T4 reignites the awesome in WAR!

Here there be Dragons...
Here there be Dragons...

If you’re playing Warhammer Online, and you’re like me (a jaded vet who has seen it all), then you probably experienced (or have already experienced) the doubt.  It’s the lingering feeling in the back of your mind making you question “Is this it?  Is there going to be more to it?”.  Let me put your minds at ease!

Tonight a group of us from HFG decided to take things up a notch and go to T4, even though we still belonged in T3 based on our levels (25-30).  We decided we wanted to experiences a few different PQ’s and earn influence, experience, and money for the guild funds.  Since we were already in Saphery/Avelorn area we decided to head down to Caledor and take on a big PQ.   When we first zoned into the region it didn’t look much different from the previous Dark Elf/High Elf pairing.  We continued down the path and approached an enormous tower that looked like it had legions of Dark Elf and High Elf troops fighting.  The entire area is a PQ that requires participants to kill 175 High Elves in the area for Stage 1.  This wasn’t difficult at all for our group (2 Sham, 1 SquigHerder, 1 Black Orc, 2 Magus, 1 Chosen, 1 DoK – We had a mini WB going).  We rounded up 10+ npcs at a time and AoE’ed them all down.  The exp was insane!

When we got to Stage 2 we were all enjoying ourselves.  A few champion bosses spawned around the tower for us to kill and everything felt on par with the rest of the content in the game…. then Stage 3 came along.  When it came up on the screen that our objective was to kill DRAGONS we quickly looked around.  There, on the horizon, came flying in 3 golden dragons – one of which had a rider.  They landed on the tower and we proceeded to attack.  As we engaged suddenly two big black dragons came flying in and we thought we were screwed because every one of these dragons was levels above us and a hero mob.  To our shock, and extreme joy, the black dragons were on our side!  They landed and began fighting with the other dragons as we worked on bringing them down.  The dragons had big AoE attacks spitting fireballs at us and wreaking havoc.  It was completely awesome!  We killed the dragons and received a Gold, Purple, Blue, and several Green loot bags.  The adrenaline rush came for the first time in WAR PvE and I already want more.

We spent the next couple hours roaming and doing a few more PQ’s around the T4 areas, drawing in the greatness of T4.  The T4 zones are much more “WAR!!!” and a lot less “Meh”.   The atmospheres are… heck they have atmospheres compared to T3.  The T4 Chaos zoned (Chaos Wastes) has snow blowing in your face and demon-like big chaos mobs.  That’s another thing, in previous tiers none of the mobs were much to look at.  Now the mobs are getting bigger and more detailed and really packing some feeling to them.

I’m stoked to finish hitting level 30 and moving on to T4.  T3 was “okay” but it has been the low point in WAR for me so far.  Anyone else who is feeling dragged down by the mediocrity of T3 needs to hang in there because T4 reignites the awesome in WAR!

  • While I am glad to hear there is a light at the end if the tunnel, its kind of disheartening to diss T3 because I have not yet reached it either :P. Thanks for the heads up tho Keen 🙂

  • t3 is a drag on my server because Tor Anroc is the only god damm scenario that pops -_- overpowered order knockbacks :p;

  • If WAR is supposed to be a great MMO don’t you thing T1, T2, T3 and T4 should be great. Instead of ‘lets make T1, T2 great, then make T3 a little weaker so when they get to T4 they think the game is better than it really is.’

    Now I don’t think Mythic would plan something like that on purpose, but for a slower casual player like me a ‘slow’ zone just may kill the game for me.

  • @Vort: I truly doubt Mythic would do that – let’s be honest, even the worst games developed by the worst developers didn’t have areas of the game designed on purpose to be bad. I think it’s just the “middle of the road” syndrome. This is actually very common in mmorpgs. I remember feeling like my feet were dragging in WoW, LOTRO, Vanguard, etc. Unluckily for WAR, their content is simplified and divided into tiers where it is more easily dissected by someone like me to point take apart and analyze.

    Does this impact the game as a whole? Sure. But that would be like saying out of 100pts possible the game gets 92 instead of 98 because this small part of the game was a little weak compared to another part.

    I can see this being a little sticky for the super casuals who plan to spend weeks on end in T3… although you would have to be incredibly casual to get stuck here that long. And let’s face it, casuals don’t look at games like I do either. This might be everything the casuals want and 10x more.

  • If the T3 wall was just not so noticeable, it would be fine. T1 you can easily do just your own pairing. T2 takes a bit of finesse and a good deal of RvR (open or scenarios) to fill in the gaps. Or do some Tome Unlocks (sure let me just go kill 1000 spiders)

    But T3 just seems out of whack. You get so used to quests and the PQs to get you though most of the chapter, that when you end up with only barely a level when you need two, it gets a bit frustrating. (And 10,000 spiders gets boring fairly quickly)

  • @Keen

    I agree Mythic wouldn’t do that on purpose that’s why I said so in my original message.

    As far as being a casual gamer, in principle I’m not, I’ve been forced (so to speak) into it. Marriage will do that. So I probably do look at games similar to you just my actions in this MMO won’t support that because of my situation.

  • Tier 3 has some cool stuff… like that Bloodletter of Khorne. He’s kinda cool. Also seen some cool towers, and the Keeps are much cooler.

    Each Tier though, the game keeps getting better and better. Cooler things in each one as you go up. And the Capital Cities are getting cooler too.

    So unlike AoC, all the best stuff isn’t in the first levels, but in the end game, as it should be.

  • Glad to hear T4 looks promising, I’ve been kinda down on T3 so far. At first I was sceptical of your T3 grind observations, but now I’m feeling it in full force.

    I’m concerned that all the PQs may need Warbands (even if not a full one), it’d be nice to have a variety of difficulties in PQs regardless of tier. They could scale back the rewards and I wouldn’t mind, I just want more choices on the content.

    In other words, concerned that T4 will all be about big groups, big guilds.

  • There’s PQs ranging from 3man-able to really hard ones, which take at least one ‘fine’ group. And yes, things surely start to get a lot more epic in tier 4.

    The RvR portion of those maps will be many peoples ‘everyday’ endgame playground. I can’t wait for the general population to catch up with the ‘hardcore’ crowd. Peoples ranks are all over the place at the moment.

    Even without the general public, tier 4 already is a blast and it will only get better, the more people join in. So hurry up and get to it.

  • If you notice on PQ’s, if the writing is in red, it’s more difficult than a PQ labeled in yellow. Stick to the yellow PQ’s if you want to find stuff that is generally simpler for a single group to accomplish.

    As for folks that are running out of stuff to do in tier 3, make sure you’re hitting up all the racial pairings, and don’t forget about Gunbad. The quests that send you travel to gunbad alone are worth about a level of experience. You find them at multiple hubs throughout tier 3. Once inside Gunbad, you can rake in some Experience from completing PQs and quests inside. You’ll need a competent group of course.

  • What’s great in my opinion is the fact that if you get quite bored with the zones and questing (yeah, the questing in WAR isn’t that much fun in the long run really, but the PQ’s are, it’s only sad that in lower levels there aren’t more people in these PQ than perhaps five players in peak hours! Mostly I’m alone with perhaps one or two others! Making it feel rather useless as we have no chance agenest the boss at the end!)

    But the fact that you can join RvR and level only based on that, did five levels yesterday, those where my first RvR matches was quite fun, and felt like really fast leveling! If we ignore the fact that it’s the same and only scenario popping all the time (Nordenwatch) it’s quite fun!

  • So far in T3 a good deal of PQs are bugged or problematic (Chapter 11 & 12 PQs in Chaos come to mind). The populated and / or 3man friendly PQs seem to have been left behind in T2. There are some that are maybe ‘doable’, but the timers are tight and you have to clean up Champions damn quick.

    Sadly, unless you come with your own group capable of doing them, a lot of PQs just don’t get done, even at prime time. IMHO most of the PQs are just a little too long and tedious to gather more than just a couple random peeps grinding out influence (like myself, determined to max every Chapter).

    If you’re in a sizable guild and you roll with a full group, you’re probably golden and this whole concern doesn’t apply to you anyway.

    I love the PQs in a general sense, but I’m just not seeing the charm of casually jumping in like T1 & T2 was. The shine on PQs is tarnishing for me, so I’m hoping it’ll perk up again for T4.

    It’d be very easy to be fooled into thinking the game goes downhill after Rank 20, so it’s encouraging to hear it picks up steam after 30.

  • I for one, like every aspect of the game, except for the still quite frequent CTD and the fact, that in case of one, you are returned back to the dungeons (at least in gunbad) entraces for now.

    So since I got the choice between solo-Questing, solo influence PQ-grinding, grouping with guildies to complete and farm PQs, dungeon crawling, casually jumping scenarios solo while PvEing, grouping with guildies for some serious scenario play and forming warbands with our alliance guilds to do open RvR keep sieges… I have had no problem at all enjoying my way to tier 4.

    The game keeps on going strong and it grows on me more and more. The more addons I install to personlize my client the more WAR becomes my game. I am certain to be hooked for a months, if not years, depending how the endgame will play out, once the majority of players reach tier 4. If it lives up, to its potential, WAR isn’t just the winner. Hands down, it will truely be the next big thing in MMO-gaming and a true progession of MMO-gameplay.

    Keep in mind, that I play a swordmaster. Tanks have the highest utility ingame and are hands-down the perfect solo questing classes. Many PQs can be handled just with a tank and the dedicated healer, if you know, what you’re doing. Timers are thight, but it can work out. So all I need, to get a kick out of most PQs, is a healer. Often, while influence grinding in step 1 of a PQ, a healer will walk in, I will run up to him and say: ‘Up for this PQ mate?’ and him saying: ‘Yeah – let’s go for it.’…

    So my suggestion to anybody, who is more of a ‘solo’-player is, go for the tanks. They are fun, they are powerful and to a certain degree, you will get the most out of soloing. Grouping just makes the tanks even more enjoyable. A very good choice to have an overall fun experience of WAR.

  • I’m still only in T2. If I would stop rolling alts I would probably be in T4. (Stupid adult ADD)

  • killing the dragons was the most fun ive had in pve as a healer. group heals ftw.

    @chris: i have the same problem, i constantly play alts.

  • I’m glad things are looking up in T4, but I have to say not even a month in and getting a sense that most are feeling the mediocrity or boredom for some by T3 is not a good thing for WARs future or its population.

    While the PQ sounded really fun, I hope for those who will be subscribing at the end of the trail period have more to look forward to then more PQ’s besides the city sieges that might take place twice a month.

  • WAR’s T3 questing (and almost all of it for that matter) is only mediocre to me because I’m a jaded vet who has seen it done before. It would be like eating your favorite food every night of the week for a month. Eventually you’re going to want something different or to change it up a bit. WAR’s questing is great… but not so different from the ‘normal’ mmorpg questing scene.

  • I don’t know guys I’m getting bored with WAR…I can’t quite figure out why? Maybe mmo burnout? I’m in T2 and it’s cool but just not feeling it atm. Going to try my best to get to T3 and see if my opinion changes.

  • @Russel: Have you been doing RvR? Mixing up what you’re doing? Or are you just PvEing? Or just Rvring for that matter?

  • @Keen: Yeah I am mixing it up and it’s cool but I just feel like that epic story is just not there. Don’t get me wrong I love bashin other players, it’s great fun, but already that is wearing thin. Now would I pay $15 a month to keep going? I really think I may have to pass. I also don’t blame Mythic. I feel they have produced exactly what they have been speaking about I just not sure if it’s providing enough of an illuision for me, if that makes sense.

    Perhaps if they had more dungeons where people could go and quest…make it epic. I know there are a few dungeons later on but they should have some before you hit lvl 20.

    There is a game coming soon that I am very interested in, an mmo of course, and maybe that one will have more of that D & D feel that exudes creativity.

    Cheers!

  • @Russel: Oh, I agree 110% with you about the story… Or rather, what story? I have not found one yet. I’ve read some of the interested warhammer lore tidbits but they’re like those 100 calorie snack-packs of chips… sorry, just not as good as the real thing.

    If you’re looking for a story, and base whether or not the game will hold your attention on that, then this is probably not the right game for you. Mythic has taken it to a very direct RvR/PvP approach. The game is clearly based on the continual player interactions and not so much about the player interacting with the world – which is why PvE and the immersion factor feel slightly diminished.

  • @Keen: Yeah man think you hit the nail on the head for me. I’m actually playing the newly enhanced Witcher and having some insane fun…of course I’m still looking for that MMORPG, if there are any out there. I really think the market has left off the RPG actually and the jocks have invaded our sphere. It’s a shame because I know there is money to be had there. Most people just call them mmo’s these days, sad really.

  • Russel expressed my feelings about the game perfectly. I also am not subscribing, but I hope the best for mythic and its gaming population

  • Did they leave off the RPG? In past games I’d get to join Capt Leader dude as his sidekick or Lt. or somesuch. In WAR, IM the Hero, I lead the sidekick npcs, I take the hill, fort, flag whathave you. Im not some message runner.

    Instead of some nerdy sage sending me off to find some arcane item for him to use. I get told of some arcane item causing harm or falling in to the wrong hands, once found, I take it to a nerdy sage to tell me more about it, so I can go do something about it.

    (now in game the effect is the same: NPC says go get item, once found take to smart guy to read it etc… But the context of how this is done is what puts me in the spotlight or backstage)

  • Maybe I am exception but I actually liked T3 more then T2.. mostly because of Forts and scenario variety. On my server we get Tor Anroc, Dam, Isha and the non-ctf Dwarf one(dont remember the name)

    Epicness of WAR comes from pvp sieges, now they just need to fix the performance issues (that did not exist in beta..). Honestly some of the T3 sieges I been in reminded me of the best days of DAOC, pure awesomeness. Killing 5 people with OIL what can really top that? Well electromagneting 10-15 into oil followed by turret self-destruct! muahahaa

  • @kolmer: Now that I think about it, that’s a great way of explaining how WAR feels. It’s a mmorpg without the rpg. It’s a mmorvrg (Massively Multiplayer Online Realm vs. Realm game)

    @Smthin: I think I would have liked T3 more if I got to play something other than Tor Anroc.

  • @Russell: “Yeah I am mixing it up and it’s cool but I just feel like that epic story is just not there.”

    Well said. I mean I think I had more fun in the beta than now. Why? Because the open world RVR in the beta always seemed to be packed with huge battles waging back and forth (because people weren’t really leveling past Tier 1 that much).

    Now I rarely find equal clashes between realms. You’re either ganging up on scraps or being ganged up on yourself. Why? Well probably because my guild is taking their time leveling and everyone else is way ahead of us. Yet we shouldn’t have to rush just so we can enjoy the “full potential” of the game with everyone else.

    In addition, it seems like I’m not seeing many people playing open world RVR until they reach the top of their tier. It’s almost like you get this flip flop reversal. Everyone grinds quests till they’ve reach 80% or 90% of their tier level and then they go hardcore with RVR till they cross the next threshold. I mean we tried going RVR when we were 50% through our tier but we got wasted pretty good. Although considering we were lower level and outnumbered, I guess we did fairly well.

  • Just thought of something. Obviously once everyone gets to Tier 4 on a server, you will probably see some pretty damn epic battles going on. That I will most definitely enjoy (when I get there). 🙂

  • @Russell i think i know what kind of game you want…it´s pretty much the same i want. Maybe you should try out D&D Online it´s pretty good now i must say. But honestly, you can´t make a MMO a real RPG. That´s my opinion at last.

    Anyways…i pretty much have played everything since UO (yes i´m old 🙁 ) and warhammer has so much potential and makes fun it´s insane. Of course there are things to look at, things need the last bit of polishing..and when the endgame realy starts (meaning as enough people are there) we will see how balanced everything is. (i might add this game has already more balance than some i know who have been around for years)

    When it comes to T3 i don´t realy have a problem with it…never had a problem in any mmo, though i can understand that from a pve side, so i hope they will push the exp gain enough..that should do it i think. and everyone will be happy in t4 anyways 🙂

    trust me there is more to come 😀