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Topic: WAR to be released... (Read 417044 times)
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Draegan
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10043
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Tier 3 & 4 exist on the regular beta server, you just have to level to get there. WAAAAAAAAAAAGH!New trailer, now in English! AWESOME video.
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Vinadil
Terracotta Army
Posts: 334
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@ PQ questions: First, I am sure that it will happen that in coming months after release the Noob area of some servers/races will be almost unpopulated. THe nice thing is that 4 ungrouped people can easily complete almost every PQ (3 in some instances)... and that is true up to the mid-20s and into some 30s. If you want to see all of the Stories play out you may need a full group, perhaps more for some of them. BUT, if you just want to get the Influence (think WoW honor) for the rewards (which you DO because it is the easiest way to gear along with PvP rewards), then you can solo that. Easily.
I'm irrationally looking forward to this game, perhaps because I want a change and I did enjoy DAoC. But I can't help but think for a super-casual player such as myself (very little free time), the experience is going to suck, because everywhere's going to be a ghost town by the time I get to it. Not sure what "very little" means to you, but I play 2 days a week an average of 3 hours a day. Those are our guild "casual" nights where most our of casuals try to schedule some playtime. In two days I will likely be through Tier 1. A couple more weeks and Tier 2 will be done. Once Tier 3 hits... I think you will be fine with the amount of people/stuff to do honestly. If you are looking for a "casual friendly" game, I think this one fits that bill... maybe not as much as WoW, but that is just a content issue. And, if you really are Casual, then lack of content won't be your issue. Seeing it will be, but if you only play solo, well then you are used to that :). Honestly the solo player here probably has access to as much or more of the content then any MMO to date. And, though I don't understand them... there seems to always be those altoholics and server-hoppers that keep the lowbie realms nicely populated.
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Miasma
Terracotta Army
Posts: 5283
Stopgap Measure
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Did they ever say what the super good reason for not dropping the NDA earlier was?
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Draegan
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10043
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Khaldun
Terracotta Army
Posts: 15157
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So, my own reactions. Overall, the game strikes me as a nice evolution of WoW, much as DAOC at launch took some of what was not working well in EQ and AC and offered modest gameplay improvements. I don't know if that's enough to get people to switch over for more than shits and giggles, especially given that Blizzard is going to implement at least some of Warhammer's game-mechanical innovations in Lich King, from what I can see.
But I've had fun in Warhammer, and that's more than I can say for Age of Conan, which annoyed me even in the 1-20 Tortage content which everyone else was so enraptured by.
Some specific reactions:
1) The public quests are a great innovation--it's about time that somebody adapted that game mechanic from Toontown, which is the single great idea in Toontown. They're perfectly paced, very fun to play through multiple times. It's the first thing I've seen that's likely to slow down the pace of levelling somewhat without being horribly grindy and punitive. I've liked every single one I've done, and often hung around to do them a few times just for the heck of it, not even trying to get loot.
2) The art direction is very good--somebody finally figured out that generic photorealism is NOT the way to go. Very distinctive to the IP, fits the mood.
3) The integration of RvR into every aspect of the game is great, and making sure that people can just jump in from the very beginning is absolutely crucial. I hope Mythic is thinking hard about how to deal with faction imbalances as well as class balance issues, but great stuff.
4) Mostly the classes seem to work well, have fairly distinctive play. I found a few of them confusing--the Chaos DPS class mutations took me a while to understand. Can't say yet about class imbalances, but the lower-level witch hunter is awfully vulnerable in RvR or so it seems to me.
5) I do find the map in a few places confusing, but that's actually something of a good thing--it's nice to have to figure out things a bit. On the other hand, I was kind of cheesed off by what happens if you're exploring around the sea/land border of a zone--on a couple of occasions everything just went black and I was back at my rally point, no death penalty but also nothing explanatory about what had happened. Someday somebody's going to make a good explorer-type MMOG again--I've never seen one as satisfying as Asheron's Call in terms of having a large map with lots of little out-of-the-way discoveries that you just happen to find rather than be led to by the hand.
6) PvE combat is very boring. Quests are pretty much standard except for the public quests, but the stories for some are engaging and more importantly consistent with the mythology and metastory. There weren't any quests that felt wrong or jarringly out of place in terms of their content, and the pure kill quests are nicely segregated to a particular type of quest giver.
7) Humor (esp. the Greenskin content) is a bit forced when it does appear.
8) I'm so glad that a lot of the content is not instanced. It really feels like you're in the world with people 95% of the time, rather than playing a rather dull and odd solo game as with Age of Conan.
Despite the fact that I think what would really light the commercial world on fire AND be artistically satisfying is a revolutionary MMOG design, this is a fairly good evolutionary design. I think Mythic probably will fix some of the more glaring issues, but on the other hand, they also managed to screw the pooch pretty badly at a key juncture in the live management of DAOC, so screwing up is well within the range of the possible. (As opposed to the near-certain, as with Funcom.)
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Khaldun
Terracotta Army
Posts: 15157
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Oh, a few small extra thoughts:
1) Hate the UI, or at least I haven't found a customization I like yet. 2) They have GOT to add a queue for moves. I find it very difficult/distracting to deal with cooldowns in the current UI. I want to queue at least three moves in many cases.
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HRose
I'm Special
Posts: 1205
VIKLAS!
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Draegan
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10043
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You have a typo in paragraph 6. The presentation of the game isn't anything too impressive. Character creation is even more simple and limited in choice that than DAoC itself.
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Baldrake
Terracotta Army
Posts: 636
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Not sure what "very little" means to you, but I play 2 days a week an average of 3 hours a day. Those are our guild "casual" nights where most our of casuals try to schedule some playtime. In two days I will likely be through Tier 1. A couple more weeks and Tier 2 will be done. Once Tier 3 hits... I think you will be fine with the amount of people/stuff to do honestly. If you are looking for a "casual friendly" game, I think this one fits that bill... maybe not as much as WoW, but that is just a content issue. And, if you really are Casual, then lack of content won't be your issue. Seeing it will be, but if you only play solo, well then you are used to that :). Honestly the solo player here probably has access to as much or more of the content then any MMO to date. And, though I don't understand them... there seems to always be those altoholics and server-hoppers that keep the lowbie realms nicely populated.
Thanks, that's really reassuring. I prefer to play in groups, actually, but when you're snatching an hour here or there, you do wind up playing solo a lot.
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Kirth
Terracotta Army
Posts: 640
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Thanks, that's really reassuring.
I prefer to play in groups, actually, but when you're snatching an hour here or there, you do wind up playing solo a lot.
if anything WAR is more casual friendly then anything before. as mentioned the ability to log in, jump into a pq/rvr/scenario and bounce when you've had your fill should be right up your ally.
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murdoc
Terracotta Army
Posts: 3036
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Thanks, that's really reassuring.
I prefer to play in groups, actually, but when you're snatching an hour here or there, you do wind up playing solo a lot.
Open groups/War Bands make it even easier to get involved imo. The only problem I run into is the odd group that accidentally leaves their group open and doesn't want add-ons. Never have had that issue with a War Band.
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Have you tried the internet? It's made out of millions of people missing the point of everything and then getting angry about it
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K9
Terracotta Army
Posts: 7441
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2) The art direction is very good--somebody finally figured out that generic photorealism is NOT the way to go. Very distinctive to the IP, fits the mood.
Blizzard says hi Questions: 1) How rabid are the fanbois? 2) How badly do you anticipate WoTLK launching a month after WAR to affect population levels? 3) How does healing compare to healing in WoW (my main basis for comparison). 4) How realistic are the minimum and reccomended specs? 5) What are Chaos chosen like to play? Thanks edit: 6) Most importantly, are there stealth mechanics/classes?
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« Last Edit: August 20, 2008, 03:17:23 PM by K9 »
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I love the smell of facepalm in the morning
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tazelbain
Unknown
Posts: 6603
tazelbain
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Chaos is awesome. I went in thinking Greenskins, but reading the quests hurt my brain. So I jumped to Chaos. The atmosphere is great. It does feel like you are a member of the Unstoppable Evil devouring the world. Now if only Magus didn't suck, it be perfect. If you want to play ranged dps, I'd role a herder or a sorc and fly over.
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"Me am play gods"
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Rasix
Moderator
Posts: 15024
I am the harbinger of your doom!
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2) The art direction is very good--somebody finally figured out that generic photorealism is NOT the way to go. Very distinctive to the IP, fits the mood.
Blizzard says hi Questions: 1) How rabid are the fanbois? 2) How badly do you anticipate WoTLK launching a month after WAR to affect population levels? 3) How does healing compare to healing in WoW (my main basis for comparison). 4) How realistic are the minimum and reccomended specs? 5) What are Chaos chosen like to play? Thanks 1) Fairly rabid, but aren't they all. Be afraid of someone that doesn't list the bad with the good. Or like I mentioned earlier, do the critical reading. 2) Might draw back the bored WoW players looking for a pre WOLK fix if it doesn't launch well. How effective are the high level hooks going to be? 3) More reliance on HoTs. Healing is healing. Most of the big heals are pretty impractical for RVR. 4) Errrm.. what are these? It runs pretty well on my machine which I imagine is above recommended specs. 5) Haven't played chaos since they were part of the focus test. I wasn't in love with the aura system of the chosen.
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-Rasix
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Fraeg
Terracotta Army
Posts: 1015
Mad skills with the rod.
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6) yes there is stealth termed incognito... it is very very limited. stealth lasts for 60 seconds then resets a 60 second timer.
i play a *stealth class* these days (witchhunter) and while i can jump say a caster... i can't just linger around stealthed, i have to be pretty picky about my targets so as i don't get caught with my pants down.
say there is a large rvr battle going and i want to pick off a healer. if i just hit stealth and run over to him i will get unstealthed in the Aoe flinging. If i try and run around the whole battle while stealthed my stealth timer might be up before i reach my target. There is no vanish type ability that WoW rogues have.
I don't fully understand this, but if say i try and stealth right in front of you it seems like you can still see me. (it might be if you have me targeted while i stealth in front of me you don't lose your target? need to experiment more with this one).
I wish the stealth lasted a bit longer or that the reset timer was shorter. While very useful, you don't have to worry about hordes of stealthers all hiding together camping a milegate/flag/whatever.
Destro and order each get one class that can use this type of stealth.
oh, and yah there are stealth only opener moves.
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"There is dignity and deep satisfaction in facing life and death without the comfort of heaven or the fear of hell and in sailing toward the great abyss with a smile."
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tazelbain
Unknown
Posts: 6603
tazelbain
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Tier 3 & 4 exist on the regular beta server, you just have to level to get there. WAAAAAAAAAAAGH!New trailer, now in English! AWESOME video. Reading the boards, I get it. Warpstone just flipped over to Elder. We can talk about the time before flip, not the time after.
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"Me am play gods"
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UnSub
Contributor
Posts: 8064
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I'm tempted to try to get into the Open Beta. I really wasn't interested until I saw info on the Marauder class. Shape-shifting into weapons? Sold!
... but then I realise I really need to wait until after WotLK launches and we've got some idea about how good WAR is at holding players.
Box sale predictions? More than AoC? Less? Retention guesses?
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Draegan
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10043
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There are more positive reviews than negative. There are also almost zero bad reviews on glitches, bugs and lack of content.
If I had to guess? At the very least AOC numbers with a better retention rate. If I had to guess if the launch is solid and the servers stay up This game could grab anywhere between 700k and 1.2 million subs after a few months.
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Trippy
Administrator
Posts: 23617
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I'm tempted to try to get into the Open Beta. I really wasn't interested until I saw info on the Marauder class. Shape-shifting into weapons? Sold!
... but then I realise I really need to wait until after WotLK launches and we've got some idea about how good WAR is at holding players.
Box sale predictions? More than AoC? Less? Retention guesses?
Long-term retention is going to be poor unless they actually make the end game RvR more "sticky".
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cevik
I'm Special
Posts: 1690
I've always wondered about the All Black People Eat Watermelons
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My guess: 300k box sales and 200kish retention.
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Draegan
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10043
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My guess: 300k box sales and 200kish retention.
Hell AOC had more than that.
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cevik
I'm Special
Posts: 1690
I've always wondered about the All Black People Eat Watermelons
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My guess: 300k box sales and 200kish retention.
Hell AOC had more than that. Yup.
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The above space is available for purchase. Send a Private Message for a complete price list and payment information. Thank you for your business.
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Slayerik
Terracotta Army
Posts: 4868
Victim: Sirius Maximus
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Less boxes sold than AoC, more retention (I AM A GENIUS FOR PREDICTING THIS ONE!!!1111!!)
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"I have more qualifications than Jesus and earn more than this whole board put together. My ego is huge and my modesty non-existant." -Ironwood
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Cadaverine
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Posts: 1655
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Back when I played WoW, this was on the radar of a lot of the people on the PvP servers, and of course all the DAoC fans. I think it will do pretty well for itself if the decent word of mouth continues. Say 700-800k box sales, and ~70% retention for the first month, with the numbers starting to slip at the three month mark. The game is fun at first, but it is pretty shallow, and loses it's charm rather quickly.
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Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.
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HRose
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My guess: 300k box sales and 200kish retention.
You forgot Europe. I always said that Warhammer would get near DAoC's numbers (250k) but after seeing the game I think it could even double that if everything goes smooth and if they solve those few problems that are left. I'd say something between 250k and 500k. If it's more I'm not too surprised.
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slog
Terracotta Army
Posts: 8232
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My guess: 300k box sales and 200kish retention.
Hell AOC had more than that. Yup. No way. It's going to sell way more than AOC, just due to the IP. Warhammer is huge in Europe.
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Friends don't let Friends vote for Boomers
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HRose
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Posts: 1205
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For those who tested it: how's the feel of territorial control in the endgame?
My suspect is that it depends on so many elements (PvE, scenarios, open world) that you don't have a good "feel" of actually holding the territory and pushing back the enemy.
Is still there a "frontier" feel like in DAoC where you actually defend the territory? Or it's all disconnected?
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Kirth
Terracotta Army
Posts: 640
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For those who tested it: how's the feel of territorial control in the endgame?
My suspect is that it depends on so many elements (PvE, scenarios, open world) that you don't have a good "feel" of actually holding the territory and pushing back the enemy.
Is still there a "frontier" feel like in DAoC where you actually defend the territory? Or it's all disconnected?
The middle zone between empire and chaos (Praag) is amazing, some of the best pvp I've ever had. On predictions, I'd say over a million boxes sold with 80% subs after the first month.
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Riggswolfe
Terracotta Army
Posts: 8027
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This game is a lot of fun. I'm not playing in the beta much currently but it's mostly because I'm busy and I figure why play like crazy right before launch?
My short summary? Wow, with better graphics and much, much better RVR but a less open world.
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"We live in a country, where John Lennon takes six bullets in the chest, Yoko Ono was standing right next to him and not one fucking bullet! Explain that to me! Explain that to me, God! Explain it to me, God!" - Denis Leary summing up my feelings about the nature of the universe.
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Miasma
Terracotta Army
Posts: 5283
Stopgap Measure
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About the exploration complaints, while it is true that the game is on rails they seem to have at least tried to get some exploration in. Each zone has ten important landmarks that you can find, once you do it's logged in your book and you get some xp and I think you also get some other kind of xp.
I also found, and was promptly killed by, the odd named Champion or Hero mob tucked away in little nooks. They didn't seem to have a loot table though...
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schild
Administrator
Posts: 60345
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Ah yes, loot tables.
Game needs work on them.
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kildorn
Terracotta Army
Posts: 5014
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The random champions are anti farming. If you kill enough of the same crap in an area, a champion version spawns and roams the area. They don't have nice loot, sadly.
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Triforcer
Terracotta Army
Posts: 4663
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My guess: 300k box sales and 200kish retention.
You forgot Europe. I always said that Warhammer would get near DAoC's numbers (250k) but after seeing the game I think it could even double that if everything goes smooth and if they solve those few problems that are left. I'd say something between 250k and 500k. If it's more I'm not too surprised. HRose posited a number bigger than 50k? Wow, WAR really MUST be good- on this basis alone I predict 2 million
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All life begins with Nu and ends with Nu. This is the truth! This is my belief! At least for now...
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Abelian75
Terracotta Army
Posts: 678
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I will be astonished if WAR doesn't beat AOC's numbers in every way.
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