Hello all, I'm an ex-WoW player looking to upgrade into an MMO that's more PvP focused.  I've narrowed it down to WAR or Darkfall.  I'm a long time Warhammer Fantasy Battles player so I love the setting of WAR, but I'm intrigued by the sandbox nature of Darkfall.  Ultimately, though, all I care about is which has better PvP. And by better I mean more fun, more diverse, and more skill-based (i.e. if you can be a leet PvPer by just by sitting back and clicking a macro, I don't want to play it).  I also hated in WoW how in Battlegrounds people just cared about grinding for gear instead of actually caring who won, so I want a game where PvP is an end in itself, instead of just means to getting gear. 

So what do people on these forums think has the better PvP?  Specifically I'd like to know if the mastery paths in WAR are generally balanced (for example as opposed to WoW in which you were crazy to be a feral Druid for the first three years of the game), if naval combat in Darkfall is really all that cool and if the "soldier of fortune" lifestyle (mercenary or pirate) is viable and fun in Darkfall.  Haters and fanatics for both games, please try to be as objective as possible.

Originally posted by chocotaco22

Hello all, I'm an ex-WoW player looking to upgrade into an MMO that's more PvP focused.  I've narrowed it down to WAR or Darkfall.  I'm a long time Warhammer Fantasy Battles player so I love the setting of WAR, but I'm intrigued by the sandbox nature of Darkfall.  Ultimately, though, all I care about is which has better PvP. And by better I mean more fun, more diverse, and more skill-based (i.e. if you can be a leet PvPer by just by sitting back and clicking a macro, I don't want to play it).  I also hated in WoW how in Battlegrounds people just cared about grinding for gear instead of actually caring who won, so I want a game where PvP is an end in itself, instead of just means to getting gear. 

So what do people on these forums think has the better PvP?  Specifically I'd like to know if the mastery paths in WAR are generally balanced (for example as opposed to WoW in which you were crazy to be a feral Druid for the first three years of the game), if naval combat in Darkfall is really all that cool and if the "soldier of fortune" lifestyle (mercenary or pirate) is viable and fun in Darkfall.  Haters and fanatics for both games, please try to be as objective as possible.

Probably Darkfall then, but I haven't played it so I'm not really sure.  From the sound of it though you will not like Warhammer.  I actually think WoW has superior than Warhammer (and I've logged over 500 hours on both) even though Warhammer is a game built around PvP while WoW was built around PvE.

All of the reasons you disliked WoW's PvP are equally represented or more represented in Warhammer.  You can easily be good at PvP in Warhammer by using the same skill rotation over and over again.  People care more about grinding PvP out for gear and will abandon games and intentionally avoid PvP when there is no possibility of a reward for it.  The balance is fairly poor in Warhammer and there are certainly weak classes and flavor of the month classes.

Still Warhammer does have some things going for it that WoW doesn't.  You can PvP at any level and get experience for doing so.  It's a bit less gear dependent than WoW (but you'll still get slaughtered by people far better geared than you).  Also since the game was billed as a PvP centric game from the start, you'll find far more people willing to actually PvP in it.

      WAR has a free ten day trial so it wouldnt hurt to give it a try....Darkfall is kind of a joke the way they handle their accounts and you may not even get a chance to play.......Alot of people consider Darkfall in a pay to beta state right now anyway......I'd go with WAR first then if you dont like it wait for Mortal Online or Fallen Earth or something........

WAR is the game that almost killed the market for RvR/PvP focused games.So horrible it is

Originally posted by chocotaco22

Hello all, I'm an ex-WoW player looking to upgrade into an MMO that's more PvP focused.  I've narrowed it down to WAR or Darkfall.  I'm a long time Warhammer Fantasy Battles player so I love the setting of WAR, but I'm intrigued by the sandbox nature of Darkfall.  Ultimately, though, all I care about is which has better PvP. And by better I mean more fun, more diverse, and more skill-based (i.e. if you can be a leet PvPer by just by sitting back and clicking a macro, I don't want to play it).  I also hated in WoW how in Battlegrounds people just cared about grinding for gear instead of actually caring who won, so I want a game where PvP is an end in itself, instead of just means to getting gear. 

So what do people on these forums think has the better PvP?  Specifically I'd like to know if the mastery paths in WAR are generally balanced (for example as opposed to WoW in which you were crazy to be a feral Druid for the first three years of the game), if naval combat in Darkfall is really all that cool and if the "soldier of fortune" lifestyle (mercenary or pirate) is viable and fun in Darkfall.  Haters and fanatics for both games, please try to be as objective as possible.

WAR and Darkfall have compleatly different gameplay so you cannot compare them at all. Its like to compare Ice cream and Beer. Which is better?

As ex WoW player WAR is the right PvP oriented game for you. As for DF you have to forget everything you have seen in WoW so you can enjoy the completely different game play experience. DF main point is society and politics and then PvP around that.

I try to contribute a few more points, all the advices above pretty much cover all the key considerations.

WAR is much more polished.  If you care about the way the game feels and looks, WAR wins.  The interface, the animatiion smoothness, the quality of graphics ... one might feel WAR to be a bit cool, or even cold in feel.  WAR requires a bit of hardware to look good.  WAR is also very bug free, and relatively free from heckers and cheaters.

DF is new, very rough diamond or crap, its still very unpolished, bug ridden, and handled by a company whose customer services is turd.  If you want drama or be drama queen, try DF, or actually no need play DF.  Just pretend you do and talk on message boards.  DF has a lot of hardware, systems issues and incompatibility, and the technical support is zip, nil.  You will have to make you way out of the jungle on your own.

WAR community is relatively mature, notably the order side (surprise), for the few servers I played at least.  Leet talk indeed but far less than barren chats (now dalaran chats).  DF is total crap show, even outside the game.  You can imagine how much more immature it can be inside the game.  I do not want to know.

WAR community should make a decent RvR, you have your side and you face another side.  You fight for points not really loots.  DF is a ffa, meaning your own team can gang you and who knows when they will.  DF is all for griefing, not points no nothing, just for the hack of griefing, and loots sometimes.  Its full loot, but many players go pvp with newbie or crap gear, so you might not get much worthy from loots.  Its very likely that pvp in DF is pure griefing and ganking.  Be warned.

WAR pvp fights out much more like tactical encounters in many mmo pves.  DF is pure LMB fest, as there are not many meaningful skills.  Many players describe how the skills failed, how the interface makes pvp aweward, and so on.  Lags, hacks and everything factors in, as DF requires human targetting.  As in all online games where lags are inevitable, you might not be where you see, the enemey might not be where you see, and your friends might not be where you see.  So its an endless chase against a ghost with rampant LMB clicks and hope that you kill the enemy instead of your friend.  Watch out for friendly fire, watch that aoe.  You can kill your friend, they can kill you too.

WAR skill progression and gearing up goes a bit like the normal pve RvR games.  DF is a massive afk macro grind for skill levelling.  WAR levels up character levels, DF levels up skill levels, which is pretty much the same thing, apart from gimmicks.  A lot of players complained that the skill levels are pretty odd, in that in seems to move in big chunks.  The actually performance improvement from skill ups comes every 25 skill levels.  So you can see every 25 skill levels == 1 character level, or something like that.

Which one is better?  You try it out and tell us.

MMOwise, WArhammer is a better all around game. I would say that Warhammer has better design for large scale battles etc.

That being said Darkfall has something that warhammer doesnt come close to. A real reason to fight. You lose in Darkfall you lose everything. If your city gets attacked, you are really trying to protect your home. There is a sense of danger in darkfall that just isnt seen in today's MMOs

First of all, I would try War's free trial.  If, for whatever reason, you don't like it, then try another trial.   Darkfall has no trial and playing the F5 lottery to actually get the game (which many fanbois claim "weed out" the people who aren't hardcore enough) is rather troublesome.  Many have claimed that the community in Darkfall is one of the worst in MMO history.  (journey to the official forums to get a glimpse of that).  You may also wanna try AoC, I think it has a bit of PvP and also has a trial.  It had a very rough launch, but people say it is getting better.  Eve also has a trial, if you are up for some sci-fi action  It has a steep learning curve, but there are many helpful guides written by players that are available.  Good Luck in your search for a new game...

War by far is more strategic and overall a hell of a lot more fun. People that thought zerging in warhammer was bad, try darkfall for a month. You will literally be zerged by entire alliances.

Nobody PvPs in Warhammer.  They PvE in PvP zones and run away if they happen to see another player of the opposite faction.

Best bet is to wait for mortal online imo : )

 believe it or not WoW is better at pvp than darkfall and war. If you like darkfall you might as well play fps like call of duty  for your pvp as it does it better and not so much button mashing and zerg ganking. War is an imbalanced  zergfest where classes are not balanced to go 1v1 at all. At leas in wow you have arenas and as balanced as you can get zerg fights with battlegrounds.

If you just looking for another mmo play either and enjoy the scenery and the pvp as much as you can given its poor design and zerging.

War

Both suck imo.

Originally posted by droper

 believe it or not WoW is better at pvp than darkfall and war. If you like darkfall you might as well play fps like call of duty  for your pvp as it does it better and not so much button mashing and zerg ganking. War is an imbalanced  zergfest where classes are not balanced to go 1v1 at all. At leas in wow you have arenas and as balanced as you can get zerg fights with battlegrounds.

If you just looking for another mmo play either and enjoy the scenery and the pvp as much as you can given its poor design and zerging.

     WAR was never intended for 1v1 PVP....The game is set up for large scale RVR PVP not 1v1.......That being said it still felt like the majority of the players only played a few of the classes and most were heavy DPS or heals....... Once I reached tier 3 with my Choppa there were almost no melees on the order side to fight against....I was consantly chasing casters and healers and it got old fast.........

If you are seeking good PvP, I recommend TeamFortress 2.

WAR and Darkfall have compleatly different gameplay so you cannot compare them at all. Its like to compare Ice cream and Beer. Which is better?

I'd say beer, so which game is beer in your analogy?  Haha jk, I think I'll take the advice of many here and try both games before picking one.  Maybe I'll write up some comparison of the PvP as well

Someone should just make a better shadowbane.  That game had serious potential, too bad the engine sucked arse..

I still played it though.

Originally posted by chocotaco22

Hello all, I'm an ex-WoW player looking to upgrade into an MMO that's more PvP focused.  I've narrowed it down to WAR or Darkfall.  I'm a long time Warhammer Fantasy Battles player so I love the setting of WAR, but I'm intrigued by the sandbox nature of Darkfall.  Ultimately, though, all I care about is which has better PvP. And by better I mean more fun, more diverse, and more skill-based (i.e. if you can be a leet PvPer by just by sitting back and clicking a macro, I don't want to play it).  I also hated in WoW how in Battlegrounds people just cared about grinding for gear instead of actually caring who won, so I want a game where PvP is an end in itself, instead of just means to getting gear. 

So what do people on these forums think has the better PvP?  Specifically I'd like to know if the mastery paths in WAR are generally balanced (for example as opposed to WoW in which you were crazy to be a feral Druid for the first three years of the game), if naval combat in Darkfall is really all that cool and if the "soldier of fortune" lifestyle (mercenary or pirate) is viable and fun in Darkfall.  Haters and fanatics for both games, please try to be as objective as possible.

I personally Feel Both WAR and DF need more time to develop before I could honestly recommend either game.

Right now between the two WAR is the more polished and fun game if that means anything.

neither game has good pvp .  the king  is still guild wars after all these years. 2nd place would be cox.