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Choosing between Order and Destruction in Warhammer Online
Have you decided what you're going to play in Warhammer Online? In the days leading up to the game's launch, some of us already have a good idea of which class we'll play (like "all"). Prima Official Game Guides is getting ready for the Warhammer Online launch as well, with a class quiz that asks, "In the War between Order and Chaos, what role will you play?" To help answer that question, or just to help show you some of the possibilities in Warhammer Online, they've got a short personality test that shows how well a given character choice fits you.Some of us at Massively guess that the majority of players will choose Destruction when Warhammer Online launches, but there's definitely something to be said for the white hats as well. The quiz result is pretty much a foregone conclusion, but it's a nice distraction from work or while you wait for access to the game a bit later this month. We'd wager that most who take the personality test simply choose the most twisted answers possible (we did), but give it a shot and see what comes up. Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
WAR population heading towards equilibrium, poll suggests
Fish or cut bait? Boxers or briefs? Order or Destruction? It's those difficult choices that make life complicated. When it comes to MMOs, getting the balance of appeal right between player factions is one tricky task. According to Napox, as detailed over on thegreenskin.com, the population balance on Warhammer Online is now evening out, after an initial surge of favor for Destruction. This data comes from a career poll on warhammeralliance.com.Napox's meticulously researched spreadsheets give a current estimate of 47% Order, 53% Destruction; the bad guys are still in front, but at least more people are signing up to play for the white-hats. Goblin Shaman is by far the most popular class, while the Elf White Lion is the least. Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Massively goes to WAR: An overview of Healing careers for Destruction
If you're a planning on being a Destruction player in Warhammer Online and want to focus on healing, consider yourself covered. For starters, don't worry about being a heal-bot, this game probably has some of the most damage capable healers in an MMO that we've seen to date. That's not to say a healer can out-damage a DPS class, instead they're simply deft at dealing with combat on their own terms. For example: whether you enjoy keeping some distance from combat while supporting allies or prefer to get down and dirty, your needs will be met. It's indeed a diverse healing world in Warhammer Online and we've got it all mapped out for you.
Massively goes to WAR: An overview of Melee DPS Careers for Destruction
Warhammer Online offers two takes on melee DPS classes for Destruction at this moment in time. One of them is the slightly traditional Witch Elf, who's kind of like a rogue with a thirst for unrelenting murder and on heavy doses of mind-altering drugs. The other class is the Marauder, who is more irregular with his very flexible and cool looking mutation mechanic -- he can grow all sorts of disgusting stuff out of his body. So which one will you be playing come launch day? We've put together this class overview for exactly that question.
The Digital Continuum: Dark Elf days in WAR
So we've gotten official approval to speak our minds early and often about the Dark Elf (High Elves too, but bollocks to Order, I say!) experience in tier one and two as much as we like. That led me to decide that it would be fun to give you my personal take on them. Especially considering that in the not-so-distant past I made my worries about Warhammer Online very well known. As worrisome as Mythic's decision to remove four cities and four -- but in reality, two -- classes made me before, I'm happy to say that overall my experience with the early Dark Elf starting zone has been a positive one.From the moment you enter Warhammer Online as a level one Dark Elf surrounded by Black Arks and clanging metal, you'll be made to feel like an evil and menacing figure. This is done in various ways and I'm glad to say that it's never undone. One way Mythic invests you into your character is the first quest you ever receive and it's going to put a smile on a lot of your faces, unless you're an Order player. If you're an Order or player, you'll probably want to run into my sword for Malekith's sake. Trust me, it's really all for the best.
Jay Leno joins the Greenskins in Warhammer Online
On first seeing this video, we're not entirely sure what to think. Does Jay Leno really prefer being a Gobbo in Warhammer Online or is it just that Gobbos are the only ones with big chins? We're guessing it's the chin. You're probably rightfully wondering why Warhammer Online is appearing on The Tonight Show. Well you're not alone. Our only guess would be that this is some sort of preemptive strike at cultural relevance before the game is even out. Everyone knows that once a game has cultural relevance it's just a matter of time until those subscription numbers start falling from the sky like nerdy rain.It's also probable that this is just an honest-to-goodness case of The Tonight Show taking an interest in Warhammer Online. Paul Barnett is there on that video doing his "Crazy Englishman on Crack" bit that we love him for doing. Either way, it's a baffling video to watch and you'll probably find your palm firmly pressed against your face by the end of its short duration. It's after the cut, for those of you brave enough to watch it. Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Warlock talent changes added to official talent calculators
For every major class mechanic overhaul in the Wrath Beta, there's also a few minor tweaks for other classes as Blizzard works on perfecting the new talents and class balance for release. Today, it's the Warlocks' turn. MMO-Champion has discovered a few changes to the official talent calculator for the Warlock. Check it out after the jump.
Comic-Con 08: Hands-on with Warhammer Online
Last week at Comic-Con in San Diego, I sat down with Warhammer Online producer Jeff Skalski and got my hands on the beta for the first time. I could go in-depth on all the new features and functions of the game, but our own Michael Zenke beat me to the punch on that one. Instead I want to give my impressions of the game from the perspective of a long-time MMOG player with little time to play these days and even less interest in PvP.You may be asking yourself why I would be drawn to yet another MMOG, much less one largely centered on PvP given my statement above. The answer is simple: revirginization. In a discussion I had with 38 Studios at Comic-Con, I questioned them about how they thought yet another fantasy-based MMOG could succeed in an already heavily saturated market. The answer they gave me was simple and true: gamers have had wonderful experiences when they've first played other fantasy-based titles, but the thrill has been lost by repetitive gameplay. Now, many of us are looking to recapture that newbie experience again with a new title. Warhammer Online may be that game for me, not for its PvE content, but for its Realm vs Realm PvP set-up.
Wrath Beta patch notes: Warlock part I
So, the world (and WoW Insider) is alive with the sound of the Wrath of the Lich King beta, and it's high time that we take a look at our favorite commander of evil... the Warlock. We'll want to be sure we understand what's coming for us, so as not to let anyone think those other evil guys are horning in on our territory. And, yeah, there's definitely some things changing.A lot of the changes are a little hard to noggin out -- are they meant to be buffs? Nerfs? Inexplicably different, but not really better or worse? Demonology is certainly getting a thorough shuffle, but it's hard to say whether it's good or bad. We'll chat more about it after the cut. Let's start with what the first beta patch notes obviously say, and consider what each item means. Then, in Part II, we'll start looking at each tree individually, with each of its new spells.
The Digital Continuum: Diet WAR
Diet Warhammer Online: same great taste, less content. Is it bad that the recently re-branded Mythic Entertainment just cut out a large portion of our Warhammer Online pie and put it in the deep freeze? Well it's certainly not good when a developer cuts content they've been talking about publicly for so long, especially when launch is only three or four months away. I've already written about why this MMO ode to classic tabletop trappings shouldn't be shoved onto shelves half-baked and I still feel like I'd rather see a delay than see so much content cut. While there have been plenty of delays already, that doesn't mean more would have been intolerable. I'm going to try and take an honest look at what the removal of four capital cities and four classes means for Warhammer Online. I will admit that when the news first hit, a vile and seemingly ancient sort of anger began to boil up inside my lungs. It was the onset of some form of draconian rage at the removal of so much content that I'd been personally invested in as a future player. I never really got into Chaos and planned on playing Dark Elves, but now a large part of that content is gone. At first I felt anger and confusion towards Mythic. It wasn't until after that initial knee-jerk anger passed that I was able to give some real thought to their choice and was able to consider the varied consequences.
Which WAR faction favors more mature players?
It's generally accepted as common knowledge that Horde players in World of Warcraft are, by and large, the more mature of the two factions. Whether or not this is actually supported by hard data is a matter of debate, but the logic says that older players are the ones best able to overlook the stigma of playing races long-perceived to be the "bad guys." There are mouth-breathers no matter what faction you roll, but perception is what it is.We've been watching a poll over at Warhammer Alliance that sought to identify a specific age correlation between the two factions amongst the hardcore Warhammer Online community. With just over 2100 votes cast at the time of writing this, we did find an interest trend. Although Destruction was more popular than Order in every demographic, the disparity between the two become decreasingly pronounced as you move up in the age bracket. The ratio went from 1.7:1 in the 12-16 bracket to 1.5:1 amongst those 17-25 to 1.3:1 for ages 26-35, finally to 1.1:1 in the 35+ bracket. Does this mean Order will be the faction of choice for older players? Definitely too early to tell, but this early data is intriguing.
Brutal Gladiator's Felshroud
The Brutal Gladiator's Felshroud is the armor set for crit-based or Destruction Warlocks. It is a felweave, or cloth armor usable only by Warlocks and is usually matched with Guardian's Silk armor pieces. The armor set can be purchased from Big Zokk Torquewrench in Netherstorm and Ontokk Shatterhorn in Shattrath City. The matching Guardian items may be purchased from Doris Volanthius in the Hall of Legends and Lieutenant Tristia in the Champion's Hall. Brutal Gladiator's Felweave Handguards The Brutal Gladiator armor piece for the hands are the cheapest and easiest Season 4 Arena gear to obtain. With no personal rating requirements, most players will be able to purchase this piece and is the Arena gear likely to be most widespread as soon as the season begins. The bonus is the same for both Warlock-specific sets, giving a bonus against spell interruption when casting Fear. The handguards have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent): 306 Armor (+13)+56 Stamina (+6)+23 Intellect (+5)+26 Spell Critical (+4) +23 Resilience (+0)+44 Spell Damage / Healing (+4)Gives 50% chance to avoid interruption caused by damage while casting Fear.Classes: Warlock WoW Insider says: These gloves are low-cost and have no rating requirements, making it a good purchase specially for starting Arena players. Although Destruction isn't as popular in Arenas because of comparatively lower survivability, these gloves give good burst potential to those specced for it. It is identical in all stats to the Mage's Silk Handguards.Brutal Gladiator's Felweave TrousersThe leg armor possesses a personal rating requirement of 1550, which isn't too difficult to obtain, and Destruction Warlocks should find it an achievable target. While not as accessible as the gloves, the leg armor is highly visible on a character and is also likely to be a popular purchase, even at 1875 Arena points. The trousers have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):442 Armor (+18)+74 Stamina (+7)+30 Intellect (+6)+39 Spell Critical (+6)+30 Resilience (+0)+60 Spell Damage / Healing (+7)Classes: WarlockWoW Insider says: The lack of sockets mean that the only customization that can be done will be through Tailoring or Leatherworking enchants. Although it doesn't have as much +Stamina as the Dreadweave Leggings, Destruction Warlocks will find the +39 Spell Crit Rating (1.49% at Level 70) to more than make up for it.Brutal Gladiator's Felweave RaimentWith three sockets, the chestpiece is the most customizable Arena armor piece, and is the next best purchase after the gloves. 1600 is a modest target considering the reward. In PvE, the chest armor is traditionally a drop from the final boss in a series (Magtheridon drops Tier 4 chest token, Kael'thas drops Tier 5 chest token, Illidan drops Tier 6 chest token, etc.). Arenas are different in this regard, but the item level of the chest is identical to PvE chest pieces. Sunwell Plateau breaks from tradition in that the final boss, Kil'jaeden, does not drop chest tokens or armor. However, the Brutal Gladiator chest armor is equivalent to the drops from Entropius and is the best combination of cost and restriction among all the armor pieces. The raiment has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):476 Armor (+22)+68 Stamina (+7)+21 Intellect (+6)+39 Spell Critical (+6) +26 Resilience (+0)+46 Spell Damage / Healing (+7) Socket Bonus: +4 Spell Critical Classes: WarlockWoW Insider says: Two Yellow Sockets mean more spell crit, including the offense-oriented socket bonus. The chest takes a -16 Stamina hit compared to the Dreadweave version, but this is the best burst Arena armor piece for Warlocks in Season 4. Because of its PvE equivalent, obtaining the Brutal Gladiator chest armor is almost like killing Entropius in Sunwell Plateau. Well, ok not really, but if you don't raid, that's about as close to a raid drop as you're going to get.Brutal Gladiator's Felweave CowlThe helm is very likely the last Brutal Gladiator armor piece that many players will obtain. With the shoulders at an extremely prohibitive 2200, most players will only manage 4/5 of Season 4. Destruction Warlocks should find a 1700 personal rating a manageable goal to get this cowl, which costs the same as the chest and leg armor pieces. With a personal rating attached to it, the Brutal Gladiator helm might be one helm graphic that players would like to leave on. It is also identical in model to the pieces that drop off Kil'jaeden in Sunwell Plateau. The cowl has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):426 Armor (+17)+74 Stamina (+7)+21 Intellect (+6)+28 Spell Critical (+6) +33 Resilience (+0)+54 Spell Damage / Healing (+7)Socket Bonus: +4 Resilience RatingClasses: WarlockWoW Insider says: One of the few pieces where Felweave has a little more raw +Spell Damage than its Dreadweave counterpart, the cowl is a perfect complement to a crit-happy Destro lock. It also has substantial upgrades from the previous season's fancily animated helm.Brutal Gladiator's Felweave Amice The 2200 personal ratings requirement for the shoulders are almost Gladiator-level for most Battlegroups, and will likely be a very rare sight in most realms. Although it is the cheapest item after the gloves, it is also the most difficult to get. Blizzard's reasoning for this is that the shoulders are the most "visually impacting" armor piece, confirming Blizzard's opinion that PvP achievements should be on display. The amice has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):339 Armor (+16)+56 Stamina (+6) +18 Intellect (+5)+21 Spell Critical (+4)+23 Resilience (+0)+44 Spell Damage / Healing (+4)Socket Bonus: +3 Resilience RatingClasses: WarlockWoW Insider says: Brutal Gladiator Shoulders are peacock gear. The Felweave Amice has 1 point more Stamina than its Dreadweave counterpart, and has almost identical stats elsewhere except for +Spell Hit, which was forewent for +Spell Crit. Blue sockets are uncommon for PvP gear, and helps activate the Chaotic Skyfire Diamond. %Gallery-25440% Looking for more Season 4 info? We've rounded up everything you need to know about the Brutal Gladiator season right here.
WAR's White Lion's pets designed to be meaningful
The guys n' gals over at Ten Ton Hammer were able to speak with Mark Jacobs about the newest Warhammer Online class, the White Lion. Pets that gain levels are pretty standard in the MMORPG world, in fact it's almost a given anymore. However, in an interesting twist, players will keep and level just one pet throughout their time with the White Lion class. EA Mythic is promising a dynamic experience that makes each player's lion meaningful, but hasn't yet gone into the mechanic bits of everything just yet.While this may not be groundbreaking news, it's very interesting to note Jacobs enthusiasm for giving players a pet with which they'll develop an attachment. Just knowing that there won't be any re-teaching of skills and abilities is definitely a big relief to us, too. Now we just have to wonder how many players are going to roll this class -- a worry that many Destruction players are likely sharing.Then again, Squig Herders still have that whole thing where they jump into their pets and use them like a suit of squishy, toothy, crazed armor. Not to mention the fact that some of the higher level Squigs looks exceedingly awesome. Seems to us like Warhammer Online's supposed imbalance fears may be over before they've even begun, thanks in part to EA Mythic's keen sense of what we're now referring to as "Class Coolness".
Warhammer Online's realm imbalance fears
When Warhammer Online releases later this year do you think there will be a skewed realm population? The GREENSkin blog seems to think so, but history would disagree with them. Whenever a game has been faction-based the "evil" races tend to be popular during the beta period. This fear of imbalance was a issue in Dark Age of Camelot and in World of Warcraft. During both of those instances beta testers expressed worry that the more evil of the realms would be entirely overpopulated post launch. However, the exact opposite happened to the complete befuddlement of beta testers everywhere.
From Tabletop to Desktop: WAR's Destruction careers
With the announcement of the White Lion as the final career in Warhammer Online, we finally have a good idea of what the class dynamics will be in the long-anticipated MMO from Mythic. Obviously, the specifics of each aren't set in stone, as some classes don't even have their masteries announced yet, but one finally gets the sense that it's all starting to come together. With this is mind, we've put together an overview of the game's classes, including a comparison to their tabletop equivalents, to give you a better idea of what you've got to look forward to with the upcoming open beta. In the first part of this feature, we take a look at the careers on the side of Destruction.And if you like what you what you see here, make sure to check out our on-going Massively goes to WAR features! From Tabletop to Desktop: WAR's Destruction careers >>>>>%Gallery-24169%
Blood Pact: Destro the only way to go?
Raiding warlocks have a very specific role - dealing damage. As we progress further in the high end-raiding game, one thing becomes more and more apparent. Our much-envied range of playstyles diminishes and we seem to be shoehorned, like other classes, into pretty much a single cookie-cutter spec. The spec in question is destruction or 0/21/40 specifically. This spec capitalizes on the wonderful scalability of shadow bolt and consistently outperforms affliction when good spell hit and crit gear becomes available. For a detailed look at the 0/21/40 build, check out my "A Warlock's descent into Destruction" article. I've recently respecced back to an affliction spec (40/0/21) just to revisit the good ol' days of mobility (instant DoTs) and an "unending" mana pool (Dark Pact). I know we tend to look back on the past with rose-colored glasses, and true enough, my experience with affliction again was ... less than satisfying. Why the difference?
Joystiq hands-on: Red Faction: Guerrilla (360/PC/PS3)
At a recent THQ game event, another writer asked me about the original Red Faction. I told him it was one of the first games to use destructible environments. And then as I kept talking, I added qualifiers and backed off from that statement. Eventually, I rambled on to say it was also the first not-fully-successful game to do that in a long line of unsuccessful games. It was still cool -- smashing through a window was impressive -- but it didn't give the destroy-anything sense that the developers pushed.Due late this year, Red Faction: Guerrilla could finally deliver on that promise, although it has caveats of its own. Still on Mars, this time you play almost the entire game above ground. I had fun smashing holes into buildings and even destroying them with a sledgehammer. But I missed the underground, mining elements of the original. If everything is supposed to be destructible, why not the ground, too?On a technical and design level, it makes sense that a destructible ground would be a lot to ask. But it sure would be satisfying. Even without that option, Red Faction: Guerrilla could be a great game%Gallery-19834%
Asus' Eee PC gets torture tested on video
For those that had no qualms kicking Teddy to the curb and cuddling with Asus' Eee PC throughout the night just as soon as it was released, you may want to utilize your scroll wheel right about now. For those with a tough stomach and a perverse appetite for destruction, you can most definitely stay put. In the video posted after the jump, the Eee PC is pushed from great heights onto solid floors, forced to sit in extreme temperatures and repeatedly prodded to see if it still functioned. Interested? You're just one click away from a clip sure to make gadget aficionados everywhere cringe.[Thanks, Roman]
Havok upgrades to 5.5, adds cloth and destruction
The Havok Physics engine has been upgraded to 5.5, according to a press release from today. The release includes new enhancements, features, "dramatically accelerating the development of cross platform, [and] cutting edge electronic entertainment." The Havok Animation and Havok Behavior toolsets were also updated to 5.5, and the PlayStation 3 tools also received enhanced collision query optimizations. In a separate press release, Havok announced Havok Cloth and Havok Destruction, whose intentions and use are pretty self-explanatory.
Blood Pact: A Warlock's descent into Destruction
Between Arenas, V'Ming spends his time as a lock laughing ominously in AV, tanking Olm with his own minions and pondering troll fashion from Zul'Aman. He's recently started to plumb the depths of SSC with his 0/21/40 build and bragging about 8k shadow bolts.I have been an Affliction lock for much of my 70 career (45 days to be exact). I enjoyed wiping out fauna in Nagrand or Shadowmoon Valley by taking on multiple mobs with hardly any downtime. Between the Frozen Shadoweave set bonus, Essence Infused Mushroom, Siphon Life, Drain Life and the occasional skillcoil, my life hardly drops below the half-way point.In raids, it was fun watching an amplified Curse of Doom pop for close to 9k damage and trying to keep a full set of DoTs on the boss between Ruin-powered shadow bolt carnage. I liked the instant fire-and-forget DoTs in PvP and Arenas, and Curse of Exhaustion and instant Howls of Terror gave me a chance against rogues and warriors. You could say that I'm a happy Warlock.Until I got bored.
