Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
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Developer(s)	Mythic Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Designer(s)	Mark Jacobs Paul Barnett
Engine	Gamebryo engine
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release	September 18, 2008
Genre(s)	MMORPG
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (officially abbreviated as WAR) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy setting. It was developed by Mythic Entertainment and simultaneously released in North and South Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand on September 18, 2008. The game revolves around the continual worldwide conflict that the Warhammer Fantasy setting is known for, and the game is geared toward ongoing, constant war laced with dark humor.

Development history

The first online game development began under the company Climax Online. The project was officially canceled in June 2004 when Games Workshop determined that the roll-out costs would be too high. However, work on the game never actually stopped as Climax Online continued the project using their own funds until the company reported in late 2004 that the Warhammer Online project was shut down due to difficulty in securing a publishing agreement.

With the license available again, Games Workshop was approached by Mythic Entertainment, who were interested in acquiring the license and starting a new project from scratch. A long-standing relationship between several Games Workshop managers and the CEO of Mythic Mark Jacobs ensured that a deal was quickly reached. The Warhammer Online license was acquired by Mythic on May 18, 2005. Mythic would soon cancel its original follow-up project Imperator Online after gaining the Warhammer License.

Though Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is being developed by Mythic Entertainment, Games Workshop is also involved with the ongoing development of the project. Their role is not only to ensure that the project remains true to the Warhammer Fantasy IP, but also to work with Mythic to allow for the appropriate development and extension of the IP as necessitated for the MMO. Mythic has previously created MMOs, including Dark Age of Camelot.

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is not purely derived from either Warhammer Fantasy Battles or Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay or any other source alone, but rather from the Warhammer Fantasy universe as a whole.

Armies

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is a Realm versus Realm (RvR) game comprised of two separate factions: Order and Destruction. Each faction contains three separate armies, each of which is further broken down into three or four career choices. A number of careers are gender specific i.e. only playable as a male or female character.

Armies of Order

Army	Lore	Denomination
Dwarfs	Though the Dwarfs once had a great empire when humans were still primitive and uncivilized, their heyday has long since passed. They are beset on all sides by the forces of destruction: primarily the insidious Skaven rat-men and the vast populations of Orcs and Goblins. The Dwarfs are a hardy, stubborn and industrious folk - considered to be amongst the greatest craftsmen of the Old World, the Dwarfs create war machines and artifacts of unsurpassed complexity, power and majesty. Dwarfs live longer than humans (several hundred years on average) and make their homes, for the most part, in great mountain fortresses called holds, many of which are constantly being assaulted by the forces of destruction. The Dwarfs hold strongly to traditions, notably their respect for long-held grudges, they along with the Empire have embraced black powder weaponry such as cannons and explosives. The current dwarf High King is Thorgrim Grudgebearer, who rules from the dwarven capital of Karaz-a-Karak, known as Everpeak to men. In WAR, the Dwarfs are paired against their long-time racial enemies the Orcs and Goblins, known collectively as the Greenskins.	The army of the Dwarfs in WAR is known as the Oathbearers, named because of their oath of allegiance to the High King. Their duty was to find necessary materials in the most dangerous places in the world, requiring exceptional Dwarfs to undertake such a task.
Empire	The Empire is the largest human civilization in the Old World. Founded by the first emperor, Sigmar, who is now the Empire's patron deity (though other deities are worshiped), the Empire has stood for over two thousand years. Though it has gone through periods of dismemberment, it was recently unified by the Emperor Magnus the Pious. The current Emperor is Karl Franz who resides in the Empire's capital, Altdorf. Although not as skilled in craftsmanship as the Dwarfs or in magic as the Elves, the Empire is not held back by tradition to the extent of the Dwarfs or Elves and has yet to fully succumb to any threat, external or internal. The Empire's civilization is somewhat modeled on Germany as it was during the age of reason with heavy medieval and theocratic or religious conservative influences. At the start of WAR, the Empire faces off against the destructive forces of Chaos which have already overrun the Russian-like Kislev and are encroaching from the north.	The Order of the Griffon is the Empire army involved in WAR, formed by Emperor Karl Franz with the blessing of the Church of Sigmar, the Colleges of Magic and the Reiksguard. The Order is primarily made up of warriors, priests of Sigmar and wizards charged with defending the realm, and are answerable only to the Emperor himself.
High Elves	Skilled in the arts of magic and one of the oldest civilized cultures in the Warhammer world, the ancient and dying Elven race has taken up arms against the forces of disorder by coming to the Empire's aid. The High Elves live on a large island continent called Ulthuan and are makers of fine art, music, and weapons of war unsurpassed by the other races, with the exception of the Dwarfs. Elves live for thousands of years and are usually extremely proficient at their given role. They are grudgingly fighting alongside the Dwarfs, as the two races put aside their long-standing animosity to combat the greater threat. Many thousands of years ago, Malekith, the son of the High Elves' first Phoenix King Aenarion, was denied the throne. This led to a cataclysmic civil war the elves call the Sundering which destroyed the landmass of much of Ulthuan. Following the Sundering, Malekith and his supporters exiled themselves from Ulthuan and became the Dark Elves. The current Phoenix King is Finubar the Seafarer who resides in the High Elf Capital, Lothern. In WAR, The High Elves are pitted against their dark kin, the Dark Elves.	In WAR, high elf characters are part of an army known as the Shining Guard, under the command of the legendary warrior Prince Tyrion. They were tasked with defending Ulthuan while the Phoenix King and his army fights alongside the Empire.

Armies of Destruction

Army	Lore	Denomination
Greenskins (Orcs and Goblins)	The Greenskins are a collection of Orcs and Goblins, making them unique within WAR as they consist of two races. However, with only three career options available to the Greenskins factions they are the same as other races in terms of career options. Orcs are a large warlike humanoid species, born for battle, fighting, and the occasional brawl. They live in tribal systems with the strongest Orc leading the tribe. Goblins are considerably smaller than Orcs, and are often bullied by their larger, more intimidating cousins. This has caused the Goblins to evolve into sneaky, insidious, and more intelligent creatures in order to defend themselves from their larger kin. Occasionally, a particularly powerful Greenskin leader will gather many tribes together and form what is known as a "WAAAGH!!!": a nearly unstoppable band of marauding greenskins. With the outset of WAR a new "WAAAGH!!!" is forming and once again the Orcs seek to eradicate their ancestral enemies, the Dwarfs. All Greenskins appear to be male, although they are considered to be a genderless race. Therefore, there are no gender options available to players who create a Greenskin character in WAR.	The Greenskins are part of the Bloody Sun Boyz, led by the Black Orc Grumlok and his Goblin Shaman Gazbag. Their war with their old enemies, the Dwarfs, was manipulated by the Witch King Malekith. His intention was to start a war between the Greenskins and Dwarfs so that the Dwarfs could not come to the aid of the Empire, who would be forced to call upon the armies of the Phoenix King for aid - thus leaving Ulthuan ripe for the taking.
Chaos	The forces of Chaos are bent on corrupting and destroying everything in their path. In the Warhammer Universe, the followers of Chaos may worship one of the four major gods: Tzeentch (change, manipulation and hope), Khorne (conflict and fury), Nurgle (decay, disease and despair), and Slaanesh (excess, pleasure and general hedonism). These gods are often at odds with one another and rarely work together, although some follow Chaos as a whole and are commonly referred to as Chaos Undivided. The Human followers of Chaos generally live in the Chaos Wastes in the far northern part of the world where the energies of raw magic and chaos are strong and cause both its inhabitants and terrain to warp and mutate. These humans live in a warlike semi-tribal society, and when the time comes for war they are sometimes followed by hideous daemons from the realm of chaos. In WAR, the forces of Chaos are pitted against the Empire.	All Chaos players will be affiliated to Tzeentch, as that is the patron deity of the Chaos force in WAR - the Raven Host. These are Tzeentch's most devoted servants, and its leader Tchar'zanek is one of the Lord of Magic's Chosen. Mainly these humans come from Norsca.
Dark Elves	Once High Elves, the spiteful Dark Elves have a bitter feud with their ancient counterparts. Their king, the "Witch King" Malekith, has his sights set on the throne of the Phoenix King, which he believes is rightly his. Instead of worshipping all the Elven Gods, the Dark Elves worship only Khaine, the Elven God of war, even going so far as human (and other) sacrifice while their fleets travel the world enslaving "lesser" races. The Dark Elves dwell in Naggaroth, a cold and desolate land to the north west of Ulthuan which they were exiled to after the Sundering, though WAR players will not be able to visit this area. While the armies of the High Elves are away to fight the forces of Chaos, the Dark Elves have taken this opportunity to attack Ulthuan, the home of the High Elves. Malekith also has empowered the leaders of the Greenskins, the Goblin Shaman Gahzbag and the Black Orc Warboss Grumlok, bestowing them with magical amulets of great dark power that helped the Greenskins to raise a WAAAGH! and conquer the original Dwarf capital of Karak Eight-Peaks. In WAR, the Dark Elves are racially paired against the High Elves.	All Dark Elf players in WAR are members of House Uthorin, one of the noble families of Naggaroth. Their leader, Lord Uthorin, is a master of intrigue and has his sights set on Malekith's throne. But the Witch King has plans of his own.

Careers

Each of the twenty careers in Warhamer Online conform to an archetype role, though not as strictly as in many other games. For example, the Warrior Priest is an archetypal support or healer career, though he also has many melee DPS elements, meaning players of this career will have to enter combat and fight to be able to heal their allies effectively. In this way, the careers are given variety and avoid being simple reiterations of common fantasy archetypes.

There are specialization within careers, based on career mastery lines in which Mastery Points can be spent. This allows for more variation between characters of the same career.

Most careers have the option to play as either a male or female character. However, some careers such as the Witch Elf are only able to be played as one gender (female, in this case). By contrast, the Greenskins (Orcs and Goblins) are genderless, though masculine in appearance.

On July 11, 2008, Mythic cut four careers from WAR: the Dwarf Hammerer, the Greenskin Choppa, the Empire's Knight of the Blazing Sun, and the Dark Elf Black Guard. They said this was because they wanted to focus on the classes that they thought were the best realized, and cut the careers that were "good", rather than "great"..

On October 17, 2008, in Mark Jacobs State of the Game address, it was announced that former cut classes Black Guard and Knight of the Blazing Sun would be introduced to the live game some time in December.

Archetypes

The Careers in WAR are broken down into the following archetypes:

Tank

The tank is a heavily armored character whose primary purpose is to absorb large amounts of damage, protecting their allies and handling multiple enemies at once (crowd control). Careers of the tank archetype have the option to wield a one-handed weapon and a shield for greater damage mitigation, or a two-handed great weapon for more damage.

Melee DPS

An archetype with less protection or staying power than a tank, the melee DPS careers are able to deal out far greater damage in a shorter period of time. Lacking in ranged-damage capabilities, melee DPS careers are moderately armored and in possession of abilities which root, slow or otherwise incapacitate their intended target.

Ranged DPS

An archetype that deals high levels of damage from a distance, and often have area of effect spells to damage multiple enemies at once. The ranged DPS careers are generally lightly armored and possess some abilities that root or slow on-coming opponents, in addition to knock-back abilities. This includes both spell casters as well as classes that use weapons such as bows or guns.

Healer

The healer archetype can buff and heal allies as well as debuff and deal damage to enemies. Healers are most effective when combining all of their abilities, rather than focusing on just one specific role.

Career chart

WAR Career Chart

Armies	Tank	Melee DPS	Ranged DPS	Healer
Dwarfs	Ironbreaker	None (formerly Hammerer)	Engineer	Runepriest
The Empire	Knight of the Blazing Sun	Witch Hunter	Bright Wizard	Warrior Priest
High Elves	Swordmaster	White Lion	Shadow Warrior	Archmage
Greenskins	Black Orc	None (formerly Choppa)	Goblin Squig Herder	Goblin Shaman
Chaos	Chosen (Male Only)	Marauder (Male Only)	Magus	Zealot
Dark Elves	Black Guard	Witch Elf (Female Only)	Sorceress/Sorcerer	Disciple of Khaine

Specific game features

Character customization

In Warhammer Online character customization is available in many forms. The initial character creation process allows players to select the race, career and basic look of their character, including facial features and accessories. Dye is available at NPC vendors for recoloring armor and accessories. Players are able to decorate themselves with trophies, such as the heads of fallen enemies, which are equipped and displayed at various points on the character model. Other forms of customization include Tactics (customizable sets of bonuses that players can adjust while out of combat), as well as Morale Abilities (increasingly powerful abilities that become available as morale is generated during the course of battle). Customizable armor and visual guild heraldry also aid in allowing a player to make their character visually unique.

In addition to visual character customization, Warhammer features an achievement system, similar to that of Steam. As achievements are unlocked, players may apply custom titles that appear beneath their names.

Collision detection

Warhammer Online features collision detection, a feature that is designed to prevent players from moving through other player characters. The collision detection feature works on both enemy units and friendly ones, but only when flagged for RvR combat. This feature enhances the role played by heavily armored characters known as "tanks", as it helps them become far more efficient at holding choke points and protecting weaker players in their group such as healers and casters.

Realm vs. Realm

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning features Mythic's Realm versus Realm (RvR) combat system, originally developed in Dark Age of Camelot. This takes place within three different racial pairings: Dwarfs vs. Greenskins, Empire vs. Chaos, and High Elves vs. Dark Elves. Although there are only two races per pairing, players may travel to either of the other two pairings to help fight with their friends and allies. There are four types of RvR combat: Skirmishes (random world encounters), Battlefields (objective-driven battles in RvR-specific areas), Scenarios (instanced, point-based battles against the opposing faction), and Campaigns (invading enemy lands and capital cities). RvR contribution includes both Player vs. Player (PvP) combat and (to a lesser extent) Player vs. Environment (PvE) quests so that you can assist your realm in their victory, regardless of preferred play-style.

All activities in WAR contribute to the campaign, as it is the primary focus of the game. Each of the aforementioned activities generate Victory Points (VP) which measure a realm's progress in capturing a zone. When one realm reaches a designated amount of Victory Points in a particular zone, that zone falls under their control and the war pushes deeper into enemy territory. This back and forth struggle for zone control continues until one side holds two racial pairings, and the attacking side may sack, loot, and pillage the enemy's capital city. The capture of a capital city is the pinnacle objective of the campaign. Once a capital city is taken, the attackers are given a period time to loot the city. When this period expires, the defeated players receive increasing support from NPC guards until they are able to force the attackers out of their city and close the gates. At this point the campaign then begins anew, restarting the cycle.

Keeps and Keep Sieges were introduced into WAR’s Realm vs Realm combat system during the Closed Beta phase of testing. Keeps can be captured for Victory Points towards your realm and can be claimed by the capturing guild. NPC guards are stationed at all keeps (claimed or unclaimed) to ensure that a certain level of difficulty is maintained and that, at minimum, six to twelve players are required for capture. Should players decide to defend it, the difficulty in capturing the keep will increase greatly. Keeps are decorated according to the aesthetics of the race that currently controls it; however, the basic layout will stay the same. If a keep has been claimed by a guild, it will display the heraldry of that guild. Siege warfare includes four types of siege weapons: rams for destroying keep doors, ballistae for targeting enemy players or destroying enemy siege emplacements, cannons, catapults, and trebuchets for AoE splash damage, and boiling oil to use from keep walls. Emplacements located around the keeps, known as siege pads, are used to determine where siege weapons can be constructed. The pads themselves can be destroyed by players of the defending realm, inhibiting the siege process.

Mythic also went to great lengths to prevent the ganking of new players by more experienced players. For example, in Scenarios, low-level players may be boosted to an average level of play to ensure a more level playing field. Also, if a higher-ranked player deliberately begins attacking a player with a significantly lower rank, they will be penalised by being temporarily transformed into a chicken. The lower-level player can then move on in safety, or dispatch the chicken with one blow. No such penalty applies if the lower level player opens combat or is part of a large party, to avoid the reverse happening to high-level players.

Tome of Knowledge

WAR features a "Tome of Knowledge" (ToK) that is an extension upon similar mechanisms in many other MMOs. The ToK is a multi-purpose reference tool that is designed to provide the player with a great deal of information about the game world. It is also meant to serve as a reduction in the need for players to feel like they have to rely upon third-party sources of information pertaining to the game.

The Tome of Knowledge keeps track of all information pertaining to an individual character and their progress through the game. This progress unlocks lore-related information about quests, the gameworld itself, NPCs, and defeated mobs. For example, upon first encountering a mob within the game, a basic entry is added for that creature in the Bestiary chapter of the ToK. However, with increasing contact, kills, and associated activities involving any specific creature, the information available about those encounters will be added to the Tome of Knowledge. Likewise, the ToK keeps track of the story and progression of the character through the gameworld as they complete quests, explore the map, and otherwise accomplish activities within the game.

Community

During the beta period, Mythic had an official monthly newsletter detailing the game's continued development to the public. During this time, the Mythic Community Team also went to considerable length to post on existing community fan-forums to mingle with their future market. GOA, the company managing Warhammer Online in Europe, partnered with several fansites in order to hold contests for entry to the closed beta. Mythic has a fondness toward fansites, and a fansite kit is available for download from the official website. Mythic has suggested that people visit fansites, but they are opposed to having forums on their own website.[1] Instead, they provide a list of dedicated fansites. [2] Fansites allow them to get to know the community.

One of the features of the development of Warhammer Online is the regular video blog of Creative Director Paul Barnett. These videos give the viewer an insight into the work that goes on behind the scenes of WAR, often showcasing development screens and concept art for the game. Mythic also releases "Development Diaries" from time to time, meant to give readers a deeper look into the development of WAR.

Critical reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	87%(based on 18 reviews)
Metacritic	88%

Review scores

Publication	Score
1Up.com	A-
Eurogamer	8/10
GameSpot	8.5/10
GameSpy	5/5
PC Gamer (UK)	8.8/10
PC Gamer (US)	9/10

Warhammer Online has received favorable reviews. GameSpy gave it 5 out of 5 stars and claimed, "[it] has hit the ground running with one of the best MMO experiences we've had in a long time." Gamespot gave it a 8.5 out of 10 and said, "Questers and explorers may not find what they're looking for, and certain gameplay systems don't mesh as well as they should. Nevertheless, there's more than enough exciting PvP content here to keep newcomers and veterans alike immersed in the perpetually violent tug of war between the forces of Order and Destruction." Warhammer Online has a aggregate score of 86% on metacritic.com and 87% GameRankings.com.

According to Electronic Arts, WAR has sold 1.2 million copies and has 800,000 registered users as of September 30, 2008.

Awards

Warhammer Online has received the following awards.

2008

• IGN PC: Best of E3 2008 - Best MMO
• Voodoo Extreme: E3 2008 - Best MMO
• GameSpy: Best of E3 2008 - Top 10 PC Games
• G4TV: Best of E3 - PC
• Warcry's Editor's Choice: Most Anticipated of 2008

2007

• China Joy 2003-2007: Best Foreign Online Game
• Ten Ton Hammer: Best Fantasy MMOG
• Ten Ton Hammer: Best of Show
• Beckett Massive Online Game Reader's Choice Award: Most Anticipated MMO
• Warcry's Editor's Choice: 2007's Most Anticipated
• MMORPG.com Readers Choice: Most Anticipated

E3 2006

• MMORPG.com: Best Use Of A License
• Game Amp: Best of Show
• Game Amp: Best Loot
• Game Daily Nod Award
• Voodoo Extreme: Best Massively Multiplayer Game
• Gamespot Editor's Choice: Best Stage Demo
• Ten Ton Hammer Editor's Choice Award

Beta test

As with most massively multiplayer online games, the developers of WAR decided to make use of beta testing stages. A beta test for WAR was opened in 2007, and was available by invitation to residents of North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. One way to receive an invitation to the Beta was to sign up for Mythic's monthly newsletter and be selected in a random monthly draw. Other contests and drawings were held in various venues. All purchases of the Collector's Edition and pre-orders came with access to the Open Beta phase. Unlike most open betas, in Warhammer Online only the NDA was opened allowing participants to share their experiences in the beta; it was not truly open to the public.

Beta timeline

• In the May 2007 Newsletter, http://www.war-europe.com/ was announced live. It contained a beta sign-up section that allows players to sign up for a chance to enter the Closed Beta. According to the newsletter, the chance of entry was increased when the email address used in the sign up was the same as the address for the newsletter itself.

• In the April 2007 Newsletter, a guild beta application was launched which allowed guild leaders to submit their organized pre-launch guilds.

• On October 10th 2007, the closed beta servers were taken down and Mythic confirmed that the beta will return to alpha testing until December of that year. Mythic stated that they would use this down time to incorporate community suggestions, rewrite code, finish work on character customization, and polish the end game RvR content.

• In February 2008, three waves of beta invites were sent out and Beta 2 began.

• In June 2008, Beta 2 was officially closed, and preparations for the next phase began, which would include the so called "Guild Beta".

• On July 11th 2008, "Guild beta" keys were officially activated and the next phase of the Beta began.

• On August 10th 2008, a wave of keys were sent out for Beta 3.

• On August 15, 2008, Mythic Entertainment opened the Mythic Account Center for WAR beta testers and pre-order customers. The first 50,000 Standard Edition pre-order registrations were accepted into the upcoming Preview Weekend (see below).

• On August 18, 2008, Mythic Entertainment released downloadable files for the Open Beta.

• On August 19, 2008, Mythic Entertainment lifted the Non Disclosure Agreement on the Warhammer Online Closed Beta.

• From August 22 until August 25, 2008, a "Preview Weekend" was active.

• On August 26, 2008, GOA and Mythic announced that WAR had gone gold.

• On September 5th until September 6th, 2008, a second preview weekend, referred to as "Preview Weekend Plus", was actived for all players who were invited for the first Preview Weekend.

• On September 7, 2008, Open Beta began. All pre-order customers were invited for this final phase of testing.

• On September 14th, 2008, the Open Beta came to a close, and preparations for the Head Start program began.

• On September 14th, 2008, the Head Start program for both North American and European Collector's Edition pre-order customers began.

• On September 15th, 2008, the Head Start program for European standard pre-order customers began.

• On September 16th, 2008, the Head Start program for North American standard pre-order customers began.

• On September 18th, 2008, WAR retail servers in North America, Australia, and Europe went live, ending the pre-release development cycle.

Future content

During a Baltimore Games Day 2008 question and answer session, Jeff Hickman stated that an expansion pack and the first two major content patches were already in the pre-production stages.

In December of 2008 the "Heavy Metal" patch will be adding 2 of the 4 classes that were originally announced, and then removed from the game before it went live.

External links

• Official Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Website
• Official European Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Website