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Waging WAR: And a pinch of warpstone, yes yes...
After being slightly disappointed by the lack of response to last week's challenge, Greg was worried that he wouldn't have a topic for Waging WAR this week, and suffered a short-term bout of writer's block. But Serendipity and Providence once again shook hands, and two new announcements were made on the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning developer forums on Thursday and Friday earlier this week that would supply him with plenty of fodder for discussion in this week's column. Now, armed with the facts and a tall glass of creative juice, we can set things up properly, in all their italic glory. The upcoming patch (1.3.6) for Warhammer Online promises a hefty amount of content, balancing, and changes. Highlights include the new armor vanity slots, the sovereign set revamps, the addition of the Against All Odds mechanic, and several class changes that have been needed for some time. In fact, it seems this latest career balancing pass has affected nearly every career available, and full mastery point refunds have been handed out to a whopping eight careers. The list doesn't stop there. Players will enjoy a new sticky targeting system, auction house interface, and loads of other new features including another batch of new art for the scenario weapons, and a revamp to the victory point system in the RvR campaign. There's even more still. You can read the full patch notes for patch 1.3.6, test the patch yourself (it went live on the PTS yesterday), or even take part in the developer lead focus tests on July 30th at 4 p.m. EDT and August 6th at 8 p.m. EDT. But, of all the changes promised in the patch notes, one specific set of related changes has sparked my imagination for the future of WAR more than the rest. Find out what I'm talking about after the break.
LotRO, A Look Back: Books 10 & 11
On August 21, 2007, Book 10: The City of Kings was released and opened up the city of Annúminas was for players to experience. Unfortunately, the city had been invaded by the forces of Angmar, and players had to fight to keep certain points of the city friendly to them. If they failed, the entire area will fall under the Witch-king's control. Hunters and Captains both received class reviews, and a new mechanic was introduced called Critter Play. Different than PvMP, Critter Play allowed players to take on new forms in a PvE setting. The first form introduced was that of a chicken. Not to be outdone, Trolls, and Rangers were introduced into PvMP as well as a very large polish pass on PvMP as a whole.Other new features brought to the game were factions with the major races (with rewards for increasing said faction) and the bartering system which allowed players to turn in certain monster drops for armor rewards. And of course, no Book is complete without a raft of new quests introduced for high level players to grind through.
Visit LotRO's dangerous High Pass
The Lord of the Rings Online site is featuring the High Pass in its "Exploring Middle-earth" series. Located in the Misty Mountains, near the Vale of Imladris, it used to be the most commonly traveled route through the area. Lately however, it has become overrun by goblins and giants. In fact, the LotRO site reminds us that it was in this area that Thorin and company had to get away from some boulder-hurling giants -- and anyone that has been around giants in-game will know that they still maintain this annoying habit.There is a small encampment (pictured) at High Pass that offers some quests, and is a good area to visit in the mid to upper 40's. It's also not a bad place to do your selling before or after a trip to Goblin-town, which isn't too far away. Visit the official site to find out more about the history of the area.
LotRO Vault maps Goblin Town, where Gollum be sneakin'
Turbine's Book 11 update for The Lord of the Rings Online included an impressive amount of content. It had player housing, a new instance called The Rift of Nûrz Ghâshu, and class updates for the Minstrel and Lore-master classes. It also introduced Goblin Town , the place where Bilbo was captured in The Hobbit, into the game-world.LOTRO Vault has posted a map of Goblin Town. From the Slave Pens to Gollum's Cave, they've got it all covered. If this is all new to you, you might want to also check out LOTRO Vault's directory of Book 11 screenshots of High Pass and Goblin Town too. Gorgeous.The Book updates keep chipping away farther and farther into the eastern parts of Eriador. Could Moria be next? We hope so. We wants it!
