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It seems that oftentimes Australia and the Oceanic region gets the shaft when it comes to MMO server allocation. Most of the time, Aussies find themselves choosing between an American or European server, with incompatible peak playing times.

Today, Warhammer Online fans in the Oceanic region will be pleased to hear that their own server has not gone ignored, as the WAR Oceanic Beta has officially begun. Players in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore should check their inboxes for a beta invite which will pave the way for the simultaneous launch of Warhammer Online across North America, Europe and the Oceanic region on September 18th.

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	Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

You've heard about the fearsome Public Quest that kicks off the High Elves Tier 1 experience many times before, but it's never had a name. The evils of House Arkaneth are the subject of this first encounter, and that's the name of the game: "House Arkaneth". The very first High Elf public quest in Warhammer Online pits you against waves of Dark Elf soldiery, mini-bosses aplenty, and even a mighty hydra!


Read on below as we describe, step by step, the process of working deadly work against the devilish Elven invaders!

You know those "English posh people" and "English people on drugs" that Paul Barnett keeps talking about? The ones with the pointy ears and bad attitudes? We here at Massively hope you like the Warhammer Online Elven factions, because you're going to be hearing quite a lot about them in the next week. We've been given special dispensation to do some pre-NDA lift blogging! We've had people playing the Beta for the highly anticipated Warhammer Online for some time, and they're ready to talk. Starting this weekend and all the way through till the NDA lifts, we'll be bringing you a special slice of Games Workshop's unique world. We'll be exploring the Tier 1 and Teir 2 content for the High Elves and Dark Elves – and you're invited along for the ride! Just follow the elves-of-war tag here on the site to keep in the loop!

Join us as we explore the starting areas for both races, detail everything we can about the Elven classes, and dare to take on fearsome foes in the Tier 1 and Tier 2 RvR scenarios. And stay tuned, because Massively is going to be your place to turn once the NDA comes down! We'll have exhaustive guides on each of the racial starting zones. We'll have detailed walkthroughs of the mighty Inevitable City and stalwart Altdorf. We'll even have class guides, broken out by faction and class role! So, for example, if you're shopping for a Ranged DPS Destruction class, we'll have all the info you need in one compact feature. Stay tuned, Warhammer fans, as Massively goes to WAR!

There have been plenty of previews for Warhammer Online over the last year or two. So when the guys over at Gamespy got beta access they decided to try for something other than the standard preview. They created a journal chronicling their experience as they played through the game. You'll get a more personal experience of the game content in its early levels this way. Of course, the downside is you've got tons of pages to sift through for your information. So it may not be for everybody, especially if you want a concise bullet-point preview of the game.

With the NDA lifting in just a week from now though, you can be sure to find plenty of focused opinions about Warhammer Online all over the net. You can of course expect an enormous information blowout from us here at Massively, too. Hell, we've already got an initial blowout on the site!

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	Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

On first seeing this video, we're not entirely sure what to think. Does Jay Leno really prefer being a Gobbo in Warhammer Online or is it just that Gobbos are the only ones with big chins? We're guessing it's the chin. You're probably rightfully wondering why Warhammer Online is appearing on The Tonight Show. Well you're not alone. Our only guess would be that this is some sort of preemptive strike at cultural relevance before the game is even out. Everyone knows that once a game has cultural relevance it's just a matter of time until those subscription numbers start falling from the sky like nerdy rain.

It's also probable that this is just an honest-to-goodness case of The Tonight Show taking an interest in Warhammer Online. Paul Barnett is there on that video doing his "Crazy Englishman on Crack" bit that we love him for doing. Either way, it's a baffling video to watch and you'll probably find your palm firmly pressed against your face by the end of its short duration. It's after the cut, for those of you brave enough to watch it.

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	Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

Mythic's Mark Jacobs wrote a post-announcement update on the Vault Network boards today. The purpose of the post was to clarify some of the details about the release date, pre-orders, and the beta test. Warhammer Online fans should definitely read the post. Most of what he said was clarification about known information, but there were a couple big reveals.

Jacob hopes that the nondisclosure agreement (NDA) that prevents current WAR beta testers from publicly discussing their experiences will end next week. He noted that three issues have been preventing the team from taking that step so far, but that progress has been made and resolutions are imminent.

The other big news: folks who pre-ordered the Collector's Edition of the game will soon be invited to participate in the closed beta test. This is probably only a small win for those folks, given the rumors that the open beta is a couple weeks away. Jacobs declined to confirm a date for the open beta, saying that the announcement will come when the game is 100% ready. Not committing is a wise move in light of the problems Age of Conan had in its open beta event.

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	Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

I was kicking around Silvermoon City of World of Warcraft a few nights ago, working on a new Blood Elf warlock as a way to relax and just forget about the long day, when I saw an extremely peculiar conversation in my chat window. What it boiled down to was a guy who was trying to get help with the warlock Voidwalker quest because he couldn't figure out where to go to find the void crystals specified in the quest log.

Now, instead of someone responding with a generalized location as to where you could find these crystals, the response, "Get QuestHelper and it will tell you where to go," was made. Needless to say, this guy was new to the game, and he was pretty baffled.

With the advent of custom interfaces, it seems that many people would rather have the game play itself than take the time to actually work things out. At the worst, people would rather pay to be able to "skip" through the game; thank you RMT. So, the key question around here remains: "Does anyone actually want to play anymore?"

If you think the recent removal of four classes and four cities from Warhammer Online was tough for the team, just think about what was in Mythic's original design doc. Paul Barnett, speaking to Videogaming247 at the recent Develop event, noted that the team had to go through a lot of back and forth to get to the core list of 20 classes they currently have. The problem is, as he's pointed out in the past, the IP actually initially worked against them by 'requiring' them to put in far more classes than they could ever support.

The result, as Barnett put it, was the need to bring clarity to the situation and concentrate on what the game was actually about. "It's about finding clarity when parts of the project can go a little askew. For instance, we did a lot of work on our chat windows, but we did too much work on them and we started losing focus and my job is to bring clarity back to it. Same thing happened with careers. We went down a terrible path where we had too many careers. We have 250-odd at one point and we boiled it right back down to 20."

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	Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

Electronic Arts and Mythic Entertainment have announced the official launch date for Warhammer Online: September 18th! That goes for the regions of North America, Europe, and Oceania.

Additionally, game time pricing has been revealed. In North America, a month-to-month subscription will go for the standard $14.99 per month. Three month and six month plans will be available at $41.97 and $77.94, respectively. For Europe, it'll be one month for 12.99€ (£10.31), three months for 35.97€ (£28.55), and six months for 65.94€ (£52.34).

Earlier today, the EA store was updated with an August 23rd date, but that apparently was an error. September 18th is it folks! Get ready for some Realm on Realm action! Check out the full press release behind the jump.

EDIT 3: Feel free to read all the ever-changing drama below for your amusement, but here's the final word right upfront: we've received word from Electronic Arts confirming that the official release date for Warhammer Online is September 18th for the North American, European, and Oceanic markets. Commence rejoicing!

The official EA online store has been updated with a big splash image pitching Warhammer Online to the masses, and the image prominently features a badge that reads: "Coming August 23!" This is not the first time that the EA website has touted a release date; it was only a couple weeks ago that it suggested September 23rd. But this one looks especially promising, seeing as how it's a carefully created image instead of just a text field entry. That's difficult to argue with!

On the other hand, that release date seems unrealistically close. Really, we don't know what to think! If you think this is legit then start your partying, dear readers. Upgrade your computers to meet the minimum specs! Read the official pre-order FAQ and our pre-order guide to find out where you should buy it if you're the type of person who pays extra for collector's editions!

Or you can play it safe and be skeptical; keep your cool and wait to see what happens.

[Thanks, Dean!]

Gamesradar.com have provided a fascinating glimpse into three of the dungeons coming with Warhammer Online: Mount Gunbad, Bastion Stair and Lost Vale. WAR is generating lots of interest for its PvP content, but it hasn't omitted the classic dungeon-dive, albeit with some differences. For instance, while some dungeons are open-world and some instanced, they are all divided into three 'wings', each 'wing' taking roughly one and a half hours to run, and able to be completed on different occasions. This means that a group can break up the venture into separate excursions, much like a City of Heroes Task Force being broken up over multiple nights of play. You can even change party members between runs.

You will also not need to bring more than 6 people to do any dungeon in the game, making this content deliciously accessible: 'Even if the dungeon crawl itself isn't several hours, the process of getting 40 people together can be a multi-hour experience, and we just didn't feel our game needed that.' Another time-saver is the default respawn in the dungeon itself if you die. The article also gives several examples of boss fights, and how they are balanced.

It's very likely that you've either only heard whisperings of the game Aion or haven't heard anything at all. We honestly couldn't blame you with the huge amount of hype currently gushing out every which-way for Warhammer Online. The human mind, while able to absorb hype like a dry sponge to water can only contain so much of it at a given time. Our hope is that with the release of Warhammer Online just around the bend, you can eek out a little room for NCsoft's upcoming Aion, which was just given a wonderfully entertaining preview over at Eurogamer.

The gist of Aion is that it's a game being developed with the best of breed concepts from Eastern and Western MMO developers. User-friendly, PvE and PvP content coming out its nose, highly customizable characters, gorgeous graphics and uh, wings. To be fair, the wings thing is a lot cooler than it sounds when you just say 'wings' like us. You get the idea, however. Currently, Aion is looking at an early 2009 release date.

Mythic has created the beginnings of a FAQ intended to help would-be-customers sort out all the details about pre-ordering Warhammer Online. Info included in the FAQ: how to pre-order in Canada, who to poke to get pre-order codes when you place your order through an online store, and details and definitions on the beta testing phases, among other things.

Mythic promises that the FAQ will be updated with new information in the future, but doesn't say what kind of information it'll be.

The FAQ has some helpful information if you have those specific questions, of course. If you want a more in-depth and badass guide to pre-ordering WAR, though, check out our WAR collector's edition pre-order guide. Which retailer distributes codes in the most helpful way? Which one gives you the best extra goodies? It's all there!

I'm going to start this week's The Digital Continuum off with an obvious, yet necessary, disclaimer: This is my (ie Kyle Horner's) opinion and not Massively's.

A high horse can be ridden and a dead horse can be beaten, but can some people get over their assiduous horse fetishes? Apparently, no, they can't. I'm speaking of course about knee-jerk, marketing-mannequin reactions that some people seem to have when Warhammer Online is compared to World of Warcraft. It's almost as though doing such a thing has become a sacred cow, which cannot -- and verily should not -- dare be brought up. Why? "Well, because such discussion occurs ad infinium." someone will say. I say to them, "And rightfully so." Because for all the things Warhammer Online does that are unlike World of Warcraft, it's still a very comparable MMO.

Paul Barnett, the Creative Director at Mythic Entertainment, is not a man who minces his words, particularly when it comes to Warhammer Online. We covered how Barnett envisions Warhammer Online being free of the 'corruptive' influences of World of Warcraft. Gamasutra expanded on Barnett's talk at the Develop Conference and Expo in Brighton, distilling other aspects of the speech down to his top lessons learned. Barnett emphasized the importance of simplicity in game design, citing other titles that became mired in complexity. "People like the illusion of choice... they like a long menu at a restaurant despite the fact they will always order from the same three things," he said.

On the topic of having a singular vision, given the time and cost involved, he stressed that game developers tend to fall into two camps: heretics and believers. Mythic hasn't "got time for people who have no morale or don't think we're going to succeed, and mess around in palace intrigue. Heretics must be burned publicly. It doesn't matter how talented they are. If they're a heretic, they go, because cancer spreads." Conversely, he stated his preference to hire less-talented 'believers' with intense drive over those talented 'heretics' whose skills come with limitations. Have a look at the Gamasutra piece for more of Barnett's views on game design and a little more of what we can expect from Warhammer Online. Some of his ideas are bold and intended to stir up controversy, but the man definitely has some memorable lines.