The Digital Continuum: December updates for WAR

Warhammer Online has its flaws that like to run up and slap you in the face from time to time -- it can put a damper on the fun. Lucky for us, one of the strengths found in Warhammer Online actually comes from its design team, Mythic Entertainment. These guys (and gals!) have been stringing together a daisy-chain of updates and just yesterday announced their first big content release only one month out of launch. The update seems all good, but I do have a couple of gripes.

Now, the doom-sayers -- or "haters" if you prefer -- will go on to tell me that this is all happening because Mythic is worried about Wrath of the Lich King or some other looming bedtime monsters. What really seems to be happening here is that Mythic is heavily supporting their newly launched MMO, and setting a new standard while doing it -- something I do think Blizzard could learn from a bit. If the content update is released come December and it turns out to be buggy and half-assed then we can deal with that situation when it arrives. Meanwhile, I'm happy that a developer isn't taking forever to push out much needed updates.

Oh but wait, they're only kind of doing that. I'm actually a little disappointed with Mythic for not hitting us with that retweaking to itemization and rewards in RvR sooner. In all fairness, there's probably some balancing to be done -- I just think it seems like the kind of issue that needs quicker addressing. Even if it was just a couple small fixes, it would at least make me feel better about my loot drops in the RvR experience. I am, however, happy to hear that work is being done to draw people into open RvR, as Scenarios tend to be where all the action is happening for me right now.

With the announcement that Black Guards and Knights of the Blazing Sun are being added back into the mix first, I'm glad I made my choice to switch out of a tank class temporarily. I still think that tanks could be tweaked a little bit any Mythic has said that some class improvements were coming with this first content update, so I may be vindicated. As long as I'm on this note, a word to the wise: Responding to anything with a long or short version of "learn to play" is a fruitless endeavor. It would be equally ridiculous for me to respond with "learn to comment" because it does nothing to further the conversion.

While we all wait for the first large update to WAR, I hope that Mythic continues to address play grievances where and when they're able. The biggest test is going to be the frequency and quality of the larger content updates. If this first one does indeed hit in December -- Jacobs is pretty careful to mention that nothing is promised here -- then that's a good start. Ideally I'd like to see the other two classes added back into the game by March, but we'll see. Who knows? Maybe Mythic will surprise us with a February release, which would earn them much respect.