Thursday, March 25, 2010

Warhammer Online: SOLD!!!

Was it possible? Could the wife really enjoy killing others? Could the mobs that she wants to destroy actually be REAL people?

Yes, she could, they were and she did... kill a LOT.

Why would a game that offers PvP as the main gameplay sell the wife? A person who has played Lineage 2 and hated it, played Guild Wars PvP and had some fun, but got bored with it, and ever since has avoided ALL PvP aspects of MMO's.

Group PvP was the answer.

RvR as most of you know involves large groups of players in mass "lakes" (the term noted by most players), ebbing and flowing back and forth in battle.
Last night we entered combat for the first time within a Tier 1 RvR location (Festenplatz was our main objective). This was the make or break gameplay that would sell the game or not.
Confusion set in, as we entered a large battle (20+ players fighting like mad). The battle grew as we were accepted into a "Warband" and we had a full 24 players.
We took the main location, and the battle was furious, as we ran to different hotspots within the RvR region. The wife kept taking out various players and we were all yelling back and forth; "Look out for that Witch", "OMG, I am dead...gotta run back", "We are taking the main plaza".

As I looked at the clock, I saw it was already 15 minutes past my bed time (Old man's gotta get his sleep ya know). But, we did NOT want to quit out.

That was the secret.

Of course, other bits sold the wife though. Not just RvR.
The loot for completing RvR ranks was great to shop for. The items she was getting from drops are fun to figure out. Most of all, the combat itself has been notched up a bit. Skills fire off faster since my launch day trials, the quality of graphics have improved, and there is a lot to do gameplay wise, with things like RvR, Scenarios, PQ's and more.

So, I was asked to buy the game (actually found some cheap copies for 13.99 ea.) and we would stick it out for 30 days. What can it hurt?

Plus, with all the discussion out of Bioware about working on the game in respect to content and what not, I think this is a good time to inject our cash in anyways.

For all I know, this may not hold up. For now though, when we hear the wife asking us to login to play, the game must be doing something right.

6 comments:

Bhagpuss said...

It doesn't entirely hold up. It's a bit like eating a bag of boiled sweets - great for a while but after a while it justs make you want some real food.

We played a lot for our thirty days but we didn't subscribe and we haven't really made much use of the endless trial.

We certainly got our 30 days worth though. Money well spent from that point of view, especially since I think we paid about the same as you're paying.

Yasmina said...

I also had a lot of fun with WAR! But again, only for a while. I had some friends who got to the level cap and kept playing for a while, but for me, things devolved by level 20 or so.

It's not to say that some of what they did isn't genius! And both the Dwarf and Greenskin starting areas were a lot of fun.

Who knows; maybe it'll click more for you. Playing with people you care about--that's what makes these things entertaining, right?

Anonymous said...

Warhammer Online was my gateway into PvP as well (I never could get into it with Guild Wars) - I didn't think I'd like it, but from my first scenario at level 4, I was sold. I also greatly enjoyed roaming around taking keeps with warbands, and the holiday open RvR events!

If you don't run into any population hiccups along the way I think the game is great fun.

Elementalistly said...

It seems to be the consensus that moving beyond Tier 1 starts a downward spiral gameplay wise.
Now I assume that is everyones opinion based on the recent gameplay too.
I look at it like Bhagpuss does. If I get 30 days I will be happy.
Based on Xfire, I already have 27 hours in. If I can get 40 hours of fun, then I have already beat most single player RPG's for price vs fun quotients.
We as a whole family have found various pieces we like so far, so we will just enjoy the trip.
Plus, who is gonna blog about the "failed" MMO's if I don't...hehe.

Triple Skull said...

Nice post, and look forward to more adventures with your family.

Be careful... if your think tier 1 is fun tier 2 is sublime and fly's so fast.

Tier 3 and you start to see a bit more tactics.

Tier 4 is manic! Fights of a 100+ people with truly epic pants wetting stuff. You can not beat holding on for just 30 more seconds to prevent a zone lock as 100 people descend on the flag, or taking a smaller few war band and hitting a snaking zerg in the healers!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you and your wife are having fun.

WAR like any game isn't perfect, nor is it for everyone, but if enjoy it, I think it's well worth the money.