If I Became Warhammer Online Producer

WAR Resurrection would be new Free RvR Pack to introduce F2P to Warhammer Online.

All current currency will be changed into one token system.  No more confusion.

Renown system revamp.  Earn RvR Spirits (1 pt per renown level) see Rift Souls for example

Servers are pvp race FFA.  It is no longer destro vs order.  Now each race can fight each other in Tier 5.  Now it is a six faction game to keep game balanced.

Each race now has access to each class from each faction.  You can now be a dwarf brightwizard.

City sieges removed from game.  Each city can now be invaded live (no instances).  Other missing cities added.

Scenarios removed from game completely.

Tier 4 caps at RR79, Tier 5 80-100

Remove diminishing returns on renown.  Equal distribution of renown to all group members in circle of renown.

RvR zones switched to AB style with keeps removed.  Must hold all 5 for 15 mins to lock zone.

No zone locking renown bonus.  Locking a zone now gives you temporarily 1 extra rvr spirit point, and takes away 1 rvr spirit point from losing race.

All rvr sets of armor removed from game

Introduce f2p cash shop.  no more crafting...all talismans, pots, etc purchasable in cash shop.

End game pvp set bought with new one token fits all currency system.

Skaven removed from game along with TI

RvR packs will now be free.

Guild levels removed from game.

Cross server rifts.  You can now join another server through a rift for an hour and have a little fun.

Warhammer Online Server Mergers Is Not The Answer

How many times have they tried server mergers, and eventually it gets down to the need to do it again?  When will they figure out it is the game mechanics, and if the game was fun to play there wouldn't be an issue with lack of population?  How do they put a positive spin on this?  How much longer till it is down to one server, and eventually the game dies?

I am sure all the fanboi's right now are celebrating.  It will be some good fighting for a month or so, and than Gorfang will be right back to where it was.  The answer to the game isn't increasing population by merging servers.

Gorfang will die off just like every other high population server in WAR.  It has happened since day one of server mergers.  Everyone gets excited.  Everyone loves pvp, and fights in the zone.  After a week or two one side is dominating the other faction so they go back to flipping zones in opposite pairings.  Players get bored again.  Some quit from always losing, and some after they realize it is the same old boring renown grind.

You have the others who quit because being farmed by RR90+ players in scenarios isn't fun.  Will there ever be RR based scenarios?  My guess is probably not.  If they are merging three servers they probably can barely get scenarios to pop normally.  Also with the merger it doesn't leave much room for argument about cross server scenarios because before long there will be only one server.

For me the game still has the core issues that probably drives more players away from the game than anything.   The gear gap from a RR40, and RR85+ is so huge.  Until they figure out that they only need 2-3 tiers of gear, and not eight players aren't going to stick around to gain little renown from being farmed by higher rank players.  It just isn't fun.

Secondly fighting needs to be locked to one pairing.  Letting players easily farm renown by flipping zones without any fighting is just stupid.  Where is the fun in RvE?

Thirdly TI is a joke.  Players waiting how long for this Skaven dungeon that was to be like Darkness Falls?  I remember going in there, and thinking this is it?

The server mergers just aren't going to work.  Remember when you would get frustrated at your current server, and reroll to a new one?  That option is basically dead now.  Your server options are getting less, and less so now instead of players rerolling they will just ragequit, and move to Rift.

RvE Is Back After Patch 1.4 Has Worn Off After Two Weeks

Yes.  You can say you heard it here first.   It wasn't too long ago that I wrote that after the newness of the Orvr changes wore off players would go back to their old ways.  Players aren't stupid, and will earn renown the easiest way possible. 

It is happening exactly how I predicted.  What did I predict?  I predicted that players from Destruction, and Order would avoid each other in different zones to maximize renown.  Every player knows that with diminishing returns that a keep defense or zone defense is worth little renown after you have killed everyone 2-3 times.

Any player knows that maximum renown is acquired by flipping zones.  Why bother defending when you can earn ten times as much renown with a flip? 

So what happened to all this great fighting in the zones again?  First players realized keep defenses and attacks are pretty boring now.  The Skaven are like new girlfriends.  After a week or two they are just like any other girlfriend.  The newness is gone, and it is just the same old stuff.

Players don't care about defending.  After all the crying about nerfed cities after sieges there is no penalty any longer if the other side wins.  No realm pride in the least bit.  Actually now in region chat you hear let them get to the city.  No one cares.  Everyone just wants there next three tiers of gear.

It is pretty sad to think we waited over two years for the RvR packs to breathe new life into RvR, and it lasted a whole two weeks.  What needs to be done to fix it?

I think really there is only one way to fix it.  Only one pairing unlocks at a time.  This ensures everyone is fighting in the same zone, and not Destruction in Dwarf, and Order in Empire.

As bad as it hurts there needs to be penalties for losing.  The problem in WAR is with two factions if one side always loses eventually everyone quits, and the server dies.  I know it is beating a dead horse, but a third faction needs to be implemented maybe into a Tier 5 zone.

Mailbox, and Keep camping are probably worse than before.  With all the resource ticks it is just too easy to hang out in either one, and collect renown without any fighting.

In Summary I think removing diminishing returns in Orvr will entice players to fight.  I would like to see the equal splitting of renown removed so if player a,b, and c kill a player they all receive full renown for that kill, and not 33% each.  The pairing lockdown I think also needs to happen.

What do you think about patch 1.4, and the RvR packs two weeks later?

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Fun Times In Kadrin Valley Tonight

Anyone on Gorfang can testify about the huge battle in Kadrin Valley tonight.  There were lots of Order claiming it was the best fight they have ever had in Warhammer Online.  I have to agree it was definitely a great battle.

The fight at the keep was fun.  I wasn't specced for AOE, but I still spammed it with focused mind.  I saw so many purple numbers it was just crazy.  I loved every minute of it.  Actually the fight lasted a few hours in KV, and once again it looks like no city will happening tonight.

I am not sure if I pissed off alot of destro with my AOE or what, but soon after I kept getting targeted by siege weapons, and no matter how hard I tried to hide I was getting one shot.  It is alright.  I am so +5 on so many players right now it doesn't matter, except for Hallu. 
 

Kadrin Valley Keep Attack

Bright Wizards love AOE

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Renown VS. Honor

By now I think everyone knows the difference between renown, and honor.  Which system is better?  Would you rather grind renown, or honor to get the best gear?  Did Warhammer Online or World of Warcraft get PvP or RvR right?

Let's start with honor from World of Warcraft.  You can grind it in battlegrounds, or in world pvp.  You are limited to a maximum amount before you have to spend it.  Basically grinding honor gives you the second best pvp gear in the game.  Blizzard has basically made battleground gear the previous seasons arena gear.  The exception is is jewelry, and weapons.  They basically force you to play both which isn't a bad thing if you only like pvp in the first place.

The thing I hated the most about World of Warcraft PvP after arenas is you basically had to farm honor 2-3 times to get the best of the best, and of course rank in the top of arenas to get each seasons gear faster than anyone else.

In Warhammer Online you grind renown for most of your gear, and do scenarios for emblems needed to buy your weapons.  Scenarios are much quicker renown, and you are also earning emblems.  With the latest patch that no longer holds true.  Scenarios rarely pop so you are stuck trying to gain renown in Orvr.  The time played vs. renown gained ratio significantly reduces in Orvr. 

I think World of Warcraft got PvP right for gear.  No matter how late you buy the game you are always just one tier of gear behind the old schoolers.  In Warhammer Online it is a different story.  They added multiple sets since introducing renown rank 100, but it still leaves anyone who recently hit rank 40, and renown rank 40 in a huge disadvantage.

Of course they boosted renown xp, and everything.  It helps a little, but you only gain the boosted renown xp if you are able to kill someone 2-3 times higher renown rank than you.  This renown curve will only get worse over time.

Just imagine in another few months with renown rank 100's roaming around.  Of course you are gaining additional renown to catch up, but a renown rank 40 player isn't going to fair very well against a premade of renown rank 100's.

This is where I think Warhammer Online is failing to keep eveyone pretty close to each other.  There is too much of a gap between renown rank 40, and 100.

World of Warcraft got it right by not ever letting a new person joining the game feel like it was impossible to gear up, and catch up with the same players who have been playing for five years.  You just can't keep adding renown ranks because eventually it will be impossible for a renown rank 40 to compete against a renown rank 200 two years down the road.

No player should ever feel that they can never catch up, and I am sorry but Warhammer Online is headed that way even with the boost.  The boost of renown means nothing if you get zero kills.

Do you see this eventually happening?  Should Warhammer Online introduce a more Warcraftish renown system to make sure all players can eventually catch up in a few months?  Do you believe old schoolers should always dominate, and it is there fault they just realized how fun Warhammer Online is?

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Welcome Back Dark Crag

Dark Crag is back.  No not the actual server, but the whole population of the server out in the lakes.  It reminded me of the Dark Crag days when I loved playing the game.  Did patch 1.4, and the RvR packs successfully get players fighting, and not hiding in PvE, or scenarios?

I think Warhammer Online hit a hole in one this time.  I heard many times in chat that scenarios were only popping once every 2-3 hours.  I think players were really enjoying the huge battles in Orvr.  I know at times Gorfang had over 350 visible players on Order logged in.  It made for some great fights yesterday.

Saturday I thought the campaign needed slowed down.  I think everyone was still playing the old way, and not out in the lakes.  City sieges were happening almost non stop.  A whole different story on Sunday.  Everyone had realm pride again.  No one was fighting in chat, or anything.

The battle in Praag lasted for hours.  Both keeps max rank, but no one could take it.  Everywhere you went there were fights.  No zone the whole day it seemed went quickly.  We had one early morning city siege, and that was it.  I think players have finally figured out the new RvR system.

How were the fights on your server?

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