Warhammer Online: Rank and VILE!

Something that interests me in Warhammer Online is the multiple ways to level the character. You not only have a main "rank" (your level in most other MMO's), but you have the RR or Renown Rank, and Influence.
Influence is not too important to your character as it just tracks progress through the TIER system. In PvE, influence is gained by completing Chapters of stories in the Public Quest system. The RvR Influence is by completing Tiers in Open RvR (you gain no influence for Scenarios...or not enough to really care about).
You get some ok gear, but that is about all the Influence meter offers (that I know of...anyone want to enlighten me on this?)

So, my two focuses have been Renown and standard Rank.

Now, here is an example of how my character looks in the "rankings" system (on the Realm War system from Mythic, which allows you to track characters, not unlike the Armory for WoW).

Note my RANK and then you see RENOWN.

This post is all about that smaller number...the Renown. Renown basically tracks your "PvP" level. The higher it is, the more you have PvP'd (RvR) and of course, you have gear to show for those levels, as some of the best stuff is Renown gear.

This past weekend I racked up an amazing 18 hours of gameplay working on this Renown (if not more...it all became a blur on my 7th siege of a keep). All of that gameplay consisted of one type of RvR; the Open RvR (ORvR).

Awesome you say?

Well, the fact that I was at the end of RENOWN 20 when I started...is not so awesome. I basically gained a level and two bars...in 18 hours of play.

The true definition of grind...THAT is Vile.

ORvR consists of several measures to gain Renown points (RR). You take Battle Objectives (BO) and Keeps. The keeps can garner the most points, as not only will you take the keep, but will be in combat with a lot of the opposite faction. You can also defend keeps, but only gain major points in either style of gameplay by winning.
Order was definitely on the short end of the stick the whole weekend. Destruction could field two or even three Warbands of 24 players each...while Order had...One.

Now, mind you, this is Tier 3. This tier has been known to bring grown men to tears, and as such, most players head to the Land of the Dead (LoTD) (this all has been discussed in my previous post) to quick level to Tier 4, where balance is somewhat restored. But, during this time, you gain no Renown, as LoTD is PvE, which goes towards standard Rank.

Another way I could gain this RR faster is through Scenarios. But, thanks to the new patch this weekend, it seems Scenarios were NOT going off. I was able to compete in TWO Scenarios the whole weekend.

And do not start me on population issues.

But, back to the difference between the Renown Rank and the standard Rank.
How competitive can a player be if that Renown rank has not increased when they enter Tier 4? And why is it that the main style of play that is the most enjoyable is so unforgivable to the player who wishes to PvP.

Isn't WAR a PVP GAME?

To play what I want though, I must endure hours of long, hard work to stay competitive, and that may be an issue going forward.
I have mentioned many a time that I am strictly a "Casual" player. But, WAR seems to need more than I can offer it. 18 hours is just a little to much, no matter how much fun I had. Definitely adds up to cause home issues, that I do not need.
When I saw my Xfire times (a good reason to use Xfire, so I can babysit myself), and had played as many hours as I work a full time job, I was dumbstruck.

Warhammer is extremely fun, but is turning into a job more than an enjoyment...and that may have consequences down the road.

This week, I plan to pull back that focus on the RR, and instead play some PvE with my wife, and maybe some scenarios if we can get them. The wife had already seen the effects of ORvR, and lost taste for it pretty fast. She loves the PvP, but the "siege" style system of takeovers and major battles were not for her. I understand, as for her to even like PvP to begin with is major, as she truly hates it in other MMO's. The fact she is willing to do some Scenarios is great.

Time is ticking, and I am unsure if I can reach max level (let alone crank up that RR), so, I may have to go back to "enjoying" WAR and not working a second job for the Empire.

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.

Warhammer Online: News from the front

Talk about a change of pace for the family.

It happened officially yesterday. The wife stepped into the WAR universe, and something interesting took place.

She had...FUN??

Now, I need to reiterate something here for the masses; We are NOT PvP'ers...PERIOD. We like to enjoy a challenge of a game without someone griefing our fun or making it so we cannot progress. We enjoy the little things. Killing AI mobs, playing in our small group and being anti-social unless we MUST progress with others, etc.



Now, a little history on the WAR front. Initially I started goofing off with the free trial (which I am still on, BTW) and had some problems at first. I had resolved these (though the client is not perfect, as we are finding WAR has the EQ2 client issue. Too much on the CPU and not enough on the GPU. This is causing a massive overheat on my OC'd CPU's). After solving the problem though, I focused on leveling up my main, a Witch Hunter.
I really do enjoy this class and the aesthetic as I previously mentioned. But, I also was interested in trying a heal class as well, and moved to War Priest.
WHAT a change. It felt more powerful, and seemed to really fit my style. I took it through RvR and felt what it was like to enjoy some massive PvP.

As to the RvR, I knew I had to try it, as it is what the game is built around. I did not realize how much of a blast this would be though. Now, whether it is the server I chose, or what expectations I had built up...I feel group based PvP really works compared to the FFA style, like in Age of Conan.  It also has proven that in both Age of Conan AND Warhammer Online, the prevalent gameplay that is the most enjoyable is grouping.



So, how did the family get involved in this? I initially set out in WAR to just goof off in the mornings or the downtime for family gaming to run around and play. But, my son, coming from a stint in Aion (yes, I will post on that soon...), logged in and started playing different characters. Next thing I knew, he was NOT playing Aion anymore and was strictly playing WAR.
I honestly think his background in playing Halo, Battlefield, and Call of Duty (as a few choices) lend itself well for him to be involved in mass pvp styled combat. He is use to the "team" perspective of fighting in arenas to get points and gain renown. It really shows here as well.



The next thing I knew, we were teamed up and away we went. This weekend we joined our first warband. A large group all with one goal...protecting the realm of order. This did not leave the wifes attention, as she seemed interested in how much we wanted to get involved. We played RvR for over 3 hours.
The final blow of gaming came late Saturday when the wife and I logged in to play Guild Wars. The son joined in...but, soon was not interested. He grew bored, and apologized and said he did not want to play GW anymore.
We were disappointed. I told the wife I still wish to play, but she also lost interest at that point.

Game families...ARGH! There is no doubt we have built a synergy between the 3 of us. When one goes down, the other two are sure to follow.

So, after a lovely Indian meal Sunday, we convinced the wife to log in and give it a college try. Luckily, there were some bonuses. The Elven women in WAR actually look good (compared to another title with Elves - *Cough* LOTRO *Cough*). She also liked the idea of the Shadow Warrior, which would be a unique class for the wife (she has played Casters and Melee mostly...never a Ranger except shortly in Guild Wars).

So, after this, we were off.

She noted the mobs at the beginning seemed slightly "stupid", which of course, they are meant to be. She blew past this, and that is good (wait until I discuss Aion and her trial there...lol). She moved on, and then made it to the first PQ "Ravenhost Vanguard". She got the first taste of "Open Groups" and mass murder in a setting where a ton of players were involved (when we entered, there were about 12 other bodies there including us 3). What amazed both myself AND my son is she finished 2nd overall in the end, in their ranking system for ability of the player in regards to contributions.

Impressive.

As she gained new skills, she enjoyed the class more and more. By the end of our play schedule (we had about an hour to goof off), she noted that she will play again. Always a good sign for my EXTRA picky wife.
I am shocked she took to the game, yet, I see a lot of potential in the overall gameplay lending itself well to our 3 person team. Time will tell. RvR is still on the horizon, and who knows how she may react to dying over and over.

I am actually enjoying Warhammer Online. They seemed to have ironed out a lot of bugs, increased combat speed, and visually enhanced the game. WAR, along with Age of Conan were both games with horrible launches that led to games that are looked down upon in the long run.  I find it pretty amazing that both of these games have made such turn around's...even without the revenue to back it up.



Now, is WAR good enough for us to BUY our copies? Time will tell.