Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Big gear changes coming to WAR in patch 1.3 (part two)]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/10/big-gear-changes-coming-to-war-in-patch-1-3-part-two/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/10/big-gear-changes-coming-to-war-in-patch-1-3-part-two/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/10/big-gear-changes-coming-to-war-in-patch-1-3-part-two/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


The New System (post-1.3)

The greatest thing about the concept of wards is that they allow you to progress through more difficult PvE content without granting insanely large stat bonuses that negatively impact RvR. Wards are simply a flag that determines whether or not an NPC hits you for 50% damage or 500% damage (not the exact numbers but they do well to illustrate the point). The various sets (and set bonuses) do grant players an advantage in RvR, but the difference from set to set is fairly miniscule (i.e., roughly a 5-8% stat/attribute increase per set).

To bring more diversity and flavour to WAR's gear, Mythic will introduce a combination of three new features in 1.3. Disclaimer: These changes are currently on the Public Test Server and are subject to change.

Sigils

In simplest terms, sigils are like wards but don't require that you actually wear the ward gear. You will now get a Tome of Knowledge unlock when obtaining a piece of ward gear and from that point forward you will receive the benefit of that ward even when you wear a completely different piece of gear.

One of the biggest complaints about the various PvE dungeons is that the drop rate for ward gear is too low due to the small group size and variety of classes in each realm (exactly a 1/12 chance). The new sigil system will partially address this issue as well. After killing the boss X times (number unknown atm), you will be guaranteed to unlock the ward/sigil. Those seeking the actual piece of set gear will still have to grind for it, but at least you'll get the ward.

The sigil system means that it is now viable for you to equip your influence, PQ, or other rare drop gear in place of set gear and not have to worry about a lack of wards when raiding fortresses, cities, or a high rank instance (as long as you have the Tome unlock).

Vessels

Vessels are weapons that allow for much greater customization through the application of talismans and/or soul essences. The vessels we have seen so far on the Public Test Server work like this: Blue weapon has a competitive DPS rating, a single stat value, and two empty talisman slots (two-handers have three empty slots). Vessels are awarded as PQ loot, drops, and can be purchased with special tokens. There may be rarer purple vessels as well.

No longer are you forced to abide by WAR's strange and inconsistent itemization. You can tailor your weapons to suit your playstyle, augmenting the various strengths and weaknesses you want for your character. Currently, it seems like vessels are only available as weapons. I think most casual gamers and min-maxers alike would agree: let's see vessels reach out to armor and accessories and truly take advantage of the new sigil system.

Tokens

Land of the Dead tokens come in several forms; silver scarabs, golden scarabs, silver anhks, golden cartouches, and sacred masks. Tokens are gained from player kills, mob/boss kills, and PQ loot. The tokens are soulbound, which means you can't trade them. Personally, I dislike this feature, but it seems the route MMOs are taking these days. "More grind for the grind god!"

Scarabs are used to buy more common items like blue vessel weapons, souls, and special crafting items. Anhks and cartouches will get you powerful accessories like rings, necklaces, cloaks, and belts. The masks can be traded for some pieces of Tyrant gear, which is on par stat-wise with Warlord gear found in cities. Word is that Tyrant gear does not grant wards or sigils though, so it won't make Darkpromise, Invader, or Warlord gear obsolete.

Conclusion

As you can see, sigils will give players the benefits of a ward system, while increasing the diversity of gear in the game and not imbalancing RvR. Vessels and soul essences will offer even more weapon variety, giving players more customization options. The new tokens mean that even if you are extremely unlucky with drops in this PvE/RvR mega-zone, you'll still be able to work toward something.

These are great improvements to WAR's gear system. The next improvement I'd like Mythic to make would be some kind of token system or shift in the random loot mechanic in "old world dungeons" (e.g., city dungeons, Lost Vale, etc.).

Sigils allow you to get the wards from these dungeons eventually, but players going after the physical set pieces will still be subject to low and random drop rates. Would it be too difficult for them to add a token system to these dungeons? What about a mechanic where bosses only drop loot usable by classes that form the instance group? Nothing is worse than finally downing a boss and having him drop two pieces of gear that no-one in your group can use. Oh wait, I forgot... "More grind for the... ugh whatever." Prove me wrong! Please?

MassivelyBig gear changes coming to WAR in patch 1.3 (part two) originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>call-to-armsgearland-of-the-deadmythic-entertainmentwarwar-1.3-patchwar-patch-1.3warhammer-onlineWed, 10 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Big gear changes coming to Warhammer Online in patch 1.3]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/10/big-gear-changes-coming-to-warhammer-online-in-patch-1-3/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/10/big-gear-changes-coming-to-warhammer-online-in-patch-1-3/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/10/big-gear-changes-coming-to-warhammer-online-in-patch-1-3/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


After looking at the big gear changes coming to Warhammer Online in patch 1.3, Dorothy-type gamers might loudly exclaim "Sigils and vessels and scarabs. Oh my!" The first two features will be completely new to WAR, while the last one is an expansion of the current RvR token system.

Let's first take a look at how players currently earn and use gear in WAR and then discuss how it's going to change once The Land of the Dead introduces sigils, vessels, and scarab tokens. For simplicity's sake we're going to only talk about the endgame, which is rank 31-40.

Continue reading Big gear changes coming to Warhammer Online in patch 1.3

MassivelyBig gear changes coming to Warhammer Online in patch 1.3 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>call-to-armsfeaturedgearjoystiqfeaturesland-of-the-deadmythic-entertainmentwarwar-1.3-patchwar-patch-1.3warhammer-onlineWed, 10 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Do you ever feel pre-expansion apathy?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/10/the-daily-grind-do-you-feel-pre-expansion-apathy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/10/the-daily-grind-do-you-feel-pre-expansion-apathy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/10/the-daily-grind-do-you-feel-pre-expansion-apathy/#commentsFiled under: ,

I have been talking to a few of my friends who play Warhammer Online lately and they are all feeling the same thing: pre-expansion apathy. This is basically a feeling of indifference or a lack of motivation to log in and play WAR knowing that The Land of the Dead live expansion is going to release soon.

This is not the only MMO they have experienced this in either. I remember playing World of Warcraft before Burning Crusade and organized guild raids were nearly non-existent for two months leading up to the expansion. Many were either PvPing or crafting to pass the time or simply not bothering to log in at all.

The reasoning my friends are using for not playing WAR right now is actually pretty logical. Why should they bother trying to grind for gear and wards when the 1.3 patch will introduce the sigil and vessel systems? Also, the gear in The Land of the Dead is said to be better than city dungeons and roughly on par with that found in Lost Vale, so why would they bother farming the same dungeons they have been grinding for months when a new one is coming just around the corner with potentially better itemization?

Do you ever get the same feeling in your MMO? Do you think this is more strongly felt in gear-based progression MMOs or is it a result of something else?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Do you ever feel pre-expansion apathy? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>apathyblizzardexpansionmudflationmythic-entertainmentwarwar-1.3-patchwar-patch-1.3warhammer-onlineworld-of-warcraftwowWed, 10 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Developer reveals how stats work in WAR]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/24/developer-reveals-how-stats-work-in-war/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/24/developer-reveals-how-stats-work-in-war/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/24/developer-reveals-how-stats-work-in-war/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Min/maxers in Warhammer Online rejoice! Adam Gershowitz, producer of character systems stopped by the official forums to clear up a bit of confusion about how stats work in the current live game (1.21) and how they will work after the new patch (1.3) lands sometime in June.

Specifically, he detailed the basic functions of offensive stats (strength, intelligence, and ballistics) versus the main defensive stat (toughness). There are three main reasons why Mythic is making these adjustments. First, quicker and weaker attacks with special debuffs were doing more damage than intended. Second, AoE attacks were also doing more damage than intended. Third, boosting the effectiveness of toughness will encourage gear diversity, which goes hand in hand with the new sigil system.

To see the nitty-gritty breakdown of how these stats will play against each other in the new patch, head on over to the official forum discussion. Make sure you read through all the pages as Adam responds several times with additional information. He hints that there may be upcoming changes to how weaponskill affects parry, block, and dodge as well.

MassivelyDeveloper reveals how stats work in WAR originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 24 May 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adam-gershowitzmin-maxingmythic-entertainmentpatchesstatisticsstatswarwar-1.3-patchwar-patch-1.3warhammer-onlineSun, 24 May 2009 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Warhammer's 1.3 (Land of the Dead) public test has begun]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/15/warhammers-1-3-land-of-the-dead-public-test-has-begun/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/15/warhammers-1-3-land-of-the-dead-public-test-has-begun/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/15/warhammers-1-3-land-of-the-dead-public-test-has-begun/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Mythic just began rolling out phase one of their highly anticipated 1.3 patch (Land of the Dead) for Warhammer Online. This phase will focus primarily on combat and careers and the new expedition mechanic, so players won't actually be able to enter the new Tomb Kings zones just yet.

What's that saying; "Good things come to those who wait?" Keep telling yourself that - it will get you through the long and chilly desert nights.

This will be the fifth massive patch for WAR subscribers in 2009 and its contents rival any of the others. Just to name a few highlights, patch 1.3 will introduce The Land of the Dead, a new sigil system that replaces wards, additional keep upgrades, and additional career balance focusing on AoE and crowd control abilities.

Land of the Dead information came pouring out of Baltimore this week as Mythic was participating in Games Workshop's annual Games Day event. Our very own Colin Brennan was there and got plenty of juicy details, including a zone overview, hands on impressions, and interviews with Mark Davis, Josh Drescher, and Paul Barnett. He hasn't even posted everything yet, so keep checking in! The 1.3 patch is set to launch mid-June.

MassivelyWarhammer's 1.3 (Land of the Dead) public test has begun originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 15 May 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>games-day-2009games-workshopjosh-dreschermark-davismythic-entertainmentpaul-barnettsigilswarwar-1.3-patchwarhammer-onlineFri, 15 May 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Mark Jacobs on WAR 6-month state of the game]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/11/mark-jacobs-on-war-6-month-state-of-the-game/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/11/mark-jacobs-on-war-6-month-state-of-the-game/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/11/mark-jacobs-on-war-6-month-state-of-the-game/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Mythic VP/GM/CEO, Mark Jacobs just delivered his highly anticipated State of the Game announcement for Warhammer Online one week before the six-month anniversary of its release. Mythic is currently in the midst of Call to Arms, their first live expansion, and recently delivered a whopping patch that fixed over 500 bugs and introduced two new careers (the Slayer and Choppa).

Mark states that the next iteration in this series of patches (1.21) will fix 400+ more bugs, attempt to balance the careers even further, and deliver more new content. The 1.21 patch will launch next month. Details on their 1.3 patch are a bit foggy, but they may deal with items from the following list, which Mark calls the "Eleven Enticing Enhancements" list for WAR:
  • Client/Server performance in RvR
  • Bug & Polish
  • Open RvR in general
  • Keeps in general
  • Keep Defense
  • Battlefield Objectives
  • Zone Capture
  • Zone Capture rewards
  • City Raiding for fun and profit
  • Career Balancing
  • Scenarios
Finally, Mark touches upon the progress being made with the new Tomb Kings themed dungeon. Fans of Dark Age of Camelot will not only find it reminiscent of Darkness Falls, they will also find some new and exhilarating experiences. If any of these things pique your interest, you could always give the game a try with WAR's 10-day free trial.

MassivelyMark Jacobs on WAR 6-month state of the game originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>1.2-patchmark-jacobsmythic-entertainmentRvRstate-of-the-gamewarwar-1.21-patchwar-1.3-patchwarhammer-onlineWed, 11 Mar 2009 14:30:00 EST