Mythic Entertainment is ready with their new MMORPG. They are the people behind Dark Age of Camelot, a game that became known for its PVP, Player vs Player, where all players are involved in a war between the 3 races. This concept, known as Realm vs. Realm, paired hand-to-hand with the Warhammer Table Top game, in which different races were in constant war with each other. So when Games Workshop decided to make an MMORPG based on the popular game series, it was obvious to choose Mythic Entertainment to create it. Now they have, and Realm vs. .. Realm (RVR) is an important part of Warhammer Online. “War is everywhere,” Mythic promises in their ads, and after spending months in a small game, I agree. When you log into a WAR (Warhammer Age of Reckoning) server, you can’t help but get mixed up in the war between Order and Destruction.
When you start the game, there are 6 races to choose from. 3 on each side of the conflict. Dwarves and greenskins fighting on one front, the High Elves and Dark Elves fight for control of their homeland and the people trying to stop an invasion of Chaos. So there are 3 ways you can fight, and your starting point is determined by the race you choose to play. Each race has its own professions, such as the Dwarf Iron Breaker or the wizard of Chaos. They are very different, although fundamentally they can be divided into some basic types that are known from this type of game. When you’ve chosen your character and found a style that suits you, you’re ready to explore this new world.
The missions are there of course in abundance and you really have to make an effort to run out of them. It’s normal practice for these types of games and it works very well in WAR. The individual missions are easily the stereotypical kind, to find people / things, or beat monsters to death, but there has been a lot of work going on in the story and it makes them quite entertaining. You can feel that Mythic has been aware of this and they vary them quite well with little surprises in the pipeline. The first 10 levels are used in the same starting area, but as soon as you get to the first war field, the game opens for the other racing areas and this works very well, because there is nothing to stop you from completing missions in the three areas.
Public mission
In addition to the usual missions, Mythic has invented something they call Public Quest. It is a welcome innovation to the genre. The game’s story is powered by Public Quest (PQ). When you run and solve missions, you will find areas in which a PQ is developed. They often consist of 3 or more phases, all of which have in common that they cannot be completed alone, but require more people to work together. Once they come across such missions, you can start completing them. You don’t need to be in a group with other people who are also participating in this quest, but it can often be an advantage. When a PQ is completed, that is, all phases are solved, all those who contributed to the Finn are ranked according to their contribution. The highest ranked gets the best rewards. It’s a brilliant way to meet new people, and since one of the main purposes of an online game is to play with others, PQs are a pretty cool feature. Beyond the rewards you can earn by completing a PQ, you gain influence, which can be used to redeem rewards from certain people, so even if you don’t just win something, the time you spend in a PQ is far from wasted.
Kingdom vs. Kingdom
Like I said, war is an important part of Warhammer online. Pretty quickly after starting a character, you are presented with the PVP aspect of the game. It can be roughly divided into two: scenarios and open RVR. Scenarios are the first that players become familiar with. You register on a stage, and when there are enough players on both sides to start it, it started. Then they send you to the area and you must fight to complete the objectives before the enemy or before the time expires (after 15 minutes). There are scenarios where you must fight for checkpoints, scenarios where you must steal your opponent’s flag and make sure your own flag is not stolen, and many others. There is a good variety of scenarios. The good thing about these scenarios is that it is the side that works as a team that usually wins. It’s not just about spinning around and killing the opponent, although the tour is always good. It’s a matter of working together to solve homework, and no classes can handle it on their own. Cooperation is the key to success. It’s pretty clever that you can always join a stage, and once it’s over, you’re just sent back to where you were when it started. This makes participating in PVP quick and easy.
Open RVR encounters are pretty quick too. Once you find the first warfield, you will be on the front lines, and once you enter the war zone, you will be RVR. There are bases and cars that you should fight for. It takes place in battle against other players, and just like in the scenarios, there is collaboration along the way. It’s tremendously entertaining, and I am having fun with the cost of this aspect of the game, although I don’t normally do PvP. But the mythical concept of PVP is a brilliant way to avoid ‘ganking’ so that people with low level become ‘ganket’ of people with a much higher level. Mainly because it is based on cooperation, one-on-one battles are rare, but also because the battle zones are divided into 4 levels (layers) and if you travel to a field that is too low for your level, you transform into a chicken. . and it cannot contribute to victory in the area. You have to look for opponents at your own level. While it is good, PVP is restricted to certain areas and it is completely free for the player to decide when they want PVP. Not in the mood for that, so just wait for the PVP areas?
Tome of Knowledge
Another new thing that Mythic wants the player to know about is Tome of Knowledge. It is a book where all possessions are listed. Actually, it is not so much of an innovation as the same concept can be found in Lord of the Rings Online, but Mythic has extended it a lot and there is a lot of information in this book, which is helping to make this virtual world more believable. . The first time you meet a monster, NPC or otherwise, you will find written about it in the Tome of Knowledge, which provides basic knowledge. Games Workshop has published a great deal of material for the Warhammer universe, and the Tome of Knowledge is a great way to incorporate all of this information into the game.
Conclution
I could have written a lot more, because there are so many things to explore in this game. But I hope I’ve listed the main thing that makes Warhammer: Age of Reckoning the future MMORPG star of paradise. The PVE (Player vs. Environment) part is quality work that uses the familiar formula of mission after mission. All of this has been further enhanced with Public Quest and a rich backstory well anchored in the (few) well-known world of Warhammer. The PVP (player versus player) component is simply not better in any MMORPG. Even people who don’t normally bother in PvP will find themselves embroiled in the war between Order and Destruction, and my bet is that even the most determined opponent in PvP could be persuaded from PvP in Warhammer online. Still, there is a lot to do in WAR even without PvP. A notification for an MMORPG is always a snapshot, as they are in constant development. The WAR image is a very good image at the moment, and if Mythic Entertainment continues on the same track, then it may be a hit. At least he deserved it!