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The details on playing dress-up in Warhammer Online's upcoming patch
If there's one overriding impulse that goes into nearly every MMO, it's the urge to look good. You spend so much time staring at your character that you want to look appropriate -- ominous, or dignified, or just plain cool. That's the motive behind Warhammer Online's new appearance system in patch 1.3.6, and it's a significant upgrade to the game's setup. Designer Sean Bosshardt has penned a developer diary explaining how the new appearance system works in practice, which essentially gives your equipment its own set of equipment. The short version is that when looking at your character's equipment, you can flip over to their appearance slots, and then each eligible item can have another item placed within the appearance slot. However, the new appearance doesn't consume or use the item which granted the new look, and it stays with that piece of armor -- so you can change the look of a pair of shoulders, and that look stays with them until you change it again. It's an interesting system with several nuances, so Warhammer Online players are encouraged to read the full diary to see just how nice they'll be looking when the new patch hits.
Warhammer Online explains upcoming RvR weapons
It's always been a bit hard on Warhammer Online that up until now, RvR never netted you a viable weapon as a reward. There were reasons given, of course, but in order to get a decent weapon you had to take part in different activities. For a game where on of the major draws is PvP, it seems like a rather egregious oversight. Clearly, the developers ultimately agreed, hence the new Scenario rewards including RvR weapons in the upcoming patch 1.3.4. Item developer Sean Bosshardt put together a new developer diary to help explain the purchasing system, the philosophies in operation, and how the team dealt with balance concerns. The currency is balanced between Emblems and Insignias. Emblems are awarded for taking part in a scenario all along the leveling road; Insignias, on the other hand, are for the endgame and are restricted to players who have reached rank 40. They are also acquired from scenarios, as well as taking or defending a keep and the initial city public quest after attacking. The system will also apparently "unlock" higher levels of weaponry as the player purchases lower ranks, thus keeping a steady flow without skipping ahead. Warhammer Online players would do well to take a look at the full diary for more details, and get ready to start getting your due rewards for crushing skulls.
