So I sprang for a 60-day timecard for Warhammer Online via that Black Friday deal. I’m not exactly sure when I’ll use it though; pretty sure it won’t be until after the 1st of the year at the earliest.
I’ve been reading the blogs of some of the folks who are still playing and still enjoying the game, and the more I read, the more I understand that they are looking for something very different from what I’m looking for in a “full time” MMO. And while I’m glad they’re finding what they’re looking for, I don’t think my MMO needs and desires are likely to change enough to make Warhammer my next home, unless Warhammer changes.
I do enjoy RvR, but not as a ‘staple’. It’s something to do now and then for a change of pace. What I really enjoy is playing co-op against PvE with a few folks I get along well with (I also enjoy small-scale raiding, but again, not as a staple..I’ve never tried any large raiding but am pretty confident I’d dislike it a lot). It’s a laid back social event, filled with gaps in the action to laugh and joke around during, without the irritation of Ventrilo, which I hate. I love my text; yeah, I’m a dinosaur.
To go into more general terms, most of the time I play MMOs to relax and escape the mundane dreariness of real life. I play MMOs for the same reason a lot of people read fiction. I tend to do PvE while semi-overlevel because I don’t really need more frustration in my life than I already get outside of games. I also like “immersion” in my games. I like crafting, and social clothing, and goofy pets that are just there for fun, and housing, and hanging around in an Inn listening to people come and go and chat. Warhammer is very focused on the gameplay experience, which makes it unique and (in my opinion) very valuable. Just maybe not right for me.
It would’ve been perfect for me if EA had offered a Lifetime Membership to Warhammer. I would’ve snapped that up and would’ve enjoyed it on an occasional basis for a long time to come. But they didn’t and that means $15/month for a game I’ll probably want to play once a week or so. I can route that $15 to other games instead; games I’ll play 3-4 times a week.
I wonder if Mythic/EA will change focus of Warhammer at all, and bring in more PvE content? Despite what others remember, I recall Dark Age of Camelot having a very rich PvE component, and that’s where I spent a lot of my time, only heading into RvR every so often, usually on weekends. I can’t think of a primarily PvP MMO that has done well. EVE is the closest, and it has a huge economic component to it, from what I remember. There’s a lot more to do than just do PvP in it. Yes, the blogosphere is full of very active and chatty people that love PvP, but again and again we see that the general populace isn’t as interested on a long term basis. The constant consolidation of Warhammer servers seems to indicate that the players who want full-on RvR as a main leveling system aren’t as plentiful as us primarily-PvEers.
So I’m going try Warhammer again come January, and I’ll try to keep my mind open and try to level up a single character to Tier 4. People constantly tell me there’s “enough” PvE content in the game, but leaving Warhammer and going into LOTRO or EQ2 or WOW, it becomes really evident how huge the gap is in the PvE between Warhammer and these other games. What I never did is jump Pairings when doing PvE and I’ll have to start doing that to get more quests.
The pity of it all is that I’ve fallen in love with the Warhammer world and lore. Some of this is from Warhammer Online but a lot of it is from reading the Gotrek & Felix novels, and now I’d *love* to play a rich-PvE MMO based in the world.
It would’ve been perfect for me if EA had offered a Lifetime Membership to Warhammer.
Yeah it would have been good. I’m the same as you. I like certain aspects of the game, but would only play it casually. Maybe a few hours a week. If there was a lifetime sub option I would probably jump on it, otherwise I can’t warrant paying $23 AU a month to play. The game has awesome lore and I’m all about the lore, but I can buy a new game on Steam each month for the cost of a single WAR sub. No competition really.
I just can’t find a single game to satisfy my… needs. So I stopped trying and play two.
Count me in with Werit. Luckily, my work for TTH pretty much pays for any gaming I do since it’s supplemental income, and I can easily afford to play two games.
But not everyone can. Obviously, Pete, you can (this is going to be #4, no? hehe) but I get the sense that you’re like me in that you don’t have enough time to truly devote to all of them.
Two is the max, and even that’s pushing it. But with my wife in WoW, and my lifelong best friend starting it up soon, I’ve got to play both. Even if I tend to enjoy one over the other at times.
In fact, I enjoy them each more than the other now and then. When I’m in a questing and PvE mood I really hanker for WoW. But Azerothian PvP sucks hard, especially when compared to WAR. The 1-shots of WoW do not a good PvP system make.
But then there are days when I’d like nothing more than to kill other players, because they react so very differently than NPCs. WAR is the game I’ll likely always be calling on when that need arises.
The only thing I hope for with WAR is that more Dungeons and small group content are added later on, and I don’t mean just PQs in the open world. I’d like to see more content like Gunbad put in the game. And in due time I’m sure it will be added.
The big problem with WAR is that it’s new and easily comparable to WoW… but it’s lacking in the refinement and polish and 4+ years of additions WoW has. I think a lot of folks are quick to forget that MMOs grow and mature and instead are ready to swear off a game when it doesn’t ring true immediately for them. Maybe I’m crazy, but I check in on all my games from time to time because you never know when they’ll be better. EvE is a great example of this.
Bah, I’m done rambling. Let me leave it at this: I wish WAR and WoW would be combined into one massive pot of awesome. The two games seem to yin and yang each other. What one gets right the other gets wrong and vice versa.
-But Azerothian PvP sucks hard, especially when compared to WAR. The 1-shots of WoW do not a good PvP system make.
That is exactly how I feel as well. In fact, I’ve decided to avoid any pvp in WoW from now on because it’s so much more satisfying in WAR.
The only PvP I’ve done in WoW over the years is open world PvP which is more or less just for giggles. That was pre-battlefields though.
And for the record, I’m currently playing TWO MMOs, not four!! LOL EQ2 & WOW for now. I do ‘circulate’ through MMOs pretty frequently though. 🙂
@Bildo, that’s a pretty good summary. Yin and yang. @Pete I hear ya, I’d be more interested in WAR if there was a good pve world to explore and conquest in the normal week and maybe pvp on weekends. I can’t handle too much endless pvp. I just get bored, but a little now and then spices things up. Its like cinnamon. If you pop a cinnamon Altoid in your mouth, it burns and waked you up and tastes good but if you keep doing ti it loses all significance and eventually you tire of it.
Sounds like you need to play Dota (warcraft 3 frozen throne map) coop 5v5 against other players, and the game is always different each time you play. Whats best is that the game has no subscription fee.
I play it with my friends after the scenarios in Warhammer stop popping.