Joshua Drescher Dev Quotes @ SomethingAweful

[Garthilk]

Read the full article here (http://www.warhammeralliance.com/article/war-news/joshua-drescher-dev-quotes-somethingaweful.html).

Warhammer Online Associate Producer Joshua Drescher popped by the SomethingAweful forums and provided a bit more insight into the details surrounding E3 2006. There he answered some of the many misconceptions comming out of E3. Many of the details have previously been highlighted in a few of the previews but there's a few rough areas that are cleared up in this brief posting. Here is the cleaned up and edited for readabilty version.

[Dac The Hork]

SomethingAwful is lame

Lets spend 10 dollars to post on the internet

(look at gooncamp pictures)

Owell that is only my personal belief and some members of BE might agree or disagree.

btw nice interview, damn been a member of SA for a long time.

I really would love to battle a SA guild, I wish they would go order.

[miber]

That was a pretty enlightening Q&A. Some of the main points of interest for me:And I can't say this enough - EVERY class will be a combat class. Nobody will be running around, healing all day long and trying to stay out of the fray.I really, really hope things work out like that.Players don't ever need to set foot in any RvR zone in order to move through all four tiers. And vice-versa.Can never hear that enough. ;)Player collision for enemies. You won't collide with friendly PC characters, but you will with enemy units. As a result, you won't be able to simply run through enemy tanks in order to get to less defensively-significant players. You also won't be able to clip back and forth through someone to hit them from behind, then the side, then the front, etc.Player collision seems to be something they want to keep - great.

However, player collision only with enemies? The first thing I picture is the person "aggro'd" (be it PvE or PvP) freely running through allies, stopping whatever is pursuing them. I can see trying to attack someone using this method as nearly impossible. I'm sure Mythic has thought of this, though, and hopefully they'll come up with a good solution.

[parabola]

The only quote that stands out is that he says all classes will be a combat class... Thats def not a great thing to be saying when the game isnt even in beta yet. The game is young, the game can change.

I personally hate devs that spout talk on SA, its happened before when they spout off too much info and then it doesnt come true. I've seen it happen numerous times.

That being said, it's all great info and more than other websites were given(refer to last paragraph). Glad to know what the leveling system is like though + all the other stuff.

[Garthilk]

One thing I'd remind players is that the road to release is paved with good intentions. There's going to be a great deal of testing done to ensure that the game players both fun, and that cheestastic tactics aren't the norm. So something announced today doesn't 100% guarantee that it will be in by release. I know it sounds lame, but there's no sense in getting the expectations of everyone all reved up.

Still there's quite a few details that have been mentioned earlier that are expanded upon in this posting.

[Decadence]

Nice almost everything in that article is how I viewed/understood things to be at this stage of development.

[CrusherDestroyer]

Awesome, some really good information here.

And I can't say this enough - EVERY class will be a combat class. Nobody will be running around, healing all day long and trying to stay out of the fray.

Yes, yes, and a thousand times yes.

I'm also really glad to hear about the advancement system. No concrete "levels" and a lot of options available; I love it.

[DiabloX]

did he say Year Long+ BETA?

[miber]

did he say Year Long+ BETA?Yes. As it currently stands, beta is supposed to begin fall 2006, with release in fall 2007, so there should be at least a year of beta.

It's not uncommon for MMORPGs to have that long of a beta, and it helps insure a stable and fairly balanced game on release.

[Ralzar]

Very nice!

No levels. Four tiers, with ranks within each tier. You'll have 4 XP bars that allow you to select "packages" of advancements - abilities, static buffs, skills, etc. that you want to work on. Three will be "standard" bars, one will be RvR-specific.

The packages allow you to select advancements that interest you without level-locking them. So, if you're a big fan of exploring and you want to get a mount earlier than - say - an improved combat ability, you can choose a package that includes the ability to use a mount. Packages will have SOME restrictions - most likely tier-specific - but they offer players the ability to wind up with all of the stuff they want eventually, but also the ability to get it in the order of their choosing.

Heh, it's clearer, but still not. The character advancement system seems so alien to what i've experienced before that i really need a concrete example to understand what the hell he's really talking about here.

EVERY class will be a combat class. Nobody will be running around, healing all day long and trying to stay out of the fray.

YES!

Again, player collision is the one bit that's been announced. That said, it can be VERY effective for protecting less defensive players if groups know how to make use of it properly.

Hm, very interesting. And coming from City of Heroes/Villains I'm very glad to not see some stupid meta-game aggro tool for tankers to do their job. Now I just need to hope that "tankers" in this game can also do decent damage and I'm happy.

[Ravanos]

And I can't say this enough - EVERY class will be a combat class. Nobody will be running around, healing all day long and trying to stay out of the fray.


FINALLY a Dev team that "gets it"

Even as a healer i want to take part in the fight and not have to run from anything that gets near me.

[Shadowski]

This worries me....

"In short, we're looking for Gauntlet-style, iconic classes. To use the Gauntlet classes, a warrior beats the snot out of you, a Valkyrie sucks up damage all day long, a wizard blasts the crap out of you and an elf runs around really quickly, pinging you with arrows. You know exactly what you're in for simply by looking at your opponent."

I hate iconic classes, i think your class should determine a base set of abilities, armor and weapon type access, and maybe core skill sets....that's it. I don't want to know exactly what im in for simply by looking at my opponent. If every Goblin Shaman has exactly the same tricks....why would I enjoy fighting them more than once. Knowing what to expect is not what I want, I want diverse opponents, diverse playstyles, and a ton of options for my own character. Maybe I didn't understand what he said, but i don't like the sound of iconic classes one bit.

[Jesper]

imo, he was just re-saying in another way that there won't be a lot of "hybrids", calling hybrid a toon that can't do even a single role better than another toon of his race. If there are only 4 classes per race, and if you have for example
1) a tank
2)a mage
3) a hybrid tank-mage

the poor n°3 is gimped, cause he can't tank as well as 1 or cast as well as 2. He said that we will have hybrids classes (basing on lore...eg: sigmarite battlepriest, i think) but it will not be a common thing.

On the other hand, you can have a tank that is a pure tank (an iconic one: not a tank that casts firebals) but specced in many ways, so even if their role is clear, you can differentiate your toon.

[Londonbaz]

Excellent info. Very happy with what is being fed to us :) I am so looking forward to my plate armour clad chaos sorcerer now!

[dutch_gamer]

Very nice info. The Tier system is much clearer now than before. And I also like it that every class is basically a combat class. No more stupid classes like the WoW Paladin (most useless Paladin I have ever played, and they have always been my favorite class).

[Jesper]

Very nice info. The Tier system is much clearer now than before. And I also like it that every class is basically a combat class. No more stupid classes like the WoW Paladin (most useless Paladin I have ever played, and they have always been my favorite class).

don want to sound rude, but wow paladin IS absolutely a combat class the way mr Drescher was talking about. Paladin is a combat class because he can kill things both in pve and pvp. "Each class is a combat one" simply means that we won't see daoc healers or bards for example ---> classes that CAN'T do any kind of damage and so forcely rely on other ppl toons for combat. A healer from daoc CAN'T kill things in pve and is even worse in pvp (oh well 9/10).
A combat class can
1) solo pve like in wow
2) counter-attack who attack him

it doesn't mean that every class will have outstanding dps or killing skills.

[sisonpyh]

SomethingAwful is lame

Lets spend 10 dollars to post on the internet

Best 10 dollars I ever spent.

[Dungeoneer]

Excellent stuff.

Especially the parts about the character advancement system.

[pirat]

The tier system sound good to me compared to the standard level system in similar MMOs.
Lets hope, that they make clever decisions about the different bars for each class.

[Bulwyf]

I have to admit I'm worried about collision detection (CD) in this game. I can easily see ranged and magic damage dealing classes lounging around the back line, happily nuking everything around them to death because no class can get through the tanks in front fast enough to get to them in the rear. What counter is there to this if there is CD and no rogue classes?

I also hate to hear that they are basically stating hybrid classes are not going into the game. Although to be frank in some ways it is a relief in that no one will be forced to be a gimped mage or tank or refused groups because they are not "optimum" for their group spot.

[Decadence]

There probably will be abilities to mess up perfectly aligned defenses. Although I'm not sure why there would be a lack of any classes(ie rogue). RVR usually fields alot of classes/players so ask them to do what they do best. Mythic probably wants you to be dependant on different classes for a good amount of RVR related things. Also I'm sure it's not going to be as easy as ppl think to setup a complete 360 CD buffer zone. Especially if you get ambushed.

One thing people have to understand is.. Mythic already stated they are going for classes that are easily defined. Meaning when you see a 'mage', he wont secretly be a priest. Now apply this to the class design itself, they probably will push ppl into their respective class roles. Although this doesn't mean every <insert class> you come across would fight exactly the same. They can delve into secondary lines of abilities/moral/skill/etc all of which changes the combat completely. They haven't hidden this theme at all though and I think ppl are just ignoring this for their own reasons.

-Mythic isn't going for some sort of UO/WoW next gen here, they're just borrowing little bits and creating what they want. It might not be what some others had hoped for.

[Jesper]

about the cd and shield walls stuff...
cd doesn't work like this. Ok, you can stop your enemy from passin through a door, but open field combat is, well, open field. It's really difficult to stop someone, simply because you can't grab him, it's not even a pushing contest, nor you can oneshot kill someone: so if he want to pass, he'll pass, maybe he'll get struck by you and snared/rooted etc, but this is apart from CD (even if cd helps this, i must admit).
The only thing you can do is run in other ppl way and stop them for a sec...or sure, if you're kiting you can run through your tank friend to peel of the attacker.

But there won't be a "stopper-line" with casters just behind nuking around. It's the same as Guild Wars mechanics, and that's the way it will go (if mythic don't study something to prevent this...something like grapple or so)

[Shadwulf]

To me, one of the most encouraging statements is that we will be able to pick and choose which areas we advance it based on our personal tastes. Specifically, he mentioned those that want to pursue "mounts". Apparently you could make a "v-line" in that direction, progression wise, though you would sacrifice other development opportunities such as greater combat skill etc.

Very interesting and encouraging. I am hopeful that mythic will be able to implement this system effectively.

I just wish I could be a goblin with something other than a magic staff or a squig. give me a short bow and i will be happy! Magik and pets don't interest me :(

[Shadwulf]

Many have waited a long time for collision detection to be implemented in a RvR environment. Tactics will deepen significantly. Though there may be some exploits, overall I think it will be a huge positive to the rvr scene

[Nimbuz]

did he just say there won't be any Rogue type class in the game?

[erloas]

But if a decent sized group of tanks get together and form a wall then players have to go around them. Yes, go around them just like you are complaining about, except that as you know the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so if you have to go around a tank wall of more then a couple people it will take you a fair amount longer to get there. That gives the caster that much longer to shoot at you and gives people in the wall time to hit you and such, which means before you may have made it to them in 10 seconds with 80% health, but now since you go around you end up taking 14 seconds and end up being at 40% health (as examples not relating to real numbers). If anyone peels off to help attack him he isn't going to survive long enough to take down the caster. It won't protect a caster from many attackers but it will from just a few. And if you can break the charging group up into littler pieces then its harder to do the /assist train concetrated fire that annilates people in seconds.

Its not going to make the casters be 100% immune to enemy attacks, its not going to stop everyone all the time, but if used well it can easily give you a bit of time and advantage.


I also think the Iconic classes work well with WH. Most of WH the units and characters are fairly iconic in their abilities, they usually do 1 thing and do it well and just because you can expect the same thing from each type doesn't mean you can expect the same fight every time. Take a game of WHFB where your enemy has 3 RnF CC units, 2 ranged units and a mage, you know pretty much exactly what to expect from each of those units, you know what they do and how to beat each one, but depending on how the player uses them and how they help eachother you get many different games that don't end up the same way. Would anyone say chess is a simple and easily mastered game just because all the pieces on each side act exactly the same way every time, that you know how a knight can move and kill, how a bishop moves and kills, etc?

[Josh_Mythic]

Hehe. So it's a "Q&A" now, eh?

To add some context here, this was just a brief discussion we had a couple of days ago where I cleared up a few things with some folks we spoke to at E3 but whose time got cut short because we were so busy in the booth and we needed to make sure we didn't bump any of our scheduled interviews.

It wasn't an SA-related thing, that just happened to be where I noticed the guys I'd spoken to at the show misinterpreting some of what they'd been told, so I swooped in with my E3 cheat sheets and corrected them as needed.

Oh... and the "halflings in Warhammer" refers to the IP, not WAR. Though they ARE delicious.

[Sanya@Mythic]

Hey, look, Josh was doing his E3 presentation in his sleep again!

[Garthilk]

True, I think everyone here knows it wasn't an interview in the traditional sense, they were just questions and answers gathered up. Still, the answers were definately good to hear. So much of the information comming out of E3 is convoluted and mirky. These details and talking points did the job of putting us in the E3 booth. Heck they should have just posted the talking points on the site as a pre-emptive strike against misinformation. (I can dream right?).

Keep up the good work Josh. We do appreciate your efforts.

[Vervayne]

They like to keep us guessing Garth. They giggle maniacally while we try to piece together the scattered details and make sense of it all.

But we shall all be laughing soon. Oh yes.

*cackles*

[Kilkenny]

It's a very informative "Q&A" for sure.

Collision detection sounds interesting, as does the simplified but customizable character classes or advancement. I have to think this is intended to make balancing easier, as opposed to how tough it seems to be in DAOC.

I had previously read archers in WAR wouldn't have stealth, but how will Empire Rangers and Dark Elf Assassins - if they are in the game - be able to solo without some kind of stealth to avoid being swept up by visibles as they try to solo around?

[Bulwyf]

We definitely appreciate any information we can get from you guys, a snippet here or a nugget there just adds up to our understanding of the game so far. Hope to see much more in the future.

[Vail]

mmmm nuggets...

I for one know that this early in a game cycle EVERYTHING is up in the air. So i mostly just enjoy the rampant speculation, heated debate and general uproar everytime a dev posts or says anything.

Until its GOLD it is not real.
And even then the EULA says....game play will change ;)

I love the Q&A though Josh.

I was a Massive Daoc fan and still have the itch to come back sometimes. It is nice to see mythic REALLY has their heads screwed on tight.

Weee, one more year!

sigh

[Requiemourn]

I think some people overrate collision detection here. Having played both WoW and Guild Wars I can assure You that CD isn't going to make that much of a difference in group PvP. If some warriors form a wall to protect their casters, what's there stopping enemy casters from blasting those warriors to bits if they just stand there like stupid donkeys, waiting for some even more stupid warriors to try and run past them? Nothing. That's why no one stands there in PvP because that's like putting a huge sign over your head saying "nuke me". Protective walls simply aren't going to happen - not in an open field at least.

Now, fighting in a cavern or a fort, with very limited space might see the introduction of some nice tactics - and I can't see anything wrong with that. If a group is skilled enough to form and keep a wall, they deserve all the boosts this tactic will give them. I don't see what's there to worry about. It's like screaming "nerf good players!".

As for running past your mates in combat, I think that's ok. Your own allies should most likely let you pass them without any hampering and this is simply represented by running through them.


As for the "Q&A", indeed it is a very interesting read. Probably the most detailed info we've had since the beginning of E3.

[Seldaren]

I think some people overrate collision detection here.

Come from a DAoC caster point of view, the one thing I really care about with CD is that tanks will no longer be able do the "run through the caster" cheese to make me lose LOS.

But as you said, the whole "shield" wall thing only really works when choke points are involved. Like tanks will be able to block doorways or small cooridors. Even stairwells. That sort of stuff.

Seldaren

[NoneSuch]

Looks good , We'll have to see how the game will actually turn out though =D

[Bhazrak]

Awesome information. Whether it will last up to release, /shrug, but right now it's better than nothing. Love the tier system, sounds really cool and fun to get what you want, when you want.

Ahh, the wait continues...

[Jetrpg]

Wow this was a ton of info more then e3 dropped itself.

[Warder]

No levels. Four tiers, with ranks within each tier. You'll have 4 XP bars that allow you to select "packages" of advancements - abilities, static buffs, skills, etc. that you want to work on. Three will be "standard" bars, one will be RvR-specific.

The packages allow you to select advancements that interest you without level-locking them. So, if you're a big fan of exploring and you want to get a mount earlier than - say - an improved combat ability, you can choose a package that includes the ability to use a mount. Packages will have SOME restrictions - most likely tier-specific - but they offer players the ability to wind up with all of the stuff they want eventually, but also the ability to get it in the order of their choosing

Huh?:confused: i'm totally confused.........

Anyway, regarding the big debate: CD,well as for now we can't say anything about CD and it's impacts on the game since we don't know enought on game mechanics, still I got to say that if CD will work the way we picture it (and according to the A&Q tanks will might be able to stop other players from running around them (pay attantion to might)) that I do belive that it will add an all new dimantion for Large scale PvP even in open space and not only in closed spaces, it will only require an higher (much higher) amount of coordinations and organisation.

Cheers

[Chatsubo]

No levels. Four tiers, with ranks within each tier. You'll have 4 XP bars that allow you to select "packages" of advancements - abilities, static buffs, skills, etc. that you want to work on. Three will be "standard" bars, one will be RvR-specific.

The packages allow you to select advancements that interest you without level-locking them. So, if you're a big fan of exploring and you want to get a mount earlier than - say - an improved combat ability, you can choose a package that includes the ability to use a mount. Packages will have SOME restrictions - most likely tier-specific - but they offer players the ability to wind up with all of the stuff they want eventually, but also the ability to get it in the order of their choosing

I'm going to take a wild guess at what this means. Sorry for the rampant speculation, and length, but game mechanics like this interest me... and who knows, maybe someone in-the-know will reply ;)

So you have four 'bars' that fill up. Three will fill up with regular (pve) XP from killing mobs, completing quests etc. The fourth only fills up from RvR kills and achieving RvR objectives, such as winning scenarios. The bars have ranks and the three XP bars fill up simultaneously as you gain XP.

I'm envisioning something like this. Say for a basic tank class, you'll have a 'combat skills' tier, an 'other abilities' tier, and a 'tactics' tier as well as the RvR specific one. You grind out some XP and your three regular bars get full. At that point you can buy a combat skills package that, maybe, has a couple of better attacks you can use. Or you can buy an ability package that has an insta heal and a timered self-buff, say; or finally you can buy a tactics package with two passive tactics in it that go into your tactics window and can then be dragged onto your tactics bar.

Say you pick the combat skills package. OK, so now you're at rank 2 for that tier, and all three XP bars empty out because you've made your choice. Going from rank 2 to rank 3 might take (for the sake of argument, I'm sure it won't be this slow) twice as much XP as going from rank 1 to rank 2. So now as you grind out more XP, your 'abilities' and 'tactics' bars still fill at the same rate as they did before, but the 'combat skills' one is now filling half as fast. You'll have to decide if you want to buy an ability or tactics package sooner, or wait and buy another combat one later. And some packages are probably going to have prerequisites, either certain rank (this is a rank 5 package...) or maybe require you to have already purchased certain previous packages (if you want the good archery skills, you need to have already bought a bunch of lower-rank ones). That will prevent someone from just saving up and buying a whirling-blades-of-kill-everyone ability out of the blue without having any prior combat skills bought.

[Dac The Hork]

Hehe. So it's a "Q&A" now, eh?

To add some context here, this was just a brief discussion we had a couple of days ago where I cleared up a few things with some folks we spoke to at E3 but whose time got cut short because we were so busy in the booth and we needed to make sure we didn't bump any of our scheduled interviews.

It wasn't an SA-related thing, that just happened to be where I noticed the guys I'd spoken to at the show misinterpreting some of what they'd been told, so I swooped in with my E3 cheat sheets and corrected them as needed.

Oh... and the "halflings in Warhammer" refers to the IP, not WAR. Though they ARE delicious.

:)

I hope they have a big SA guild and by coincidence end up on the opposing side on the same server as us.

I actually sorta like SA but the challenge would be awesome.

PA would be fun to play too :/ Although most likely easier.

:cool:

[temuchin]

I think some people overrate collision detection here. Having played both WoW and Guild Wars I can assure .

DAOC, UO, and EQ all utilized CD in pvp to good effect. CD isn't going to let you lock down an opponent but adds a huge tactical element and depth that pvp in a game like WOW does not have. especially if you're talking about group pvp

in any case it's vastly superior to the alternative: cheesy roots, fears and kiting that's the alternative to insure caster survival

as for tiers, the guy's simply saying WAR will use a skills system for advancements instead of leveling. 4 tiers, access to each tier unlocking the skills in that tier. you can unlock any of the "schools" in any order you like without having to climb a tree that mythic dictates

honestly, this friggin sounds awesome. the difference of course is that with leveling, you get built-in bonuses to +hit, +armor versus lower levels, +crit, + resist etc each time you ding. soon that means that those with less time /played find it impossible to hit you. a skills system (that most true pvp games use for this exact reason) allows /played to contribute to a more powerful toon and more cool abilities without making some asshat who's on 24/7 to be indestructable regardless of playing skill.

thumbs up for the news in this thread

[miber]

DAOC, UO, and EQ all utilized CD in pvp to good effect.DAoC didn't have player collision detection. One of the main issues that occured because of that was people running through casters to interrupt spells.

[Shadowski]

CD will help define class roles a lot. What good is a tank if he can't actually get in someones way and protect a weaker class? What good is a caster's or archers range if anyone can simply run up to an enemy? What good is a healer if he has to always stop and fight the enemy who can always reach him?

With CD a tank can actually get in the way and prevent enemies from having a straight route to weaker targets. With CD a caster or archer is necessary to penetrate enemy ranks with their range and actually disrupt enemy casters or healers. And with CD a healer will actually have some amount of safety from enemy tanks to allow them to try and do their job.

[Zyl'Qi]

Some comments.

First, I don't really like the idea (should I say, the fact) to not have any stealth classes, but I can easily understand what are the problems with them. So, after all, why not. But it's a pretty unexpected choice and I think an important part of the community will be disappointed. Nevertheless, I hope there will be some classes which will be fun to play without a group in PvP (stealth classes were perfect for that).

About the "no pure 'support' classes" + "We're not fond of hybrid classes either". So what ? Maybe I'm a bit conservative, but I like the classic archetype (tank, offensive fighter, offensive caster and healer) and I'm afraid that this choice (no pure support classes) could make the fights less tactic (despite the cool idea of the "tactic bar"). I can't remove this image of my mind : a bunch of orcs running straight off to the enemy, without any clever class to support them in their stupid precipitation. :D

Oh, and I'm sure I'll like the CD, I mean, it'll add so much tactic in a fight ! In PvP, the defensive fighters will finally be able to do their job ! No abilities like Bodyguard (DAoC) which are too passive and boring.

[Rigor]

It's unfortunate that they did not extend the CD to friendlies. One of the worst techniques use in Shadowbane was a technique called Stacking, which was used by a lot of the exploiting type clans.

They would get about 50 people and put them all in the exact same spot. This would prevent you from manually targeting the critical classes such as healers. You could cycle through the stack using the hotkeys, but they would also use these rediculous nicks like "soldierxvxxvxxvx" for all their toons. So it was pointless. The only way to break the stack was to bring in hard hitting AOE'ers. But needless to say, it gave the defensive, stationary forces a huge advantage.

I absolutely hated it. And I was hoping they would use the CD to prevent it. But currently, it looks like they are only using it for enemies. Perhaps they could extend it to anyone that's flagged.

CD is also very nice in preventing the spazzing that rogues used in WoW. I'm too old and tired to be playing tag with some guy that magically jumps through my body. I'd just back up while fighting, but it's still really annoying.

Shadowbane had a skill called hold the line where you could make it so nobody could go through you. It was specific to melee classes. We sometimes used it to block the castle entrances once the walls were breached, but it was not often used. The main problem is it forced you into immobility which made you easy picking for the ranged classes.

CD is also a big factor in bumping when trying to run down mobile players. If you can get in front of them and bump them, it slows them down while running, and you can then pick them off. This was a common tactic in a very old PvP game called Helbreath out of Korea that I once played. I always enjoyed the collision aspect of that game. You really shouldn't be able to walk through people. It's just kind of...lame. I mean talk about unrealistic combat.

I think some people overrate collision detection here. Having played both WoW and Guild Wars I can assure You that CD isn't going to make that much of a difference in group PvP. .

[Jetrpg]

yeah , i hear that but that would sux for aoes (just don't player limit them).

Also, this news from the post was ... I feel bad news almost , but it could be good. I personaly like complex games ... the info hear makes the game sound liek a total melee zerg fest. We will see. Hope it was just the lack of info.

[Garthilk]

Here's the thing. Right now we still have very little information and no real experiance as to how this is all going to work together. Naturally in order to make sense of the chaos some people are piecing together preivous experiances with bits of information in order to make something understandable. Unfortunately this isn't an accurate picture of what is to be expected.

So sit back, relax and let all the details come forth.

[Decadence]

Just simply rotate your monitors sideways.. All the stacks/formations will fall of the edge of WAR.

Right? :skull:

[Rigor]

Good call!! I hadn't thought of that. :D

[Grimelark]

I'm a bit worried about the way the bars progress. What this looks like is that with enough time everyone will be just like everyone else. All hammerers will be like all other hammerers. I mean it may differ in the beginning part of the game but at end game everyone will have all the packages to tier four. I'm not sure that's a bad thing but I'm really not sure it's a good thing either. uniqueness is a pretty important thing for me and I would be unhappy if once I picked a class i would be just like the other 500 slobs.

this is just a guess based off of speculative evidence at best of course. But then these boards are here for speculation, and some good humored ribbing.

[Shapechanger]

I find most of this very interesting.

It looks like to me they are doing away with most of the downsides, such as rogues, and fulltime healers, grinding...
But to do away with those downsides they have to homogenize just a bit. I can't wait to see their approach to keeping it full of flavor.

I think if done right, it can be a real breakthrough to the same old, same old, that I am so tired of. Things that specialize too much just have too many downsides for their strong upside.

I am such a fan of everyone being a little less extremely leaning to 1 degree in skill, and more in favor of everyone being a bit more multifaceted & dynamic.

[AlienOverlord]

The packages allow you to select advancements that interest you without level-locking them. So, if you're a big fan of exploring and you want to get a mount earlier than - say - an improved combat ability, you can choose a package that includes the ability to use a mount. Packages will have SOME restrictions - most likely tier-specific - but they offer players the ability to wind up with all of the stuff they want eventually, but also the ability to get it in the order of their choosing.

This sounds absolutely terrific. It's just another example that Mythic is really taking strides to let gamers play WAR the way THEY want to play, rather than being forced to play based on some game mechanic.

[Ralzar]

I am such a fan of everyone being a little less extremely leaning to 1 degree in skill, and more in favor of everyone being a bit more multifaceted & dynamic.

Yeah, same here. I get the feelign soemtimes that the developers took one whole character and chopped him into 4 pieces. Then you get to select which piece of him you want to play. I leik teaming, but I'd leik to bring a whole character to the team. :p

[darkblade_the_Great]

Finally, we're relying on an extensive, year+ long beta, coupled with everything (good, bad and otherwise) that we've learned from Camelot.




Player collision for enemies. You won't collide with friendly PC characters, but you will with enemy units. As a result, you won't be able to simply run through enemy tanks in order to get to less defensively-significant players. You also won't be able to clip back and forth through someone to hit them from behind, then the side, then the front, etc.


I love seeing both of these. Especially the year long beta comment.

[Warren]

This is the most catching up on WAR I've done in a long time.

So... as I'd previously suspected, it's basically going to be a huge beat-em-up, right?
Are there going to be any RPG elements? Does anyone care...?