WAR Don't Fail Me Now!

I've been playing around in Lord of the Rings Online, hence the lack of blogging. While the game is fun, I'm already beginning to foresee problems for Turbine and their players. A few posts ago, I described how EA Mythic was doing something truly revolutionary in the MMO genre with regard to healing in Warhammer Online. In that post, I pointed out how the first and second-gen MMO's both faced problems with healing. Let's recap:

1) Healing is boring, but necessary. In cases where it's not necessary, it sure does make certain encounters easier.

2) In EQ (gen-1), there was only one real viable healing class - the Cleric. This class was boring and thus highly sought after (nobody wanted to play one because they were boring). Players ended up dual-boxing so they could play their fun class and still have a healer controlled largely through macros and automation, run on a second computer.

3) WoW (gen-2) sought to divide up the healing duties among four different hybrid classes able to do other things, but in the end encountered the same problem - healing is still boring, and all those classes end up doing in endgame. Because they didn't vary HOW healing classes healed, the problem was only postponed and spread out more.

4) Warhammer Online (gen-3) is shaping up to be revolutionary, because it attacks the root of the problem - that healing is boring. Healing classes in Warhammer will only perform at peak effectiveness if they're actively engaged in the fighting. The Warrior Priest, for example, will need to wade into combat and smash things if he wants to help his teammates as well as he can.

What I'm seeing develop in LotRO is a partial step back to the first generation. The Minstrel is the only class capable of effectively main-healing groups of people. I'm not personally playing a Minstrel, and neither are a large number of players. With most of the game's playerbase still in their low 20's, I'm already seeing numerous requests for healing in parties. I also have a sinking feeling that even though the Captain's healing potential is extremely limited, endgame guilds ("kinships") are still going to require their Captains to focus on providing what healing support they can (much to my chagrin, the Captain does eventually get a spammable heal spell with a casting time that can be cast on anyone but himself).

It appears that Warhammer Online remains the only MMO in the works taking the healer dilemma into serious consideration. Here's hoping they hold true to their commitment. If the concept survives through launch, the healing shortage in other games will no doubt become even more acute.

Blizzcon 2007 Contest - In the Footsteps of Sigmar.

For my own amusement, and the amusement of a great many of the readers of this blog, I am proposing a contest. I am entitling this contest In the Footsteps of Sigmar. Wikipedia has this to say about the legend of Sigmar:

In his fiftieth year of reigning, Sigmar put by his crown and set off to see what lay beyond the World's Edge Mountains to the east, in a similar fashion to the Dwarf ancestor/warrior deity Grimnir the Fearless, who legendarily strode off into the Chaos Waste to do battle with the Powers of the Warp. Sources conflict on the details of what precisely motivated Sigmar to do this; some accounts claim he set off to return Ghal Maraz to the Dwarfs, but the famous rune-hammer has traditionally been the weapon of the ruling Emperor and the primary symbol/relic of the Sigmarite cult, founded by Johann Helstrum in IC 73.

While it is not known why Sigmar set out on his own, or where he went, it is clear that he was on a mission. The likeliest rendition is that he set off on a personal mission to purge the world of Chaos. Such is the setting for my little contest. To be in the running, you must attend Blizzcon adorned in the armor and vestments of a Warrior Priest of Sigmar. Ideally, you'll want to look like a "t4" Warrior Priest from WAR (shown below) or the one that serves as a background to this blog. I want to see pictures. If you can get your picture taken with key developers, you get bonus points. The supreme honor goes to anyone who gets their picture taken, as a Warrior Priest of Sigmar, with Tigole, Foror, or Kalgan (or ideally all three). The second Blizzcon will be held August 3-4 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

What will you win? Besides cheers and a good laugh from a great many disgruntled holy warriors biding their time until Warhammer Online goes live, I'll grant you an exclusive interview and showcase here on HammerofSigmar.com. Your pics will be displayed for all to see, and you'll get mega-props that can be redeemed on forums across the internets for permanent upgrades to your e-peen.

Who is eligible? Anyone from anywhere who is willing to invest the time and money to get there and come away with pictures. The ability to speak English is recommended for the prize, but not a requirement (pictures speak louder than words anyway). It is entirely possible for there to be more than one winner, as I'm not expecting that many entries in the first place. In the event of multiple qualifiers, a supreme winner will be chosen on the basis of photograph subjects (higher ranking Blizzard employees are worth more) and quality of your Warrior Priest adornment. If they have class forums, and you happen to get into the Paladin one and get some pics (with you in them), you will receive a special honor that will remain static on the front page until the launch of Warhammer Online.

Why don't I just go myself? A just question. I happen to live on the eastern end of the country, and am on somewhat of a tight budget nowadays.

There is darkness out there, son of Sigmar. Go, bring justice to the infidels and glory to the Empire.

Still Here

I haven't posted here in a while, but rest assured I'm still around. Next to nothing has been coming out of the Warhammer universe lately, save for the latest newsletter. It's worth checking out for more Warrior Priest screenies. As far as we know, they're still polishing up the Empire/Chaos facets and getting ready to shift gears and focus on High/Dark elves.

In the meantime, I've been playing around on the Lord of the Rings Online open beta. Since WAR isn't due to be out before the end of this year, I went ahead and preordered LotRO. Preordering means I'll get to keep my open beta toons in live (getting a 15 level jump on the newbz) and have a reduced subscription rate (at 9.99/month vs. 14.99/month). I approached this game negatively, but having given it a try I'm finding it enjoyable. Most modern fantasy is rooted in Tolkien's works, and from what I've seen the game presents Middle Earth admirably. Hobbiton is particularly charming, complete with Bag End and the Green Dragon.

I started out playing a Champion (think WoW fury Warrior), but found it difficult to solo with. For all his melee strengths, the combo points-like system was sluggish when used in conjunction with an already sluggish UI. I finally bit the bullet and rolled a Captain, finding it much more to my liking. You start out with a 2H sword, and get a nice variety of combat moves as well as buffs and a heal you can use after you kill something. Your abilities expand in these categories (combat options, group buffs, target debuffs) as you level up, and you even get a pet at level 10. He follows you around, emanating a buff aura that can affect your whole party (or "fellowship" as it's called in LotRO). He also helps you kill things. I named mine Foror - an inside joke for anyone familiar with WoW's infamous former-EQ-playing developers with an anti-hybrid vendetta.

I'm still active over at paladinsucks.com, in spite of having canceled my WoW subscription. A new patch is about to hit the public test realm, and things are abuzz in that regard. Anyhow, happy hunting to all of you as you await the release of WAR. If anyone is checking out LotRO with me and would like to link up, let me know. Just shoot a mail to Vaelion on the Meneldor server (the "unofficial" PvP realm - where players are looking forward to trying out monster play).

For Gondor!... until Altdorf opens up!

Blizzard Acquires Mythic from EA

In a press conference held today, executives from Blizzard Entertainment announced that they have concluded negotiations with Electronic Arts for the purchase of Mythic Entertainment. It was the boldest move yet from the gaming giant, and seen by many as an effort to stifle competition in the massively multiplayer online gaming field. Speaking on behalf of Blizzard, Jeff Kaplan - newly promoted to the position of Head of Acquisitions and Class Design - said that he welcomed the move, and looked forward to working first-hand with the new content design team in Warhammre Inline: Hardest of the Hardcore. "We're very excited about this acquisition. A lot of us were unhappy that members of the industry were getting away from the player-versus-environment focus of the genre, and hope to reverse this trend. The first moves you'll see out of Blizzard-Mythic will be toward implementing more instanced dungeons and toning down the amount of inter-faction conflict. Additionally, we felt that classes with the ability to heal had too much on their plate, so we'll be rebalancing that accordingly with an emphasis on healing and away from the offensive."

Players can look forward to banding together in groups of up to 50 to take down such fearsome foes as The Lag Lord Undivided and Exalted Champion of Consumables, all after clearing through entire legions of deadly pre-minions. "Our goal is to reward the truly dedicated - especially those with a penchant for sadism and self-inflicted injury," said Kaplan. "Fun, while an important auxiliary concern, will take a back seat to necessary coordination with perfection the likes of which will dwarf even the toughest encounters in World of Warcraft." For the time being, the class descriptions will remain the same, but we were told to rest assured that their base mechanics and abilities were being fundamentally altered to assist in this new direction. Kaplan goes on to say, "It's our desire to surprise our players, maintaining that element of utter helplessness at every turn. To assist in scaling difficulty, players will see the relative potency of their characters diminished as they progress through higher and higher level dungeons. These adjustments will appear in every other patch."

All of this helps clear up the sudden evaporation of informative updates being brought by former employees of EA-Mythic. Kaplan points out that keeping the playerbase abreast of even potential changes could have a negative impact on the subscription base, and it's best for them if they're left in the dark about details until patch day. He explains, "our primary goal is a total reordering of society within an MMO. By designing content that only a small percentage of the playerbase will ever get to experience, a natural reordering begins to form. In Warhammre Inline: Hardest of the Hardcore, players that are unable or who lack sufficient time to progress through the content will be able to deposit funds, materials, and crafted consumables into vaults belonging to the top guilds. The more that is contributed, the higher their reputation rises with said guild. Reaching the highest levels of reputation will allow them to purchase exciting and unique non-combat pets and tabards." Truly, WIHH will usher in a new feudal order, and allow everyone to contribute.