mythic-ea
Latest
New Dark Age of Camelot patch goes live
BioWare-Mythic's Dark Age of Camelot is like a grizzled veteran soldier trapped deep behind enemy lines with nothing more than a bayonet and a can of rations -- no matter how bleak or hopeless things get, the old cuss just refuses to die. Incidentally, how weird is it to mention BioWare in a Dark Age of Camelot post? Anyway, I digress. Today marks the latest update to the long-running realm vs. realm MMORPG, and version 1.107 brings a few noteworthy changes to the endless fray. Chief among them is a class balance tweak that allows Savages to train the Realm Ability Charge. The powers-that-be have also lightened up on the stiff penalties for not paying your rent, as player housing contents will now be repossessed (as opposed to destroyed) when you fail to pay the landlord on time. Finally, Mythic has switched the realm timer back on, and it will now take five minutes to swap realms on the same cluster. For a full listing of the patch changes, visit the official website.
Warhammer Online reveals the classes of the Skaven
While last year was technically the Year of the Rat, the rodents seem to have taken over this year as well in the form of the Skaven. Players were excited when it was first announced that Warhammer Online would at last feature playable Skaven, even though it was stated that there would be certain limitations. A new document about the creatures has just gone up, with both fiction to explain the presence of the creatures on each side and a breakdown of the abilities they will bring to the battlefield. Like other races, the Skaven have four classes unique to them. Warlock Engineers deploy support equipment while fielding powerful effects borne of Warp-Energy, Gutter Runners stay in the shadows and sabotage enemy fortifications, Rat Ogres sow confusion and panic with their powerful frames, and Pack Masters support the nearby Rat Ogres and spur their allies forward. Take a look at the full document for more details on these long-awaited additions to Warhammer Online -- and don't mind the scurrying sound from the walls.
Waging WAR: Guide to defensive stats
Greg takes us through to see the dark side of our character sheets, and explains the various defensive stats found in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. He trudges through this week's Waging WAR with the stubborn stoutness of an Ironbreaker, and the cunning pre-determination of Tzeentch's Chosen to bring us this guide... For every 10 tanks running around with gigantic two-handed weapons and the Focused Offense tactic slotted, there is one tank with a shield. And for every 10 of those tanks, there's that one who will step onto the battlefield and shake its very foundations with his/her ability to soak incredible amounts of damage and survive. What makes those tanks so indomitable? It is their preference for and understanding of defensive statistics. Sure, they may not hit as hard as others, but their ability to stand defiantly in the face of an entire warband is what makes them so fearsome. With confidence, these rare titans stride onto the battlefields knowing they could put up a fight against death itself and stand a chance to win. Continue after the break as I explain the defensive character statistics of WAR.
Waging WAR: Hands-on with Thanquol's Incursion
This week, Waging WAR brings you Greg's hands-on impressions of the new RvR 24v24 instanced dungeon coming soon to Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. With true grit, determination, a staff, sequined robe and his trusty wizard hat, Greg brushes the dust off of his Archmage skills and reviews Thanquol's Incursion. I was able to put together everything needed on Wednesday evening, so setting up for Friday afternoon's scheduled test of Thanquol's Incursion didn't take long at all. I didn't want to get tied up in learning a new career along with testing completely new content, so I decided to stick with what I know best and roll my Archmage on the PTS. Luckily, I tend to go light in the add-on department, so after getting my keybindings ready and scattering my UI all over the screen in my own (olympically) special way, I flew to Praag and found a warband in no time flat. Friday's event started up right on time, and the testing was under way. The warband headed out to one of the various instance gates and we zoned in. Follow along after the break as I discuss my first-time hands-on experience with the new RvR gated 24v24 instanced dungeon: Thanquol's Incursion.
WAR preps Daemon Moon Rising event
We've been talking a lot about Halloween-themed in-game events of late. Whether it's Middle-earth, Hyboria, or Erinn, everyone seems to be getting in on the act. Not to be outdone, BioWare-Mythic is entering the fray with the forthcoming Daemon Moon Rising event for Warhammer Online, which includes the Daemonball Rally public quest, the Daemon Mask quest, and the High Pass Cemetery scenario battle. New reward masks are also in store, and you even have a chance to loot last year's Witching Night mask rewards in case you missed them. This year's event is currently ongoing, and will last through Tuesday, November 2nd. Tiptoe over to the official WAR site for all the grisly details.
Waging WAR: Chaotic zeal, part two
In this week's installment of Waging WAR, Greg returns to the Chaotic Zeal series and peels back another layer or two of the Zealot career in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. He tells us about his experience through tiers 2 and 3 and talks about what makes the zealot stand out in the chaos crowd. If only we could get him to eat his onions with the same fanaticism... At the end of the first issue of the Chaotic Zeal series, I left off by saying that I was happily looking forward to playing through tiers 2 and 3 and the promise the Zealot would bring. I'll kick off this second article in the series by saying that I wasn't disappointed in the least. The Zealot is an absolute pleasure to play as a PvP healer, despite the settings and circumstances I was presented with. The career's growth is robust and meaningful with a variety of attractive tactics and morale abilities, while the playstyle becomes more and more refined over time. I could fill an entire column with anecdotes and memories of my time with the career through the middle tiers, as the Zealot is a career experience that tends to be quite engaging and memorable. Instead, I'll focus on my impressions of leveling through them. Thus, with my Zealot poised on the precipice of tier 4 at level 30, I'll look back and recall the issues I faced getting there. Follow along after the cut as I discuss the middle tiers with the Zealot career.
Waging WAR: The new RvR... Are we there yet?
This past week was an exciting week for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning as the new RvR systems were released for testing on the public test realm of Warpstone. Greg took part in both the Wednesday night and Friday afternoon sessions, and writes about his experiences and impressions in this week's Waging WAR. When Mythic said that testing would begin in October, I don't think anyone expected to get his hands on the new changes to the RvR system so soon. Wednesday night was the first focused test, and I made it a point to take part. I also took part in the European-friendly session scheduled for Friday afternoon. Both events took place in the Tier 3 (Chaos vs. Empire) pairing across the zones of High Pass and Talabecland. There are certain issues that I feel are important enough to discuss regarding the way the new battlefield dynamics will bring about a golden age for melee careers, but this week, I want to focus on the RvR itself. Things have well and truly been shaken up, and this fresh experience is going to take some serious adjustment for veteran players as well as newcomers to the game. Continue along after the break for more discussion on the topic.
WAR's Gouskos talks Skaven, subscriptions, and RvR
Bioware-Mythic producer Carrie Gouskos recently stopped by the Ten Ton Hammer podcast for a revealing interview regarding changes to Warhammer Online's RvR mechanics, the subscription-based business model, and (of course) more information regarding the Skaven additions coming soon to a server near you. In addition to detailing the mechanics of mercenary Skaven troops and how players will interact and control the popular rat-men characters, Gouskos also dropped a nice nugget of information regarding the new Skaven dungeon that becomes available as a campaign offshoot around renown rank 65. The new area features a 24v24 free-for-all map that is also populated by legendary Skaven bosses. Finally, Gouskos talks a bit about WAR's pricing model going forward, including the decision to parcel out portions of the RvR expansion pack as well as avoid jumping on the F2P bandwagon. "We could spend a lot of time converting the game to free-to-play or we could work on this RvR pack. We chose the latter. So, is it off the table completely? No. Is it something that we want to do in the near term? No. We want to provide content for our subscribers," she said.
Warhammer Online brings open RvR modifications to test server
Warhammer Online recently turned two years old, and while it's been an occasionally rocky two years, the development team has been focusing in on making the core of the game the best it can be. That's been the motivation behind the plethora of RvR updates that have been pushed live over the past year, culminating in recent news regarding the much-anticipated RvR pack. There's a lot more to come, however, and the team is giving players a chance to try out some of the coming changes early, with the updates to open RvR scheduled for public testing. The first massed public test of the new mechanics will be taking place on Wednesday, October 6th, at 8:00 p.m. EDT on the Warpstone test server. Tier 3 combat is on the menu, with templates provided for players who don't happen to have a character that fits the criteria. No word on whether or not participants will be eligible for prizes, but considering past test realm events, rewards for players seem like a distinct possibility. Warhammer Online players are encouraged to set some time aside for the Wednesday event and should prepare themselves for Warpstone access ahead of time. [Editor's note: We've corrected the error in the original post. Thanks to those readers who alerted us to the mistake!]
Waging WAR: Coming soon, to a theatre of WAR near you
We interrupt this week's scheduled career spotlight on Waging WAR to bring you Greg's impressions of the latest and greatest news from the floors of GamesDay: UK regarding Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning and the new RvR content coming soon to a theatre of WAR near you. OK. So. Take everything you know about the Tier 4 RvR Campaign in WAR and press the "Delete" button right now. In fact, press it a few times. Actually, keep going. Keep pressing it until all you're left with is three pairings with three zones each, each zone containing four battlefield objectives and two keeps, and two cities as the capstone for each realm. OK. Now access that part of your brain that stores silly words and euphemisms regarding "the problem with WAR." See that entry for "Waithammer?" Delete it. "PvDoor?" Press the button. Actually, just go wild. Take every criticism you've ever had for WAR's endgame and just throw it out. We're talking total tabula rasa here (and not the ill-fated game). OK, stop. That should do. With an open mind and absolutely no knowledge of in-game mechanics, you're now primed to understand what I'm about to describe regarding the changes that are on their way, and more importantly, why I believe those changes are so critical to the glorious future of WAR. If your curiosity is even remotely piqued, click the "Read more" button.
Warhammer producer's letter talks ORVR changes
Warhammer Online producer Carrie Gouskos has checked in with her monthly producer's letter, and the update has quite a few things to say about the two-year-old title's immediate future. First on the docket is a mention of the upcoming RVR pack, which will be bringing the new playable Skaven race, a Skaven-area play field, armor sets, and a renown cap increase. Gouskos also talks at length about the new ORVR changes, which "represent a holistic attitude shift in our current gameplay offering within a single zone." Players will fight over battlefield objectives, which in turn will produce resource carriers that travel from the objective to their warcamp. The resources will be added either to the warcamp owner's total or the opposing force's total if they manage to intercept the carriers. Resources will level your keep, and each level will provide corresponding benefits that aid in the destruction of your enemy. Check out all the details at the Warhammer Herald.
Waging WAR: Chaotic zeal, part one
Continuing in the tradition of the Nagarythe Chronicles, Waging WAR moves forward this week with the first issue of another multipart career spotlight for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. This time, however, Greg has defected to the velvet darkness of Chaos. Brandishing a skull in one hand and a twisted dagger in the other, Greg rolls a zealot and starts down a road of uncertainty, where the only constant is Change by the will of Tzeentch. It has been a long time since I've played the game on the side of Destruction. Actually, truth be told, I've never really been serious about any Destruction character I've ever rolled at all, with my highest level being somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 or so on a blackguard when the class was first released. It has also been quite a while since I've done any career spotlights for the column. With those facts in mind, I've decided to do a multipart series for the zealot and to take a look at how they play and what makes them tick through the various tiers of growth up into Tier 4. The reasons I chose the zealot for the series are simple and few. First of all, the last time I had my hands on the zealot career was long before the new Harbinger mechanic was released, and I want to try it out for myself. Second, I have a considerable amount of experience healing (and DPSing) with my archmage, so I have a baseline for comparison. Finally, I thought a defection would be fun as I level and discover new areas, quests and storylines that I never gave myself a chance to become familiar with. Follow along after the break as I take a look at the zealot through levels 1-11 in Tier 1.
Waging WAR: The blame game
In this installment of Waging WAR, Greg flips the world all upside-down-like and examines the soft, warm underbelly of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. The PvE side. He holds a mirror to some of the questions he's found himself asking in bad situations involving mean, unforgiving bosses, and he shows us all how not to play The Blame Game. Oh, and HAPPY SECOND ANNIVERSARY, Warhammer Online!!! Ahem, we now return you to our regularly scheduled Waging WAR content. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is primarily about the RvR. As such, we don't often discuss some of the things in the PvE instances throughout WAR that we've all experienced at least once (or at least most of us, anyway). Whether you're heading into Hunter's Vale in Tier 1, setting up for a boss in the Tomb of the Vulture Lord, or preparing for any number of instances in-between (I can name five major ones off the top of my head), we've all been there and done that. Things have inevitably gone south for all of us at least once. For some of us, things have gone south repeatedly, on the same boss, with the same group, in the same instance. Frustration and enmity start to set in, and people start wondering, "What is going on here?" What follows then is usually a series of questions tracing a certain pattern that we ask ourselves as we try to figure out what the problem is. I guess it is only human nature to enter into this type of internal dialogue when faced with problem solving in social situations. Follow after the break to see what I'm talking about.
Warhammer Online details plans for buffing turrets and daemons
Pets of any kind can pose some issues in games. On the one hand, you want both temporary and permanent pets to provide a utility; on the other hand, you don't want someone crippled without the pet. Warhammer Online has a number of classes that use both permanent and temporary companions, and as part of the next update for the game, the team is working on making the engineer's turrets and the magus's daemons more useful for players in combat. Both daemons and turrets will now scale with the owner's stats, allowing their growth to keep better pace with more powerful characters. Equally important, however, is the new stacking buff that both types will receive when the engineer or magus remains near their pet. The buff will increase damage gradually while the player remains nearby, up to a 20% buff to damage output. Take a look at the full details from the development team in this small preview, a welcome promised bone for Warhammer Online players.
Waging WAR: Taking the stand
In this installment of Waging WAR, Greg makes it personal and sticks up for himself and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. He draws his sword and board, holds the line, and explains in no uncertain terms why he still enjoys the game. Recently, a few readers have suggested that my columns have essentially been slanderous. And while I'll admit that my writing about WAR hasn't exactly been all kittens and rainbows, imagine if it were. Would you be able to take me seriously if every week I came across as though I were a starry-eyed, adoring fan wearing rose-tinted glasses and playing the game through an internet connection made out of candy? Although I recognize my responsibility for the game as a relatively well-exposed writer, I also recognize the ability of my readers to think critically about the things I say and to avoid knee-jerk reactions to the first sentence that doesn't exactly fit with their particular jigsaw puzzles of expectations. The simple truth is that, like many of you, I am simply a long-term player who cares very much about the future of WAR. I am affected by the same things that you are when you get frustrated by the games you care for. Sometimes, that care becomes concern or frustration. Sometimes, the truth hurts. Either way, all I ask is that if you choose to read this week's column, stick around to the bitter end, and save your comments until then. So, in my defense, I'll take the stand and try to explain why I still enjoy the game, regardless of my recent frustrations.
Waging WAR: Finding the sandbox
In this installment of Waging WAR, Greg takes a look at Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning from a few different angles and goes in search of the proverbial "sandbox" in a game that contains neither sand nor boxes. Somewhere along the line during my childhood, I developed a habit for playing games with nearly every game I've ever played. I can even remember a time in my early teens when I sat down with a few friends and collaborated on making our own version of battlechess. Pages of chicken-scratched rules and several dice results-tables later, and we were off and running for a solid week of the most entertaining chess matches I've ever played. Or there was that time with The Sims when I started creating experimental families and then leaving my computer on overnight and not interacting with them, just to see how successful they could be without my help. I could bore you for hours on end with examples of how I twisted the rules and made my own games from the games I've played. I suppose I can blame my penchant for metagaming on my early introduction to pen-and-paper roleplaying (i.e., D&D 1st Ed., to be specific). All I had was a sheet of paper, a handful of dice, a description of the world around me, and my imagination. By its very nature, PnP gaming is sandbox gaming. The reason I'm bringing this up now is that, until WAR, I had pretty much been able to "find the sandbox" in any MMO I was able to get my hands on. Whether it was building hardcore Dungeons & Dragons Online characters, roleplaying in City of Heroes, or achievement-chasing in World of Warcraft, I've never really been troubled with finding something to do when the grind started to wear me down. But now, with WAR, I'm finding most of my old tricks for MMO metagaming just aren't working. To read about what I've tried, and why it didn't work in WAR, follow along after the break.
More RvR pack details in the newest Warhammer Online producer's letter
The beginning of a new month is upon us, and that means we're due for another producer's letter for Warhammer Online. This letter is coming on the heels of the major announcement of the RvR pack, so it was inevitable that the letter would have a veritable buffet of information for players, and it doesn't disappoint. As the letter explains, the addition of the RvR packs is the capstone on the design work that's been done over the past several months, focusing on the battles of RvR and trimming away the extraneous elements. Naturally, there's more information on the role of the Skaven, who will be playable by either realm rather than simply being an NPC faction. There's also more talk about the increase in the RR cap, with the goal being a closer approximation of Dark Age of Camelot's similar system. Carrie Gouskos also re-emphasizes that the game isn't going free-to-play at the moment and the team has no plans to change that. Warhammer Online fans should be very happy about the newest letter -- it promises many good things for the game in the near future.
Waging WAR: RvR packs, the "wait and see" edition
This week Waging WAR rides the double rainbow of gameplay customization via downloadable content and takes a cursory glance at the RvR packs being teased by the folks behind the development of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Let's follow along and see what Greg can unleash this time. It is difficult to talk about the future of WAR right now. Not because it doesn't have a future, but because the availability of information regarding it is not exactly easy to find. Actually, information on the future of WAR is all but non-existent, surrounded by controversy on all sides, and steeped in rumor, speculation, assumption and misinformation. The best I can put together is that we, as players, can look forward to some sort of set of three different "RvR Packs" allowing us to "customize" our gameplay experience moving forward. The packs have been called "Power," "Progression," and "Personality." What exactly each contains is a mystery, although the few talking points I was able to find regarding these RvR packs are speculatively disappointing at best. Although Carrie, Andy, and anyone else involved with the Mythic development team have said time and time again that they are not discussing moving toward the free-to-play business model, what they're proposing with these customization packs looks suspiciously like the item shop established by Turbine, implemented in Dungeons & Dragons Online and soon in Lord of the Rings Online as well. V.I.P. membership, anyone? Although concrete information is scarce and difficult to find, let's take a look at the most commonly referenced points of interest after the break.
Waging WAR: A healer's survival guide
This week, Waging WAR steps back from all the news and hype of Gamescom and GamesDay and focuses in on the healing archetypes in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. As we all know by now, Greg plays a healer and he's put together a guide for those who kill by mending the wounds of those who kill by bludgeon or blade. In my time in WAR I've learned a thing or two. No, I'm not writing about my extensive knowledge of how various terrains taste (the sand on the beaches of Nordenwatch and the cobbled brick streets of Praag have become favored delicacies). I'm writing about how to be an effective healer in WAR. While I am by no means invincible or infallible, I do consider myself a decent, relatively resilient and capable PvP tank (let's not kid ourselves here -- who needs plate when you can wear robes, right?). I have some advice to share with those who are interested in endgame PvP/RvR healing, or even those who are already there but seek to add an edge to their game. To achieve enlightenment, click the Read More button.
Warhammer Online's RvR pack announced
Mention "Skaven" to your average Warhammer Online player, and you'll be treated to an almost instant recitation of all the reasons why the race ought to be playable. It appears that players might be due to get that wish -- as well as a few more wishes -- with the announcement of the RvR pack for the game. Although we only have the broadest strokes of an outline for the pack, it promises to expand the game's core focus of PvP with an increase in the renown ranks to 100. Executive Producer Carrie Gouskos has confirmed the involvement of the Skaven, although she's stated that they'll not be playable directly from level 1. How the integration will take place is unclear, as are most of the fine details, although the pack will clearly be a big change for the game's overall structure. The pack is also meant to move away from the "huge expansion" model that's common in the MMO genre, with the company presumably moving to several smaller expansions on a quicker timetable. It's good news for Warhammer Online players to see what's coming around the bend, especially if players can run about sowing chaos as ravenous rat-men.
