WAR is here!
Wow, has it really been over 2.5 years since I last posted to this LJ? Yikes...
Anyway, I haven't really been playing Final Fantasy XI much, but I have been paying for it. I just can't let it go, and I know that soon I will come back to experience some of the PVE goodness that I miss so much. Just right now work is crazy and well honestly... I got into the Warhammer Online Beta about two months ago.
So what are my thoughts on this game so far? Well, to put it bluntly...
I love it.
The game is so different from anything else that I have played, including that Other Game that will go Unnamed™ or OGTWGU for short. (I'm not smart enough to figure out a witty acronym for WoW.)
In WAR it isn't about what class you play but rather how well you play your class. This game is really based on skill over equipment/raiding status or the class you decided to roll 70 levels ago. You can roll one of the rogue classes in WAR such as the Witch Elf and sure you can try to solo that clothie Archmage you get the jump on, but don't expect an insta-kill or even an easy battle. In WAR you don't see white damage for 5k+ and no class "trumps" another class. It's all based on who uses what ability and when. All classes have anti-other class abilities. Melee have silences, magic users have disarms. That's the way it should be, that is WAR.
This game is a PvPers dream. No, I shouldn't even use the phrase PvP, I should call it what it is: RvR. What is RvR you say? Well simply it is Realm vs. Realm combat which is just another illustration that this game isn't about one person killing another, it is about using one army to kill another army. RvR is about skill, tactics, and organization. It's not about who has the best gear or who spent the most time running the same instance over and over. Oh, and RvR is damn fun.
In this screenshot you can see all the players in Reikland fighting for the Battlefield Objective. Note that there are NO NPC's in this shot, this is WAR.
I have been playing the Shaman which is a healing/damage class combo. Instead of having to choose between doing damage and healing, I get to do both. Of course the specialization I choose makes one more powerful than the other, but hey... respecing is free and you can do it at-will, so if I want to run an instance with my guildmates I can spec healing, if I want to RvR and do damage, I can spec damage.
The cool part of the mechanic for the Shaman (aside from the coolness of his look) is that he gains Waaagh! based on which abilities he uses. If I use a healing spell in honor of Mork, the other Greenskin god Gork gets jealous and starts to grant me favors in the form of faster casting or more damage for my damage spells. The reverse is true if I honor Gork with a damage spell, Mork gets jealous and I can heal more effectively. Now that's a cool mechanic!
Not everyone loves interesting mechanics though, especially healer types that are used to the traditional role. That's fine though because the Zealot is a healer for the Destruction realm that plays much like the standard priest or White Mage.
Oh, and they are badass.
In that OGTWGU™ they are going to release the Death Knight. Yea, big deal. I got your Death Knight right here.
As you can see I have been playing mostly on the Destruction or "Evil" side of the game, I just can't bring myself to play Order. I mean, when you see Order in stockades while playing Destruction so much, I guess you kinda develop a dislike for them.
So on September 19th, be sure to get out there and kill dem stunties!!
Anyway, I haven't really been playing Final Fantasy XI much, but I have been paying for it. I just can't let it go, and I know that soon I will come back to experience some of the PVE goodness that I miss so much. Just right now work is crazy and well honestly... I got into the Warhammer Online Beta about two months ago.
So what are my thoughts on this game so far? Well, to put it bluntly...
I love it.
The game is so different from anything else that I have played, including that Other Game that will go Unnamed™ or OGTWGU for short. (I'm not smart enough to figure out a witty acronym for WoW.)
In WAR it isn't about what class you play but rather how well you play your class. This game is really based on skill over equipment/raiding status or the class you decided to roll 70 levels ago. You can roll one of the rogue classes in WAR such as the Witch Elf and sure you can try to solo that clothie Archmage you get the jump on, but don't expect an insta-kill or even an easy battle. In WAR you don't see white damage for 5k+ and no class "trumps" another class. It's all based on who uses what ability and when. All classes have anti-other class abilities. Melee have silences, magic users have disarms. That's the way it should be, that is WAR.
This game is a PvPers dream. No, I shouldn't even use the phrase PvP, I should call it what it is: RvR. What is RvR you say? Well simply it is Realm vs. Realm combat which is just another illustration that this game isn't about one person killing another, it is about using one army to kill another army. RvR is about skill, tactics, and organization. It's not about who has the best gear or who spent the most time running the same instance over and over. Oh, and RvR is damn fun.
In this screenshot you can see all the players in Reikland fighting for the Battlefield Objective. Note that there are NO NPC's in this shot, this is WAR.
I have been playing the Shaman which is a healing/damage class combo. Instead of having to choose between doing damage and healing, I get to do both. Of course the specialization I choose makes one more powerful than the other, but hey... respecing is free and you can do it at-will, so if I want to run an instance with my guildmates I can spec healing, if I want to RvR and do damage, I can spec damage.
The cool part of the mechanic for the Shaman (aside from the coolness of his look) is that he gains Waaagh! based on which abilities he uses. If I use a healing spell in honor of Mork, the other Greenskin god Gork gets jealous and starts to grant me favors in the form of faster casting or more damage for my damage spells. The reverse is true if I honor Gork with a damage spell, Mork gets jealous and I can heal more effectively. Now that's a cool mechanic!
Not everyone loves interesting mechanics though, especially healer types that are used to the traditional role. That's fine though because the Zealot is a healer for the Destruction realm that plays much like the standard priest or White Mage.
Oh, and they are badass.
In that OGTWGU™ they are going to release the Death Knight. Yea, big deal. I got your Death Knight right here.
As you can see I have been playing mostly on the Destruction or "Evil" side of the game, I just can't bring myself to play Order. I mean, when you see Order in stockades while playing Destruction so much, I guess you kinda develop a dislike for them.
So on September 19th, be sure to get out there and kill dem stunties!!