War is everywhere in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR), the new MMORPG from the creators of Dark Age of Camelot®. Based on Games Workshop?s popular Warhammer® fantasy war game, WAR features next generation Realm vs. Realm™ (RvR) game play that will immerse players in a world of perpetual conflict.
You can visit http://www.warhammeronline.com for more information of Warhammer Online.
MMOSITE.COM: RvR system is one of the most important reasons why WAR is greeted by the players. However, players now have different views on the RvR system. What is your understanding about RvR and what are the differences between PvP and RvR in WAR?
Richard: PvP is all about the player and personal gain. RvR is about being part of a larger group and fighting epic battles for a cause. In WAR, it s about leading your army to the doors of your opponent s capital city, kicking them down and then burning and pillaging the whole place.
MMOSITE.COM: Do you think female players will like WAR? It is my understanding that most races in WAR do not meet female players aesthetic needs.
Richard: That really depends on the female in question. I don t think it s fair to stereotype and lump all female players into the "give me rainbows and pink ponies so I can craft and socialize" group. There are MANY female gamers who want to play a game and kick a lot of butt. Those are the ones that will be playing our game.
MMOSITE.COM: What do you think of the instanced RvR in WAR? You know it is not only a surprise to many old DAoC gamers, but also a surprise to the current WoW gamers.
Richard: I think the instanced RvR in WAR will work out great. We have a lot of features in place, such as NPC Dogs of War, to prevent the problems experienced by players in other games that have instanced PvP. The instanced Scenarios aren t the only type of RvR in the game; there is open-field RvR with many battlefield objectives to fight over. People familiar with DAoC should feel at home in our RvR system, and hopefully people who have experienced instanced PvP in other games will enjoy ours much more.
MMOSITE.COM: Many excellent MMOGs have a grand and compelling quest system and WAR is of no exception. Can you basically introduce the quest system in WAR? Will there be any PvP or RvR quests? And will there be any events which will push the history of the game?
Richard: Probably the biggest innovation in our quest system is the Public Quests (PQs). I know it s one of my favorite aspects of the game. PQs allow us to have these massive, almost raid-like quests, that unfold in a series of stages and tell a story about a specific location in the world. They allow a large group of players to work together without requiring anyone to coordinate to efforts of forty people, with very specific specs and gear, to complete it. Absolutely anyone in the area can help complete the quest; doesn t matter if they re in your guild or even grouped, you don t ever even have to speak to them if that is the way you play. You can all be doing your own thing, and still contributing to finishing the quest.
There will definitely be RvR quests. Some require you to actually kill other players; some just require you to enter RvR enabled areas to complete your objective. There even competitive quests the pit you against your racial opponent.
MMOSITE.COM: Is the game suitable for casual players? I mean those players who can only play 1 to 3 hours a day. Is it possible for them to have fun in WAR?
Richard: Most definitely. I m not going to sit here and tell you that someone who plays 1 to 3 hours a day will level as fast as someone who plays 6 to 8 hours a day, that s just not a possibility. But a casual player will absolutely be able to play and enjoy WAR. They can jump in, take part in a public quest, complete a couple of PvP missions, engage in some open-field RvR, or jump into a Scenario for some heated combat. We are building this game to be very accessible to casual and core players alike.
MMOSITE.COM: The release of WAR is still quite far away. What is your plan for Warhammer in the near future? Any big changes?
Richard: We re going to continue to build a great game. (Look for the elves to debut this summer!) We ve recently gone back and rebuilt the starter areas for the Greenskins and Dwarfs. The original areas were fun, we heard almost nothing but good things about them, but in our minds they weren t GLORIOUS. We knew we could do better. We had learned a lot working on our second racial pairing, Empire and Chaos, and we poured all of that experience into the new Dwarf and Greenskin zones. We re not looking to make a good game here; we re looking to make a GREAT game.
MMOSITE.COM: To conclude, what do you like most to say to our readers?
Richard: First and foremost, thanks for the continued support and enthusiasm for WAR. I m out on the fansite forums every day reading what you guys and gals have to say. We are getting really close to the ramp up for beta and the Guild Beta applications went out in the April Newsletter. If you re a guild leader and you haven t signed your guild up yet, what are you waiting for?!
