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Warhammer Preview Weekend Impressions

Warhammer Preview Weekend Write-up

Here are my thoughts and opinions on the recent Preview Weekend for Warhammer Online. I tried out a bunch of different classes on Friday and Saturday night, and on Sunday stuck with just one all day.

I will start with my class impressions:

Sorcerer: The Sorcerer (or Sorc) was the first out of the gate for me, with my fiancée playing a Witch Elf. I was pleasantly surprised by this class. I knew it could whip out some damage from playing against them earlier in the Beta, but wow I felt like a powerhouse in PvP and PvE. Their mechanic is “Dark Magic” where each spell builds up a certain amount of Dark Magic, typically 10-25 points from what I saw, up to 100 points. Then, I had one spell that did more damage the more Dark Magic I had built up. Once cast, Dark Magic returned to 0 and the process began anew.

The other part of the Sorc’s mechanic is the “backfire” (forgot actual name). This is where the Sorc takes damage himself for casting spells. Mythic made it seem like at first that they would take damage as the Dark Magic meter was close to full, but it seems this is not the case and every cast has a chance to backfire. The tooltips of some spells say “Has a chance to Backfire”. Casting normally in RvR and PvE, I didn’t notice my character taking damage much. It could have been that I was more focused on killing other people and didn’t notice the damage (since the game has this really annoying want to hide your and your groupmate’s health bars for god knows what reason, even when you don’t have full health). But, when I started spam casting their insta-cast/no cooldown PBAOE spell, I noticed that I took damage the majority of the time. It could be that this spell has more of a chance to Backfire, but the chance is not qualified in the tooltip (they all say ‘has a chance’). But at least this discourages the class from spam casting the PBAOE spell, which is a good thing in my opinion.

Overall, I had a blast on the Sorc, especially in RvR. It was really fun to play and it seems like the scenarios I played sort of favored casters.

Witch Elf: I did not play the Witch Elf myself, but I wanted to make a couple comments on the class. They have the “Frenzy” mechanic, which works similar to the Sorc, where the WE builds up Frenzy points, only up to 5 this time. They are essentially ‘combo points’, though they don’t apply specifically to just one opponent, like a WoW Rogue. I noticed that, with my Sorc casting the normal spells and the WE doing its MDPS abilities, the Sorc was doing a bit more damage. However, the WE’s 5-point combo finisher was much more devastating than the Sorc’s 100-point Dark Magic consuming spell. I suppose that this is how they are balancing/differentiating Melee and Ranged DPS. A bit more sustained DPS for Ranged, and a bit more burst on the Melee, though this was the only combination I tried out for this aspect.

Disciple: This was the class I was planning on playing at launch prior to the preview weekend. My first impression of the Disciple was that it was really boring. As a dual wielding healer, I thought the DoK (Disciple of Khaine) would be a lot of fun to play. However, the DWing animations were really boring. Also, they attack fairly slow. So, I was a bit bored at first. However, I got more into it as I gained a few more leveled and got a couple more melee skills. As far as heals, my Disciple so far got an instant heal and another one that was a quick cast (maybe it was even .5 secs) that healed for some upfront then applied a HoT. I didn’t play them at all in RvR during the preview weekend, so I’m not sure how they were in that regard. See Warrior Priest impressions below for some melee-healer RvR impressions.

Warrior Priest: I played this class a lot earlier in the Beta, so I didn’t invest much time into this character during the Preview. I can say that it was mostly the same as before, with some abilities rework. Instead of the weapon throw, they have giving the WP and DoK and 1s cast, low damage spell for pulling mobs. At first I thought it was an actual spell, which seemed weird, but then I noticed that it does negligible damage. This works fine for me, though weapon throw was basically the same, and we could use it while on the run (I actually killed someone in RvR with it trying to run them down). The weapon throw seems to be just for the tanks and melee-dpsers now. Ah well.

The WP’s (and DoK’s) mechanic is “Righteous Fury”, which is a pool of 250 points that are used as an additional cost to healing. Reminder:!!!!!! Works well, sometimes stuck in the back unable to heal when grp in tght spot, can use supplication, but wait for AP too Additionally, melee attacks are used to generate the RF points. So, Mythic is essentially forcing the melee healers to get in the middle and hit stuff in order to heal. The mechanic works basically well, however sometimes when my group was in a tight spot and I dropped back to heal, I found myself without RF points and unable to heal. I would then have to wade in the middle again to build up points for healing, while me group was dying in the meantime. They do also have a skill which converts Action Points into the RF points, which helps but there still seemed to be some moments where I was sitting there unable to heal. Of course this is a normal thing in other games when you go ‘OOM’, however running out of APs and being unable to do anything is so rare in WAR, these moments tended to stand out for me. Not a huge deal, but something to note about the mechanic.

In RvR, I really like the WP. I feel like I can get into the thick of melee combat with the big boys and compete. It takes a bit of watching your health bar, but the WP can stand toe to toe with a tank or melee-DPS, though you will most likely end up on the losing side against a MDPS, it just will take a while for them to kill you. I also feel like I can actually kill other players, which was not the case with the Rune Priest (again, keep reading for the RP impressions). They do decent damage with the 2-hander, and personally it have a blast doing some melee, and also supporting the group with heals.

Rune Priest: I was pleasantly surprised by the RP. Just reading class descriptions, I thought the RP would be the last class in WAR I wanted to play. They are deemed a more defensive healer then the others found in the game. I decided to give them a try, and I had an absolute blast playing one. Mythic has really stuck to their guns about ‘healers not just being healers’. My RP got an insta-dot (as do all casters it seems), a 2s cast DD, and an insta-DD, along with an insta-heal and insta-HoT. That’s right, no castable heals by lvl 8 or so (I know 8 is low, but all of the other healers I played up to this level has some heal with a cast time associated with it). They also got an insta-cast damage bubble that heals the target when the bubble runs out, which was a nice twist on that type of ability. So, my RP had a bunch of damage spells, and instant heals, so I was running around the thick of things like crazy throwing DDs and spots heals where I could. If this is their idea of a defensive healer, I’m sold. Also, their spell affects are AWESOME. The runes coming down in front of them for every cast and the blue circle of electricity around them for their DD spell are just really cool to watch, and they by far has the best affects of any class. While the RP doesn’t do too much damage, they were still viable out in the thick of things for RvR. I could kill some people who didn’t have decent gear, but others I really needed help on. I faced a shammy 1-on-1, and neither of us were able to kill the other. With how AP works, I don’t think the showdown would have ever ended without outside interference. It was a good 2-3 minute battle of us just standing in front of one another casting and healing. It was fun, but showed how the AP mechanic can be a little flawed for healers. We’ll see in big boy RvR.

White Lion: I hated the WL. Not only was WAR’s pet AI completely broken for the preview, the class overall just doesn’t seem fun. Their abilities just seem boring, and I don’t think they are adding much to the experience of WAR. We’ll see once they can actually use their pets…. Oh, and clicking the teeny-tiny icons to change your pet’s state (Passive, Aggressive, etc) are horrendously hard to click on even when not in combat. This needs to be addressed.

Black Orc: The BO was the class I played all day Sunday, and I had a lot of fun with the big oaf. This is the most enjoyable time I’ve had with a tank in any MMO. Their ability affects are cool, and I really like the ability to taunt in RvR. They can also take a pounding out in RvR. These guys (or any tank) with a healer out there will be quite hard to kill without a lot of effort. That being said, I probably will not play one at release. Tanks in general don’t fit my play style, and although I was having fun with it, I found myself getting kind of bored in PvE. I know WAR isn’t about PvE but I’ll be looking at another archetype at launch.

Their mechanic mirrors the Swordmaster’s, which uses a 3-combo system. An opening attack (No Plan!) brings you to the second levels of attacks (Da Gud Plan!), use one of the level two attacks and you get to level 3 (Da Best Plan!), where you unleash your most powerful attacks, and then are reset back to the opening attack. It is a pretty fun system, especially when you get a range of attacks at each level. Some attacks have dots, snares, or even buffs for your defensive target, so you can mix up your combos to your liking or as the need arises. It worked pretty well, and it definitely spices up a tank’s life of “Taunt, Taunt, Taunt, repeat” seen in most games.

All in all, I will most likely still be playing a Disciple at launch. My play style has always revolved around a healer who can still hit stuff too, and playing Destruction, this is my one option. If given the choice I would take the Warrior Priest over the Disciple, just for my preference of using a 2-hander over Dual Wielding. Anyway, they are basically the same class, and my one consolation is that I get to ride a Cold One as my mount…..

RvR: RvR is a blast in this game. I had a lot of fun in the scenarios, which was most of the experience I had in RvR over the Preview. The Scenarios are much more exciting and fast-paced than anything seen in WoW. To start, the time limit is 15 minutes for all 3 of the scenarios I played. This is very refreshing, especially coming form a game where a single battleground could last 2 hours. The points accumulate fast and there’s never really a point where I was just sitting around waiting to win or lose, I always thought I could squeeze or a few more RPs or XPs, or try to take another node to turn the tide of the battle. That being said, however, it seems pretty hard for a a team who falls behind early to turn the corner. That could also be attributed to the lack of organization and guilds in the single Preview. I am sure that once guilds get in these Scenarios and get organized, things will be much less “zergy”.
The fighting itself, though, is a bit slower than we have seen before. Mythic has made quite an effort to prevent “one-shotting” and people getting killed before they can take any action. They want to give people a chance to defend themselves, regardless of the difference of gear or level difference (within a Scenario anyway, which are level capped). I think this works well, and fosters an environment where you can’t just spam one ability or style to win. You need to utilize a much broader range of abilities and skills in order to win in the prolonged fights, which is a big plus of the game. Even when outmatched, hopefully people can spend more time fighting and less time respawning.

I explored a bit of world RvR, which was much less populated than the Scenarios during the weekend. I wandered into a world PvP area (which is clearly marked on the map) that Destruction controlled (I was playing Destruction at the time). There was no Destruction to be found, the only thing I found was 4 or 5 higher level Order players that promptly killed me. I then respawned at a camp in the last zone I was in, and didn’t really want to run all the way back down to the other zone in order to be overrun again. I did get a chance to play open world RvR in the Beta however, and it seemed like it could be a lot of fun, with the same kind of back and forth RvR as seen in DAoC. There are objectives to capture, along with keeps and towers. However, the open world PvP areas in the lower levels are much smaller than anything seen in endgame RvR in DAoC. These are not the Frontiers; they are small concentrated areas of fighting. Which is definitely good so you aren’t wandering around looking for a fight all the time, but I think it may cut down on the immersion factor a little bit, as it lacks of the feeling of ‘I’m out roaming this vast area to purge the mother land of invading scum’. This may change in the later tiers, but I didn’t have a chance to check these out.

PvE and Public Quests: First of all, the single player PvE, which mostly consists of doing quests ala WoW, is very boring and unimaginative. It is essentially a system ripped right from others games, mainly WoW, meant to assuage the PvE crowd. In the Preview, once you were out of the initial starting towns, in which the quests were usually clear and easy to find, it seemed the quests lose a bit of focus and polish, and it is much easier to be wandering around aimlessly looking for a quest mob/item, even considering the general area of the objective is marked on your map. The system really isn’t fresh or engaging at all, and I probably would give up on leveling if this was the only way to level.

Not only do you get a bunch of XP from RvRing, especially in Scenarios, but you also get good XP for the Public Quests. I won’t go into super detail on the whole system, but I’ll just offer some impressions for now. Anyone and everyone from your realm can join in on a Public Quest. The group must meet certain objectives along the way to finally spawning a boss to kill. Once the boss is killed, people get ranked for their participation, and then the game randomly rolls for each person. A final place is given to the top participants at the finish, and this determines if you receive loot or not. Usually the top 3 to 6 (that I saw) got a loot bag, with higher finishers getting a better bag. The loot bag contains loot specifically tailored to your character, including gear for your class, recipes/supplies for your trade skills, or even gold. You can then choose one item from the bag and the bag disappears. I have mixed feeling about this system. The good is that it prevents ninja looting, and ensures that if you get a bag, you can use what is in there (unless you have already gotten the same bag before…. The loot doesn’t change for the same PQ). The bad is the random rolling. You can finish 1^st in participation and then be randomly ranked 18^th place at the end and not get anything. You can also rank 18^th in participation and turn around a place 2^nd at the end (I personally saw both during the weekend). Certainly, this is keeping with the spirit of random loot rolls, but it is a bit disheartening to bust your butt getting high participation, and then not be rewarded at the end.

A small consolation is the Influence system (think Reputation in WoW). By doing PQ, you gain Influence with the town the PQ is related to. Once you reach certain levels of Influence, you can choose rewards, which are again tailored to your character. The first level is usually a choice of potions, the second is usually some small gear (usually things like boots or a belt), and the third and final level are the biggest rewards, typically weapons or chest pieces. I saw myself reaching the highest level of Influence at a couple different towns by doing the full Public Quests about twice. This seems reasonable to me, especially since once you finish up one area, when you hit the next town you have another PQ and another set of Influence rewards that will replace your old ones. You don’t want to have to put in too much time for the rewards since they are usually replaced quickly.

Conclusion: Overall, I am really looking forward to the launch of WAR. During the Beta, I got a little unexcited about the game due to the delays and the instability of the game. I am extremely happy with the progress it has made, and this past weekend has left me itching for more. I, once again, can’t wait for its release.

Note: It really looks like Destruction will be the overpopulated realm in this game. I know usually you see a lot of people roll the “good” side in a game, for typical looking humans and Elves, but Order has consistently been the underdog throughout Beta and the Preview weekend. Throughout the weekend I have noticed a significantly shorter queue time for Order than Destruction. I know it is only a short time away, but I think it could be something to consider if you all care that much.

Bioshock... after a long hiatus

Note: This post was started on 3/4/08.... I've been horrendously slacking on the blog since then, due to finishing up college, moving from NY to CA, and starting a job. I plan to actually start updating this on a daily basis (hey... I hear laughter...). But seriously, I really want to try and create a habit out of updating, no matter how small. So stay tuned for actual updates!

I've finally finished Bioshock, after getting it the day it came out and playing it off and on since then. Here are my thoughts. (I don't want to call these reviews, since I don't really want to go into too much depth relating to sound and graphics like a typical review. They are just my thoughts regarding the games).

Bioshock is one of the best games I've played in a while. And by "a while" I mean that I haven't played a game since Metal Gear Solid 2 that so wonderfully entwines story and action (I never played MGS3, mind you, but since it didn't really further the MGS2 story, I don't count it in the MGS storyline). The setting of the game is such a high achievement of imagination, and Irrational Games/2K Boston/Marin did a wonderful job of drawing players in to an incredibly unique, and many times disturbing, landscape.

Another aspect of Bioshock is its intensity. Lately, shooters have really lacked the seat-of-your-pants, HOLY SHIT ITS CHASING ME-type feel that really makes a great experience. The Doom series really pulled this off well, especially Doom 3, and I really find that aspect of the game compelling. True, sometimes it forces you to take a break from the game for fear of having a heart attack, but it keeps you coming back. All of the enemy-AI technology in the world means nothing to me personally without the "fear" aspect, and I think that is what a lot of modern shooters lack as they look towards more realistic settings. Even Halo, with its sci-fi setting, seems a bit too "military" and formulaic. Of course, Halo has great sequences to break things up, but it never really gives you that fear of what's around the next bend. Bioshock has that, and its amazing. I tried to get Meghan playing a few times, but she kind of fell off due to the intensity of it. Hell, I almost did at times too, but I kept coming back because of the story, which is an aspect that Doom lacks. There were a bunch of great twists and turns, and an amazing story scene near the end that had my jaw dropping.

To cut this a bit short before you get bored... Bioshock is great, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a great game experience and who enjoys shooters with a sci-fi/fantasy/RPG twist. It will be on my list of great games for a long time to come....

Naruto Arena

Ok, so I have been slacking on my new gaming blog (I've been meaning to post my thoughts on Bioshock, having recently beaten it). It's all because of a game. A fairly simple little game called Naruto Arena. It is a free online game created and maintained by some Naruto fans. It is incredibly addicting. I play it every possible moment I can.

Let me break down the basic premise of the game. You pick three characters from across the Naruto storyline (up to the end of the "real" storyline of the original series, they are actually working on adding Shippuuden content right now). You then start a game and you are matched up against another opponent's 3 person team. You are matched based upon your ranking (more on this later). The game is turned based, with each person getting 60 seconds to select abilities each round. The abilities you choose are based on the characters on your team. Each character has 4 total abilities, with 3 unique abilities, and the ability to go invulnerable for one round. Abilities cost chakra. There are 4 types of chakra (Red, White, Blue, Green), and each of the abilities requires some amount of specific chakra and/or random chakra. You get 1 chakra per person alive on your team per turn (i.e. 3 a turn if all characters are alive). Each character has 100 health and the game ends when all characters are dead. Abilities have various effects. Some do damage, while others disable/debuff the opposing team or buff your own team.

In short, it is a lot like Magic: The Gathering, the card game. Chakra is like land, abilities are like cards in your deck, and you have a three person team basically. And similarly to Magic, Naruto Arena is very strategy intensive. You need to know what everyone one your team can do, and what situations the abilities are useful in, as well as know the characters and abilities your opponent is using, and how to prepare for them. When Rock Lee opens his 5th gate, you better believe he is about the lay the hurtin on your characters, so you better do anything you can to prevent damage for the next two rounds, or two of your characters will be dead. So, you better make sure each turn you know what is happening in the game. With this combination of deep strategy and luck embedded within the game, it is incredibly engaging. At this point, I have played over 150 games and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

This replayability is due to the Ninja Missions in the game, which are used to unlock characters. you gain the ability to complete missions as you move higher up the Ladder Rankings. The missions are things like "Win 4 games in a row with Naruto" or "Beat Gaara with Sasuke in your party 2 times" or any combination of these types of requirements. Some of the later missions require you to complete like 20 different objectives before the mission is complete. The missions basically follow the storyline of the series, and allow you to unlock powerful characters like Orochimaru and Jiraiya. There are a TON of missions, and you can be working on the objectives of all of them at once, as long as you meet the requirements. I want Kakashi!!

The only minor gripes I have with the game are the fact that is slightly buggy, and a bugged game can ruin a streak objective you have going, as you could automatically lose due to a bug or lag issue. Also, you are only allowed 60 seconds for your turn.

As I write this, there are over 3500 people logged in and playing Naruto Arena. It is really, really fun. So, if you are a fan of Naruto, or Magic, or any type of deep thinking game, I would suggest you give it a try. It is a ton of fun and a perfect distraction for class :-p.

Naruto Arena Enjoy!

Funny Smash Bros Video: Kirby!

Here's the video to show everyone that Meggo requested :-p




FALCON PUUNCH!

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

Ok, so i pretty much have annoyed everyone in earshot of me with my rantings about Warhammer (especially poor Meghan, my fiancee). Needless to say, I am eagerly anticipating its release :). Also, I am currently playing the beta for the game, but of course I can't mention anything about it due to the NDA. However, I aim to be compiling a list of beta impressions and information about the game as the beta progresses, so I can slap it all down on the web as soon as the NDA is lifted.

For those of you who don't know, WAR is being created by Mythic Entertainment, the developers of Dark Age of Camelot (which I was engrossed in for about 3 and a half years, and recently romped around it again because I was bored). Mythic has since by acquired by the evil empire, Electronic Arts (booooooooooo). Hopefully, WAR doesn't suffer for this down the road.
DAoC was known for its top notch PvP content (called Realm vs. Realm by Mythic... and don't called it PvP to their faces or they'll whine). As such, WAR will feature the same type of 'RvR' combat, focusing on keep sieges, city sieges, and also Scenarios (or Battlegrounds).

Anyway, I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of this post is, because if you want info about WAR, you probably already have it, and if you don't you won't read my rantings anyway.

Just wanted to give people the heads up to look for beta impressions when possible, and I;m gonna try to dig up some videos to give people a glimpse of the game.

Some links for info and forum trolling:

WAR Vault (IGN)
WAR RvR
Warhammer Alliance

Mass Effect, Epilogue

Ok, so it seems I'm not the only one with some ill will towards Mass Effect (see two posts down). Apparently the guys over at Penny Arcade aren't huge fans either. Here's a link to the first of their 'Nitpicking: Mass Effect' strips. Press next on the site to view 2 and 3.

Nitpicking: Mass Effect, Part One

The second one is great :-p.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Before I run to the gym this morning, I wanted to try my hand at embedding a video... (I know it's simple but html hates me....)

Here's a video of all the 'Final Smashes' from Brawl, for those of you haven't seen it. I am really looking forward to its release (March 9th!). Melee was the only game I gave a lot of play time to on Gamecube, and Brawl will most likely be the same for the Wii.




I, of course, will be looking forward to pwning with my usual two characters, Link and Ganondorf, while trying out the new chars (Wario looks like fun!).

Mass Effect

Mass Effect is an action-RPG from BioWare, makers of KOTOR and the Baldur's Gate series. Mass Effect has received rave reviews about its greatness in story and game play.

I've played about an hour and a half of Mass Effect. I really never want to play it again.

I was fully expecting a game on par with KOTOR, and well, its not. Let's take the Star Wars out of KOTOR for a second... is it even interesting any more? I would say yes. You have interesting, witty characters and dialog, game play that is interesting, and RPG elements that make the player want to reach the next skill and power (even if we are taking the Star Wars out, there are still powers). So, we still have a pretty fun game.

Not so for me in Mass Effect. First of all, the characters are so uninspiring. They look great in screen shots for sure, but once they start moving around, they seem like they are mannequins. They have no emotion on their faces and they talk like robots. There's no witty conversation like we see from Carth, Atton, and HK-47 in KOTOR.

The story is basically your standard sci-fi fare (i.e. a Star Wars clone). Of course it doesn't have to feel like this with good story telling, but it feels too much like a bad clone. It feels too much like they were trying to make a story as "Star Wars" as possible without actually using the license, and it just doesn't feel quite right. I could care less about any of these characters, or the world that is about to be destroyed.

So the character and story shortcomings could be made up for by great, addictive game play, right? Unfortunately, Mass Effect manages to ruin the game play too. The game plays a lot like Gears of War. Yes, I said Gears of War, a 3rd-person shooter. I wish someone has told me this before I bought the game. It would have changed my expectations a lot. So you spend a lot of time behind cover, waiting to take shots on your enemies. but unlike Gears of War, where enemies have to reload, the enemies in Mass Effect always seem to have ammo and are ready to shot you in the head as soon as you pop out. Its incredibly frustrating. Also, the other members of my party are complete idiots, so they will stand out in the open and die, leaving me to fend for myself against like 10 enemies.
So, what about the "Force Powers", you ask? Well, they have named the "Force" something else, and I forget the dumb name they gave it. So, My half Soldier, half Force-wielder started out with "Force Push" and some other talent. Unfortunately, the genius game designers at BioWare set the button to use your power to the same button as changing your power, where you simply press to use and hold to change. However, the change power threshold is incredibly sensitive, so most of the time you want to use a power, you end up going to the menu to change the power, and then you have to release it and try again, all the while you of course are being shot at by your dead-eye enemies. Also, you have to be right next to your enemy to use force push, you would have to first run straight at it in order use the power, and again you are under fire the whole time. Once again, this is incredibly frustrating.

So, maybe the game gets amazing if you play more than an hour and a half. Maybe not, but I will never know, because I have no desire ever to pick it up again. I know I should, but I'd rather be playing something enjoyable (such as the current MMO or Bioshock again).

First Post!

Yay I've created a blog! I make no promises on how long I will keep it or how much I'll post. I will also blog about things other than games, such as movies and music, but mostly games probably.

So anyway, enjoy my rantings about random stuff....