Warhammer Online. An unfortunate (european) start. - by Gryzemuis
belboz on 10/9/2008 at 14:19
I was actually told I was too old to test this game, even though I got to test lord of the rings online, so this is a game am not even going to get due to that.:weird:
june gloom on 10/9/2008 at 18:14
Too old?
...
Fringe on 10/9/2008 at 20:54
Ah, the wonders of demographic marketing.
Don't you know that you're too old to enjoy the things that you do? Why don't you go do the things you're told, like a good consumer? We can't use you for word-of-mouth advertising with our target age group.
Gryzemuis on 11/9/2008 at 14:43
I guess it would be fair if I said something after I got into the Open Beta.
I finally got in. Played a bit last night, with 2 friends. It seems everybody with a key got in now. We have 3-4 days left in the Open Beta.
Once you get in, the game is decent. I haven't decided yet whether I will play it. It's also a little early to determine if this game has a great future. But after playing a bit, and reading a bit, I think I understand what this game wants to achieve.
I've played a lot of World of Warcraft. Like many others here. WoW is a weird game, if you consider the fact it is build on two pillars, who are imho not really compatible. There is the original WoW game. You level slowly to 60 (70 now, soon 80). You do quests, explore the world, explore dungeons, live through adventures. You play with others to achieve your goal. You slowly grind your gear. Your gear helps you to progress through the game. But it also is a sign of how far you have progressed.
The other pillar is pvp. The big contradiction is: pvp players want exciting pvp battles. But at the same time, half the people completely outgear the other half. Where's the competitive aspect in that ? I also noticed that pvp players do not wish to level a new character, they just want a lvl70 druid, so they "can pown with their dudu in arenas". Pvp players grind the same 4 battleground over and over again. (And 60%+ of the time that's Alterac Valley). Pvp (arenas) removed all professions. No need to grind potions. Pvp has hardly any repair costs. You don't need to travel to a battleground or arena (they are in every city, and they are linked). You get blue pvp gear for free. You get purple pvp gear for losing in arenas and BGs. There is no Random Number Generator involved in pvp loot. Pvp is easy.
I think Warhammer is going to follow that trend. Funcom tried it too in some aspects. Easy leveling. Smaller areas. Simple quests, short questlines. Quest locations are marked for you on the map. Lots of loot. Simple game mechanics. And on top of that, battlegrounds, battleground. Battlegrounds are just a zerg. In WOW, and I don't think in WAR it will be different. Join the BG, stand in a crowd and zerg the lone opponent players. Doesn't matter if you win or lose, you get gear anyway.
I don't like this direction. I don't necessarily want a hardcore game that requires you to invest half your life. But I would like something that requires you to use your brain once in a while. Maybe this is why people think WAR is targeted to a younger audience ?
Shakey-Lo on 11/9/2008 at 16:56
I don't see how grinding potions, repair costs, travel time, grinding for gear, or random number generators require you to "use your brain".
PvE grinding is pretty much the antithesis of using your brain.
Yes, I was a PvP player. I kicked the WoW habit long ago, though.
Also, PvP does, if you're doing it right, require "playing with others" (the best aspect of world PvP for me was the social aspect) and leads to adventures that are a lot less scripted and a lot more dynamic than PvE encounters. (Admittedly less so in the Battlegrounds, which were introduced shortly before I quit, and I hated them)
june gloom on 11/9/2008 at 19:59
Quote Posted by Shakey-Lo
PvE grinding is pretty much the antithesis of using your brain.
Finally someone gets it.
I wouldn't bother arguing with LittleFlower; he's a hardcore WoW kiddie.
Koki on 12/9/2008 at 04:33
Quote Posted by Shakey-Lo
PvE grinding is pretty much the antithesis of using your brain.
While I generally agree, believe it or not but I've seen people actually fail at grinding.
And what the hell is PvE? It's PvM.
Tonamel on 12/9/2008 at 04:49
Player vs Enemy. Y'know, because they're not always monsters. Sometimes they're just evil folk.
And while I was admittedly late to the MMO game, I've never seen it called PvM anywhere. It's always been PvE.
And yeah, grinding is pretty mindless, but sometimes that's all I want out of a game.
PigLick on 12/9/2008 at 06:44
yeh its true, sometimes all you want is a bit of grinding
Fafhrd on 12/9/2008 at 06:52
So long as there's some bumping mixed in.