Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
My first impressions...
sactoking
Member Posts: 22
I know there are tons of threads, I know there are tons of 'low-level reviews'. I'm making my own thread so it will be easier to edit my impressions and thoughs as I get more time logged.
That being said, here are the first impressions of an mmo player who was neither anticipating this title nor dreading it (as I was with AoC, due to Funcom's STELLAR reputation):
I got a beta key from MMORPG.com, so I thought I'd give the game a try.
I started downloading from Fileplanet on Friday night. Or, rather, I entered the Fileplanet queue on Friday night, about 6 pm PDT. The downloader started on Saturday morning at about 6 am PDT. I wasn't too peeved, b/c I knew that was going to happen. By 9 am the downloader had crashed. When it restarted, it put me back in the queue, which was highly irritating.
At that point I went searching for a .torrent to download. After a couple of hours, I had found several, but none had more than 60% of the file seeded, so I gave up. By then I had moved to the front of the Fileplanet queue again to find that their download manager could not resume my previous download. I was in for another 8 hours of waiting.
Luckily, the second try worked without any hiccups, and I had the .rar by about 10 pm PDT. I spent the next 30 minutes decompressing and installing, as well as creating my Mythic account and registering my beta key.
At about 10:45 pm on Saturday, I tried to fire up the client, in case there were any patches. Unfortunately, since beta didn't start until Sunday, I couldn't access the patch server. I was hoping it was time locked, so I stayed up until past midnight PDT, but could never connect to the server, so I went to bed.
I woke up at 6 am PDT on Sunday and tried to fire up the client. What did I find? About 300 MB of patches to download! Thanks, EA/Mythic, for letting me get that taken care of. 
The patch, at 300 MB, wasn't too bad in size. My connection would probably download that in about 10 minutes. Oh, wait, since none of the beta participants could pre-patch, Mythic's servers were hammered. It only took me 10 HOURS.
So, I got into the game mid-afternoon on Sunday. Being beta, and not being sure if I would like it, I felt no need to settle on any particular server. I did notice that ALL of the servers were 'core' rulesets, none of them were 'open' PvP. I picked one with 'high' Order and Destruction populations and rolled an Empire melee DPS'er (whatever it's called). I later rolled a Dark Elf range DPS'er on a different high-population server.
I had read in an interview with a developer that Warhammer intentionally had a lackluster character creation system. The point was that the player is a soldier in a war, not some all-powerful hero. You're a nameless body in a faceless mob. Even with that considered, I was underwhelmed. After trying a robust system like City of Heroes, I'm spoiled. Overall, it had more options than Warcraft, but that's not saying much. 6 aspects to customize is more than 3 or 4, but 6 feels more like a win-by-default than a true win. It didn't help that after several hours of gameplay I STILL looked like everyone else. Even the gear didn't change anything, since everyone got the same gear.
I entered the game without reading the manual. (I'm a guy, I don't read instructions!) The in-game help did a decent job describing things. The Tome of Knowledge, which is like the Warhammer version of the "Civlopedia" did help some also. I did find the ToK to be very cluttered and poorly organized. I can't imagine how ungainly it would be at Rank 40. It reminded me somewhat of the LOTRO Deed Log. It was definitely more informative, but also a lot less user-friendly.
The GUI was a mixed bag for me. In many respects, it felt WAY too cluttered. There was an XP bar, a PvP bar, and a Public Quest bar. There were buttons all over the place, not all of which would tooltip properly. Your bags, character info, ToK, settings, etc. were all across the top as well. The only items occupying the bottom were the action bar and the chat window. It really felt like the top of the screen was too busy and the bottom was too empty.
The graphics overall were ok. A bit more realistic (i.e., less-cartoony) than WoW. Quality was acceptable, though I believe other have said that higher-res options will ship with retail. I certainly hope so. I have a pretty top-of-the-line computer, and am getting spoiled by super-hi-res stuff, and DX10.
Performance was a bit sub-par, but I recognize that WAR is still technically in beta so I won't hit it too hard. Some retail games have much worse performance (*cough*AoC*cough*). There was some stuttering, even with medium level graphics. Mobs would bug out quite often, and there was no indication that they were bugged until you tried to attack them. The worst part about the bug was that they would still move and attack you, but you couldn't attack them!
The mobs bugs weren't too concerning, as nothing at that low of a rank was a challenge. While the game is incessantly compared to WoW, especially graphically, the gameplay felt quite a bit different to me. I would compare WAR's combat more to Tabula Rasa or Pirates of the Caribbean Online. It played, to me, much more like a Third-Person Shooter with RPG elements than an RPG. Combat was, for the most part, a skill spam-fest. Since most or all of your skills shared a timer, there wasn't a whole lot of strategy going on. This was especially true for the Dark Elf range DPS I tried. By the time I went to bed, I had 4 attack skills: a high-damage single-target skill with a long induction, an instant DoT, an instant medium-damage single-target skill with a longer cooldown, and an instant single-target attack that had damage that varied based on what other attacks you had used prior.
For me, PvE combat degenerated into a chain of high-damage (so I could get through the induction before I had aggro), then DoT, then instant damage, then if the mob hadn't dropped, the variable-damage. It took me about 5 minutes to figure out my chain, and once I had there wasn't much reason to stop using it. It was rather unsatisfying.
I did try out two of the T1 battlegrounds, the Empire/Chaos and High Elf/Dark Elf. The Empire/Chaos was fun, though Empire steamrolled due to numerical superiority. That BG was a standard "control the 3 hotspots until one side has 500 points". The Elf BG was also a hotspot battle, though there were only 2 and it had a nasty surprise lurking for the uninitiated. Dark Elves got beat ina close match by High Elves, mainly due to the Dark Elves stupidity. They had absolutely no teamwork going on. My battleground trials were fun, but they really would not keeping me coming back. It was nice that the game had collision detection, so that the tanks could form a defense, even if it really didn't work well.
I also tried the Public quests for good humans and evil elves. The concept was very nice. During beta, it seems to work well. Once the game goes live and most people get to higher Tiers, it seems like they could be a huge pain. Both T1 public quests were similar: kill tons of weak guys, then kill fewer slightly tougher guys, then kill 1 Hero-level enemy. They ended up being big clusterfudges that weren't aided by bugged mobs and questionable AI (mobs tended to run around seemingly at random, sometimes not attacking and sometimes just swinging once at everything they ran by until they were killed). If you don't have a dozen or so people available for them, they won't get done. A plus- they're pretty quick to complete. A minus- they reset every 2 minutes so there's really no sense of accomplishment.
Based on first-impressions, WAR is a decent game. It will have a pretty good following. Calling it an MMORPG is a bit of a misnomer, as I think it's more of an MMOTPS. PvP'ers will like that it's a bit more fast-twitch than WoW. It's definitely weak in PvE, the quests are cake and the map shows you where to go. If it didn't come with a $50-60 initial outlay as well as $15 per month (meaning you pay about $240 for the first year of access) I might find it a fun change-of-pace. For all of its faults, it is entertaining, which should be the #1 consideration. Still, I couldn't help but feel that it just won't hold my interest, as PvP is not a main concern of mine.
In its current state I'd rate it a C for me. It's ok, but not good enough to justify the expense. If I were to talk to someone off the street, I'd rate it a B. Even though I'm not a big fan, I can recognize that more people will like it than dislike it and my tastes in games are not mainstream.
Comments
good read.. i feel , that i feel about same.. once i get to try beta.. ( eu )
I would rather the collision detection be only for enemy players, I find myself running into another elf that for some unknow reason, decided to stop dead in his tracks going up a hill..hehe.
edit: Hey Moe! whoob whoob whoob
When I said i had "time", i meant virtual time, i got no RL "time" for you.
Aye, but at least this game has NO friendly collision when not flagged for PVP. Try playing AoC and going to the bank...even in a non flagged friendly area even going over a bridge in that game is a chore..
I think WAR hit the nail on the head with their collision detection
I play a lot of games...
Aye, but at least this game has NO friendly collision when not flagged for PVP. Try playing AoC and going to the bank...even in a non flagged friendly area even going over a bridge in that game is a chore..
I think WAR hit the nail on the head with their collision detection
Yep..and i tried AoC../sigh
When I said i had "time", i meant virtual time, i got no RL "time" for you.
Great write up. Pretty much exactly what I think as well.
Was in beta for a while, good game but not the epic sandbox I am wishing for.
Melanko's Gamer Blog
"See you down in Arizona Bay... " -B. Hicks/MJK
You seem to be pretty high maintenence for a gamer. You want everything all at once, and that is just not going to happen.
Sorry you didn't like the game, and hope you find something that suits you.
The sleeper awakes...and rides his dirtbike to the mall.
war was not designed, nor ever advertised as a sandbox....so i have no idea what you were looking for, or why you bothered to try it if you were looking for a sandbox
I'm not high maintenance at all. I don't know what gave you that impression. That's the reason I posted my review of Warhammer: I don't want ANYTHING from it. I had 0 anticipation and 0 hatred. I have several games I already play that I enjoy. If WAR turns out to be good for me, great. If not, no loss as I haven't hung my hat on this to be the game that 'saves' MMOs for me.
Would I like to see more character customization? Yes, but I understand their story for why it doesn't exist.
Would I like to see a better GUI? Yes, but maybe there's some customization I can do. As it is, stock, it's not great.
Would I like to see fewer bugs? Who wouldn't!
Am I underwhelmed by the Tome of Knowledge? A bit, but only in its complexity. I can see how it would be a nightmare to navigate later on.
Were the Scenarios good? Yes, but that's not really my thing.
Were the Public Quests good? They were ok, but when the population of a serevr gets to T3 or T4, I can see the T1 and T2 one starting to die out. Also, the super-fast timer made them lose their feel of importance.
Was combat good? It wasn't good, it wasn't bad. I hope it improves as I level. If not, then I'll say it's bad. It's a spam-fest at low levels. If it's still a spam-fest at Rank 40, something is wrong.
Over all decent first look. Try out the UI customization tool and try the Open RvR areas...though i suggest joining a warband for that. If you want FULL customization opens you'll want to RvR / PvP alot for the RP Points & Ranks that allow you to customize your char. And yes PVP matters...T2 and above if you dont have a keep you can't Renown Train or buy Renown gear. You also wont have access to End game without it.
I'd really like to hear your impressions about something other than the usual liek graphics which is subjective at best. How about your impressions of the Group System? Or the UI customization tool when you try it out. Or how about the storylines? Did you read the quests are they well written? The bag system? I mean no one comments on the fact you start with 2 bags (it gives you more automatically) and a tab that keeps JUST quest items so you dont take up bag space.
Only had a few hours in game. I will, hopefully, add more thoughts and details as I get the time and experience with them.
This game is great, it's just a little rough around the edges. At the beginning levels (I'd say from 1-5) it's pretty generic, but, at least on my Marauder, level 7 (where I am now) is where things got interesting. Now I have to change my Mutations according to the flow of battle (one Mutation has an AoE melee attack, but another one has a very nice 3-second long frenzy type of attack that is great for DPS. You have to balance and switch according to the combat.)
The other stuff you mentioned were all okay, and I agree. Again, all this needs is a little polish!
Collision detection for friendly players adds alot of strategy. Now a tank can actually tank. You can't shoot through him to hit someone else which is great. A healer can simply follow the tank and keep him alive. Just stay behind and he'll take the hits.
Tribes 2 is back!!!! http://www.tribesnext.com/
And from the makers of tribes: Fallen Empire: Legions http://www.instantaction.com/
Just a couple comments. I have been able to single group every PQ I have tried and most of them can be done with 4 well played players. Most likely later on in the game this will be how you do them instead of 12+ players doing them. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing, just some feedback for you.
It certainly isn't CoH for customization but not many games are~. You can dye your gear and there are different ways to get cloaks which don't give stats and are just for looks so you aren't stuck wearing the best stats you find. You also get trophy slots that let you mix up your appearance a bit. Guilds get a standards and emblems that I believe you can put on your armor. There is some customization in there for sure. Moreso than WoW had at least.
To be perfectly honest I feel very similar to what you have stated, OP. The game is decent, it is fun in all aspects, but really, it's about equal footing with WoW. Nothing really makes me want to play this game to an extreme extent, which, although it's a bad thing, is what a game should make you feel (so fun that you don't realize you've spent an entire day building a character, ala CoX).
For alot of us I think this is going to be our "filler" game. It isn't amazing, but considereing almost every other MMO out there right now is crap other then WoW, it makes it seem a little bit more fun. It's a nice change from WoW but, at least for me, I'll be playing this only until a new game comes along that actually brings something new and interesting to the table. There's simply too many games that are coming in the near future that are attempting these sorts of things that WAR isn't, and I'm sure at least one of them will not flop (though it's quite possible seeing the trend that new MMOs are taking...). It's great fun, and in all hoensty, that's all that matters, but I just wish this game offered more and made a couple of risks with something new.
Sadly creating a character in CoX is the highlight of the game, after that it is just terrible~.