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BioWare talks Warhammer Online's forthcoming expansions

Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Warhammer Online, News items

In a recent GDC 2010 interview with UGO, BioWare's Dr. Ray Muzyka said of Warhammer Online, "Right now it's [a] really profitable business unit within my group." Muzyka went on to say they've actually seen more people come into the game since enacting the free-to-play model on the game's earlier levels, and that he personally felt they were working.

In fact, by the sounds of it, Warhammer Online is due for some interesting announcements in the future. Another of Muzyka's comments on the title was, "We have new content planned and all kinds of cool expansions for it." We don't know how much more clear cut a message can be than that. And hey, it's good news! We're looking forward to our playable Skaven and Lizardmen, Mythic and BioWare.

A look at leveling in World of Tanks

Filed under: Historical, Game mechanics, New titles, Leveling, Free-to-play, World of Tanks

World of Tanks is in a class by itself -- if you want to play a vehicle-based MMO focused around motorized armor units, there simply isn't another option available. And while there were more than a few jokes at the time of its announcement, successful games with a strong vehicle focus exist already. But the core of a game like this is going to be the vehicles themselves, both their diversity and their interesting traits to set each one apart from its peers. The developers have released the access trees for all three main nations in the game -- Germany, the USA, and the USSR -- giving hopeful players an idea of what they can use to thunder about the countryside.

Spanning the period between World War II and the Korean War, the list is fairly exhaustive, showcasing the diversity of tanks on the battlefield. The German progression path even includes the Maus, an experimental tank of absurd size that should please fans of bizarre WWII machinery. And if rolling around in a two-story tank doesn't get you excited, well, you're probably not the target audience. All three progress charts can be found on the official site for World of Tanks.

The Daily Grind: How do you like to play?

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, PvP, PvE, Opinion, The Daily Grind

We complain that MMOs are getting narrower and smaller as time goes by, with terms like "themeparks" being thrown around without much affection. But there are still a lot of ways to enjoy yourself in pretty much every game under the sun and games that cater to a wide variety of playstyles on top of that. There are games focused on a strong PvP game (Warhammer Online, EVE Online), games with a focus on PvE content (City of Heroes, Lord of the Rings Online), and others with a split between both (World of Warcraft, Guild Wars).

Even within that wide spectrum, however, there's a fair variety of options. You could focus on the PvE game in EVE Online if you wanted, or even just head off into another direction like roleplaying if you so desired. With all the different ways to enjoy yourself, we ask you today: how do you like to play? Do you prefer PvP, PvE, a mix of both? Or do you prefer alternate progression like crafting or exploration, eschewing the rails that are set down for you by the development team?

More woes with Warhammer Online's new weapons

Filed under: Fantasy, Bugs, Patches, PvP, Warhammer Online, News items


It's a highly-anticipated feature, but it's been causing more than a few headaches for Warhammer Online's developers. We're speaking, of course, about the RvR weapons that were one of the large features of patch 1.3.4 and have been proving rather awkward in implementation. The short version is that when prices were lowered in a recent live change, there was a bit of an unintended rush of progression, which the developers stepped in as quickly as possible to fix. The problem arose with the people who had been progressing legitimately and wound up finding themselves denied their weapons and the corresponding achievements.

The development team has posted a new item asking for players to petition the GMs in a specific fashion to resolve the issue, as well as giving some insight into what went wrong with the whole fix. In short, when they asked players to petition, they didn't ask for enough information the first time around. The statement includes an apology and an assurance that the matter will be quickly escalated for resolution. While it's been an unfortunate period of back and forth for Warhammer Online, hopefully the issue is finally resolved and players can begin enjoying their new battle-earned weaponry once again.

One Shots: Good is a relative term

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Warhammer Online, One Shots

According to some, the forces of Order are supposed to be the 'good' guys. There again, we've probably all had that moment when we checked out the gear on a dead NPC and wished we could pick it up because it looked cool -- or at least beat the crap out of whatever we were carrying at the time. Today's Warhammer Online One Shots comes to us from John P. who decided to speak up as a couple of NPC were about to bury one of the fallen heroes. He writes:

In Warhammer Online, there's a little scripted event in the Elf starter zone where some elves are sending off one of their dead lords. Seems like a shame to waste all that good equipment. Yes, I was just trying to be cute.

Seen (or done) something silly in your favorite MMO recently? If so, we'd love to see screenshots of it. Just send those to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and the game it's from. Make sure to add in a quick note about what we're seeing, too. We'll post it here and give you the credit for it!

Warhammer Online tweaking their weapon prices

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, PvP, Warhammer Online, News items

The problem with testing things in any MMO is that so much is contingent upon who decides to log in to the test servers and how much they're willing to play. Ultimately, for all we hate untested dungeons or mechanics or whatever, the only real test for them is to have them go live. Warhammer Online hasn't had too many problems with their most recent patch, but the exact pricing of the newly-introduced RvR weapons has been a bit of a sticky widget. So they've done the most responsible thing possible: they've gone ahead and tweaked the pricing right away.

Low-Renown weapons are the most affected by the price cut, but every weapon has been given a nice drop in cost to make the more accessible. The full announcement goes into some detail about the philosophy behind it, no doubt part of the effort at increased transparency from the development team. Best of all, there's no delay in the changes -- they've already gone live and can be enjoyed by all players. So if you feared the long march in Warhammer Online for a decent weapon from RvR and for RvR, you've had a lucky day indeed.

EVE Evolved: Staying safe in high security space

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Game mechanics, Guides, PvP, Tips and tricks, EVE Evolved

One of EVE Online's defining factors is the idea that you're not completely safe anywhere in the game. If you're not docked in a station or securely logged off, there's always a chance that someone will pick a fight with you. Many pilots opt to stay in the relative safety of high security space but even this isn't an absolutely safe area. Suicide attacks, corporate wars, can flippers and loot thieves are a common sight in New Eden and if you don't know how to handle them, you could find yourself on the business end of a 150mm railgun.

In this guide for newer EVE players, I look at the main threats you could be exposed to in high security space and how to keep yourself safe in spite of them.

Get your drink on with an epic Warhammer beer stein

Filed under: Fantasy, Warhammer Online, News items

Hey Warhammer Online fans! Are you looking for an awesome stein to quaff your favorite ale from, while tearing it up in PvP? Perhaps your tastes run more to the Mountain Dew side of the road? Whatever your particular drink of choice is, Mythic has you covered with their Order of the Griffon and Raven Host stoneware steins.

Offered in Epic (pictured) and Legendary style, these collector's steins are covered in the art of Michael Phillippi or Eric Polak, depending on if you pick the Order or Raven design. They also come with a code for a special in-game beer stein for your character as well. You can /drink while you drink -- very meta. Players will also get a 15% experience, renown & influence bonus for 120 minutes, which doesn't suck either.

Warhammer Online gets a new producer's letter

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Patches, Warhammer Online


Hot on the heels of the 1.3.4 patch, we've received another letter from Warhammer Online's producer discussing the state of the game and its immediate future. Carrie Gouskos, who has apparently inherited the position formerly held by Bruce MacLean and Jeff Skalski, has taken the opportunity to share information of the coming updates to the game. It's also a chance for a new outline of how the team wishes to improve upon community relations, with the promise of more frequent news and updates along with early player involvement in the testing process.

In addition for soliciting players for loading screen tips, the letter talks about what can be expected with the next two small patches for the game, 1.3.5 and 1.3.6. The former is slated to shift the core experience of cities and city sieges to an RvR experience, emphasizing PvP combat and with encounters balanced to shift based on population sizes. On the other hand, the latter is going to examine armor sets closely and try to provide a redesign for maximum player benefit. Warhammer Online fans can look forward to more about these features in the coming months, with any luck.

[Updated] WAR 1.3.4 patch coming soon, brings Scenario and City Siege enhancements plus more

Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Warhammer Online, News items

Warhammer Online's 1.3.4 patch has gone live as of today is coming soon. The update includes a torrent of changes with a primary focus on streamlining Scenarios -- the game's beloved-yet-flawed open-ended PvE encounters easy-to-access PvP instances -- and City Sieges. These changes are aimed at pleasing the game's community, who've been giving plenty of feedback to Mythic.

The original problem with Scenarios were a matter of player population. If you didn't have enough people to complete a 5 or 10-person start a Scenario, well, you were waiting in queue forever. Hopefully, the issue of achieving "critical mass" should all be in the past with the 1.3.4 patch. While new weapon rewards are being added to Scenarios, not everything is making the cut. Less popular Scenarios have been removed, although Mythic is promising that some will return in special weekend events.

For an in-depth explanation of the Scenario changes, look no further than this awesome developer post. You can also find a shortlist of the various updates and improvements after the break. Or, if you prefer, you can find the full breakdown of patch 1.3.4 on Warhammer Online's official patch notes section.

Update: Due to the 1.3.4 patch not going live as scheduled, we've updated the post to reflect as much. Additionally, we've corrected factual errors as well. Our apologies to anyone confused by the original post.

Development diary explains the Warhammer Online changes

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Patches, PvP, Warhammer Online

The rebalancing of Warhammer Online's Scenarios has been an arduous process for both the players afraid of losing well-loved content and developers trying to narrow down the field to help everything achieve critical mass. After a fair dose of testing and evaluation, they've reached a point where they're comfortable letting development manager Mike Wyatt write up a development diary giving a clearer picture of what informed the rather sweeping changes to the game's structure.

As Wyatt puts it, first of all, trimming the number of Scenarios consolidates the best-liked encounters and weeds out the less-popular versions. Second, a smaller number of Scenarios allows better balancing and tweaking of each, helping improve the overall experience. Lastly, the smaller number can have their rewards more easily brought in line, to avoid making one Scenario much more profitable than others.

What follows is a listing of the Scenarios that will rotate in and out versus those that are constantly available, which seems a bit smaller than the last one we received. The diary makes no mention of population concerns, content loss, or the general community reaction (ranging from "meh" to "no"). Still, with an ambitious change we can only hope that Warhammer Online's revisions prove to be a good thing for the game as a whole.

Warhammer Online giving everyone a butcher's blessing

Filed under: Fantasy, Bugs, Events, in-game, Leveling, Warhammer Online, News items

While the Night of Murder event has been pretty well received by the Warhammer Online crowd, there have been certain persistent issues with the event's mechanics. The staff extended the event slightly in order to try and ameliorate the problem, but it kept sticking around for some reason; one of those relentless bugs that avoids squishing no matter how resolutely you aim for it.

The major sticking point? Butcher's Blessing, a substantial buff to both experience and renown accumulated. While not a game-breaking issue if unresolved, it was certainly obnoxious for anyone looking forward to the improved growth rates. As a result, the staff has apparently been all but swimming in tickets about the buff not applying or functioning correctly. So the development staff decided to go with the straightforward solution.

For today and tomorrow, there will be a 30% buff to experience and renown gained for all characters, regardless of the blessing functioning or not functioning. That's a pretty substantial leap in gains, and it's high incentive for Warhammer Online players to hit the ground running. So go ahead, log in, and start enjoying the blessing of butchery on all of your characters.

Warhammer Online explains upcoming RvR weapons

Filed under: Fantasy, Previews, PvP, Endgame, Warhammer Online

It's always been a bit hard on Warhammer Online that up until now, RvR never netted you a viable weapon as a reward. There were reasons given, of course, but in order to get a decent weapon you had to take part in different activities. For a game where on of the major draws is PvP, it seems like a rather egregious oversight. Clearly, the developers ultimately agreed, hence the new Scenario rewards including RvR weapons in the upcoming patch 1.3.4. Item developer Sean Bosshardt put together a new developer diary to help explain the purchasing system, the philosophies in operation, and how the team dealt with balance concerns.

The currency is balanced between Emblems and Insignias. Emblems are awarded for taking part in a scenario all along the leveling road; Insignias, on the other hand, are for the endgame and are restricted to players who have reached rank 40. They are also acquired from scenarios, as well as taking or defending a keep and the initial city public quest after attacking. The system will also apparently "unlock" higher levels of weaponry as the player purchases lower ranks, thus keeping a steady flow without skipping ahead. Warhammer Online players would do well to take a look at the full diary for more details, and get ready to start getting your due rewards for crushing skulls.

Warhammer Online reveals new Scenario structure

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Patches, PvP, Warhammer Online


People were not happy with the first version of Warhammer Online's plan to streamline the game's Scenarios to create a better structure. They were so not happy, in fact, that Mythic Entertainment decided it was better form to pull their original plans, wipe the slate clean, and start over with a clearer picture. And it seems to have worked, as Andy Belford has announced the revised plan for the scenarios as a whole. The result is a slightly larger list, but one with a bit more variety between tiers and a clearer picture of what the development team wanted to accomplish.

As the post explains, the biggest concerns for the scenarios was that they feel different from tier to tier, that each one be unique and interesting in its own right, and that each one can achieve critical mass easily enough that neither faction feels completely helpless. Response to the announcement in the thread seems largely positive, with a wider range available at endgame and a careful re-distribution of what scenarios show up when. Warhammer Online players still have the opportunity to test this new environment on the test servers, and in all likelihood it will be going live soon enough, which represents a definite effort at compromise from the developers.

One Shots: Blinded by the light

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Warhammer Online, One Shots


In some fights, line of sight is definitely your friend. The Warhammer Online Tier 4 encounter in the Tomb of the Vulture Lord is certainly one of those fights -- but it's also pretty cool looking. Today, we have a great One Shots of it for you, captured in the heat of the battle by Readda from the Karak-Norn server. Readda writes in: [This is] a bit from the Warhammer Online battle against the Vulture Lord when he 'goes all 'Indiana Jones' on you. You have to hide behind the pillars to avoid having your eyes melted as he opens the casket.

If you're here, you're probably playing an MMO. Why not take a moment this weekend and send us a screenshot. We'd love to see what you're up to. Just email it in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing in the screenshot. We'll post your One Shots submission for everyone to enjoy, and give you the credit.

Gallery: One Shots

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