My Views of Warhammer

Balthaazar1

 

With Warhammer only a few hours away for some of us, I am writing some of my thoughts and views on what I have seen of the world thus far from my previous weekend adventure in Warhammer Online. I find myself reflecting on what I saw with a fondness that goes back to my first mmorpg experiences. There is so much life and beauty in the game that is equal to the feeling of being brutal and war like, raging upon the lands to defeat ancestrial foes. It is a world like no other and so many great memories are sure to come of it.

 

 The game-play is absolutely addictive. I can honestly say that even if the game stayed in its release state of being for five years I'd still be playing for five years. They are however, not going to remain stagnant at all! They know the lore, they know the size of the world, it is equal to our own world in size. They are working on expansions already which goes to show not that they are incompetent as Age of Conan seems to be, but that they have a firm grasp or vision of what is to come. There are many many races that are in the lore but not release and they are all coming to us in due time likely. Flying mounts are in disucssion and aerial combat can be guessed to be in as well at some point.

 

The combat had a few issues in Preview Weekend, but I found it to be very fun, all the abilitties played off each other and led to other abilities in your arsenal. They have added more animations and fixed the timers to be more enjoyable in terms of speed. I think Warhammer combat is as good as WoW in it's current state, or perhaps a little better. I like the tactics and all around synergy of the abilities, its like an art form.

 

In terms of all out War, that the game is in namesake of, we are all indeed thrust into perpetual war across the world. I love the atmopshere of it all and how you could roam the world for hours and find a coastal village that is in an epic struggle with invaders. I love how you can slay dragons with forty of your fellows. I love how you can burn crops and buildings and raid and pillage the cities and lands. I love how you can go to white sand beaches and fend off orcs and fight upon corsair ships. It is all so very well put together that it feels like an actual breathing and living world.

 

Crafting is fun and is more inventive and experimental than anything else out there. You can invent new items in crafting, it's something Mark Jacobs himself loves about the game and he wants us to love it too. There are plans to add systems for weapon and armor crafting but they want it to be balanced, they care so very much that the world is on an equal footing. which brings me to my next point.

 

Balance of the game in all aspects has been more well thought out than you can imagine. They solved population imbalance with a plan to cap the populations at high times so the one side doesn't unjustly beat the other side by sheer size and force. They added reward implentations for those who join the low populated side. They also effectively stopped ganking in its traditional sense, if a player is too high for a pvp rvr area, they are turned into a quite humorous concept.. a chicken, literally. Armies of evil chickens laying in wait just makes me grin from ear to ear.

 

They made each class have it's own strengths and weaknesses. Bright wizards can obliterate just about anything! They however go down in a few hits. Chosen can go on forever, but they can't top the damage of some. Another thing I noticed is tanks in this game are for once, fun to play! They have so many abilitites like halving the damage of an alley taken, or hold the line where they reduce all damage to people on their side in a 40 foot radius while holding their shield up. They also deal considerable damage compared to hwo long they can stay up. there is enough fun in each classes design to keep you making alts for a long time after launch.

 

The races themselves all have a distinct feel. Dwarves float up rivers in barrels like in the hobbit! They enter goblin lands to attack the greenskins. The hilarious part is they are floating in ale barrels and are quite drunk when you burst open the barrels, and much to one's horror, nearly naked. The dwarves smoke a pipe after a victory! Finest weed in all the lands. (grin ) They are the fighting, drinking and working class of people in Warhammer as Paul said, each race has that sort of distinct feel.

 

Greenskin goblins are hilarious and mischievious creatures. They have a mystical feel to them, especially their shamans. The most hilarious part is their cockney accents! Love it. They sound so amusing and are really the most clever little things. They prod nasty little squigs until they grow in enragement and then hop into them and shout as they go off to battle. They dig about in garbage and little gremlin thing pop out. They cast spells and make strange sounds, its all quite enjoyable to see.

 

Orcs are big and brutish and have a one track mind. It's great to see them donning plate that looks as though they salvaged bits of metal from victories and crafted their own ramshackle armor. It is really quite unnerving to see one charging you in a bucket helm and slice you up to bits. They are big and hulking and scary.If sometimes commical in their.. intelligence, or lack their of.

 

Elves are highly intellectual and 'snooty'. I however found their sad laments for the dead and honor to be very real. They are proud, and noble, they are sea fairers and are hardened in some ways, soft in others. Scars on their elven warriors show they are not asafraid of battle as one might think. They fight for ideals and for continued existance of their race's splendor. Dark elves likewise

 

Dark elves are the vampire like beings of the world. They are exiles, they are tainted of heart. They lament in a much more brooding way. They have poison daggers and they run steathily through the mist. Their sorceresses are curving and beautiful and poisonous of a different kind of nature. A look from one of their women can stop a man in his tracks, the last mistake he ever makes.. They raid by ships and they destroy lands, blackening them like their hearts. There is a reverence for death, and in death they find beauty.

 

The Chaos are the mercenaries, the mauraders, the vile and foul mouthed, the strength of human brutality. Their magic wielders and healers deal with the super natural and undead and become a little deformed themselves. They shamble, they have haunting eyes and they certainly arnt nice. Their warriors are a force that could defeat you by fear alone, hulking in the dark plate of a chosen warrior. The mauraders lash out at you with their hands turning to blades, skewering you. tentacles emege from their back to strike fear in your heart. The magus's float eeriely on disks of magic cojuring. There is a feeling of coldness in their lands, and they have no mercy. Their ideals are not noble at all, but savage and selfish. There is a sense of darkness about all of their citizens. This race is closer to the other side, death, hell, than others.

 

The Empire is a race of humans that are nordic, proud and noble in ideals if not all of them birth. They are the humans who defend our realms. They are the light in the darkness and they are staunch and hardy. This is the line of blood that Kings are forged of. Their towns and villages make you feel welcome with open arms. The small folk talk about fairies and strange sightings and the farmers and their squabbles. It's all very fable like. Commanders speak to you as if you are their equal. People burning alive, are saved by ordinary people, who are about to become heros soon, to set out into the world as something more than their villagers. Overall it is a feeling of unity and strength, honor and justice.

 

There is something magical about this game and I cannot wait to play it for years to come. I will remember the gates of War being opened and being thrust into their world fondly all my days. So join me, join us all, in the epic struggles to come. It is the deeds of each of us in this war torn world we are about to enter, that matter. It is not for anyone to say that one race or beings actions do not matter, it all comes together int he balance of good, evil, and shades of inbetween that make up a living breathing world. Let's make the most of each of our god given talents. Let their be War!