Haha! Did you really think my blog is over? I hope not. ;)

I played/tried LOTRO. That was my 3rd try. Man, this game is so instanced and restricted. LOTRO feels pretty much linear. Why is everyone complaining about AoC’s “hidden walls” but LOTRO is the MMO prince? I don’t see a real difference. Why are there so few quests in that game? I expect more from LOTRO since it is called a Role-Playing game. The controlling is average, but the music is disappointing. Seriously, this is “lord of the rings”! I may expect more from a game which is based on an epic franchise. Sound is lousy, too. Only the graphics are satisfying. The community is as ****** as usual there. Even WoW, people are nicer.
Is LOTRO a bad MMO? For WoWers who love the Lord of the rings franchise, it might a good one. For the rest, it is a definite NO.

I tried StarWars: Galaxies. The space part is great. But as soon as you are on a planet, it bgins to feel like a cheap f2p, not only visually. How could this game anyone before “jump to lightspeed”? It is the best part of SWG.

But most of the time, I am playing offline games. I’m looking forward to read the review about Darkfall Online. Additionally, I might buy a MMO which I should have bought instead of having listened to others. More about in 2 or 3 weeks. I have a real life ( I think) waiting for me.
 

First of all, all current MMOs suck. Not a bit, but big time. The only reason I am playing MMOs at all is the communicative factor. If u don’t have any similarities or common interests with someone, there is nothing to talk about. For me, MMOs are beautiful chat programs with content. My girl friend is hot but she is boring to hang up with. My friends play soccer. A sports game I don’t like. So I need MMOs to find new friends. People who can role-play. People with a certain kind of humour. Sounds pathetic, right’? Well, it is my will. I don’t have to find new friends. But somewhere out there, there are some pretty cool people. Since I’m not Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, I won’t be able to travel all around the world to find these cool people person. Here is the part where the MMOs come into the play. Currently, I’m playing Mass Effect: A cool offline RPG. I don’t need a crap MMO to play a nice video game. After Mass Effect, I might buy Fallout 3 or Little Big Planet. I haven’t even won MGS 4 yet. I want to chat, damnit ! ^^

I tried “The chronicles of Spellborn” and I didn’t like it at all. I could tell u why, but I doubt u really care for a detailed version. So here comes the short version:
1. Weird graphics
2. Worst Combat/fighting system of all 2008’s new MMOs
3. Bad PVE -> whats the aim of the PVE?
4. senseless PVP ? no RvR, no tournaments, no real ganking, so what PVP is that? Just
a GW arena copy?
5. pretty much average in everything it offers
6.etc

Only one good thing to say about Spellborn: technically (besides controlling) satisfying. I never lagged, didn’t notice any bugs or graphic glichtes so far

I have to mention that I haven’t play the game much after the character creation. But I didn’t feel at home. Nothing special about the game. It is just boring. So….if u can live without a cool atmosphere, this game is great. Personally, I hate the controlling. I hate it so much that I can’t forgive it. A good combat system is essential. Even if the rest was awesome, I couldn’t ignore the combat mechanics.

I played “Runes of Magic” (open beta). It is so bad. I’d rather play WoW than RoM. Btw, I am not a big WoW fan. No matter how bored I have been or how crap the competition of WoW was, I didn’t feel that WoW was a MMO I could play for hours. But after several F2Ps, I appreciate WoW a bit. RoM is total crap. The hype about it is embarrassing. That hype is the proof that there are many idiots without taste out there. The screenshots didn’t convince me to try it out. I just wanted to see what’s behind the hype. RoM is a VERY bad copy of WoW. Yes, I compared them! RoM is too similar to ignore that fact. What can I say? It is just F2P. I should have known better. ^^

What am I doing next? I have no clue. Maybe, I will do a “one-month” break from MMOs. The offline games are waiting for me. On January 22th, Darkfall Online will come out. An interesting online game with old school concepts. Cya then!
 

Disappointing. Warhammer Online is not a bad MMO, but surely doesn’t do its PVE right. If you want to get items, go questing or farming. Don’t rely on the auction house! You only get crap there. Don’t expect to craft it, cuz this game doesn’t offer a real crafting. Don’t look out for a PVE gear merchant! The NPC is checking your PVP rank. So if u don’t PVP, he won’t offer u the stuff appropriate to your PVE lvl. Well done, mythic! You really don’t want people to PVE. I like PVP but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to PVE. The dungeons aren’t good for solo. The events in WH suck. What really makes me angry is the economy. I have money but I can’t do anything fun or cool with it. No lvl40 mounts, no housing, no accessories, no pets, just nothing. In RVR areas, there is still emptiness. Okay, more action than before the 1.1 patch. But players still don’t really care about it a lot. The Scenarios get boring by the time. I sometimes have the feeling that I am playing a cartoonish version of Guild Wars. What is the worst thing about Warhammer Online? I’m running out of quests! Oh, please! Not enough quests…..why is everyone complaining about AoC’s lack of quests but Warhammer is spared? The 2 new classes added recently are boring. I could complain further but you probably noticed what will happen next: I will quit Warhammer. In my opinion, it got a fair chance to show me that it is better than AoC. If you want to know more about my Warhammer Experience, send me a mail here. I will continue to write my tryout of other MMOs. Right now, I am downloading the client of the Open Beta Version of “Runes of Magic”. ‘ So, see you next time with “My RoM Experience Intro”. ^^

I did it! I finally did it. I reached lvl 20, therefore I got my evil horse (mount). It isn’t just for a faster movement, it’s a symbol of my journey. It’s half-time. Well, theoretically, because we all know that the lvls are progressing exponential, meaning that u have to do more and more to reach the next lvl.
I participated in some RvR action, of course. Today, the patch 1.01 arrived. I didn’t play much, so I have no clue if it has any influence on my playing behaviour. The higher the area, the more epic do the PVE areas look like. Hell ya, I know. This isn’t my favorite MMO. I don’t have to play it. There are a lot of alternatives out there. 2 days ago I tried the “Chronicle of Spellborn” trial. OMG, Spellborn sucks big time. I don’t care what the Spellborn think about my bad comments on the game. It IS the worst MMO this year. Yes, it is worse than AoC! Considering the crap we all had to witness this year, one can only hope that 2009 won’t be similar. Myself, I can’t stop feeling that Warhammer Online has a lot of potential waiting to be exposed. At least, the developers try to do their best unlike others (I won’t name any developers this time ^^). No doubt about it: Warhammer Online is a true PVP game. If u don’t like or even love PvP, u r playing the wrong MMO.
I’m wondering if I should try “Runes of Magic”. I’m still not sure. The more I read about the game, the less I wanna play it.
My WH guild is still a bit boring. The reason is obvious. Too many different lvls. What shall a lvl 34 do with a lvl 15? I have to become 40, so the other 40s have no excuse why they don’t want me in their party, PVE and PVP wise.
What do YOU think: When will I reach lvl 40’?
 

Before I start the next chapter of my WH-Online Review, I have to mention that I expanded my Warhammer Game Experience by another 30 days. Yes, it’s right: I’m a WH subscriber now.

Well, the most important question is: “Is Warhammer Online fun?” Not fully. I am PVEing, even a lot if u consider that I’m not a big fan of the WH way of PVE.
I’m level 18 now but the quests don’t get better. You just need to complete more of them to reach the next PVE lvl. The PQs are no fun cuz it is rather about grinding than telling a story. And still you rarely find people who want to party with u for PVE. But it isn’t WH’s fault that present MMO players are arrogant or solo-narrow-minded. You have to travel all 3 realms to have enough quests to get the next PVE level. PVE in WH is boring. No question. Why am I questing then? Because the revolution of open RvR is in development by Mythic. We just have to be patient. My guess is that I need to lvl much more to meet more advanced “chattish” players. By the way, did I mention it? I am in a guild now. The leader is a sympathic guy. I just wished the rest of the guild was similar to him. He is the only guy who has a conversation with me in a funny or role-playing kind of way. I’m pretty sure that some readers are wondering why I am so slow in lvling. Well, I don’t play 24/7. I chose WH cuz it seems like a nice casual game. But not too casual. It still has to offer much for the case I am in the mood for a long adventure.
For the critical readers among u: I admit it. I tried some other games during my Warhammer Experience. U won! WH isn’t perfect. So what! Pirates of the Burning Sea is a promising game but man, the fighting is very tiring. The rest feels awesome. Hm…..except the quest marking. That really su***. Why am I not transferring to PotBS then? As mentioned before, the ship fighting is bad. No exaggerating, it reminds me on EVE online pretty much. Quite lame.
Back to Warhammer. PVP is great. The best thing is that it gets better and better. Especially the open RVR is the best PVP u can imagine. U just take any enemy u see and try your best. From all other the server, players of your side are coming and join the big sieges. It is amazing how much fun u can have although u are not even close to max lvl. In most games u have to be high lvl if u want any PVP at all. Having fun instantly is what I always loved about GW.
If I keep up this speed, I become 40 before 2010! :P
My temporary goal is getting the horse mount at lvl 20. Just 2 more lvls.
I created some other chars. Usually, that is a sign that u are beginning to get bored. Well, time will tell.
 

There I am. I’m lvl 12. Was it fun to get there? Not at all. The quests didn’t get better. The PvP would be better if the RvR was boosted more. If you want to PvP there is no alternative to scenarios. But why should I play Warhammer Online then? Battlegrounds in WoW and Random Arena in GW aren’t worse. I get ignored in Warhammer constantly. I wanted to give it a chance but the game needs a lot more than it has to offer at the moment. Games should be fun! Warhammer Online didn’t fail because it doesn’t have any features. This game offers a lot but it isn’t fun. Saying that the game will be fun later is a bad excuse. A good game should be able to entertain from the beginning. I have only 2 weeks left until my free days are over. I have no good feeling about it. The release of lich king (wow) decreased the population of Warhammer drastically. Warhammer is the proof that a “pay 2 play” game isn’t necessarily better than a “free 2 play” one.
What is the alternative? Well, a trial for 2 weeks of “Pirates of the burning sea”; testing how the release version of Atlanica Online looks like; Spellborn will come out soon and Darkfall is announced for December. There is not much I could say now but one thing:
It’s not over yet but I’m loosing faith in Warhammer Online.
 

After I logged off, I was busy with real life for 2 days. I told a friend that I’m playing Warhammer Online. He was surprised that I’m playing a game with WoWish graphics. I explained him that ArenaNet, the developer of GW, isn’t doing enough to hold the players there. I also told the FunCom/Age of Conan story. After that, he understood why I gave the cartoonish game a chance. When I came home I tried to lvl my dark elf nuker. But somehow he wasn’t fun at all. Well, not for me personally. So I checked the internet to see which class should be my final main char. It was the marauder. When I created him, PvE began to be fun. I really can’t explain why but the stupid quests were more fun with the marauder class. I’m pretty sure that now some readers will say that I just forced myself to like the marauder so I don’t have to quit the game. Well, I don’t care! Sure, okay, the PvE lacks of clever ideas or a cool combat system. Many things are just average. But seeing my marauder rising by the lvls, that made me liking my char for the first time in WH.
The exp you get from quests s*** extremely. Seriously, I was in just twice in RvR scenarios and my exp rushed to the top as much as in tons of quests.
20mins PVP = hours of questing
That’s not okay. Luckily, I am beginning to accept the PvE but just because I’m wandering around the whole Warhammer globe so I am seeing various places. That awakens the explorer in me. Before I wrote this blog entry here 5mins ago I was lvl 7.
That is my highest and my most favorite char so far. I have 4 friends on my friend list. But only 1 of them is active enough to be on when I am. No guild so far, no REAL RvR so far either. I won’t say: Warhammer is boring but I’m beginning to wonder when the REAL fun begins.
 

Today I lvled to lvl 4. I’m getting used to questing. Unfortunately, I still don’t get parties here on the beginner island. Well, to be honest, I didn’t expect it anyways. I made almost all quests I could get. But one quest seems to hard atm.
After a break I got fed up with the nuker. So started a new char again. This time it’s the white lion class. I’m liking it so far. I did all quests. Now that I’m a bit more familiar with the UI (User interface) questing in WH is going faster than ever before. Was it fun? Not really. But why? Well, The FEDEX quests are boring and the “kill x mobs of species y” quests are grindy. Why are so many people complaining about Asian grinders if other games do it the same way but in disguise of quests. Really frustrating. Now I am lvl 4 and don’t know what to do. Am I quitting it already? Well, not yet. The PvP is still entertaining. Less amusing than the first 2 days but it becomes repetitive. That’s okay but the fun has kind of gone. Where has it gone? The job classes suck badly. There is no real economy so far and the graphics aren’t stunning. Wherever I go, people don’t seem to take the RvR offer although it seems to be the game’s big advantage. Somehow ironic and embarrassing that the players don’t use the possibility. My free 30 days will run off at November 30th I think. Three more weeks to try out the rest of the game. I should stop creating new chars and get to max lvl. I don’t want to regret to have a great game cuz I didn’t give it a real chance. As I said: Im lvl 4. I should hurry up but shouldn’t’ forget to have fun while doing so. Is that possible at all? Only time will tell. See you in 2 days.
 

the DVD #1 couldn’t be read by my ‘PC DVD player properly. I’m wondering how the American publisher did his job.
After the installation and the activation of the account I could finally play Warhammer Online. The MMO which should last at least 3 months. If not, then the game is obviously *****. My expectations are a bit higher than average just because it’s a “pay to play” game. If you as a company ask money on a constant periode, you are competing with the A-class MMORPGs. You must give the player a reason not to stay at WoW, GW, Lineage 2 or Everquest. Most of the time it is the “new game” effect which draws many of them to the new competitors. Finally, new quests, new classes (well, not really ^^ ), new areas, etc. But seriously, how long can this last?
It is a matter of time till you did the last quest in this new game and then don’t know what to do next. Well, I’m a PvPer so that’s why I am even touching Warhammer at all.
I didn’t expect a good PVE game. Man, this is a WoW clone in so many ways that I sometimes wondered why I’m playing Warhammer Online at all. But I entered a scenario (PVP instance, very similar to WoW Battleground and the father of PVP instances Guild Wars) and I enjoyed it. Fighting against other lvl 1-10s was kinda fun. But will there be lowbies even in some months? Im lucky to join Warhammer at the relative beginning.
It’s Friday 7th. Next Thursday the new expansion of WoW is coming out.
Should I hurry before WoW wipes all servers in WH?
Even now players don’t answer when I say “hi” when I meet them on a random basis. This situation isn’t new. When I played LOTRO in the Open Beta and a trial after release, the same pattern occurred. I have no clue where this behaviour comes from.
I ended the day with lvl 2 of my nuker on the British “core” server. Core means PvE in this case. I also tried some other classes and other server types but I decided to go along with my dark elf nuker for a while.

Impression of the day:
PVE is very WoWish. PvP is amusing but I want more than just PVP instancing. I want real RvR. Well, im just not high enough. So let’s lvl a bit more before judging the entire PVP of this game.