Warhammer Online Devchat Jan. 30th

The Warhammer Online Devchat over at Warcry was tonight and once again I have felt the need to attend so that I don’t miss out on something new and exciting. I can’t help it; the urge to stay in the know consumes me! Tonight’s Dev chat, staying true to form, was mostly repeats of the stuff we already know. However, there were a few gems that stood out from the rest. As usual I have cleaned up the messy irc chats for all of your viewing pleasure and will briefly highlight the questions I feel were the best.

Side note: For the love of whatever god you worship… please, I beg of you, someone break Adam Gershowitz’s return key.

Zvyr: Will there be attainable stat caps like there were in DAoC?

[WAR]Gersh: Currently we don’t have a stat Hard Cap. The way our stats are designed is every stat is a “Tug of War” with another stat. For example the amount of extra damage bonused to melee attack is a direct comparison between your Str and your opponents toughness. so if your opponent is too tough then no bonus for you that being said there is a soft cap of diminishing returns even against the weakest opponent strength will only take you so far.

Pixystix: Being a former DaoC and Ultima online player, I have a question in How important will gear be? In WoW gear was 90% of the game, which took away the fun of PvPing sometimes when it was literally impossible to kill someone who had a significant gear advantage to you?

[WAR]Gersh: in WAR gear will matter. Weapon DPS adds to Melee Character attacks, and a solid 40% or so of a player’s stats is from Gear. That being said we’ve designed the loot system and the stat system to allow for a nice broad competitive range. So two players of similar level and similar skill can always compete regardless of gear.. Of course the better geared player will have an advantage but there are ways around that, such as choosing the right tactics.

{Arenammo}leobassist: How important the PvE content will be to the PvP/RvR content, Will the best itens, money be in the PvE, or it will only be a EXTRA to the game experience?

[WAR]Wheeler: The best gear is gained via RvR actions, but there is a variety of ways to gather items.

[WAR]Gersh: High end PvE content will net you some sweet loot but we’re also matching those rewards in RvR as well. Ultimately like Brian said the very best gear will come from Capitol City events which is primarily RvR but does have some PvE components as well.

[WAR]Josh: The question’s a TAD misleading, as there will be really great, high-level stuff available from both PvE AND RvR combat. You won’t be able to get all of the absolutely best stuff in the game without playing through both parts of the world. With that said, the ultimate, super-awesome items will come from City Siege and capture. Just remember that invading an enemy city opens up new PvE content as well, so it really is a synergy of the two.

First things first. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Stop right now. I don’t wan’t to hear it, read it, or whatever. Wtf am I talking about? Lua and the whole UI mod thing! It’s World of Warcraft all over again. You’re killing me here guys. Leave the UI like DAOC’s or something basic. Just say no to UI Mods!

The stat “tug o’ war” sounds interesting and I’m very pleased by the confirmation that PvP will play the greatest roll in gearing up high levels. A combination of PvE and PvP to get fantastic gear could actually work out very nicely. I’m pleased with that.

Overall it was a good Devchat was a good one, although it ended sorta weird. When asked what they favorite class was the dev team broke out into some odd discussion and then began spamming and stuff… yeah.. then they left… I’m just as confused as you probably are but hey, I would go insane in their position too. *walks away slowly*

You can read the entire Dev Chat if you read

[17:04] [WAR]Josh: Hey all. I’m Josh Drescher, Associate Producer and sometimes-Senior Designer for WAR.
[17:04] [WAR]Josh: You may remember me from such podcasts as… um… the podcasts.
[17:04] [WAR]Gersh: <—- Adam Gershowitz Combat & Careers Strike Team lead & Associate Art Director
[17:05] [WAR]Josh: Adam is also a Warrior-Priest look-alike.
[17:05] [WAR]Gabe: Hey. Gabe Amatangelo here. Content Designer.
[17:05] [WAR]Gersh: Now all I need is a Hammer =)
[17:05] [WAR]James: Hi all, I’m James Nichols – Community Coordinator here on Warhammer Online. I’m the guy who posts on the herald, forums, and drives the developers mad trying to get info about the game out to all of you! 🙂
[17:06] [WAR]Jordan: Hello all. I’m Jordan Rosenbaum…evil marketing coordinator..I make everyone mad trying to make sure information doesn’t get out..lol
[17:07] [WAR]Robert: Hey all. I’m Robert Mull – Community Relations Director. I’m the guy who makes James and our other Community Coordinators go mad.
[17:07] [WAR]Josh: Robert speaks Russian.
[17:08] [WAR]Josh: He’s terrifying.
[17:08] [WAR]James: He also makes big trouble for Moose and Squirrel
[17:08] [WAR]Wheeler: Heyo. Brian Wheeler – Lead RvR Design and random other Systems.

Moondriane: Regarding the Chaos Marauder, Will the mutations be forced or will the player have control? how mant mutations are there? and how will you scale the damage of the attacks with main hand weapons?

[WAR]Gersh: FYI I talk… Alot … be warned. Marauder Mutations are completely player selected… They are very similar to stance systems in other MMOs. Players will be able to unlock 3 diffrent types of mutations, We call them “Gifts”.. but in a nutshell you get 3 types. Claws (Dragon claw, Bird Claw, Beast claws)… Blades , and Bludgeons which we fondly refer to as “The Meat Club”. Depending on the mutation you have access to diffrent attacks. In addition you gain an offhand weapon that includes DPS and Stats that are on a similar level with very good item drops

Khorne: Will the Deities of WAR play a big role in the game and will they be killable.

[WAR]Josh: The Chaos gods do, in fact, play a significant role in the game. While we’re obviously focused mostly on Tzeentch, you’ll definitely be coming across the other ruinous powers and their minions throughout the world. As for killing them… well, that would be telling.

[A]Arkane: Will there be capabilities for the Logitech G15 keyboard to display information on the LCD screen from Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning?

[WAR]Josh: Uh oh. Somebody let Arkane in here. 🙂 We’re working with a number of vendors to help offer really cool, specially-tailored goodies for WAR. Unfortunately, Jordan would be forced to throw me into a ravine if I let any specific names or models slip ahead of the Holy and Perfect Marketing Schedule (all hail The Schedule).

WNxKenwayy: In the last dev chat you said the Chosen would rely on ‘twisting’. Does this mean the Chosen will be most effective when trying to overlap aura’s and not trying to fight?

[WAR]Gersh: Chosen Players will have 3 diffrent styles of play. Aura’s are shorter duration and also have the benifit of unlocking additional attacks. So a chosen could just support twist buff and debuff auras or they may pick one type of aura and twist it with the attacks it unlocks or really skilled players who do not fear the CT, will twist multiple auras and attacks in various sequences.

{Arenammo}leobassist: How important the PvE content will be to the PvP/RvR content, Will the best itens, money be in the PvE, or it will only be a EXTRA to the game experience?

[WAR]Wheeler: The best gear is gained via RvR actions, but there is a variety of ways to gather items.

[WAR]Gersh: High end PvE content will net you some sweet loot but we’re also matching those rewards in RvR as well. Ultimately like Brian said the very best gear will come from Capitol City events which is primarily RvR but does have some PvE components as well.

[WAR]Josh: The question’s a TAD misleading, as there will be really great, high-level stuff available from both PvE AND RvR combat. You won’t be able to get all of the absolutely best stuff in the game without playing through both parts of the world. With that said, the ultimate, super-awesome items will come from City Siege and capture. Just remember that invading an enemy city opens up new PvE content as well, so it really is a synergy of the two.

SD|Skwisgaar: About collision detection, how potent will it be? I’ve noticed in some videos that people were almost not hindered at all. Ex: Will we be able to maintain a tightly knit formation, say, a shieldwall, which would be effectively the blocking enemy players at strategic chokepoints like hallways and gates?

[WAR]Gersh: Players will be able to Push through Collision but only after a period of time (A few seconds) this is to prevent AFK greifing etc however collision will work very well for stopping or slowing an assault esspecially if your blocking a doorway. That is why we added knockback to the game =)

DelmarWynn: Bhazrak: Are there going to be different weapon skills, such as alash/blunt/pierce, or axe/hammer/sword, etc?

[WAR]Gersh: We have a few diffrent weapon types however outside of the diffrence between Hand Weapon , Great Weapon (2h) and Dual weild there is not any huge diffrence between them. The primary diffrences come in auto attack speed.. We didn’t want to lock in specific bonuses to weapon type since so many Iconic Careers in WAR are locked into a single weapon like Warrior Priests and Hammers.

esloan: Are healers going to be able to be in the thick of things from a RvR standpoint? I know that they have to do less damage and take less to balance things out, but it would be nice if they could hold up while in the middle of combat and not just heal all the time!

[WAR]Josh: We have a wide variety of healers in WAR – some of which are more robust than others when it comes to damage absorption. The Warrior Priest and the Disciple of Khaine are actually DESIGNED to be in the thick of the fight. They’re extremely limited in what they can do unless they have an enemy to beat or (or – in the case of my beloved Disciple – stab relentlessly). So if your dream has always been to heal AND beat a bad guy over the head, you’re in luck!

Nenwe: Battlesystem question is it like in Daoc that you need to wait for the autoattack rotation to execute your attacks or do you have those instant strikes like in some other games?

[WAR]Gersh: WAR doesn’t queue up attacks to an auto attack timer. Hit a button and things happen. However Auto attack is like a heart beat and will always be doing damage throughout the fight.

Basin|Dynatos: How is the targeting for hybrid careers set up? For example, Vanguard allowed two different targets: one friendly (for healing purposes), and one hostile (for damage purposes). Do you plan on doing something similar for WAR?

[WAR]Gersh: Yup, we’re working on a number of features to make targeting a little friendlier. In our latest beta builds we’ve introduced a Dual target system that will allow a player to keep a Hostile target and a Friendly target as a result there are a number of Careers who also have transfer abilities… The warrior priest is a great example where one strike can damage his foe, and then inspires his friend with a nice stat buff.

Mandor: no comment at this time unless Gabe wants to hint at the city dungeons which aren’t RvR (aka DF)

[WAR]Gabe: sure
[WAR]Josh: haha
[WAR]Gabe: Cities will have dungeons
[WAR]Josh: It’s a BATTLE STATION!!!
[WAR]Josh: THAT’S no question.
[WAR]Gabe: if you own the city
[WAR]Gabe: then you have access to them
[WAR]Gabe: if you siege the enemies city then you will get access to their dungeons
[WAR]Gabe: i.e. Altdorf sewers

[OTG]Mandor: I know sieging will enable certain city vendors. Will there be any ‘Darkness Falls’ type dungeons that will be unlocked through RvR accomplishments?

[WAR]Josh: Gabe clearly has PSYCHIC POWERS. He PREDICTED that question!
[WAR]Gersh: OOOH Scary!
[WAR]Gabe: if Destruction conquers then they will have access to Altdorf sewers
[WAR]Gabe: and vice versa
[WAR]Josh: Dear lord… these sewers are FULL of rats.
[WAR]Gabe: if order conquers Inevitable City they will have access to the dungeons there
[WAR]Josh: At least… I THINK those were rats.
[WAR]Gersh: SQUEEEEK
[WAR]Josh: Really BIG rats. Let me just look around the corn- AAAIIIEE!!!!
[WAR]Gabe: Rats the size of a human?
[WAR]Gersh: At least it had a rat head sewn onto it
[WAR]Gersh: somewhere….
[WAR]Gabe: Nonsense. Silly peasant.

[WHA]Eldaris: Any words on prepaid game cards and other unconfirmed ways of payment?

[WAR]Josh: I have miraculously survived the sewers! We’re looking into a number of payment options and plans, but won’t be announcing them until closer to launch. Though I have it on good authority that Marketing CAN be bribed with whiskey and cake, which could get the information out a BIT faster.

OnlyWarPlaty: It’s my understanding that regiments can earn abilities. Would you please give us an example of one or elaborate on what we can expect?

[WAR]Wheeler: Groups which are together for a long time will have abilities endowed upon the group leader like you say. One example of that is summoning players to your position to help keep groups together.

LotD|Niix: How much effect will PvE have on PvP success? Will PvP-oriented guilds be forced to man a successful PvE effort in order to be competitive in PvP?

[WAR]Gersh: Short answer is No. You can choose to play how you want , good rewards will be availible in both paths and you’ll be able to succeed in PvP without having to PvE. Even more so since we hinted some of the best items come from Cap Cities =)

Yohnstoppable: How will the chicken system work on open rvr servers? If you are in a pve area it won’t turn you into a chicken on entry, so will they be turned into a chicken upon attacking a lowbie player?

[WAR]Wheeler: We’re still working out the details of PvP servers.

muffin: How is loot alocated between the classes when it comes to quest, dose all classes chose from the same choices, or are the quest rewards diffrent for every class?

[WAR]Josh: We’ve been very careful to try and guarantee that players get rewards they can use. This comes in the form of relatively standard things like career-tailored quest loot, but also comes in more unusual forms like the PQ loot system that ALWAYS gives you a choice of an item you can use or gold or both. Nobody who earns PQ loot will ever get junk loot from the process.

Mograth: Will capturing or defending keeps and towers result in bonus reknown points being awards to the attackers or defenders ala DAoC?

[WAR]Wheeler: Yes =)

Pixystix: Being a former DaoC and Ultima online player, I have a question in How important will gear be? In WoW gear was 90% of the game, which took away the fun of PvPing sometimes when it was literally impossible to kill someone who had a significant gear advantage to you?

[WAR]Gersh: in WAR gear will matter. Weapon DPS adds to Melee Character attacks, and a solid 40% or so of a player’s stats is from Gear. That being said we’ve designed the loot system and the stat system to allow for a nice broad competitive range. So two players of similar level and similar skill can always compete regardless of gear.. Of course the better geared player will have an advantage but there are ways around that, such as choosing the right tactics.

Loki: What types of ranged weaponary will be availible?

[WAR]Gersh: All players will get a ranged attack , most tanks etc just get access to a simple throwing axe or knife. However the ranged Missle careers get access to a variety of weapons in their specialization… Engineers for example have a variety of rifles and pistols at their disposal.

NotConvincedYet: Some information on the internet depicts orclike shaman. Will the shaman class be available to orcs or only goblins?

[WAR]Josh: That was an old piece of concept art that – while cool – we chose not to go with in the end. We felt the goblin Shaman just felt better for how we wanted them to play. Imagine an ORC Shaman bouncing around and exploding in balls of green hilarity. Actually… don’t. It’s just creepy. Anywho, the Shaman will remain goblin-exclusive.

{TO}Vortan: Will there be any kind of Open Beta or Stress test? If so, how do you get into the event?

[WAR]James: Open Beta to us means a larger test with no NDA, so yes there will be one! As we get closer to such an event we’ll provide a variety of ways for folks to get into it. Stay tuned to the Newsletter and Herald for more info 🙂

Zvyr: Will there be attainable stat caps like there were in DAoC?

[WAR]Gersh: Currently we don’t have a stat Hard Cap. The way our stats are designed is every stat is a “Tug of War” with another stat. For example the amount of extra damage bonused to melee attack is a direct comparison between your Str and your opponents toughness. so if your opponent is too tough then no bonus for you that being said there is a soft cap of diminishing returns even against the weakest opponent strength will only take you so far.

Icona: Are there any level limits for the different RvR areas within the 4 tiers? 4 Areas sounds a little bit rough for 40 levels as there would always be tons of people bigger than you.

[WAR]Wheeler: There are level ranges for each Tier to ensure that high level players can’t steamroll the lowbies. If you’re above that level, you’ll get chickenized (heavily debuffed and turned into a chicken). This applies for Tier 1 and 2 but at Tier 3 or higher, there are no level caps planned at this time.

Guest120: Tell me more about lairs. Saw them in newsletter, but not too much info. How are they different from an instance dungeon.

[WAR]Gabe: Generally speaking lairs will be fundamentally different in that they are not instanced. They will be persistant world things that you come by. There will be various ways to gain access to them. For example discovering a button in one end of city. That opens a cage with a beast inside on the other.

Silarr: can the UI be modified with mods, not bots(healbots etc), just mods to give it a new look.. if yes which scripting language is going to be supported?

[WAR]Josh: The UI will be totally customizable in terms of appearance and utility. For folks who understand what it means: It’s all Lua-based, so experienced modders will be right at home in WAR. We actually have a super-select handful of beta testers playing with it already.

Sarande: Siege weapons have been recently introduced, but will they be available only in instanced RvR combat or will they also appear in the same or different form in real-world RvR?

[WAR]Wheeler: Siege weapons are primarily slated for open world combat and Keep raids and not in Scenarios actually. The mechanics of them in open world vs. instanced Scenarios (if they’re used in Scenarios) will be the same though. A catapult is a catapult…is a catapult. I think that’s how it goes….

jeremyflavored: What classes/races are your favorites to play and/or test right now?

[WAR]James: Yes
[WAR]Robert: well put
[WAR]Gersh: What Game are we talking about ?
[WAR]James: There are some that call me a poet
[WAR]Josh: I’m all about the Disciple of Khaine. Blood-thirsty, close-range stabbity goodness. Er… BADNESS. And to the folks on the forums who claim it’s just because they’re the New Hotness, that’s just plain wrong. I’m a Dark Elf fanatic through and through and the Disciple is like my evil DREAM Dark Elf.
[WAR]Wheeler: Warrior Priest I still dig the most. Being able to heal and lay down the whoopin with a big honkin hammer is “teh win!”
[WAR]Gersh: I’m a fan of BBQ, esspecially Chicken BBQ… Bright Wizard all the way
[WAR]Josh: Also, the idea of being JEREMY FLAVORED? That’s just WRONG.
[WAR]Robert: I loves me some Bright Wizard. Bringing the heat on my enemies and watching them burn is so…heart warming.
[WAR]Gabe: High Elf Shadow Warriors <—- ninjas are awesome
[WAR]Josh: BOOO!!!
[WAR]James: In all seriousness though I’m a huge fan of the marauder…Barbarians in kilts with wicked mutations. Can’t go wrong there.
[WAR]Josh: You mess of do-gooders.
[WAR]Jordan: Black Orc – I’ve always been a tank player and I think its funny that the most dangerous creatures in the universe are also pretty close to the dumbest. And besides that they get over the top armor and weapons that are just big slabs of metal. Last but not least, you get to kick people in the crotch.
[WAR]Josh: Alright!
[WAR]Gersh: Though the Witch Hunter is also the hawtness

**Keen’s Note**: From here they go on spamming and acting really… odd. Then they left…. I’m really confused.