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So After the confusion over the grace period for using the beta keys was resolved, I decided that it was a launch hiccup that I could forgive EA/Mythic for and continued to play Warhammer. Here are some of my brief thoughts with two characters (one which is finally going to get to see tier two content, yay!):

• Marauders are a ton of fun. It’s a heavy melee DPS class where you can juggle between different arm mutations. The mutations basically behave like a warrior’s different stances in WoW and give you different benefits and abilities. I can go into a PQ as Monstrosity and come in first place on the contribution each time.
• Scenarios are a lot of fun if you have the right group. Much like in WoW, you can get stuck with a group of people who are inexperienced and totally suffer. Also, while players levels are boosted to be able to keep up with the higher-level characters, the lack of gear and new abilities still make them easy kills. So you want a group consisting of people high for the bracket, just like in WoW.
• Getting most of your gear based on Renown and Influence is such a wonderful thing compared to grinding honor or on raid dungeons (and maybe even dealing with DKP). You can get the hottest gear without having to spend months on it, but it still feels like a reward.
• Adam Sessler put it best when he said that PvP feels more like PvE. It’s not so one-sided as other games.
• The open RvR areas are even more fun than scenarios. You actually feel like you are accomplishing something by pushing back the enemy and unlocking areas for your own race.
• NO ONE TALKS. This is a big drawback for people who like to play socially. I’ve had a few people send me tells without shilling gold, but on the most part the main chat channels are empty. Why bother when groups are open by default and you can join without begging? Of course, I haven’t said much myself outside of /g chat, except “OMG STAY ON FORT U GET MOAR POINTS, NUBS!” (just kidding, but its true)
• Public Quests are the best thing to happen to MMO’s since they became graphical. Seriously.
• The Inevitable City is expansive, dark, and beautiful. And more content is unlocked as the city “levels up”. What a fun concept.
• Even on my fairly-recent phat gaming system in public quests or RvR situations where a lot is going on, my framerates drop. The game needs some polish.
• Clipping bugs, lag-induced mob teleporting, and other visual bugs are annoying.
• We need a “Target of Target” and clickable item links. I’m so used to those in WoW that it is freaking annoying.
• Healing is awkward compared to healing in WoW. There, I said it.
• Items, while having different names and way different stats, tend to have the same visual model and skins. That is NOT cool. If I max out my rewown at level 40 and get a baddass staff of ass-kicking, I want it to look like it will kill anything in sight. I don’t want it to look like the staff I started the game with.
• If I roll a male sorceress, make the robes look less feminine and let him be called a sorcerer. Please?
• The guild tools and controls are a lot more thought out than Blizzard has ever done with WoW. They could learn a thing or two from Mythic’s design team in this regard. Plus, having the guild itself level up encourages unity and can help keep guilds together in tough times as there is a common goal.

That’s all I have for now. I think I’ll keep playing both WoW and WAR for a bit, but eventually one will win out and the other will be a relic on my shelf and good memories in my head.

So as you may have read on this very blog, I pre-ordered a copy of Warhammer Online and have been extremely excited about playing the game. All my reviews have turned up positive. Well, that is until I learned today that I won’t get to play on its opening weekend.

I apparently made the mistake of ordering the game from Amazon.com with standard shipping. The box would not arrive until September 22nd, but that was cool because according to the Warhammer Online website I would have a grace period extended out until the 22nd. I wouldn’t need the key until that point and could continue playing using the “Head Start” key provided to me digitally.

Awesome, I thought. No sweat. Amazon has been wonderful about shipping things on time in the past, so I thought I’d be set. Maybe at most I’d miss one evening.

Well, today in the news alerts for the game, dubbed “The Herald”, we learned that the grace period will extend only until the morning of the 19th! Yes, that’s right! They waited until the day of the launch, when the game has already shipped for most online pre-order purchasers, to change the date of the grace period.

Now, since the game has shipped, I can’t call up Amazon.com and pay for expedited shipping. I’m basically screwed. I won’t have a CD key until Monday, and won’t be able to play the game during the weekend.

That is piss-poor customer service and is outrageous to think that if I wanted to play this weekend, I’d have to plunk down another $50 for another copy. That is NOT going to happen. I wag my finger at you, EA and Mythic both. This is a bait and switch.

There is a massive forum post on the unofficial forums about this. 60 pages as of my last viewing of it. It doesn’t sound like EA/Mythic will be changing their tunes on this.  After this and the Spore DRM debacle, how can I honestly stand by and endorse an EA product? I can’t.

UPDATE: My account is now active and I can play the game. The official work came from Mark Jacobs at EA in a post on the IGN forums. They have decided to change the grace period back to September 22nd. Hooray!

Like my good friend BJ, I am playing Warhammer Online post-beta. I’m enjoying it so far. There are similarities to WoW and other MMO titles, but it has a feel all its own with fast-paced RvR and PvP that is actually enjoyable instead of a pain in the rear like WoW PvP can be.

I don’t know what to do about WoW though. I still love that game and don’t really want to quit playing it, but I don’t know if there is room in my life for two MMO’s. I think I’ll continue both for just a little while and see which one wins in the end.

Maybe I’ll decide to become amish and shun all of this stuff on teh interwebz.

Until then you can find me on the Iron Rock server playing on the Destruction side of things. My main is Bratta, who is an up and coming Shaman.

I pre-ordered Mythic’s Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning a while back and was lucky enough to get a beta code for the open beta which started last Sunday. Those of you who know me know that I am a fan of the MMO genre and have tried a lot of them, but none have stood up to my current first love World of Warcraft.

So far I have been playing Destruction, which is what I intend to play when the final game is released. Yes, I have gone Destruction, which is completely opposite to choosing the Alliance on World of Warcraft. Why did I do that? Mainly because it is change. I’d like to play characters with a bit more interesting of a look, and the Greenskins definitely allow for that. Also, the abilities of the Greenskins have fun names such as “Stabbity“, “Look Over There!“, “Big Waaagh!“, “You’z Squishy“, and my favorite “Right in da Jibblies“. How can you resist such names?

So far I have created and played two characters: a Shaman and a Squig Herder.

The Shaman is a character that can heal or DPS, but does not use totems like its WoW counterpart. The healing is done primarily through spells that have a “heal over time” component making him great for PvP. The DPS output is kind of low at the lower levels (especially compared to that of a class like a Marauder), but it is passable and if you spec deep enough in to Gork you can actually acheive some pretty sexy damage output.

The Squig Herder commands a variety of different squigs (which look like a vicious Pac-man with legs and sharp, pointy fangs). Each squig has a different purpose, including “Squig Armor” which is a squig that will eat you, allowing you to control it and become more of an effective melee character. Otherwise you can send your squig in and fire your arrows from a distance (even while on the move, which is awesome).

Playing this character is similar to a hunter in World of Warcraft, but noticeably different in many ways. For example, you can’t name your squigs. Each one you summon is a different squig and it is used as a tool, it is not really a companion. You don’t become attached. Also, you don’t go around looking for squigs to tame. They are just summoned as soon as you get the ability. Finally you aren’t pigeonholed into a single type of DPS. You can spec to be more effective with ranged DPS, melee DPS, or short-ranged “on the move” DPS. It’s pretty versatile.

I plan on creating several new characters before beta is over (even trying the Order side of things) and playing lots of RvR before deciding how to go once the final game comes out. But I can tell you now that this game is a BLAST to play and has so far met or exceeded all the expectations I have had for it.

The overall game play is a blast. Public Quests are so much fun to participate in (even with 30+ people since the beta servers are crowded) and the PvE content is entertaining. Of course, the game shines with the RvR scenarios and PvP, but there is seriously something here for everyone. Well, considering the level cap of 20 on the beta, I can’t speak for raiding and whatnot, but honestly if you want an endless grind you’re better off with WoW anyway.

Surprisingly, the number of bugs on beta haven’t been too bad, and Mythic is quick on getting them resolved. Everyday there has been a new patch of some sort on the beta realms. It already feels a lot more solid than SOME MMO games I’ve played on launch (*cough*Tabula Rasa and Age of Conan*cough*).

If anyone reading this happens to be playing the beta, look for me on Ekrund as bratta, webratta, mabratta, etc. Anything ending in bratta is probably me.