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Massively goes to WAR: Is there any PvE in Warhammer's endgame?
Even at planned events, like our visit to EA Mythic last week, sometimes the most interesting conversations are those that happen naturally. We were in between two presentations last week, waiting for the next Warhammer Online walkthrough and informational talk, and had an unexpected lull. We used the opportunity to essentially ask the question that reader muub put to us way back in the middle of last week.Muub asked, "How much did they work on the PVE aspect of the game? Are there just a couple of end game dungeons to appease the crowd or is it more in depth? Do they have any endgame raid dungeons?" The answer to those questions, we can now safely say, are: "A lot, it's more in-depth, and yes." Assuming that you want slightly more detailed answers than that, go ahead and read below the cut for our brief discussion on Warhammer Online's PvE endgame with Producer Jeff Skalski and Press Relations' Juli Cummins.%Gallery-24013%
Massively goes to WAR: How to get your Public Quest loot
Over the last week or so we've already talked about some of the most innovative features of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. We've covered the Tome of Knowledge, the game's one-of-a-kind crafting system, and today we had a lengthy look at their approach to classes and races. Friday will be our last day of hands-on WAR coverage (for the time being), and between now and then we'll talk about RvR scenarios, keeps, and siege gameplay. But we're missing something in all this, one of the most unique elements to the game. That element is the Public Quest. There's a great explanation of what Public Quests are over at the official Warhammer site, but there aren't a lot of gorey details. What's it like to complete one, for example? How long does it take to fill up your influence bar, and how do you get loot after the PQ finishes? We had the chance to play through two early-level Public Quests during our time at EA Mythic, and we're here to report back. Read on below for details on all of the above, plus a reflection on the question "Why Public Quests?"
Massively goes to WAR: Every Warhammer class explained
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Every_Warhammer_Online_class_explained'; Last week Massively.com had the chance to sit with developers Adam Gershowitz and Josh Drescher during our visit to EA Mythic. There for a tour of Warhammer Online in its entirety, we'd already covered the innovative Engineer and Shaman classes. The morning was quickly running out, and to compensate for the sheer amount of information we needed to pile through our demonstrators went into overdrive. For roughly an hour we moved quickly from class to class, visiting the highpoints of several different types of gameplay. Much of our discussion explored the karmic doppelgangers across classes; different races entirely that share similar roles or playstyles.As our weeklong series - Massively goes to WAR - rolls on, read below for crunchy game details on every single class in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. At the end of the piece, check out the designers' take on why the Skaven (among other races) aren't in the game. And, if you're a fan of the recently announced White Lion class, make doubly sure to look below, because we have a few great details that should make you very, very well pleased ...
Massively goes to WAR: Spotlight on the Chaos Marauder
In the balance of our time viewing the ins and outs of Warhammer Online, Josh Drescher and Adam Gershowitz gave us a big portion of their day. After giving us a high level overview of all the classes (which you'll see here on the site later today), there was a few moments left over for personal favorites. At Josh's urging, Adam logged into a Chaos Marauder to show off the mutational fury of that faction's front line. This melee warrior's capabilities are predicated on the internal darkness that boils into his skin, malforms his limbs, and gives him the capability to cause massive amounts of damage.His karmic doppelganger, the High Elf Shadow Warrior, is likely to get played more just by virtue of elven popularity. Still, the Marauder's place in the Warhammer world has its own horrific charm. Read on for details on their meat clubs, axe hands, and the aptly-named 'Wave of Horror.'
Massively goes to WAR: Spotlight on the Dwarven Engineer
Our time last Thursday talking Warhammer classes with Josh Drescher and Adam Gershowitz was illuminating on many levels. For example, did you know that the user interface for every class in the game has been given a complete makeover? Not only will every class receive a neat widgety component (ala the Goblin Shaman's Mork n' Gork heads), but the bar itself is themed to the class's role.The action bar for the Dwarven Engineer, as you might imagine, is a sight to see. This defensive ranged specialist is a unique addition to the MMO landscape. And yet, we couldn't help but feel the stunty's gameplay was incredibly familiar somehow. In fact, the experience of playing an Engineer in Warhammer Online bears a lot of resemblance to that of the Team Fortress 2 Engineer. If the little dwarf had complained "Spies sappin' ma sentry!" it would hardly have been surprising. Read on below for more on this highly skilled specialist ... and a few words about the Chaos Magus all the way at the end.%Gallery-24013%
Massively goes to WAR: Spotlight on the Goblin Shaman
Sitting down with Josh Drescher and Adam Gershowitz to discuss the classes in Warhammer Online is somewhat like getting to sit next to the director during a feature film. They're so intimately tied to the game that every race, class, and locale in the game has an associated story. We had the chance to get the director's commentary straight from the source, and the result is a wealth of knowledge about the 24 different in-game classes. The first class we took for a tour was the Goblin Shaman, the healer/DoT specialist for the greenskin race. Though nothing was said beforehand, the tiny gobbos with the big sticks are this blogger's favorite class. It was therefore especially enjoyable to check out the numerous tweaks to the concept, look, and UI of the little healer. Read on for the full Waagh! %Gallery-21881%
Massively goes to WAR: Everything you need to know about guilds
Warhammer Online's ongoing series of production videos are almost too informative sometimes. For the bloggers at Massively, they pretty much do our job for us. Not that we don't mind taking it easy, but as you've probably gathered right now we really enjoy talking about MMOs. Thankfully, some topics are complicated enough that they warrant a second look. Warhammer's Living Guilds system, for example, was the subject of a great video just a few weeks back. And yet, there are still a number of questions you can walk away with.Where can you use the guild banner (now called a standard)? What kind of tools will guilds have for coordinating events? What about the big picture? How to alliances work? And, perhaps most importantly, where can guildies get drunk together? All of these questions and much, much more are explored in the latest of our ongoing series of articles about Warhammer Online. If you're so inclined, you can jump straight to to part 2 or part 3, or join us below as we chat with Mr. Drescher and Ms. Christian Bales.
Massively goes to WAR: The early days of Mythic Entertainment
Thursday afternoon Christian Bales and Josh Drescher sat down with us to discuss the Living Guild system in Warhammer Online. We did, at length, and you'll see the results of that discussion on the site later today. In the midst of all that information, though, we got to talking about their early days at Mythic Entertainment. Unlike many of the AAA MMO developers today, Mythic originally started out as a 'garage-style' development house. It's hard to imagine today, walking the halls of EA Mythic's corporate office space, but the duo's tales of antenna-based internet service, hallway offices, and legacy code make for a great reality check on the modern MMO marketplace. Read on below the cut for stories that will make you very glad to be working in a cubicle ...
Massively goes to WAR: How to conquer a capital city
The keep and siege gameplay of Warhammer Online all leads up to just one thing: sacking the opposing race's capital. Weeks, perhaps months of gameplay all leads up to one final confrontation between the forces of Order and the forces of Destruction. But what happens once the final Fortress falls? How to players bring the capital to its knees, the better to chop off its head? Join us as we explore the final, ultimate state of Warhammer Online's RvR combat.
Massively goes to WAR: Exploring Warhammer's capital cities
Last Friday afternoon we had the chance to sit down with Warhammer Online Development Manager Mike Stone. Mike is one of the minds behind the massive cities that sit brooding at either end of the racial pairings. Under his guidance, Altdorf (the Empire capital) and the Inevitable City rose before us in all their majesty. While we didn't spend any time in the captured versions of these capstone RvR targets, our time exploring these living, breathing areas was very illuminating. EA Mythic's attempt to involve the player in the lifecycle of their capital city is really interesting, and expresses itself in numerous ways. Read on for descriptions of these elements and far, far more as Massively investigates the neighborhoods and streets of Warhammer Online's mightiest metropolises.
Massively goes to WAR: Insights into Warhammer's crafting system
Many of the systems developed for Warhammer Online focus around the art of war itself. Realm vs. Realm combat, Keeps, sieges ... the bread and butter of the game is combat, adventuring, and excitement. Which is not to say that a few moments of quiet time aren't appropriate even in the harsh world of WAR. The most recent newsletter unveiled a new production video from none other than Mark Jacobs himself, talking all about crafting.During our visit to EA Mythic last week, we had the chance to talk with one of the folks that's turned concept into reality. Justin Webb is a Senior Design Manager with the company, and sat with us to clarify some of the particulars Mr. Jacobs set out in the production video. Join us as we explore the world of potions, lotions, fungi, and butchering: Warhammer Online's crafting system.
Massively goes to WAR: Emotions behind the Tome of Knowledge
In the same way that everyone on the Warhammer team seems to be suffused with passion for the game, Tome of Knowledge lead Carrie Gouskos couldn't help but pass on information about one of the game's most innovative features. Equal parts achievement system, quest log, faction-tracker and storybook, the Tome of Knowledge is unlike anything seen in other MMO titles but will be immediately familiar to players of games like Lord of the Rings Online ... or even Xbox Live fans. If you're unfamiliar with the Tome, Carrie has a lengthy explanation on the official website. We also discussed, just about two months back, a fantastic writeup on the book by Syp of the Waagh blog. Those resources should be able to fill in your need for information and (of course) we'll have more context for you on the concept later. For today, Carrie offers up a fascinating insight into the emotional connection that the Tome can create between player and avatar. She also explains (vociferously) why Xbox Live achievements lead directly into the Tome's development. Gamerscore junkies and lore hounds, read on for your fix.
Massively goes to WAR: Interview with Senior Designer Dan Enright
Our drumbeat of Warhammer Online coverage continues. Senior Designer Dan Enright is an industry veteran, having worked on Massively multiplayer games of varying stripes for the better part of a decade. We had the chance to chat with him yesterday afternoon, to get a sense of his part of the Warhammer world. Mr. Enright has a veteran's appraisal of his game, and the industry at large, and it was very interesting to hear his take on some of the larger issues facing the genre.Read on below the cut for Senior Designer Dan Enright's take on itemization, the problems of mudflation, the advantages of public quests, and some thoughts on the next generation of MMOs.
Massively goes to WAR: Jeff Hickman's view of Warhammer Online
Thursday morning we sat down with Jeff Hickman, EA Mythic's senior producer for Warhammer Online, to clarify what we'd be experiencing over the two days of our visit. Mr. Hickman was kind enough to talk through the outline of our schedule, and was very willing to touch base on a few of the topics we'd be covering. Jeff is a passionate speaker, and you get a real sense listening to him that he really deeply cares about the product that he's working on.Beyond the outline of the day's activities, we got him to wax extemporaneous about topics like Public Quests, Living Guilds, and the inevitable comparisons between Warhammer and World of Warcraft. Jeff's enthusiasm for the game was contageous, and it was hard not to be enthused just listening to him speak. Read on for a hint of what we've got in store, as well as word from 'on high' what makes WAR so great.
Massively goes to WAR: Your Warhammer questions answered
We spent the better part of yesterday under the auspices of EA Mythic, talking with them about the many and sundry parts that make up the Warhammer whole. You're going to see plenty of content about the game going up today and into next week, but right away we wanted to respond to you - the reader. Yesterday as a part of our ongoing "The Daily Grind" dialogue, we asked what you wanted to hear from the developers and designers. You responded, and many thanks to those of you that did. We'll make sure to throw out opportunities like this again in the future - you deserve a chance to get your questions heard. We didn't have the chance to ask every question, but we've got a much better understanding of the game and its context now than on Wednesday. We'll run down the questions asked by our participating readers, and hopefully offer up a general view of the title. Read on for those notes, and check back later today for more from EA Mythic and Warhammer Online.%Gallery-24013%
