images even at the lower quality, for people that haven’t played or participated yet, in large body-count events.  It was truly an experience of epic proportions.

WAR Tier 3 Scenario - Tor Anroc Unbalanced Map

While I accept that no game is perfect, imbalanced battle maps shouldn't be released in a game focused around PVP/RVR.  It seems like this would be obvious during design.  If it wasn't, surely internal testing and BETA would reveal the problem.  Barring that, the constant QQ-ing over imbalance in the World of Warcraft battle-maps, specifically Alterac Valley, should have taught the gaming world something.  The QQs and boycotts over that one battle field is infamous.

I'm sorry to read over at Kill Ten Rats that one of the T3 Scenarios, Tor Anroc, appears to be imbalanced to Order's detriment.  With so few players up in those levels, having game mechanics discourage participation impacts all T3 players.  Scenarios will queue slower if people are refusing to play certain maps.  And those that participate unwittingly may often find themselves outnumbered which will lead to frustration and a less enjoyable gaming experience. 

If Tor Anroc is an unbalanced map, here's hoping that Mythic addresses it quickly.  I personally enjoy the "get the relic and hold it...if you don't have it, chase down the guy with it and smash his face in to get it" competition, best of all the map objectives. It's fast chaotic madness that usually produces a few laughs along the way.  AND Bright Wizards thrive in chaotic combat.   Getting half-way decent heals we can bring the pain and blow shit up like nobody's business. *Evil Grin*  It will be too bad if I can't do this particular scenario when I start doing T3 RVR/PVP in the next day or so.

WAR Bright Wizard - Level 19 and Fabulous

My main is approaching the half-way point for character rank (levels).  Thanks to kind guild-mates, Grimmjak and Invention, I had two very nice upgrades waiting in the wings.  Without much conscious effort I had 13G toward the 15G mount secured.  All I needed to do now was to level and earn an additional 2G.

Highlights:
•    Half-way through character ranks without effort (Rank 19)
•    I do a mixture of quests, scenarios & RVR
•    Looking forward to purchasing my first mount at Rank 20
•    I have 13 of the 15 gold required without trying
•    Plan to sell stock pile of potions to earn the rest
•    WAR feels like GuildWars where the game really starts at max level
•    Excited about the prospect of creating a healer as an alt
•    Not at all concerned about repeating content – it’s a non-issue in WAR
•    By now I'd be focused on crafting but that's not an option in WAR
•    Mostly ready to stop walking across the large zones!!!

WAR: Someone's Spec ain’t Your Business

The much touted Public Quests (PQs) and Open Grouping (OGs) mechanics in Warhammer Online aren’t perfect.  I’m not sure who expected perfection out of the gate.  There might be too many of them.  It’s harder at the bottom and top tiers to get enough people to complete the three phases.  Some PQs can’t be completed without the standard Holy Trinity – tank, healer & DPS.  While others are tedious in the number of mobs that must be killed (Dwarf zone). 

Eh, I can get over these issues.  If they become huge stumbling blocks for a majority of players, I believe Mythic will address them.  Regardless of these concerns, PQs and OGs achieve one great thing.  These mechanics eliminate class spec discrimination.  That’s it.  It’s over.  It’s gone.  Someone’s spec is no longer your business.

Highlights:

• There’s no spamming a chat channel for an hour looking for a group or trying to form one.
• With Open Grouping people can freely join groups without interrogation.
• Many players are still completing PQs without bothering to form or join an official group.
• I’ve yet to hear anyone be asked about their spec, with the intention of excluding them from a group.
• Order has only two pure healing classes.  If they choose off-specs, having powerful healing can be problematic but not insurmountable.
• Specs impact game play in WAR just like other MMOs.  However, the inconvenience of failure is dramatically lower.
• Open grouping is not ideal in every situation.  Some times you really do need a meat shield-aggro-holding spec’d tank or pure healing spec to get the job done.
• My standard excuses for being anti-social don't exist – too much time, not attuned, not the max DPS spec, I don’t have my potions on me, I’m in my “whatever” gear and don’t feel like going back to the bank and changing, ad nauseum.
• Minus my typical reasons for declining groups, I accept most offers that are extended to me.