WoH, WAR and keeping me subbed

As expected the discovery of Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes has prompted predominantly negative rumblings within the WAR community, predictably amongst the vocal angry people that are always angry regardless of anything, but clearly it has also rattled the faith of many others. And you can understand why, since folks were expecting proper WAR news, which WoH obviously isn’t, at least not to start with. Sure there’s potential for WoH leading to good things for WAR, but for a lot of people the whole “potential” thing has got a bit old. There’s always something potentially good coming for WAR, but so often it just doesn’t quite happen.

I remain fairly apathetic towards Wrath of Heroes, despite Bioware and some community member’s attempts at hype. I do think it will be a good game, a very good game in fact and I do think it is going to be hugely successful, but I continue struggling to care a great deal about it. Perhaps the beta will change my mind... For me it sits in the same personal category as games like League of Legends, APB, Battlefield and World of Tanks, they’re good fun and brilliant at what they do, but I just don’t play them for long periods of time in MMO terms. I’ll do a couple of months of solid play and then move on, perhaps dipping my toe in for brief visits but never really getting stuck in again. I think it’s their completely instanced and enclosed nature that eventually halts my interest, much like it did with Guild Wars. So for me it is unlikely that Wrath of Heroes will be a factor in how long I am subbed to WAR, regardless what attached benefits that sub has for WoH. The fate of my WAR sub can only be decided by WAR itself. At the moment I’m quite happy with it and looking forward to having spare time for playing more in the near future, but as I’ve said before, long term WAR is going to have some competition and I want to see some further return for that subs fee we’ve been paying for so long.

Unfortunately for us, those subscriptions are very much speculative investments, there is no guarantee that our funding will result in expansions, new content or anything else and in fact our contract with the game’s publishers is in reality just to give us access to the game right now; we have no legal rights to demand anything else. However, regardless of what publishers may think about what a subscription is for, we as MMO gamers pay a sub fee so that game we like grows, stays fresh and can continue to keep us interested. But if that ceases then so will our subscriptions. If the future looks bleak then we’re likely to stop investing, particularly if there are new shiny things elsewhere. And PC gaming has a LOT of lovely shiny things on the way.

So as I’ve said before, for WAR to not be royally buggered by new shiny things (hello GW2, SWTOR, Diablo3, Skyrim et al), it needs to deliver some pretty solid temptations of its own and share some community confidence about. The question is though, considering the whole lack of resources bit, is there anything realistic that could do that?

Actually, yes! There already are things that Bioware Mythic are looking at that could go a long way to securing my (and many others) long term loyalty. Of course this goes back to how I started this post; talking about potential. As such perhaps none of these will see the light of day. /facepalm

Sylvania - They have unused Sylvania assets that were previously developed but never made it into the game. This place is the home of the Vampire Counts and has some pretty cool stuff associated with it. I don’t know how much they’ve got sitting there to use, but if this was a new PvP zone then I would be extremely happy.

West Praag, Cinderfall and the other wasted side zones - I don’t know what Mythic are considering for these zones, but they are considering something. I want them RvR enabled with objectives that affect the campaign somehow. Something that would promote small scale roaming and battling in those zones would be perfect. Not instanced copies though please. Having new scenery would be hugely refreshing, in fact it would be HUGE MASSIVE OMFG! PLEASE GIVE US SOMEWHERE NEW TO FIGHT. Ahem. WAR’s tagline was “WAR is everywhere”, but unfortunately, much like cake, that is a lie. Make it a true instead please.

Monsterplay that doesn’t suck - Yeah I would rather have proper new playable careers, cor blimey would I like that and I remain MONSTROUSLY (sorry) disappointed with the Skaven implementation. Though I would settle for new monster play options that don’t suck, fit better into the game than the Skaven nonsense and are actually fun. Ideally with some form of progression or advancement system that makes them feel worthwhile and perhaps gives customisation options. Now we know that Bioware Mythic are toying with more monsterplay and we know they’re looking at an advancement system, so it seems like this one is half way there. If we could have things like Chaos Trolls, Ogres, Goblin Fanatics, Empire Greatswords, etc, etc it could work quite well.

None of those are unfeasible and all of them are being talked about at Bioware Mythic, so they could happen. If they actually do and they’re done well, that will make Boots a happy bunny. Obviously there’s a bloody huge list of other things I would rather see, but these would go a long way towards preventing other distractions becoming the new obsession.

PS: Fortresses could be a big help, if it gives us some dynamic PvP that works well alongside the campaign, but we'll have to see and it's not enough for me on its own.

Portal: No Escape

This is awesome. If you don't understand why, go play Portal. If you have played Portal and don't think its cool,  pffft, please just go away.



HD link is HD

Magus and Engineer pet changes

Steven Engle has posted up some changes that Mythic are planning for Magus and Engineer pets. You can find his post here.

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Turrets/Daemons - The current plan is to move ahead with the idea of 4 turrets/daemons. We are working on getting art assets to support this.


-Turrets/Daemons will be instant cast.
-They will have one ability on a 1.5s timer much like an auto attack. It will deal magical damage.
-Turrets/Daemons will be immune to KD/Stagger.
-Turrets/Daemons will inherit all stats from items 100%
-Half of the Turret/Daemons will have an offensive purpose and the other half Defensive purpose
-Cooldown on turrets/daemons will be 30s and each will have an up time of 10s.
-During the 10s, the turret/daemons will have an aura that either effects the enemies or allies nearby.
-Summoning turrets/daemons will be low cost, we want them to be part of a rotation and strategic.
-The turrets/daemons will despawn when a new one is cast or the timer runs out.


Initial Effects for Turrets/Daemons
Defensive
AoE Snare/damage field
AoE Auto Attack speed decreasing debuff


Offensive
AoE group Range increaser
AoE group damage buff (increases damage by a percentage and that extra damage is credited to the Engineer)


This will also mean that many tactics and abilities will need to change. All of this is very high level still and we're sorting out specific changes.


The goal is not to make them offensive juggernauts. We want them to provide support DPS/buffs/debuffs and enjoy a higher level of mobility to help in all aspects of RVR.
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4 pets eh? Will be interesting to see what the 4th pet is from a lore side, for Magus daemons anyway. Ok as for the changes themselves, well.... I like the concept, but I struggle to see how it will actually work in play. If a Magus player now has to effectively twist their DoTs AND pets, I just can't see how that won't be a total pain in the arse. Will it mean a Twister add on becomes required for Magus and Engineers?

However, Steve did say that "This will also mean that many tactics and abilities will need to change. All of this is very high level still and we're sorting out specific changes.", so there's a chance the whole thing could be sorted out nicely.

Games I give a toss about

As I sat pondering what to write about earlier today, I decided that it’s about time I put something up that wasn’t WAR related, but then I realised that there just aren’t a huge amount of games coming out this year that I give a toss about.

On the MMO side the only one in the near future I’m intrigued by is Star Wars: The Old Republic. Not because I’m expecting anything particularly great, innovative or wonderful, it’s simply because it’s Star Wars, made by Bioware and I quite like the idea of a more story driven game. So I think it should provide a nice, albeit temporary, distraction for a month or two. Other than that, there’s nothing grabbing me. Yeah I know people are going all hype monkey for Guild Wars 2, but I think it will be very average WoW style game with dubious looking hi fantasy nonsense, just like the first one. Actually, I’ll be blunt… I think it will be more of the same old shite, just like the first one. I don’t care what vids and other hype people go on about, I’ve not seen anything that impresses me and I certainly don’t consider a 1v1v1 server based PvP set up to be comparable with genuine 3 factions. Oh and the races look stupid. Crappy mutant gnome space alien rubbish. Sorry folks, it's gonna be all fur coat and no knickers. GW2 is just not working for me, apart from no sub fee of course.

What else is there this year MMO wise? The Secret World has some nice ideas, but it’s Funcom and since they’ve repeatedly smothered my hopes with a steaming pile of buggy, badly supported turd (Anarchy Online and Age of Conan I am looking at you!), I think I’m done with Funcom games. Honestly I really liked both of those games, but they were so badly supported and so broken for years that I just can’t be arsed with them anymore.

Oh there is one that could be good: Prime BFD. A brief summary of the game for me would be; small developer, big ideas, impressive development pace, but dodgy looking artwork. The whole Ben 10 alien style is not for me, but the gameplay is intriguing and this could be something worth watching.

On the single player side there’s again only a few games I’m interested in.:

Football Manager 2012 (a “soccer” game for those poor uneducated souls living in armoured handball land)
The games I’ve played more than anything else are the Football Manager series. Every year it’s updated and every year I end up addicted to it. That’s quite a common thing in the UK, as us Brits do love our football and the monstrous sales figures for these games say it all. Conveniently it’s one of the few games my wife doesn’t think is weird or stupid.

Space Marine
Relic’s face smushing Space Marine game will rock, even if it’s shit. You control a space marine, you have access to that most delightful armoury of doom in all Sci-Fi settings. Bolters, melta-guns plasma weapons, thunder hammers, power fists and so on. And you get to maim things and revel in gory 40k style mayhem. What’s not to like?

Mass Effect 3
Can’t remember when it’s out, but can’t wait. I LOVE these games.

Skyrim
I liked Daggerfall. I really enjoyed Morrowind. I absolutely loved Oblivion. Everything I’ve seen of Skyrim so far suggests Bethseda’s Elder Scrolls series will take yet another step towards gaming perfection and I might just explode in a squiggly mess of gaming man juice. I can’t bloody wait for this to come out, alas I must wait until November 11th. It’s pretty much a given that I will be having a break from all other games once this comes out.

And that’s about it. Now, you may notice that list doesn’t include Wrath of Heroes. I’ve not forgotten it; it’s just that I’m not that excited about playing it. I hope it does really well, but only so that WAR gets some benefits from it. Sure, I’m quite looking forward to trying it out and will do my bit with the beta, yet based purely on the type of game it is, I know long term I would only dabble with it in drips and drabs and then after a few months forget about it. That’s no slight on the game, it’s just I’d rather play a MMO and if WoH doesn’t result in WAR progressing, then in time I will have moved on and be busy with another MMO. I do like the few things coming WAR's way right now, but at the moment there isn't much exciting in my MMO future. That will change.

New dev discussion -1.4.4 Keep Siege: Successful Defense

Which you can find here. Or via copy paste power below.
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Upcoming in 1.4.4 is a new mechanic to Keep Sieges – the Successful Defense. This is meant to acknowledge the work of defenders in holding their ground, as well as presenting them with a clear and obtainable goal. Please note, the Successful Defense does not “Win” the zone, or reset the keep; what it does do is give the defenders a brief moment to catch their breath.

A Successful Defense is triggered when the Defenders destroy the attacking ram. When the ram goes down, the keep siege briefly shifts to a Successful Defense state to acknowledge the event. Defenders in the keep area are awarded the Heroic Defender buff, granting them the power to push back the attacking force. Once the brief Successful Defense stage is over, the Keep Siege goes back to the state it was in previously.

Along with the Successful Defense, Keep Foremen return to the battlefield. These venders now reside on the first floor of the keep, and will only accept Ordnance and Medallions. Foreman will sell you bundles of wood to repair keep doors, as well as give players the ability to order a New Outer Keep Door (for T3 and T4). Orders for a New Outer Keep Door can only be placed if the outer door is currently destroyed, there is no ram outside the inner door, and your realm is currently in control of that keep. When the new door goes up, the keep siege is pushed back to the “Outer Door” state, and attackers will have to take the outer door down again. Any damage done to the inner door is not repaired, however. If the defenders do not actively repair it themselves, it will stay in whatever shape the attackers left it when they were forced to focus on the outer door again.

Some important notes:
1) We are addressing the spam-crit bug which currently allows players to take down rams quickly.
2) Rams will have various layers of Armor Plating absorbing incoming damage, which must be burned through before damage can be done to the ram proper.
3) The Heroic Defender buff will fade prematurely if players stay outside of the keep area for too long.
4) Keep Foremen do not fight, but they can be killed. If a Foreman detects an enemy nearby, after he receives an order for a new door, he stops work on the door until the threat is gone. If he is killed before he completes the door, a new order will have to be purchased.

The Heroic Defender buff is designed to give the defenders a brief, but significant, leg up on the attackers. This serves two purposes: first, it gives the defenders the power to push back the attackers, underscoring the successfulness of their defense; and second, it takes the place of a physical defense-reward, by giving the defenders the ability to carve their own reward out of the hides of their attackers.

Currently, the Heroic Defender buff consists of the following parts:
* Movement speed increase
* Incoming damage reduced, and high resistance to incoming crits
* Increased chance of delivering crits (attacks & healing)
* Morale gain is increased
* AP gain is increased

These changes will be up on the Public Test Server soon, so be on the look-out for dates and times of testing phases. We want to make sure we get as much player hands-on time as possible so we can get as much player input as we can before this goes live.

[UPDATE] While final times and durations will be determined through more play testing on PTS, the current duration for Heroic Defender is 60 seconds - but is removed if you stay outside the keep area longer than 5 seconds; and keep's Successful Defense state is 30 seconds. Again, these times and durations are subject to change.
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The big Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes post

I’m guessing that by now you might have heard the news… Mythic were given the backing to create a whole new 6v6v6 F2P Warhammer game derived from and related to WAR, but one that is actually a separate entity.

Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes, or as Mythic are shortening the name to: WAR:P4F. Though I think it will quickly be known as WoH… Or maybe WARWOH, or WOWOH.. lol I don’t know :P

The game takes the format of 6v6v6 scenario style combat where players take control of predefined hero style characters from the Warhammer universe and kick the crap out of each other. These characters have 5 abilities each and do not progress like in WAR or other traditional MMORPGS (though I believe there are others forms of advancement for players) this has allowed Mythic to get the game balanced a lot easier and is reminiscent of the other F2P game in that respect, League of Legends for example. Mythic at present have around 30 different characters with some types familiar to WAR players, but a whole load of others including things like Vampires, Trolls and much more. These are not generic classes, but specific special character style named heroes with different abilities and themes.

I was told at the blogger event that subscribers to WAR will get some kind of rewards each month for the new Wrath of Heroes game, so a WAR sub will actually effect both games. Presumably there is also hope that people who play the F2P game might choose to subscribe to WAR to get those benefits. It seems then that Mythic have a chance here to create a symbiotic relationship between the two games, with revenue and development from Wrath of Heroes potentially aiding WAR and ensuring its future. It is also (again) potentially a massive source of new players for WAR. F2P games are unbelievably huge these days and with the Warhammer IP, this new game could draw in monstrous amounts of players. If only a tiny percentage of them start subscribing and/or using the cash shop, then it should have a dramatic impact on WAR’s population and finances. It’s a very interesting concept as unlike other F2P games, subscribing to WAR will give you benefits in the new F2P game as well as access to a separate, full on MMORPG, which I don’t think anyone else has done before. That could be quite an appealing concept to players looking for a new game. And more than anything that’s what WAR needs, players and money, so it’s worth a shot.

So as you can see, when I said Mythic had something significant coming, I wasn’t joking. However, I also said I was not that excited and I’m still not. This new game was not something I had even considered, it’s not something I had ever thought about wanting and of course I would rather have masses of new things to do in WAR itself. Yet the reality of the situation is WAR needs new players and more money if it is to have a chance of adding the things that myself and others want to see. If Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes is a success then in theory WAR will get those things, so I can understand why Mythic have come up with this idea, it is potentially a massive result for them, but potential has to be realised and so far WAR has not done so well on that front... WAR players will want to quickly see assurances (by actions) that their game has not been sidelined.

I did of course raise that with Mythic when first shown the new game. Interestingly it was explained to me at the time that this was already starting to happen, as things designed for Wrath of Heroes can be ported straight into WAR. For example the development for the 30+ heroes has meant they now have models, animations and spell effects available for a wide range of new things. These can potentially be used in WAR for all sorts of stuff… New armour sets are already confirmed. But really it’s far too soon and we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves and hype something based on speculation. At least we can finally be a bit hopeful as they now have assets available that they didn’t before and a genuine chance to gain more, which is surely no bad thing.

Will people drop WAR and just play the new F2P game? Possibly, but not if they like RvR and openworld combat, Wrath of Heroes is NOT a replacement for WAR. Mind you, it might take away those that are primarily scenario players. Will people rage and declare it a terrible idea? Definitely, but at the same time some will think it a brilliant way of increasing income without making WAR into a pay to win game. Only time will tell who is right.

Do I think it will work? I honestly don’t know. I hope so; I don’t see a clear reason why it would not, it is supposedly a fun game to play. What I do know, as I keep saying, is that WAR needs money and it needs a way to attract new players. This is a chance for both of those to finally happen. Anyways, I shall cut short my rambling as after the event where myself and other bloggers were first shown Wrath of Heroes, I sent in a few questions to Mythic to clarify things. Which I can now share with you:

Q) Am I right in thinking that it’s always a 3 way fight?
A) You got it, every game is a fight between 3 teams.

Q) Can you do premade groups?
A) Absolutely, games are always more fun with friends!

Q) Does it have guilds and if so do our WAR guilds appear or be linked to those in the new game? That would be very cool…
A) Our extended social plans are still in development, but long term some form of guild/clan system isn’t out of the question. Honestly it’s unlikely that we’ll link guilds between WAR and WAR:P4F, they have very different requirements. However we are looking at other ways we can thank the WAR community.

Q) Are there any limitations on which characters can be on the same side, as per Warhammer’s racial stuff? I can totally understand if it’s not in a more light-hearted game like this of course, but people will want to know.
A) No restrictions at all! Games Workshop have been working closely with us on the project though so fear not for the fluff. The approach we’re taking is that of hobbyists playing side games with their minis. After all, why shouldn’t you organise a fight between the figures you worked so hard to collect? So all of WAR and Warhammer’s rich background is entirely untouched; WAR:P4F is all about having fun with some awesome looking Champions!

Q) I remember hearing that WAR subscribers will get in-game cash each month for it, but will it work in reverse so that people subscribing via the new game will get access to WAR, providing a population boost?
A) We’re still formulating exactly how the two games will interact, particularly as there is no subscription for WAR:P4F. Whether we offer in-game currency, items or whatever we’re always considering the impact on the WAR community.

Q) So am I right in thinking that you’re seeing this and WAR as a sort of combined product? With a relationship between the two where they promote growth in and help fund each other?
A) At Mythic there’s a lot of respect and appreciation for our live products. That’s ultimately part of why we’re making WAR:P4F in the first place. We want to continue development on the WAR game we all love without making changes that, while they’d make it more accessible to a wider audience, would damage the experience our community are dedicated to.

Q) What kinds of things are available for purchase with the in-game currency/cash shop/thing?
A) Tactical and cosmetic options, including Champions and alternate visuals, as well as accelerators if you just want to save some time. However we’re being very careful about not selling “power” that can’t also be earned, just more options for your toolbox.

Q) 30 characters were mentioned, but roughly how many are expected to launch with and is access to these limited in any way relation to subscription/paid for unlocks?
A) At the time of the blogger event we had just over 30 Champions. The number that we launch with will be considerably smaller than though as we want feedback from the WAR:P4F community to help set the direction from there. At any one time a few Champions will be available for use by everyone, with the other available Champions only usable if you’ve unlocked them.

Q) I heard something about advancement or progression in the new game, is that linked to the characters or the player?
A) All progression is associated with your meta-character (aka. You) as you’ll be switching Champions a fair bit while playing a single game.

Q) When is the beta testing likely to start?
A) As soon as we’re ready, which won’t be long after our official announcement. We want to get peoples’ hands on the game as soon as possible, we’re as eager to show it as you are to see it. Of course we still need to make sure we get all the balance and stress testing done too, but rest assured that it is coming.

Q) Is there any kind of ETA on when it would go live?
A) After the beta ends ;)
Kidding aside, we want to make sure we have a solid beta phase first, and that will dictate a lot about the final launch.

Q) What sort of plans are there for advertising? I know that's quite a big question, but it's quite a sensitive topic regarding WAR at the moment and the answer could go a long way towards promoting positivity within the WAR population.
A) If you wondering about TV ads or 50 foot billboards, those aren’t going to happen. There are plans, there are budgets, and there is a reality about hype. We want people playing WAR:P4F, and we want them playing soon, but we also want to control the flood as much as possible so we can gather real, usable feedback.


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Oh and here's the producer's letter to help ease any concerns about WAR

Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes

This was the big NDA thing. I'll post a load more about it later today, waiting on another related thing to go out. In the meantime:

You can sign up for the beta here. See the first trailer in HD here, or below.

T7 Black Orc armour

Now this looks mean as hell. I like a lot.

T7 Archmage armour

I think this one looks a bit crap in this picture, but I really do suspect that's because of how flat these images look, hopefully in proper 3D it will be a lot better... 

Black Guard T7 armour pic

Magus and Engineer changes

Some proposed Magus and Engineer changes have been posted. You can find the thread here.

Details below:

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We wanted to clean up a few issues with Magus and Engineer. We also wanted to add some group utility and help their survivability a bit. The changes are below.

Engineer
-Field Repair moves to Rank 22. This ability is renamed to Shock Grenade. You remove stagger effects from your ally target and 5 others in a 25 foot radius around them.
-Redeploy moves to Rank 3.
-Fixing the issue with Extra Ammo causing wild mobs to agro.
-Land Mine will no longer have a cast time. This should fix most of the issues of receiving an "Invalid Target" message on placement.
-Flak Jacket will no longer have a cast time. The value of the armor buff is reduced, but will stack with other armor buffs. The buff lasts 60 minutes and will no longer have the 20 hit removal condition.

Magus
-Strengthen Thrall moves to Rank 22. This ability is renamed to Shocking Jolt. You remove stagger effects from your ally target and 5 others in a 25 foot radius around them.
-Resummon moves to Rank 3.
-Fixing the issue with Lasting Chaos causing mobs to agro. We are also fixing the tactic Chaotic Attunement.
-Daemonic Infestation will no longer have a cast time. This should fix most of the issues of receiving an "Invalid Target" message on placement.
-Daemonic Armor will no longer have a cast time. The value of the armor buff is reduced, but will stack with other armor buffs. The buff lasts 60 minutes and will no longer have the 20 hit removal condition.

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OK so.... The stagger removal ability, yup I like that as it's a good ability and something that would be totally unique to these careers. Also the cast time removal from Daemonic Infestation is a great move, since the ability will be usable on the move at last and becomes a more useful class specialty. However, there are some issues from a gameplay perspective. Mythic appear to want the Magus to be very static career because of how they rely on the buffs from their static pets and actually have tactics that give the groups benefits if they're near the Magus. This makes it fairly likely the Magus will himself will be staggered and unable to remove staggers anyway, or will be at a distance from their group but so static that they are stand out targets for stealthers and flanking MDPS. Combine this with their many short range (65ft) spells and the fact that now Shadow Warriors will be able to debuff that range further and I'm not quite sure how effective Magus will be in future.

I do like the potential of the changes above and I like the concept, but it's not enough alone. I think the following needs to happen for the Magus to stop being considered the bastard stepchild of everything else...

Rift (Magnet for Engineers) needs to become a core ability for the career. It's a class defining ability that is one of the few things that makes them desirable in groups, but its an option you have to spec very high up in a DPS gimping mastery tree.

Also that same mastery tree has the best looking morale 4 ability in the game, but it's so bad it's quite ridiculous. The Firewyrm's damage needs buffing dramatically or it needs other abilities attached to it.

All changing abilities need their ranges increased to 100ft. Sure there's a tactic you can take to increase it, but it's frustrating that it's an essential if you want to use these abilities at all. Tactics should be optional, not essential and with the Shadow Warrior and Squig Herder changes it will become utterly essential.

Personally I think Havoc DoTs need to have reduced durations so they have more burst, particularly since they're cleansed so easily.

/edit Forgot to say... Remove timers from pets and give them a HUGE damage boost. Their pets right now are a bag of shite.

All of the above applies to Engineers too I believe.

I got a quality Nigerian scam email today

This one did make me lol

"Good day,

My name is Khamis Muammar al-Gaddafi, one of the youngest son of the troubled Muammar al-Gaddafi, i am a policeman by profession and a leader of a special forces brigade of the military of Libya. i am at the moment very depressed as i write to you.i got your mail from search engine and i really think you can be of help to me. At the moment i am studying for a masters degree in IE Business School in Madrid,but as i write to you i am in the UK before the British government revoked the immunity given to my father (Muammar al-Gaddafi ) and his families , so at the moment i do not possess the right to move about, as i will be arrested and prosecuted in a international court of justice.

in my possession right about now is my internet connection and my private cell phone, it is only with this two i am able to make contact with the out side world. Also as another measure that has been taken by the international community, our asset i.e the assets of Muammar al-Gaddafi and family world wide have been frozen to compel my father to step down as the libyan leader.

The above mentioned reasons are what have compelled me to write you this mail, As i seek to partner with a trustworthy person who can assist me in transferring some of my monetary assets worth about (GBP) 145m (ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE MILLION GREAT BRITISH POUNDS). This monies has been lodged in a bank account in the Uk and as things are shaping now this money is likely to be discovered soon, so i seek your assistance in helping me transfer this money into your account so that it is not discovered. i am ready to offer as much as 50percent of this money to you if you render to assist in transferring this money and the money is transferred successfully. if you are interested in assisting me write me a reply on: CONTACT EMAIL"

Oh ok :P

More pics of WAR's new armour sets

More pics are out of the new armour sets, original post here. Notice this time there's a couple (Zealot and Shadow Warrior) with 3D images that show the sets much better.

Marauder

Squig Herder

Shadow Warrior

Witch Hunter

Zealot

If not before, there should be further stuff coming out soon with Gamescom in a couple of weeks.

Tier 3 tangent

Over the last couple of weeks my WAR gaming took an unexpected turn. A bunch of long term Kill Frenzy players returned to WAR, but there was a bit of a problem for a couple of the lads, as one no longer had his old account and the other had rage deleted his characters and couldn’t get them all restored. So they had to start from scratch and as a result the other returning players and a few other people also re-rolled to give them some company on the path back to Tier 4. Since it makes sense for them to get as high renown rank as possible before starting on Tier 4, this would likely take some time and so I decided I would join in too with my lowbie Marauder. I dabbled a little bit in Tier 2 and then got stuck into Tier 3 in earnest.

Tier 3 on Karak Norn has been incredible. Mass fights all over the zones, but spread out enough that there has been plenty of opportunity for small scale roaming groups like ours. And it’s been like this pretty much every time I have logged on… It’s strange because a couple of months ago when I had my DoK in Tier 3 it was utter crap, yet now everything has changed. I presume either a lot of people also re-rolled or there’s been a big wave of new players.

It’s also highlighted just how good the Tier 3 zones are, with the broad open landscapes in the Elf pairing, the more intricate multi level zones in Orc/Dwarf and then the hybrid of the two that makes up the Chaos/Empire zones.  And man oh man, the battle objectives in Tier 3 just feel so much better than Tier 4. I think it’s a mixture of their placement and the visuals; the huge tower in Talabecland or the Dwarf village in Black Fire Pass for example. I’m not entirely sure why, but the new campaign system seems to work a lot better in Tier 3 than it does in Tier 4. The way players and fights flow around the zones is somewhat more dynamic and dare I say it, tactical. I suspect it’s because each pairing has it’s zones merged so they’re all open at once, there’s no locking zones in a chain thing which perhaps makes it more of a drag. I often think Tier 4 would be so much better if each pairing had all zones open at once and the Campaign had some kind of domination system instead of the locking individual zones.

Anyway, over the 3 years WAR has been running Tier 3 has been a funny old thing; originally it dragged on far too long and then for a long time it just didn’t have enough players in it. For now out of the blue, it’s rocking, on Karak Norn at least and has been a brilliant distraction for a couple of weeks. However it’s still only a temporary phase as most of the guys are now fast approaching worn sov and Tier 4. When they do hit the top tier, I’m planning on playing my Chosen a lot more again, which I’m looking forward to actually. He’s only RR83 and I really should sort that out to at least 90, but you know how it is… always getting distracted by shiny things.

PS I will get that Black Orc return to WAR post up soon.

New Developer discussion posts and some shots of new armour sets

James Casey has posted a discussion thread for feedback on current developments in a general sense, you can find the thread here. In there he has posted 2D screenshots of a few of the new tier 7 armour sets, which I've posted below. Intricate and quite showy as you can see..

Bright Wizard

 Chosen

 Engineer

Shaman

Hopefully we'll get the other sets to post soon. I particularly liked the Orc ones when I saw them at the Mythic visit thing.

Elsewhere Steven Engle has posted a thread for discussion on upcoming Shadow Warrior and Squig Herder changes; link here. Initial thought is I like the changes for my Squiggy (not sure its got enough damage still mind you...), but that doesn't mean they're great for the game as a whole. No that I'm saying they're a bad idea either, it's just I'd like to see what improvements the Magus and Engineer get alongside this, as the range reducing ability is quite a potent thing and life is crap enough for those 2 careers as it is.

Anyways, go get your feedback in and have you say.

A guildie found this Machinima gem

Much lol :)

Gamesday info posted by other folks

I've been listening to the recordings by Artie of the Gamesday presentation and Q&A (nice one Artie btw), which I was taking notes on, but I just noticed that on the WAR forums Telaria has posted a really good summary that is far better than my shoddy notes were, so I shall shamelessly point you in his direction instead.

His presentation post you can find linked here or copied and pasted below. I would recommend visiting the thread to see Telaria's further post on the Q&A, as well as feedback from others and any further clarifications that come out.

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Thanks to Artie for recording it and to Braynz for posting the recordings.


One blurb I got from the recording if i heard right that I hadnt heard anywhere else: in 1.4.4 they're adding a buff to defenders that when you destroy a ram will allow you to fight the attackers and push them back and turn the tide of the battle because people complained that its too hard to defend a keep.


Other than that, heres what I got from the presentation...


1.4.4 (planned for aug30th, but may get pushed back a week):
Buff for defending keep to help turn tide (explained above)
the planned RDPS buffs. (Engi (and Magus?), SW and hopefully SH? No confirmation on any SH love =/ poor gobbos)
Warcamp/guards fixes.
Changing SC quests to associate with weekend warfront SCs.
Generic bug fixes and tome work.
Another SC lineup shakeup.
6v6 GoE making a return.
Wild Hunt LE.


1.4.5 (no date mentioned):
Fort Returns. (explained below)
More targetted C&C changes. (class balance. Hopefully SM/BO? :D)
More Monster Play. Giving progression to Monster Play.
More ORVR changes. Bringing NPCs back in a smaller way.
New Appearance Armor.
Grovod Caverns returns. (finally)


Beyond that:
Alternate SC locations. (Wing Zones like West Praag, Cinderfall, Isle of Dead mentioned)


Towards end of the year:
Crafting. Adding new systems. Make it more fun to do and more useful to players.
Making a system for upgrades to equipment.
Reuse more existing assets or implementing their "stable" of unused assests.
While not including the other cities, they do have assets "connected" to them they want to try and put in.


Forts:
Putting relics in forts. Similar to DAOC. Wont be called a relic. Are in 2 halves. Wont do anything in their neutral state. Must have both halves to get something.
Must defeat fort lord to get it. Will involve Monster Play on Fort Defense allowing you to play as fort lord.
Must run it back through all the other zones back to your fort, has a timer that will force you to pass it to other people and hot potato it so you cant do it solo.
Get the halves together provides realm-wide bonus, undecided what it is.
(Bootae - note these are not linked to the campaign and players can launch relic raids whenever they want)


Grovod Caverns:
No more bridges..except over a chasm (will hopefully not be a punt fest =/)


T7 appearance armor (there was teirs?! This isnt WoW!):
Most ornate and most detailed armors they've put in.
Does not replace DF/WF.
Will most likely come from relics/forts.
(he offers to show all the sets that he has on his HD during QA)
(Bootae - I've seen these armour sets and they are indeed the fanciest looking sets yet and are not re-skins of old stuff)


Vanity pets (*yawn*):
drumming bear, tzeetch familiars. Deciding on giving buffs or not like with speed/scrounging pets (hopefully not).


Recap:
Last year spent time on expansion, boosters, content, ORVR revamp.
This patch spending time on tweaking ORVR a little more, more C&C love, fixing bugs.
Going forward, concentrate on putting forts back in, new SC designs, using alot of stuff they have in reserve that never made it live.
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Telaria is writing up the Q&A right now which will be a rather long post and take a while me thinks, so I would recommend keeping an eye on his posts in that same thread linked above. However I will specifically mention a couple of things now:

In the Q&A there is talk about how at present a lack of resources prevents the whole 40 levels of a new race being developed. Also a bit earlier it was mentioned that the missing cities are unlikely to make it into the game. Now, regarding lack of resources... if you’re shocked, well duh… Of course if something happened to bring people into the game and generate those required resources, well that would change things.

Among the existing assets that Mythic has that are not currently in WAR, there are a some things for Sylvania (classic Vampire undead style land), though James does say that its unlikely they'll do that as a Land of the Dead style area, at the moment. So who knows what might happen there. Also looking at how to refresh Land of the Dead and make it more relevant, which is all good with me.

All told I'm not sure what all the fuss was about on the forums, there's a fair bit happening and sure things are being recycled but if it gives us some different things to do then that's all good. Unless, once again, you're playing game you hate, which would make you a mental.

If I decide I'm unhappy in a game, personally I quit and play something else... kind of like I did with WAR after 1.4. Of course I ended up unhappy in RIFT and came back to WAR, which I'm enjoying again, but if at any point that stops, then I will quit again. I'd recommend this crazy idea of not playing games you don't like, it makes life considerably less stressful and makes you look less of a ring piece.

US Gamesday thing

I wasn't there, sorry. I like WAR and all, but I'm buggered if I'm flying across the pond for it, unless someone covers all my expenses :P There shouldn't be much news from Gamesday really, since Mythic had recently said they would only be talking about the next couple of patches there. Whereas Gamescom later this month and then PAX are likely to be a bit different, but.... NDA, blah sodding blah. Though I shall say once again don't expect the 2nd coming of WAR, you're a mug if you do. Set sights low and that way anything is a bonus :D Besides if you don't like WAR right now you must have quit already, as playing a game you don't like would be retarded, obviously. Which should mean anything at all will be interesting eh? :P Personally after that visit to Mythic HQ recently (via skype on a laptop strapped to a chair..) I am still cautiously optimistic.

Anyways, as soon as there's information from reliable sources from Gamesday then I'll post up links, etc. There are a couple of little bits that were things we couldn't mention before, but also some of what has been said on forums already isn't true and the entire thing so far is incredibly biased by opinion. Also, since things change with time and there's that damned NDA, instead of me stating anything that's out of date or I'm not meant to, for now I'd rather post the links to exactly what was confirmed. Which I will do asap.