tomb-kings
Latest
Waging WAR: On the distant horizon
It's that time again! Yes, Greg's imagination has escaped its tiny 3x3 cell and is off spreading ruination and ruffling feathers across the countryside, armed with absurd notions and a not-so-surprising lack of reason and logic. This week's Waging WAR attempts to follow along in its wake as we take another look at the potential future of Warhammer Online: The Age of Reckoning. WAR released with an impressive lineup of playable armies and careers, setting the stage for the Age of Reckoning with a 3v3, two-sided RvR layout. In the summer following the official release of WAR, we got our first free content expansion featuring the Tomb Kings in the Land of the Dead. Just recently, we finally, at long last, got our Skaven wishes granted. In the spirit of the holiday season coming up, I've decided to look ahead at what may come in the future as we approach new horizons in WAR. Even if we discount Brettonia as another flavor of civilized human (akin in many ways to the Empire), the Daemons of Chaos as being already represented in some form or another as a part of Tzeentch's Warhost, and the Ogre Kingdoms (and other assorted Dogs of War) as being more-or-less an NPC army, we're still left with some excellent offerings from Warhammer lore as far as where WAR can go in the foreseeable future. Follow along after the break as I take another look at what's left on the table to play with for future packs and expansions for WAR.
Mythic to show off WAR's Land of the Dead at Games Day Chicago
The third and final Games Day for 2009 is right around the corner, taking place on July 25th in Chicago. We had a hands-on look at Warhammer Online's Land of the Dead zone at a Games Day in Baltimore earlier in the year, before it was released -- but just because the zone is out now doesn't mean that it's no longer on show. Mythic will still be displaying the completed area to attendees of Chicago's Games Day, with developers on hand to discuss the "making-of" side of things.Stopping by Mythic's showcase will also net attendees some swag, including the exclusive "Empire Cherub" shirts pictured above (if they're quick enough -- those are going to be in limited supply). In-game giveaways include: A White Dwarf Beard character customization item Chompin Teef, a steel jaw customization for Orc Choppas Snorri's Spikes, a customization item for Dwarf Slayers that makes the character have a "mohawk" of nails sticking out of their skull (ow) Shroud of Imrathepis, used to "regenerate minor wounds and injuries" [via IGN]
It's coming for you: Land of the Dead dated for June 16th
We finally have a date on the release of Warhammer Online's brand new RvR zone, the Land of the Dead. Everyone make sure you have your swords sharpened and your armor ready for June 16th, because that's the day when the Tomb Kings rise from the south.Land of the Dead will include a brand new zone filled with public quests, traps, and some intense RvR combat as the sides of Order and Destruction fight over control of the entire zone. To mix things up, many of the new quests will feature elements that have more in common with action RPGs than with MMO mechanics -- emphasizing movement, positioning, and cooperation over straight number crunching exercises.We got some great interviews and a first hand look at Land of the Dead during Games Day '09, plus we also are hosting a Tomb King Cartouche puzzle contest where you can win an exclusive in-game item for WAR! So get your wagggghhh on, because the Tomb Kings are coming, and they're coming for you! The sands of the Tomb Kings are coming as the final release in the Call to Arms live expansion, the Land of the Dead approaches! Massively has your back with coverage from Mythic Entertainment at Games Day '09, so get your WAAGGGHHH ready for RvR mayhem as Massively re-arms for WAR!
Crafty WAR marketing reveals the "Rosetta Bones," hints at upcoming contest
First it was a movie and a box of hair dye that announced the coming of the Choppa and Slayer in Warhammer Online. Then it was the infamous "violent valentine" cards that announced the Night of Murder event coming to WAR. Now... now we have blogs receiving bones with glyphs and letters on them. You have to hand it to Mythic's marketing department. They have some pretty inventive ways to do announcements, one has to admit.This announcement however, is pretty big. In conjunction with the release of the Land of the Dead, blogs all about the blogosphere will be getting "Rosetta Bones." These bones will feature different symbols on their faces, each linked with a letter of the alphabet. The bones will also be accompanied with a map that points out special tomb unlocks, a flag to show which version the bones belong to (Europe or North American audiences will be getting different bones) and a parchment page containing storyline clues for what will be occuring in the future.
WAR's Call to Arms live expansion wraps up with Land of the Dead
We first learned about Warhammer Online's Call to Arms live expansion back in late January 2009. After nearly six months of tests, live events, content updates, monster patches, and an ongoing story arc, the expansion will come to an end some time this month. They have saved the best for last of course and Call to Arms will be sent off in style with the release of the highly anticipated Land of the Dead mega-zone.This week may be your last chance to test patch 1.3 before it goes live. This (last?) phase will focus on the Tomb Kings zone itself. That's right; testers will finally be unleashed upon the desert of Nehekhara! As a special reward, random testers will be awarded special manticore and griffon mounts akin to those gained from Mythic's recruit-a-friend program.Many players agree the game has improved by leaps and bounds in the last six months and population has been holding steady quarter to quarter. This new mega-zone may prove to be the extra push that encourages new and past players to hop aboard the WAAAGH! train and give WAR a(nother) try. Interesting times are ahead.
Land of the Dead draws nearer in Warhammer
Warhammer Online's Call to Arms live expansion has been rolling along for months now and players are getting mighty excited about the prospects of the Tomb Kings and The Land of the Dead mega-zone. One WAR blogger is so fired-up he has an on-going guide feature dedicated to it.Greg Moran, a fan favorite webcomic artist and owner of the Tome of Knowledge blog, just released part two of Bring Out Yer Dead. In it, he uses a hearty blend of Warhammer IP knowledge, Mythic promotional evidence, and speculation to provide details on what players might find once set loose upon the sands of Nehekhara. Part one gives an excellent primer on Tomb Kings history and lore.The feature is supplemented by a number of fantastic original illustrations and links to external resources. We suggest you watch part one and two of Mythic's very own Land of the Dead production podcast at the very least. Part three will be released in the May newsletter. There's also a new Beyond the Sands live event running in-game from April 20-27, which will reveal many secrets leading up to the full-scale zone launch.
Mega-dungeon called the Lands of the Dead coming to Warhammer Online
Darkness Falls. Those two little words conjure up amazing vistas to players that delved deeply into Dark Age of Camelot. The release of that content in that game - an enormous dungeon fraught with danger and loot, and disputed by vicious PvP skirmishes - is arguably the finest hour of Mythic's development. Hearing Warhammer Online's Jeff Hickman talk about new content that harkens back to that style of gameplay may mean a return to truely rare form for the still-struggling title.In the same discussion with Mr. Hickman where we unveiled the new classes coming to WAR and the Valentine's Day event, he walked us through the capstone of the Call to Arms expansion. The Land of the Dead, a massive egyptian-themed zone, will be unleashed on the armies of Order and Destruction sometime around May. We have full details on the expansion's crown jewel below the cut, including why they went in this direction and what you're likely to see the first time you set foot in the zone. Check it out below!%Gallery-43282%
Mythic announces the first live expansion to Warhammer Online!
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Warhammer_Online_first_expansion_has_new_classes_huge_zone'; Massively.com recently had the chance to speak with Warhammer Online Executive Producer Jeff Hickman. Mr. Hickman laid out for us the much anticipated 'bombshell' news for their PvP-focused MMO: an entire expansion being released over the next few months as live events. Warhammer Executive Producer Jeff Hickman: We've been launched for four or five months now, and all we've done for this time is looking at the game, listening to our players, playing the game ourselves. We've been drilling down into all of the little pieces that weren't quite right for us. We've been looking at client/server stability, what we can do with the RvR system, introducing the two new classes ... we've drilled down on any and all concerns that players might have to perfect the game as it stands right now. With that starting to be under control, we looked ahead and said to ourselves, "we have about four or five months to do some really interesting, cool new events." We're calling it a live expansion. We're trying to hit really hard for players that haven't tried Warhammer, or perhaps players that tried it and then went off to play Lich King or something like that. We want them to come back, see all the improvements we've made, and all the new content coming up. We're calling it "a Call to Arms." Read on below the cut for full details on the expansion, head over to the official site for their take, or click through to one of our related posts for further information: The Choppa and Slayer enter the game in "Bitter Rivals" The Land of the Dead recalls Darkness Falls in an all-new mega-zone Valentine's Day gets bloody as "The Night of Murder" %Gallery-21882%
PAX08: WAR's Paul Barnett and Jeff Hickman interviewed, page three
Massively: This one's for all the Warhammer lore fans. Tomb Kings or Vampire Counts? If you had your pick- Massively: Tabletop, let's say...
PAX08: WAR's Paul Barnett and Jeff Hickman interviewed
On the first day of PAX08, we sat down with Mythic Entertainment's Jeff Hickman and Paul Barnett to discuss several different topics concerning Warhammer Online. We've covered the game very extensively to put it lightly, so for this go-around our goal was to mix things up a bit for the dynamic duo of Jeff and Paul. (Josh Drescher was there, but he was embroiled in a deep discussion about Bacon Salt and its many uses) Let's just say we got some interesting comments about Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings. So, amidst the constant murmuring of the exhibition hall, we recorded the following interview for your listening pleasure.
