Warhammer Online Loses 66% of Capital Cities, Multiple Character Classes

[dougp]

Warhammer Online Loses 66% of Capital Cities, Multiple Character Classes
by Chris Faylor Jul 11, 2008 1:29pm CST tags: Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, MMO Quality concerns have prompted developer EA Mythic to remove four classes and four capital cities from its upcoming PC MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

Though franchise mainstays, the four classes--Choppa, Hammerer, Blackguard, Knight of the Blazing Sun--were axed from the fall launch as they just "weren't coming out well," Mythic VP Mark Jacobs told MMORPG.com. The title was originally planned to have 24 classes across its six races.

"I wish we didn't have to do it," he elaborated. "I really wish we didn't have to cut them out, but it's better for them to be cut out than to have classes that aren't great and that we would spend more time trying to make them great post-launch than we should have to."



The studio's decision to scale back on the number of capital cities represented a similar issue. Initially, each of the six races was set to have its own city. Now, the game only sports two capitals, one for the Empire and one for the Chaos faction.

"We wanted to make our capital cities the best cities in any MMO," Jacobs reasoned. "We think we're doing that, but it came at a price and that price is that the other cities aren't going in the game right now."

Jacobs also revealed that Warhammer Online, which just entered the guild beta phase today, will be the first PC MMO to feature PunkBuster's anti-cheating technology, which was used in the PC editions of Splash Damage's Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, among other titles.

"By doing this deal with PunkBuster, [we wanted] to show the players that we're willing to go an extra step for them," he explained. "Anything that gives a player an advantage over another player in an RvR-centric game is a very bad thing. We take this stuff incredibly seriously, our history shows that."

Source: http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/53566

Honestly, I don't see the negative on reducing capital cities, but the removal of classes sucks. Though, they were being fairly adventurous at the amount of classes introduced.

 

[videogames101]

Punkbuster? ROFL!!!


Good for players? Punkbuster is the most suck-ass anti-cheat system in existence!

 

[ggnl]

Jeebus, 24 classes? Look at how much trouble Blizz has balancing just 9 classes for WoW pvp. 24 seems completely unmanageable.

 

[Dumac]

Originally posted by: ggnl
Jeebus, 24 classes? Look at how much trouble Blizz has balancing just 9 classes for WoW pvp. 24 seems completely unmanageable.

EQ1 had 16 and EQ2 has 24 if I'm not mistaken.

 

[ggnl]

Originally posted by: Dumac

Originally posted by: ggnl
Jeebus, 24 classes? Look at how much trouble Blizz has balancing just 9 classes for WoW pvp. 24 seems completely unmanageable.

EQ1 had 16 and EQ2 has 24 if I'm not mistaken.

But pvp is not a major emphasis in either of those games.

 

[SunnyD]

It was only a matter of time before EA's acquisition of Mythic took it's toll.

 

[dougp]

Originally posted by: Dumac

Originally posted by: ggnl
Jeebus, 24 classes? Look at how much trouble Blizz has balancing just 9 classes for WoW pvp. 24 seems completely unmanageable.

EQ1 had 16 and EQ2 has 24 if I'm not mistaken.

DAoC has 45 classes ... nothing compares to it

 

[pontifex]

hahaha...has any mmo ever lived up to it's claims?

 

[Mem]

I'm not surprised they reduced some classes,however was surprised Hammerer went since that was main dps offence melee class for Order.

As to cities being reduced just means more people to see and meet in town.

 

[lupi]

From the title I was concerned till I saw that is only 4 of 24.

 

[manko]

Originally posted by: SunnyD
It was only a matter of time before EA's acquisition of Mythic took it's toll.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Aikouka]

Well, Blizzard didn't release WoW with any of the promised PVP stuff and patched it in a couple months later.

 

[Modelworks]

EQ1 did not start out with that many classes.
Still its a good sign that they rather drop content than keep it in the game just so they can say "look we got 24 classes, and capital cities, etc"

 

[Craig234]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
EQ1 did not start out with that many classes.
Still its a good sign that they rather drop content than keep it in the game just so they can say "look we got 24 classes, and capital cities, etc"

EQ1 has only added two classes, beastlord and berserker.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: Craig234

Originally posted by: Modelworks
EQ1 did not start out with that many classes.
Still its a good sign that they rather drop content than keep it in the game just so they can say "look we got 24 classes, and capital cities, etc"

EQ1 has only added two classes, beastlord and berserker.

We all know they will add new classes with expansions,normally the way they do things with MMORPGs.

 

[Modeps]

Originally posted by: manko

Originally posted by: SunnyD
It was only a matter of time before EA's acquisition of Mythic took it's toll.

My thoughts exactly.

So, holding back for quality is a typical EA action?

 

[Dman877]

So with just one capital city per side, does that mean if the other side takes your capital city that your side is screwed? I thought taking enemy cities was a key component of this game...

 

[Craig234]

Originally posted by: Mem

Originally posted by: Craig234

Originally posted by: Modelworks
EQ1 did not start out with that many classes.
Still its a good sign that they rather drop content than keep it in the game just so they can say "look we got 24 classes, and capital cities, etc"

EQ1 has only added two classes, beastlord and berserker.

We all know they will add new classes with expansions,normally the way they do things with MMORPGs.

2 classes added in 10 years in EQ, WoW will add its first (post-level cap) around the 4 year mark, so some add more than others. Has CoH ever added a class other than the post-50?

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Originally posted by: dreadpiratedoug

Originally posted by: Dumac

Originally posted by: ggnl
Jeebus, 24 classes? Look at how much trouble Blizz has balancing just 9 classes for WoW pvp. 24 seems completely unmanageable.

EQ1 had 16 and EQ2 has 24 if I'm not mistaken.

DAoC has 45 classes ... nothing compares to it

Theres over a 100 perfectly balanced ships in Eve.

 

[Drift3r]

I am pretty much dumbstruck by this announcement by Mythic. I've been a Warhammer fan for a very long time and followed this MMO from the start. Yet this announcement is a like a kick in the balls. This reeks of Funcom-ism. and frankly I think am gonna have to pass. I am really upset about this decision and hopefully the MMO AION can deliver on launch were Mythic screwed up. AION was my backup MMO to WAR which I was looking foward too but now I guess AION is number 1 for me.

Link to MMORPG.com faq page about AION

http://mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/184958

Lead AION developer discussing quest based leveling in AION.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5lM5sxDmZ8

Gameplay video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFgJZIzZSfo

Character creation screen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhNVOQhoPdc

Massive Abyss RvR battle. The Abyss is the RvR/PvP zone/zones where you fight the rival faction in the game. Oh and yes you can fly and use your pvp skills at the same time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...9PI7tc&feature=related

 

[hooflung]

Wouldn't call EVE's ships perfectly balanced, though its the best balanced PVP oriented MMO in existance. They also have more dynamics to their balancing ( inter class balance, module balance, role balance etc ).

 

[Drift3r]

Originally posted by: hooflung
Wouldn't call EVE's ships perfectly balanced, though its the best balanced PVP oriented MMO in existance. They also have more dynamics to their balancing ( inter class balance, module balance, role balance etc ).

Well let's be honest here. EVE is not designed around 1 vs 1 PvP mechanics. EVE is designed around small gang and fleet warfare which is why it kicks so much butt. EVE is very much a group based PvP game and it shines in this area greatly.

 

[Drift3r]

Originally posted by: ggnl
Jeebus, 24 classes? Look at how much trouble Blizz has balancing just 9 classes for WoW pvp. 24 seems completely unmanageable.

They are not all unique. Each racial paring is made up of tank, melee dps, range dps or melee hybrid healer and/or a caster / caster hybrid healer. They all do the same things but they go about it in a different manner is all.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Drift3r

Originally posted by: hooflung
Wouldn't call EVE's ships perfectly balanced, though its the best balanced PVP oriented MMO in existance. They also have more dynamics to their balancing ( inter class balance, module balance, role balance etc ).

Well let's be honest here. EVE is not designed around 1 vs 1 PvP mechanics. EVE is designed around small gang and fleet warfare which is why it kicks so much butt. EVE is very much a group based PvP game and it shines in this area greatly.

I was going to make a smart ass comment about something else they could balance in EVE but then I realized it's easier to make fun of EVE than the retarded kid with his face smashed against the short bus' window.

 

[darkxshade]

Originally posted by: Dman877
So with just one capital city per side, does that mean if the other side takes your capital city that your side is screwed? I thought taking enemy cities was a key component of this game...

If this game is anything like DAoC which was also published by Mythic, then the capital city will be safe as long as it's not placed in the frontiers which are zones dedicated for pvp battles.