Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
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Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (alternatively Warhammer Online or WAR) was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Mythic Entertainment and set in an alternate Warhammer Fantasy timeline. The game was published by Electronic Arts in September 2008. The game servers were officially shut down on the 18 December 2013.
The game has continued in an unofficial capacity through the hosting of private servers, namely Return of Reckoning.
Contents
Setting
Warhammer Online took place in the aftermath of a great plague when the Empire, Dwarfs, and High Elves join forces to battles Chaos, Dark Elves and the Greenskins. The sides form the alliances of Order and Destruction, respectively.
The World
Tier 1: Nordland, Norsca, Chrace, Blighted Isle, Ekrund, Mount Bloodhorn
Tier 2: Troll Country, Ostland, Ellyrion, Shadowlands, Barak Varr, Marshes of Madness
Tier 3: High Pass, Talabecland, Saphery, Avelorn, Black Fire Pass, Badlands
Tier 4: Chaos Wastes, Reikland, Praag, Eataine, Dragonwake, Caledor, Thunder Mountain, Black Crag, Kadrin Valley
Capital Cities: Altdorf, The Inevitable City
Gameplay
Warhammer Online featured a tiered structure to its game zones. New players began in the the first tier zones Nordland and Norsca for Order and Destruction, respectively. By tier 4, players would battle for control over nine separate zones. This meant that unlike the traditional atlas structure of many MMOs, players traveled throughout the world nearly instantly to different battlefields.
Player vs. Environment
Warhammer Online featureed traditional quests which could be accepted from NPCs and completed for a reward. Tier 1 was 75% PvE whilst Tier 4 was 25% PvE, shifting the focus of gameplay away from solo or small group questing.
One unique mechanic was public quests - an area of the zone which allowed characters to gather and complete a short group quest. This eliminates the need for players to wait around to form groups.
The game contained instanced Dungeons in Altdorf, The Inevitable City, the Chaos Wastes and a few other zones.
The Land of the Dead was a zone where players could complete a variety of PvE public quests inside of an Open RvR lake.
Player vs. Player
At launch, Warhammer Online had a large number of PvP servers. These servers allowed characters up to ten ranks above the normal limit to participate in RvR and allowed combat outside of RvR Lakes without flagging.
The game also featured over a dozen unique instanced scenarios which pit groups of characters against each other. Like public quests, scenarios did not require premade groups.
Realm vs. Realm
Warhammer Online's premiere gameplay was RvR combat. Order and Destruction battled each other for control of individual keeps and battlefield objectives which determined who controled each zone.
While combat over battlefield objectives was done by players on foot, keep sieges required more complex tactics. Normally keeps could be taken by destroying the doors with either a ram or other siege engines and then defeating the keep lord. However, each keep was defended by NPC guards and defending players could pour flaming oil on attackers. Defenders could also hide inside the keep to heal, while the attackers remained in the open without cover. Finally, guilds could claim keeps and purchase upgrades to make them more defendable.
In Tier 4, if at least six of the zones were controlled by one faction a city siege would begin. City sieges were similar to 24 vs. 24 scenarios with a number of objectives and stages. The final stage had players battling alongside their city's leader, some even becoming their champions.
Characters
Players pick their character's career, which automatically determines their race. Gender is optional for some careers. Each character's appearance can be customized.
| Armies | Tank | Melee DPS | Ranged DPS | Healer/Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwarfs | Ironbreaker | Slayer (Male Only) | Dwarf Engineer | Rune Priest |
| The Empire | Knight of the Blazing Sun | Witch Hunter | Bright Wizard | Warrior Priest |
| High Elves | Swordmaster | White Lion | Shadow Warrior | High Elf Archmage |
| Greenskins | Black Orc | Orc Choppa | Goblin Squig Herder | Goblin Shaman |
| Chaos | Chosen (Male Only) | Chaos Marauder (Male Only) | Magus | Chaos Zealot |
| Dark Elves | Black Guard | Witch Elf (Female Only) | Sorceress/Sorcerer | Disciple of Khaine |
Development
Warhammer Online originally began development with Climax who worked with Rick Priestly and Robin Dews. [1]
See Also
Sources
- 1: White Dwarf 265 (UK), Warhammer Online, pg. 58-59
