Warhammer: Age of Reckoning

While I wasn't very impressed by the gameplay per se, given that level 1 "newbie" quests do not an impressive demo make, I think that the Mythic folk have certainly made some progress towards creating a game that isn't just a carbon copy of that Warcraft thing.

How so?

It's been known for awhile now that Warhamer is going to be a bit more PvP focused than your average MMO. I was a bit suspicious that this would turn away a good chunk of players who don't like being smacked with a purple Warhammer of Asskickery every time they venture out of their starting zones. But my chat with EA Mythic Content Director Destin Bales helped alleviate my newbie fears: the game's mission-themed PvP content is stratified by leveling groups, so you'll be competing with other players near your abilities. And high-level players attempting to gank in newbie zones get turned into chickens. No, really. Chickens. It's a clever, albeit zany way to deal with griefers.

Player-versus-environment gameplay coexists alongside the PvP and realm-versus-realm offerings, with the latter operating in a battlegrounds-like setup. Just click a button in the corner of your HUD to signify that you're ready to go, then go about your normal business. The game will pull you into the fight once both sides have enough evenly matched players. Sound familiar?

What isn't so familiar is Warhammer's focus on the "grand struggle" between its factions. No matter what species of character you roll--Orc, Elf, Chaos... thing, et cetera--you'll be able to join the fight between the individual factions. You aren't just limited to, say, fighting Chaos if you're a Human. These epic conflicts are set up in a push-pull kind of environment. Win a battleground area, and you'll push one step closer to the enemy's capital. Sack that, and you'll get a set time period of complete and utter insanity to burn the place to the ground, destroy objects, and generally make a mess of things.

After 24 hours have elapsed, the previous defenders are given the chance to retake the city with the help of a little boost, or buff, to ward off the conquerors. According to Bales, the game will progressively make these buffs higher and higher until the city is recaptured--at some point, he joked, a level one would be able to take our a level 40 (the game's top experience level).

Speaking of, I also asked Bales how Warhammer is planning to stave off player boredom: the endgame apathy that sets in once you've hit the proverbial content wall. The game will include a separate Renown system that will track your exploits through 80 levels of experience -- in essence, it's the PvP version of an MMO's typical experience bar. And Warhammer will include a large amount of stats-tracking that's also tied into experience and rewards. Yes, that means achievements: you'll get bonuses for killing x amount of a race or joining x battlegrounds, for example, and the game will track seemingly everything you do (or kill). Chickens included.

When I actually got to sit down and run through Warhammer for a bit, it made me feel like I was playing a better version of Lord of the Rings: Online with less-entrancing graphics. The designers are still working on adding more effects to the game -- lighting in particular. But nothing I saw, strongholds included, made me weep tears of joy and immediately cancel my WoW subscription (had I one).

Of course, Warhammer is still in Beta, so these are the earliest of comments based on a grand total of five minutes of playtime. I think the Warhammer designers have touched on a new style of gameplay that could conceivably coexist alongside the mighty World of Warcraft--everyone loves battlegrounds, after all. And I'd much rather feel like I'm contributing to an effort all Ahn'Qiraj-style than farming random trash mobs to appease a random questgiver. Time will invariably tell: look for Warhammer to hit in Fall.

thought this might interest some. i have a question, is it true you have to wait 24hrs to attempt to retake city? i thought it was a constant struggle here, or is that more of a keep thing? btw whats with the pink on that character urrrgh

thanks.

Thanks for the article link!  An honest opinion from an unbiased viewpoint.

I believe the 24 hour window is to allow everyone to take part in the PvE content that opens up when the city falls.  

You get to explore dungeons in your enemy's city and kill notable NPCs.   Mythic probably didn't want the city to suddenly be re-captured before more players could get a chance to see the insides.

After that 24 hour period *then* the struggle begins again and I believe the defenders get benefits if they retake their city quickly, rather than just sitting back and letting it stay occupied.  (Benefits probably related to the City Level, take it back quickly and you City keeps some of its levels once it's back in your control)

I believe jeff and co mentioned 18hours to really destroy/loot/quest/pillage a captured city, but they did say they would tweak the length of time until they had it just right. Maybe 24hours is now the amount they are using.

Once that timer is running, the losers of that city can't physically enter any more. So what do they do? I would say they all rush off and take away enemy keeps in retaliation

24 hours is the Max Possible time that conquers can hold onto a city before all the super mega buffs kick in...the time in which defenders start finding ways into the city & getting the buffs is shorter.   I believe they said conquerers were looking at a 10 to 12 hour window as of the Paris event to freely pillage the city while the defenders lick their wounds and regather themselves.

 They've been pretty up front sieging a capitol is no easy or short task.. you have Tier 4 areas you have to take and hold onto in order to even get to the gates..then you siege at the gates....then you go into mega street brawling break off instances and once those are complete you hae essentially X hours of freedom to pillage, loot, and destroy.    Considering how long all of that could take its pretty safe to say people will be coming and going during all hours lol.

fun on the bun

I just hope there will be taunts :)

The article basically said two things: The game is in beta so I can't say anything about it and the concept feels for me like WoW aimed at PvP; while the game, hopefully, won't be WoW with more PvP it's what most people consider it to be, therefore my wording. They added some information about siege and then they released it, not much new even for me who is to lazy to go through all information provided.

When the review was mentioning city sieges I have to say I was getting excited about dumping oil on the attackers.

Great Article! I love hearing stuff about the sieges! :-)

Thanks for the article posting. Its refreshing to see articles that are nonbiased that provide facts and not assumptions while also providing the clarification of why the author formulated their opinion.

Cheers!