Massively^™

Over the last week or so we've already talked about some of the most innovative features of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. We've covered the Tome of Knowledge, the game's one-of-a-kind crafting system, and today we had a lengthy look at their approach to classes and races. Friday will be our last day of hands-on WAR coverage (for the time being), and between now and then we'll talk about RvR scenarios, keeps, and siege gameplay. But we're missing something in all this, one of the most unique elements to the game.

That element is the Public Quest. There's a great explanation of what Public Quests are over at the official Warhammer site, but there aren't a lot of gorey details. What's it like to complete one, for example? How long does it take to fill up your influence bar, and how do you get loot after the PQ finishes? We had the chance to play through two early-level Public Quests during our time at EA Mythic, and we're here to report back. Read on below for details on all of the above, plus a reflection on the question "Why Public Quests?"

Mythic treats us a little badly sometimes, delaying Warhammer Online months before it's release and touting extraordinary beta application numbers while the vast majority of us are still barred from playing. And even so, we're still enthralled by every new tidbit of information that comes our way, like this latest "home movie" showcasing a decent chunk of new footage from the closed beta.

Something still seems kind of funky to this blogger about the way the game looks. Maybe the textures aren't complete or the lighting just hasn't been implemented yet, but it all has some strange unrealistic quality to it that we can't quite pin down. Maybe they just need to turn the gamma down on their demo machines, who knows? We do know the huge PQ NPCs look cool though.

[Via Gamebunny]

Partners-in-crime IGN and Gamespy recently visited Mythic to get some hands-on time with a couple of the starting areas in Warhammer Online. IGN ended up with the High Elves, taking Swordmaster as their class, and Gamespy chose the Dark Elves and picked Sorceress.

One of the things that Gamespy commented on was the close proximity of the High Elf and Dark Elf starting areas to each other. They also noted that some of the newbie quests deliberately brought the two races together, within striking distance, giving players the choice to either scowl menacingly, or jump straight into PvP. There was unfortunately no mention of a meet-up and subsequent rumble with their noble High Elven counterparts though. Both teams ended their playtime by participating in a public quest, and you can read all about it from either IGN's or Gamespy's perspective.